show episodes
 
Artwork
 
It’s the English class you didn't know you missed and the meaningful conversations you didn't know you craved. Join Vanessa Zoltan and Matt Potts as they bring thought, reflection and laughter to Harry Potter; not just as novels, but as instructive and inspirational texts that will teach us about our own lives. Relive the magic of Harry Potter chapter by chapter as Matt and Vanessa explore themes such as commitment, revenge and forgiveness. This podcast creates time in your week to think abo ...
  continue reading
 
Loading …
show series
 
Welcome to #2 of our 40th Anniversary Deep Dive Album Spotlight. Last time we focused on Motley Crue's "Theatre of Pain", an album that epitomized 'Hair Metal'. This time we're going to the opposite end of the spectrum. NY thrashers Anthrax' second effort "Spreading The Disease" was an important album. Not just for the band, but the Metal undergrou…
  continue reading
 
We're still off between seasons, but we though it would be fun to take a look back at our first read through of Book 7, Chapter 1 ahead of our 14th and final season starting back up next week! Harry Potter and the Sacred Text is a Not Sorry Production Find us at our website | Follow us on Instagram -- It’s two sickles to join S.P.E.W., and only fiv…
  continue reading
 
The countdown's on!! Record Store Day is generally a big f'n deal around the RAM offices. April 12 is when it all goes down and the first step is the release of the RSD Special Albums list. Another tradition is going over the list on the air. We scroll the list and make our picks for what we hope to find on The Big Day. So go to www.recordstoreday.…
  continue reading
 
We just dropped one of our favorite episodes so far of Let's Ask Taylor Swift with Vanessa and recent HPST guest host Daniel Schroeder, and since we're off between seasons of HPST we wanted to share that in the feed with you here! Harry Potter and the Sacred Text is a Not Sorry Production Find us at our website | Follow us on Instagram Hosted on Ac…
  continue reading
 
Every year the nominees for the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame always seem to raise eyebrows and get tongues wagging. Over the last couple years, the controversy generally is about what exactly constitutes inclusion. Semantics aside, we enjoy getting "The List" and this year we're taking a cue from "High Infidelity" and making our Top 5 list of choices. …
  continue reading
 
Vanessa and Casper wrap up their discussion of The Half-Blood Prince with a look back on the entire book! They discuss Dumbledore's strengths and weaknesses as a leader, Harry's final year at Hogwarts, and Hermione's unique role in this book. We're off for a few weeks between seasons, but we can't wait to get into Book 7 with you all! Stick around …
  continue reading
 
It's that time again. Our little longtime listeners know what the Juno Awards (Canada's answer to the Grammies) mean to us. At least the Metal category, being two time judges ourselves. So we're stoked for this year's nominees. Especially since four out of five are Radioactive Metal alum. So in the spirit of the Junos, we go over the list and "cast…
  continue reading
 
This week, Vanessa and Matt explore the theme of Love in Chapter 30 of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince! They discuss Hagrid’s role as patron saint of transitions, Bill and Fleur, and Harry’s pity for Draco! Throughout the episode we consider the question: how are grief and love interconnected? Thank you to Ellen for this week’s voicemail! Ne…
  continue reading
 
As we move along in life we pick up (hopefully) little bits of information. It's mostly info that isn't too groundbreaking or Earth shattering. But in the context of our beloved genre, these tidbits become downright interesting. Over the past little while we've been compiling out own list of musical trivialities and this week we're sharing a handfu…
  continue reading
 
This week, Vanessa and Casper explore the theme of Separation in Chapter 29 of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince! They discuss the relationship dynamics on display in this chapter, Hagrid’s advice, and the end of Harry’s time at Hogwarts! Throughout the episode we consider the question: what causes us to feel separate from others? Thank you to…
  continue reading
 
This week, Vanessa and special guest Hannah McGregor explore the theme of Apocalypse in Chapter 28 of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince! They discuss Snape’s subtle display of care, Hagrid’s hut, and chaos as a liminal space! Throughout the episode we consider the question: how do we continue after an apocalyptic event? Thank you to Heather fo…
  continue reading
 
