JK Rowling podcast – latest: Author dismisses concerns trans backlash will harm her legacy
JK Rowling has dismissed concerns that her views on transgender rights will damage her legacy.
The first two episodes of a new podcast featuring JK Rowling have aired where she addresses her traumatic miscarriage, Harry Potter and her controversial remarks on transgender issues.
In the new episodes of the podcast titled The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, when asked by interview Megan Phelps-Roper about her legacy, the Harry Potter author said she doesn’t think about it.
“I think you could not have misunderstood me more profoundly. I do not walk around my house thinking about my legacy, what a pompous way to live your life thinking about what my legacy will be. Whatever! I’ll be dead, I care about now, the living.”
Phelps-Roper is the granddaughter of Fred Phelps – pastor of the notorious Westboro Baptist Church. After leaving the church in 2012, Phelps-Roper became a prominent critic of its philosophy and practices.
Key points
Listen to a trailer for the podcast
What we know about host Megan Phelps-Roper
Rowling says she ‘never set out to upset anyone'
Daniel Radcliffe addresses JK Rowling controversy
17:00 , Inga Parkel
In 2020, Daniel Radcliffe, the face of the Harry Potter film franchise, wrote an essay for The Trevor Project in support of trans people.
“Transgender women are women,” he wrote at the time. “Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either [Rowling] or I.
“It’s clear that we need to do more to support transgender and nonbinary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm.”
Is Hogwarts Legacy connected to JK Rowling?
16:30 , Inga Parkel
With the highly anticipated release of the video game Hogwarts Legacy on 10 February, there has been some hestitancy among a number of gamers as to whether or not buying the game supports JK Rowling and her anti-trans sentiments.
However, according to the game’s official website: “JK Rowling is not involved in the creation of the game.”
In fact, Hogwarts Legacy introduced the first transgender character to the iconic wizarding world.
Read more here:
Hogwarts Legacy introduces first transgender character in Harry Potter world
‘Hogwarts Legacy’ takes players on ‘an epic journey’, allowing them to wander free around Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, the Forbidden Forest and surrounding areas.
What has JK Rowling said about women and transgender rights?
16:00 , Inga Parkel
JK Rowling’s controversial remarks on transgender and womens’ rights surprisingly only dates back to a 2019 tweet.
Read more here:
A timeline of JK Rowling’s comments about women and transgender rights
JK Rowling says she snuck Harry Potter manuscript out of home ‘a few pages’ at a time
14:51 , Isobel Lewis
On the podcast, Rowling spoke about the period when she was planning to leave her husband and removed her Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone manuscript from her home, “a few pages” at a time.
“Just a few pages, so he wouldn’t realise anything was missing, and I would photocopy it,” she said. “And gradually, in a cupboard in the staff room, bit by bit, a photocopied manuscript grew and grew and grew.”
JK Rowling says she snuck Harry Potter manuscript out of home ‘a few pages’ at a time
JK Rowling claims that her legacy is not something she thinks about
13:55 , Nicole Vassell
JK Rowling has denied any worries about how her legacy may be affected in the wake of her views on trans people.
The Harry Potter author has come under fire in recent years for sharing her ideologies on sex and gender. Many, including stars of the Harry Potter adaptations, have accused her of transphobia, and some fans have ended their support of the wizarding franchise as a result.
In the new podcast, The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, the author shrugs off concerns about her legacy.
“What a pompous way to live your life walking around thinking about what your legacy will be,” she states. “Whatever – I’ll be dead! I care about now.”
Read the full story here:
JK Rowling brushes off concerns over legacy in wake of trans row on new podcast
Podcast host suggests Harry Potter has helped save LGBT+ books
13:31 , Nicole Vassell
In the second episode of JK Rowling’s new podcast, The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, she and host Megan Phelps-Roper discuss the 1997 release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and the negative response it received from some Christian activists.
Evangelists in the United States attempted to clamp down on the popularity of the wizard story, leading to a legal battle on the matter of censorship in children’s stories.
“Extreme words were being used, that I was harming children, that these books were poison for children’s minds,” Rowling recalls in the episode, titled “Burn the Witch”.
According to Phelps-Roper, Harry Potter’s legal win created a “precedent” that now protects LGBT+ literature.
