It’s October and nearly Halloween, and this year, I’m thinking a lot about witches. People tend to think of witches as evil but I love stories that reclaim witches and allow them to be good, strong and powerful. Why must a woman who practices magic be considered evil? Is the idea of the evil witch in the woods just another tool for controlling women, keeping them in line and fitting into the patriarchy’s mold? Let’s save the witches from patriarchal stereotypes because bitches love witches.

In this episode, I discuss stories I’ve enjoyed that feature witches who break out of the stereotype of witches as evil crones. The classic wicked witch is the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz, but Gregory Maguire gives us a more complicated “heroine” in his book Wicked, and then the musical Wicked fully redeems Elphaba.

Other witchy books I’ve recently enjoyed and highly recommend:

• VenCo by Cherie Dimaline
• The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
• Her Majesty’s Royal Coven, by Juno Dawnson
• The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow