Potterversity Episode 74: Prisoners of Azkaban

Sirius Black wasn't the only prisoner of Azkaban—or the only victim of a deeply flawed penal system.

Our guest for this episode is Marjolaine Martin, host of our French counterpart podcast at La Gazette du Sorcier, ASPIC, as well as their new Multiplettes podcast. She has also worked for the French Ministry of Justice at the Research Office of the Directorate of Prison Administration, which inspired her presentation at last year's Harry Potter Academic Conference, “Prisons in the Wizarding World: Symptoms of Failing Democracy.”

We discuss Azkaban's historical and literary predecessors—and why they tend to be fortresses that are repurposed as prisons. Azkaban's most distinctive feature is probably its guards. What does the Ministry's use of Dementors in this role tell us about this society views criminality and justice?

What is the relationship between a prison system and the democracy in which it exists? How does capitalism connect to the Muggle and wizarding reluctance to engage in prison reform? We consider the larger consequences of prison systems, what we can learn from Azkaban, and how we can fix some of the problems.