Read the full story below:
JK Rowling podcast host argues Harry Potter saved LGBT+ books from being banned
JK Rowling describes ‘wrecking ball’ impact of mother’s death on her life
13:05 , Nicole Vassell
JK Rowling has spoken out about her feelings of grief when her mother died in 1990, when she was 24.
The author is currently discussing her life, career and controversies on the new podcast, The Witch Trials of JK Rowling.
At one point, she describes how the “early Nineties” were a difficult time in her personal life, as she was dealing with losing her mother to complications linked to multiple sclerosis.
“She’d been ill for a very long time, but none of us realised that death was imminent,” she told host Megan Phelps-Roper. “That kind of took a wrecking ball to my life, really. To me, this decade now is infused with loss.”
Read the full story below:
JK Rowling says her mother’s death ‘took a wrecking ball to my life’
JK Rowling describes ‘violence’ in first marriage
12:40 , Thomas Kingsley
JK Rowling has spoken in more detail about her experience of domestic abuse in the first episode of a new podcast, The Witch Trials of JK Rowling.
The podcast, hosted by Free Press and presented by Meghan Phelps-Roper, explores the author’s life and the controversy surrounding her statements about transgender rights in recent years.
Rowling, 57, first revealed that she survived domestic abuse and sexual assault in 2020, when she wrote a personal essay defending her comments about transgender people.
Speaking to Phelps-Roper in the first episode of the podcast, which dropped today (Tuesday 21 February), Rowling claimed that her marriage to ex-husband Jorge Arantes became “very violent and very controlling”.
Read the full story below:
JK Rowling describes ‘violence’ in first marriage
‘Whatever, I’ll be dead’ - JK Rowling brushes off concerns over legacy in light of trans views
11:43 , Thomas Kingsley
JK Rowling shrugged off concerns that she may have destroyed her legacy over her views on transgender rights.
Asked by Megan Phelps-Roper if she thought about her legacy and how things she said impacted how she’d be viewed in years to come, the author said: “Whatever. I’ll be dead.”
She added: “I think you could not have misunderstood me more profoundly. I do not walk around my house thinking about my legacy, what a pompous way to live your life thinking about what my legacy will be. Whatever! I’ll be dead, I care about now, the living.”
Watch: JK Rowling rails against ‘black-and-white thinking’ in new podcast
11:12 , Thomas Kingsley
JK Rowling warns against ‘black-and-white thinking’ in new podcast: ‘Think again, look more deeply’
10:34 , Thomas Kingsley
JK Rowling has criticised “black-and-white thinking” in her new podcast, The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, which is partly intended to address the backlash over her comments about the transgender community.
The Harry Potter author has faced repeated criticism in recent years over her various statements about gender ideology, which some have characterised as “transphobic”.
While not explicitly calling out the backlash she has received over her comments about trans people, Rowling said the question went to “the very heart of much of my worldview”.
“There’s a huge appeal – and I try to show this in the Potter books – to black-and-white thinking,” the author said. “It’s the easiest place to be and in many ways, it’s the safest place to be.
“If you take an all-or-nothing position on anything, you will definitely find comrades, you will easily find a community... What I feel very strongly myself [is]: we should mistrust ourselves most when we are certain. And we should question ourselves most when we receive a rush of adrenaline by doing or saying something.”
Read the full story below:
JK Rowling warns against ‘black-and-white thinking’ in new podcast
JK Rowling describes sneaking Harry Potter manuscript out of home while preparing to leave husband
10:12 , Thomas Kingsley
JK Rowling has described sneaking the manuscript for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone out of her house “a few pages” at a time while she prepared to leave her husband.
The author opened up about her marriage to Portugese journalist Jorge Arantes in the first episode of The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, a new Spotify podcast documentary series about her life and career.
Rowling, who has previously spoken about her experiences of domestic abuse, said that she “left him twice before I left for good”, and was planning to leave Arrantes for the last time while pregnant with her daughter.
Read the full story below:
JK Rowling says she snuck Harry Potter manuscript out of home ‘a few pages’ at a time
What we know about host Megan Phelps-Roper
09:30 , Roisin O’Connor
Megan Phelps-Roper is 37 and she lives in rural South Dakota. She is best known for escaping what Louis Theroux called “the most hated family in America” in his 2007 documentary on the extremist Westboro Baptist Church, led by Phelps-Roper’s grandfather Fred Phelps.
The hate group, founded in Topeka, Kansas, picketed the funerals of soldiers and Aids victims. It is known for its hate speech against atheists, Jews, Muslims, transgender people, and numerous Christian denominations. Their theology and practises have been rejected almost universally by Christian churches.
Phelps-Roper distanced herself from the group in 2012, largely thanks to discovering other points of view on Twitter, which she had joined three years earlier to spread the church’s message.
She has written a book about her experience, Unfollow, and she is now a speaker and activist.
For the podcast, Phelps-Roper travelled to Rowling’s Edinburgh castle and, for six days in May and August, conducted intimate interviews with the author.
JK Rowling opens up about traumatic miscarriage before having her daughter: ‘Another massive loss’
09:15 , Thomas Kingsley
In her appearance on the seven-part podcast The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, hosted by political activist Megan Phelps-Roper, Rowling said she became pregnant “accidentally” a year after moving in with her then-boyfriend.
“While pregnant, he proposed to me. And then I lost the baby,” she recalled. “ I miscarried, which was hugely traumatic. It was traumatic physically and traumatic emotionally, and that was another massive loss. I was certainly not in a balanced state of mind.”
Rowling continued: “When I lost the baby, I do remember having a moment, in my grief for the baby, I do remember having a moment where I thought, ‘So we’re not going to get married. That’s clear, right?’ I’m almost speaking to myself, like, ‘That’s clear Jo, we’re not going to marry this guy’.
“But he was putting huge pressure on me to get married. So I went through with it. And then, became pregnant almost immediately after we were married, which is a joyful thing because I cannot imagine a world without my Jessica. So, in with all the bad, there was an amazing, wonderful thing [that] came out with it and that was my daughter.
Read the full story here:
JK Rowling says her mother’s death ‘took a wrecking ball to my life’
08:50 , Thomas Kingsley
JK Rowling has opened up about losing her mother in her mid-twenties in a new podcast, The Witch Trials of JK Rowling.
The author of the famous Harry Potter books said the “early Nineties” were a bad period of time for her and “infused with loss” due to her mother dying of illness and a miscarriage over a year later.
Rowling, 57, told podcast host Megan Phelps-Roper: “I was in a real period of flux at the time, my mother was very ill, I had moved from London to Manchester. And then my mother died, actually on the night of 30 December 1990. But I didn’t realise she died until the early hours of New Year’s Eve.
“She was 45. She’d been ill for a very long time, but none of us realised that death was imminent. That kind of took a wrecking ball to my life, really. To me, this decade now is infused with loss.”
Read the full story below:
JK Rowling says her mother’s death ‘took a wrecking ball to my life’
Watch: ‘I never set out to upset anyone’: JK Rowling speaks out over trans controversy in podcast teaser
08:40 , Thomas Kingsley
JK Rowling reflects on traumatic miscarriage
08:13 , Thomas Kingsley
JK Rowling has reflected on going through a traumatic miscarriage in her twenties, before she gave birth to her daughter Jessica.
Speaking on a new podcast, the Harry Potter author recalled how “hugely traumatic” the miscarriage was, both “physically” and “emotionally”.
The loss came just a year after Rowling lost her mother to illness. She said the Nineties were a decade “infused with loss” for her.
In her appearance on the seven-part podcast The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, hosted by political activist Megan Phelps-Roper, Rowling said she became pregnant “accidentally” a year after moving in with her then-boyfriend.
“While pregnant, he proposed to me. And then I lost the baby,” she recalled. “ I miscarried, which was hugely traumatic. It was traumatic physically and traumatic emotionally, and that was another massive loss. I was certainly not in a balanced state of mind.”
JK Rowling podcast host claims Harry Potter has helped save LGBT+ books
07:43 , Thomas Kingsley
The second episode of JK Rowling’s new podcast, The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, focuses on the 1997 release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and the ensuing Christian backlash over its influence on children.
In the episode titled “Burn the Witch”, host Megan Phelps-Roper posits that the book’s legal wins against censorship-seeking evangelists created “precedent”, which now protects LGBT+ literature.
“In the late 1990s and into the early 2000s, in what has become a largely forgotten chapter in the Harry Potter legacy, a passionate and motivated group of American Christians did everything they could to stop the popularity and ubiquity of Harry Potter,” Phelps-Roper, an activist best known for escaping the infamous Westboro Baptist Church led by her grandfather Fred Phelps, says in the episode.
