Dumbledore, the Great & (Reluctantly and Ignorantly) Powerful

Critical Magic Theory: An Analytical Harry Potter Podcast

In this episode of Critical Magic Theory, Professor Julian Wamble revisits Albus Dumbledore through a very different lens: not as the wise, whimsical Headmaster we grew up with, but as a leader whose incomplete understanding of power shaped an entire generation of Hogwarts students. Drawing on your survey responses about whether Dumbledore is a hero, a good leader of the Order of the Phoenix, or a “good half-blood,” Julian explores the moment when Tom Riddle returns to Hogwarts — a scene that reveals how Voldemort sees Dumbledore more clearly than Dumbledore sees himself.
We examine why Dumbledore claims he “cannot be trusted with power,” while failing to recognize the influence he wields as Headmaster; why Hogwarts becomes the site where children, not adults, carry the heaviest burdens of the war; and how Dumbledore’s belief that teaching is a “safe” or “lesser” form of authority leads to dangerous decisions with lasting consequences. This episode challenges the myth of the powerless educator and asks: What happens when a leader refuses to believe the hype everyone else believes about him?