The Cracked Podcast #64

As we’ve previously covered on the site, before JK Rowling had even finished the ‘Harry Potter’ books, an interesting fan theory started popping up on Potterverse fansites. The speculation went that perhaps the chosen one wasn’t our boy Harry, but actually lovable dunce Neville Longbottom, and that all the whole ‘Harry is chosen one’ nonsense was Dumbledore intentionally misdirecting he-who-shall-not-be-typed.

Whether or not Rowling had planned this, we all know what we got in the end: another textbook hero’s journey that would’ve made Joseph Campbell proud. But isn’t that first theory a lot cooler? We think so.

Outside-of-the-box fan theories like this are what we’re discussing on the podcast this week. We cover a range of pop culture from movie franchises like ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Harry Potter’ to the indelible black mark on the internet: Rebecca Black’s ‘Friday.’ Recorded live at the San Diego Comedy Festival, cohosts Jack O’Brien and Michael Swaim are joined by Soren Bowie, Adam Tod Brown, Cody Johnston, Dan O’Brien, and Alex Schmidt.