Read the full story below:
JK Rowling podcast host argues Harry Potter saved LGBT+ books from being banned
How The New York Times was rocked by JK Rowling trans row
07:00 , Ellie Harrison
An editorial in The New York Times that defended the views of the author has reignited a war of words between the newspaper and its staff over the coverage of transgender issues.
Staff and contributors penned a letter this week criticising the publication’s coverage.
The letter, addressed to The Times’ associate managing editor for standards, said the signatories had “serious concerns” about what they described as “editorial bias” in its coverage.
Read the full story here:
How The New York Times was rocked by JK Rowling trans row
06:00 , Roisin O'Connor
Listen to the podcast trailer here
The Witch Trials of JK Rowling premieres on Tuesday, 21 February, 2023. The first two episodes land on that day, with the rest airing weekly.
Hear the Harry Potter author speaking in a trailer for the podcast below...
05:00 , Roisin O'Connor
JK Rowling is the subject of a new podcast that will interview the Harry Potter author about her views on the transgender community.
In the forthcoming seven-episode podcast titled The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, she sits down with US writer Megan Phelps-Roper at her home in Edinburgh.
Podcast host Free Press describes The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, out on 21 February, as an “audio documentary that examines some of the most contentious conflicts of our time through the life and career of the world’s most successful author”.
“I never set out to upset anyone. However, I was not uncomfortable with getting off my pedestal,” Rowling says in the trailer.
Here is a timeline of the controversial comments the author has made about trans rights.
A timeline of JK Rowling’s comments about women and transgender rights
04:00 , Roisin O'Connor
What Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe has said about Rowling’s views on transgender issues
Harry Potter film star Daniel Radcliffe wrote an essay for The Trevor Project in 2020, in support of trans people.
“Transgender women are women,” he wrote. “Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either [Rowling] or I.
“It’s clear that we need to do more to support transgender and nonbinary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm.”
03:00 , Roisin O'Connor
JK Rowling said she agreed to the interview as she hoped it would be ‘constructive’
Posting on Twitter last week, Rowling wrote: “Last year, I received a long, thoughtful letter from @Meganphelps, inviting me to take part in a personal, in-depth discussion with her about the issues that have interested me in recent years.
“Megan proposed bringing in other voices, and looking at the wider picture, bringing her own unique viewpoint as a former fundamentalist who’s dedicated her life over the past decade to difficult conversations.
“I agreed to sit down with Megan because, having read her wonderful book, Unfollow, I thought the two of us could have a real, interesting, two-sided conversation that might prove constructive.”
Mark Hamill recently defended himself for liking a post by JK Rowling
01:00 , Ellie Harrison
The Star Wars actor defended himself after he became the centre of fan ire for liking a tweet from JK Rowling that some users deemed “transphobic”.
Read the full story below...
Mark Hamill explains why he ‘liked’ controversial JK Rowling post
Monday 20 February 2023 23:00 , Roisin O'Connor
An editorial in The New York Times that defended the views of the author has reignited a war of words between the newspaper and its staff over the coverage of transgender issues.
Staff and contributors penned a letter this week criticising the publication’s coverage.
The letter, addressed to The Times’ associate managing editor for standards, said the signatories had “serious concerns” about what they described as “editorial bias” in its coverage.
Read the full story here:
How The New York Times was rocked by JK Rowling trans row
ContraPoints distances herself from podcast
Monday 20 February 2023 22:00 , Ellie Harrison
Trans YouTuber Natalie Wynn, who is known as ContraPoints, has apologised for agreeing to be interviewed for the podcast. “I agreed,” she wrote on Twitter. “This was a serious lapse in judgement.”
Monday 20 February 2023 21:00 , Roisin O'Connor
Here is a timeline of the controversial comments the author has made about trans rights:
A timeline of JK Rowling’s comments about women and transgender rights
Megan Phelps-Roper says new podcast was ‘never intended to vindicate’ author
Monday 20 February 2023 20:00 , Ellie Harrison
Phelps-Roper has given an interview about the new podcast, in which she said: “This was never a defence of JK Rowling. It was never intended to vindicate her.