With 1985 celebrating its 40th anniversary, it's time to kick off this year's Deep Dive series on cool albums turning 40. 1985 was an interesting year. That year could be argued to be the year that really kick started "hair" metal. And Motley Crue's "Theatre of Pain" was leading the pack. Gone were the studs and satanic imagery replaced by the pink…
  continue reading
 
This week, Vanessa and special guest Daniel Schroeder explore the theme of Helplessness in Chapter 27 of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince! They discuss Harry’s immobilization, Dumbledore’s master plan, and Draco’s task! Throughout the episode we consider the question: when can a feeling of helplessness actually help force us to act? Thank you…
  continue reading
 
As dedicated Metalheads, we all have those special albums near and dear to our Metal Hearts. I'm talking that collection of songs that changed our lives. It got us thinking how cool it would have been to be in the studio when these masterpieces took shape. Either as a fly on the wall or giving our 2 cents. Even getting coffee or going on beer runs …
  continue reading
 
This week, Vanessa and Casper explore the theme of Fear in Chapter 26 of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince! They discuss Harry and Dumbledore’s opposite experiences of the cave, fear of the unknown, and Voldemort’s obstacle course! Throughout the episode we consider the question: how do we decide which fears are valid? Thank you to our anonymo…
  continue reading
 
A new year always means more important anniversaries. We hate to remind our more veteran listeners that the year 1985 is 40 (!!) years old now! It was an important and pivotal year for Metaldom, to which the effects are still being felt today. So this time we're going deep into '85. We're going over some of the fantastic albums that hit the racks a…
  continue reading
 
This week, Vanessa and special guest Jolie Doggett explore the theme of Jealousy in Chapter 25 of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince! They discuss Romilda Vane, the Prince’s gender, and Trelawney’s many admirers! Throughout the episode we consider the question: how can jealousy be useful information? Thank you to Chris for this week’s voicemail…
  continue reading
 
It's not over until...we've had our Rammy Awards. Basically, the Rammies are our take on the Grammies. Meaning we make our picks for the "Best Of" for the year that was. In the categories that mean the most to Metalheads; Band, Album, Live, News Story a.o. As well, as is tradition, we give our inductions into the RAM Hall of Hall for Band, Album an…
  continue reading
 
This week, Vanessa and special guest Courtney Brown explore the theme of Impulsivity in Chapter 24 of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince! They discuss Draco and Harry’s fight, Hermione’s “I told you so” moment, and the big kiss! Throughout the episode we consider the question: when is impulsivity fun and when is it harmful? Thank you to Julia f…
  continue reading
 
Aaron has become a proud papa again. First when his offspring came into the world. Second when his little girl asked for a skateboard. Excited as we are to commemorate this event, we felt it was a good time to discuss all things skating. We discuss our first decks, "skate" music, Thrasher mag and the skateboards impact on pop culture. We even invit…
  continue reading
 
Happy New Year!! 2024 is coming to an end, so consider this episode the Radioactive Metal New Year's Eve party. This time we pour some bevvies, crank some tunes and talk about...whatever. You know, like a party. And what's a party without good friends? So we pour a Lemmy for our bud and sister podcast Wrestling Night in Canada co host Mr. Matt Copp…
  continue reading
 
The biggest news on the hearts and minds of Metalheads the world over is the retirement of long time Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain. Having been behind the kit since the classic '83 record "Piece Of Mind", Metaldom just won't be the same. As is tradition, every significant retirement requires a proper send off. So we decided to have one for our …
  continue reading
 
This week, Vanessa and Matt explore the theme of Ambivalence in Chapter 23 of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince! They discuss Slughorn’s lesson, the splitting of souls, and Harry’s destiny! Throughout the episode we consider the question: how does our ambivalence still lead us to a choice? Thank you to Marissa for this week’s voicemail! We're …
  continue reading
 
