The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling

[TLDR version: Good podcast series. Skip episodes 1 to 3 unless you are a Harry Potter fan. Skip episode 4 unless you are interested in the history of trans activism. Episodes 5 and 6 provide the most substantial content and the second half of episode 7 is decent.]

 
Despite some criticisms, The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling podcast offers an informative and engaging discussion of one of the most controversial topics of our time: the intersection of trans and women's rights, with a focus on J.K. Rowling's views as a prominent figure in the TERF movement.

It is worth noting that the series takes place within a generally progressive, liberal context, with little attention given to more conservative views on the right of the political spectrum.

Episode 1 explores Rowling's life before Harry Potter, including experiences of domestic abuse and destitution, providing background for her views. It also covers the early stages of development of the Harry Potter story.

Episode 2 covers Rowling's rise to fame with the Harry Potter series and the first wave of backlash from the Christian right in the 90s, including accusations of witchcraft and corrupting youth, death threats, and book burnings.

Episode 3 follows the development of the Harry Potter fandom and begins to discuss sexual identity politics, tracing the origins of current debates to the tumblr-4chan Wars of the 2010s. It also explores some abusive aspects of online communities.

Episode 4 delves into the TERF wars, exploring the development of the trans rights movement and the clashes between some trans rights and women's rights activists over whether trans rights infringe on women's rights in certain situations.

Episode 5 covers the Twitter battles and J.K. Rowling's entry into the debate, coming out in support of Maya Forstater, who lost her job for tweeting that trans women cannot change their biological sex. The episode includes an interview with Kathleen Stock, a philosophy professor who lost her job after openly discussing her trans-critical views.

Episode 6 features two interviews with trans people, one with Natalie Wynn, aka ContraPoints (Incidentally, her YouTube episode challenging Rowling’s views is very good and well worth watching), and one with Noah, a teenage trans boy. They discuss the medical transition process in detail, including information, options, alternatives, and safeguards, as well as cases of transition regret and scientific studies.

Episode 7 explores two themes: the history of the Salem witch trials and the main criticisms against Rowling's positions from the trans community. The episode asks, "What if you're wrong?" and "What would it take to change your mind?" Rowling acknowledges the possibility of being wrong and says that more data could change her mind.

The Gulag Archipelago

I’d been putting off reading this book for a long time and found that once I started reading it, I could only progress in small increments. It pulls no punches in describing the living hell that was the Soviet Gulag system and I could only take so much before having to switch to another book to take my mind off it for a while. It is absolutely gut-wrenching. It is no exaggeration to say that the terrible knowledge Solzhenitsyn bequeaths us in The Gular Archipelago opened the eyes of the world to Stalinist horrors and played a key role in bringing down the Soviet system. 

Solzhenitsyn was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1970 but was unable to attend the ceremony. After surviving a KGB assassination attempt in 1971, he was arrested in 1974, charged with treason, stripped of his citizenship, and expelled from the Soviet Union. His charge of treason was lifted in 1991 and he returned to Russia in 1994.

(The Audible audiobook version is very good and is read by his son, Ignat Solzhenitsyn.)