“It’s an attempt to understand what’s happening, and to do that you need the perspectives of so many other people – on all sides – because the issues are so complex.”
Read the full story below...
Megan Phelps-Roper says new podcast was ‘never intended to vindicate’ JK Rowling
What Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe has said about Rowling’s views on transgender issues
Monday 20 February 2023 19:00 , Ellie Harrison
Harry Potter film star Daniel Radcliffe wrote an essay for The Trevor Project in 2020, in support of trans people.
“Transgender women are women,” he wrote. “Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either [Rowling] or I.
“It’s clear that we need to do more to support transgender and nonbinary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm.”
What we know about the podcast’s host
Monday 20 February 2023 18:00 , Ellie Harrison
Phelps-Roper is best known for escaping the “most hated family in America”. She grew up on Rowling’s books, but was warned by her family that the author would go to hell for supporting gay rights.
Read more below...
Who is Megan Phelps-Roper? Westboro Baptist Church escapee to interview JK Rowling
Listen to the podcast trailer here
Monday 20 February 2023 17:00 , Ellie Harrison
The Witch Trials of JK Rowling premieres on Tuesday, 21 February, 2023. The first two episodes land on that day, with the rest airing weekly.
Hear the Harry Potter author speaking in a trailer for the podcast below...
Mark Hamill recently defended himself for liking a post by JK Rowling
Monday 20 February 2023 16:15 , Ellie Harrison
The Star Wars actor defended himself after he became the centre of fan ire for liking a tweet from JK Rowling that some users deemed “transphobic”.
Read the full story below...
Mark Hamill explains why he ‘liked’ controversial JK Rowling post
ContraPoints distances herself from podcast
Monday 20 February 2023 15:39 , Ellie Harrison
Trans YouTuber Natalie Wynn, who is known as ContraPoints, has apologised for agreeing to be interviewed for the podcast. “I agreed,” she wrote on Twitter. “This was a serious lapse in judgement.”
How The New York Times was rocked by JK Rowling trans row
Monday 20 February 2023 15:07 , Ellie Harrison
An editorial in The New York Times that defended the views of the author has reignited a war of words between the newspaper and its staff over the coverage of transgender issues.
Staff and contributors penned a letter this week criticising the publication’s coverage.
The letter, addressed to The Times’ associate managing editor for standards, said the signatories had “serious concerns” about what they described as “editorial bias” in its coverage.
Read the full story here:
How The New York Times was rocked by JK Rowling trans row
JK Rowling said she agreed to the interview as she hoped it would be ‘constructive'
Monday 20 February 2023 14:31 , Ellie Harrison
Posting on Twitter last week, Rowling wrote: “Last year, I received a long, thoughtful letter from @Meganphelps, inviting me to take part in a personal, in-depth discussion with her about the issues that have interested me in recent years.
“Megan proposed bringing in other voices, and looking at the wider picture, bringing her own unique viewpoint as a former fundamentalist who’s dedicated her life over the past decade to difficult conversations.
“I agreed to sit down with Megan because, having read her wonderful book, Unfollow, I thought the two of us could have a real, interesting, two-sided conversation that might prove constructive.”
Everything we know about the podcast
Monday 20 February 2023 13:34 , Ellie Harrison
From how to stream it to what to expect from its host and its subject, find the full story below:
When is JK Rowling’s podcast launching?
JK Rowling and the NYT controversy
Monday 20 February 2023 12:55 , Ellie Harrison
The New York Times published an article this month titled “In defence of JK Rowling”, defending the Harry Potter author’s reputation against accusations of transphobia.
Read Julia Bell’s thoughts on the topic here...
Opinion: JK Rowling and the New York Times furore: How did we get here?
What we know about host Megan Phelps-Roper
Monday 20 February 2023 11:40 , Ellie Harrison
Megan Phelps-Roper is 37 and she lives in rural South Dakota. She is best known for escaping what Louis Theroux called “the most hated family in America” in his 2007 documentary on the extremist Westboro Baptist Church, led by Phelps-Roper’s grandfather Fred Phelps.
The hate group, founded in Topeka, Kansas, picketed the funerals of soldiers and Aids victims. It is known for its hate speech against atheists, Jews, Muslims, transgender people, and numerous Christian denominations. Their theology and practises have been rejected almost universally by Christian churches.