The annual Montreal black metal festival Messe De Morte is in the books. We never made it out to La Belle Province ourselves, but it's a yearly trek for our good bud and sister show Wrestling Night in Canada co-host "Ducky" Dustin Maruca. So this week we sat Mr. Maruca in the hotseat to the get the 411 on the fest. We go over the line up, the highs…
  continue reading
 
Every once in a while we like to take a step back from our current chapter, and appreciate some overarching themes and important characters from the series. This week, Vanessa and special guest Jackson Bird are talking about the Marauders and some of their favorite moments from the friends throughout the series! -- It’s two sickles to join S.P.E.W.…
  continue reading
 
Not Sorry has launched its first new podcast since 2020! Let's Ask Taylor Swift is co-hosted by Vanessa and podcaster, writer and cultural critic: Daniel Schroeder. In each episode Daniel and Vanessa will focus on one song from Taylor's discography, asking themselves, each other, and you— the audience— what it is about Taylor's music that resonates…
  continue reading
 
Remember when you were a kid and you hated brussel sprouts? As you got older, your palette may change and evolve to where those evil little veggies may not taste so bad. The same can be said for musical tastes. Particularly towards specific artists or even entire subgenres. We all have those specific bands that really didn't turn our crank at the t…
  continue reading
 
This week, Vanessa and Casper explore the theme of Failure in Chapter 22 of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince! They discuss Harry’s lucky day, Ron’s apparition test, and Ernie’s potion! Throughout the episode we consider the question: when are success and failure out of our control? Thank you to Christine for this week’s voicemail! Next week w…
  continue reading
 
Dec. 6th is the last Bandcamp Friday of the year. One Friday a month, Bandcamp relinquishes their cut of all the sales on the site. Effectively giving the artists 100% of the profits. We've been big supporters of BCF for years now. So this week we figured we'd throw out some of our recommends to add to your collection. But don't just take our sugge…
  continue reading
 
Patience: The Unknowable Room (Book 6, Chapter 21) This week, Vanessa and Matt explore the theme of Patience in Chapter 21 of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince! They discuss Harry’s stakeout, Hermione’s new approach to Ron and Lavender, and the upcoming promise of Apparition! Throughout the episode we consider the question: how does patience r…
  continue reading
 
It's no exaggeration when we state that we grew up in record stores. From our early teens right up to this writing, we had a variety of shops that were/are our homes away from home. These hallowed halls come with a variety of memories you just don't get with streaming. So this week we figured we'd give these cherished shops a "Horns Up" and share s…
  continue reading
 
This week, Vanessa and special guest Mauricio Bruce explore the theme of Possibility in Chapter 20 of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince! They discuss Dumbledore’s memory of Voldemort, Harry’s quest, and Hermione and Ron’s reconciliation! Throughout the episode we consider the question: how can we hold space for a multitude of possibilities? Th…
  continue reading
 
We admit it. We're old. Actually, we prefer "music veterans". We're veteran enough to have consumed out music on all three physical media formats - vinyl, cassette and CD (and even a few 8 tracks lol). So with these formats we have a number of special albums that we shelled out for all three. Generally the lineage would be from vinyl to cass. to CD…
  continue reading
 
This week, Vanessa and Matt explore the theme of Rebellion in Chapter 19 of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince! They discuss Snape and Dumbledore’s agreement, Dobby and Kreacher’s quarrel, and McLaggen’s big game! Throughout the episode we consider the question: how do we rebel in both big and small ways? Thank you to Travis for this week’s voi…
  continue reading
 
We here at RAM have always been vinyl conisseurs. But more and more people are discovering the joys of vinyl. It's really heartwarming when we see the youth of today (that was totally intentional lol) digging thru the racks. That means there's a lot of fertile minds that we feel, as veterans, should be doing our part to enlighten. Vinyl records hav…
  continue reading
 
This week, Vanessa and Casper explore the theme of Discovery in Chapter 18 of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince! They discuss Slughorn’s poisoned mead, Harry’s life saving bezoar, and Romilda Vane’s love potion! Throughout the episode we consider the question: are we always on some journey of discovery? Thank you to Auryn for this week’s voice…
  continue reading
 