Phelps-Roper distanced herself from the group in 2012, largely thanks to discovering other points of view on Twitter, which she had joined three years earlier to spread the church’s message.
She has written a book about her experience, Unfollow, and she is now a speaker and activist.
For the podcast, Phelps-Roper travelled to Rowling’s Edinburgh castle and, for six days in May and August, conducted intimate interviews with the author.
The podcast is out on 21 February.
Listen to the podcast trailer here
Monday 20 February 2023 11:07 , Ellie Harrison
The Witch Trials of JK Rowling premieres on Tuesday, 21 February, 2023. The first two episodes land on that day, with the rest airing weekly.
Hear the Harry Potter author speaking in a trailer for the podcast below...
What Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe has said about Rowling’s views on transgender issues
Monday 20 February 2023 10:20 , Ellie Harrison
Harry Potter film star Daniel Radcliffe wrote an essay for The Trevor Project in 2020, in support of trans people.
“Transgender women are women,” he wrote. “Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either [Rowling] or I.
“It’s clear that we need to do more to support transgender and nonbinary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm.”
Megan Phelps-Roper says new podcast was ‘never intended to vindicate’ author
Monday 20 February 2023 09:45 , Ellie Harrison
Phelps-Roper has given an interview about the new podcast, in which she said: “This was never a defence of JK Rowling. It was never intended to vindicate her.
“It’s an attempt to understand what’s happening, and to do that you need the perspectives of so many other people – on all sides – because the issues are so complex.”
Read the full story below...
Megan Phelps-Roper says new podcast was ‘never intended to vindicate’ JK Rowling
JK Rowling said she agreed to the interview as she hoped it would be ‘constructive'
Monday 20 February 2023 09:15 , Ellie Harrison
Posting on Twitter last week, Rowling wrote: “Last year, I received a long, thoughtful letter from @Meganphelps, inviting me to take part in a personal, in-depth discussion with her about the issues that have interested me in recent years.
“Megan proposed bringing in other voices, and looking at the wider picture, bringing her own unique viewpoint as a former fundamentalist who’s dedicated her life over the past decade to difficult conversations.
“I agreed to sit down with Megan because, having read her wonderful book, Unfollow, I thought the two of us could have a real, interesting, two-sided conversation that might prove constructive.”
What we know about host Megan Phelps-Roper
Monday 20 February 2023 08:45 , Ellie Harrison
Megan Phelps-Roper is 37 and she lives in rural South Dakota. She is best known for escaping what Louis Theroux called “the most hated family in America” in his 2007 documentary on the extremist Westboro Baptist Church, led by Phelps-Roper’s grandfather Fred Phelps.
The hate group, founded in Topeka, Kansas, picketed the funerals of soldiers and Aids victims. It is known for its hate speech against atheists, Jews, Muslims, transgender people, and numerous Christian denominations. Their theology and practises have been rejected almost universally by Christian churches.
Phelps-Roper distanced herself from the group in 2012, largely thanks to discovering other points of view on Twitter, which she had joined three years earlier to spread the church’s message.
She has written a book about her experience, Unfollow, and she is now a speaker and activist.
For the podcast, Phelps-Roper travelled to Rowling’s Edinburgh castle and, for six days in May and August, conducted intimate interviews with the author.
The podcast is out on 21 February.
Listen to the podcast trailer here
Monday 20 February 2023 08:11 , Ellie Harrison
The Witch Trials of JK Rowling premieres Tuesday, 21 February, 2023.
Hear the Harry Potter author speaking in a trailer for the podcast below...
JK Rowling to discuss trans views in new podcast
Monday 20 February 2023 07:49 , Ellie Harrison
JK Rowling is addressing the controversy surrounding her stance on transgender rights head-on in a forthcoming podcast entitled The Witch Trials of JK Rowling.
The Harry Potter author has faced a sustained backlash in recent years for statements she has made about gender ideology that critics and prominent voices in the LGBT+ community have described as “transphobic”.
“I never set out to upset anyone. However, I was not uncomfortable with getting off my pedestal,” Rowling says in the trailer for the podcast, which is hosted by Free Press.
Free Press is the independent media company founded by former New York Times opinions editor Bari Weiss, who is known for writing provocative columns about “woke culture” and gender issues.
Full story:
JK Rowling says statements about trans people have been ‘profoundly’ misunderstood