The passing of ex-Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di'Anno was the major topic on the hearts and minds of Metal Heads the world over. Mr. Di'Anno wasn't just a great artist, he was a frontrunner and influence on an entire generation. So it's only appropriate we dedicate our discussion segment to this legend. We go over how we first discovered The Man. Our…
  continue reading
 
This week, Vanessa and Matt explore the theme of Knowledge in Chapter 17 of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince! They discuss Harry’s lesson with Dumbledore, early Slug Clubs, and Slughorn’s titular memory! Throughout the episode we consider the question: how do raw facts turn into knowledge? Thank you to Simone for this week’s voicemail! Next w…
  continue reading
 
Happy Halloween! We love this time of year. But not only for all the spooky season goodness. Our annual Halloween episode is always a barnburner. For the festivities this year we test Aaron's horror film knowledge with an appropriate number of 13 trivia questions. We also pose the question "Would you buy any records from a serial killer's collectio…
  continue reading
 
This week, Vanessa and special guest Julia Argy explore the theme of Worthiness in Chapter 16 of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince! They discuss the value of peeling sprouts by hand, Percy’s Christmas, and Ron’s new necklace! Throughout the episode we consider the question: what are we weighing when we decide the worthiness of something? Thank…
  continue reading
 
Love it or hate it, "Hair" Metal is always an interesting topic. Often the subject of ridicule from more modern fans, the impact the subgenre has had on music as a whole cannot be denied. So when Paramount+ dropped the new docuseries "Nothin' But A Good Time: The Uncensored Story of 80s Hair Metal", we jumped right on it. We go over all three episo…
  continue reading
 
This week, Vanessa and Matt explore the theme of Symbiosis in Chapter 15 of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince! They discuss Slughorn’s exclusive holiday party, the ripple effect of Hermione and Ron’s tiff, and Draco’s plan! Throughout the episode we consider the question: how can we create symbiotic relationships that aren't just transactional…
  continue reading
 
Halloween isn't just about collecting candy and cringy Wednesday costumes. Music plays a big part of the spooky season. Whether it's awesome horror film soundtracks or horror related guitar rock n roll, music provides the perfect atmosphere sounds for your October. But over the years we've noticed some people's idea of "Halloween" music doesn't qui…
  continue reading
 
Every once in a while we like to take a step back from our current chapter, and appreciate some overarching themes and important characters from the series. This week, Vanessa and special guest Margaret H. Willison are talking about the idea of Drama and some of their favorite dramatic moments throughout the series! -- It’s two sickles to join S.P.…
  continue reading
 
Dec. 31, 1973, in the wilds of Australia, the legendary AC/DC played their very first gig. Effectively making 2024 their 50th (!!) anniversary. So obviously this is a big f'n deal. So we decided to give Angus and the Boys some time in our "Spotlight" episode. We go over some of our fave songs and albums, how we discovered the band and the (non) con…
  continue reading
 
This week, Vanessa and Casper explore the theme of Innocence in Chapter 14 of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, featuring a charming opening story from friend of the pod Rosy Hosking! They discuss Ron’s first kiss, Hermione’s army of little birds, and the big Quidditch match! Throughout the episode we consider the question: when is innocence …
  continue reading
 
We now return to our regular programming. The legendary Iron Maiden are one of the greatest musical artists of all time. And the 80s is where they reigned supreme. Not just on the live front where they still do. But on the record racks as well. "Powerslave" was the epitome of 80s Maiden. And it recently celebrated its 40th anniversary! So it's a gr…
  continue reading
 
This week, Vanessa and Casper explore the theme of Procrastination in Chapter 13 of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince! They discuss Tom’s solo trip to Diagon Alley, Dumbledore’s choices, and Mrs. Cole’s orphanage! Throughout the episode we consider the question: when are we procrastinating and when are we prioritizing other values? Thank you t…
  continue reading
 
Loading …

Quick Reference Guide

Listen to this show while you explore
Play