12.5: ‘The Incandescent’ by Emily Tesh

It’s time for one of our most anticipated books of the season: Emily Tesh’s ‘The Incandescent’. A magic school? Check. Demons? Check. An entirely different perspective? Check.

Dr Walden is the Director of Magic at Chetwood School and one of the most powerful magicians in England. Her days consist of meetings, teaching A-Level Invocation to four talented, chaotic sixth formers, more meetings and securing the school's boundaries from demonic incursions.

Walden is good at her job - no, Walden is great at her job. But demons are masters of manipulation. It's her responsibility to keep her school with its six hundred students and centuries-old legacy safe. But it's possible the entity Walden most needs to keep her school safe from . . . is herself.

Will it live up to our expectations and establish itself among the dark academia canon?

In this episode we discuss:

• What it looks like when dark academia comes from the teacher rather than the student

• An unexpected exploration of what our schools looked like compared to Chetwood

• A discussion around how the system is failing schools, students, and teachers

You can listen to it here:

Podcast RSS

TEXTS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

• ‘The Incandescent’ by Emily Tesh

• ‘Madam’ by Phoebe Wynne

• ‘A Deadly Education’ by Naomi Novik

• ‘Blood Over Bright Haven’ by ML Wang

• ‘The Library at Hellebore’ by Cassandra Khaw

OTHER MEDIA MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

• ‘What Do You Do With a BA in English/It Sucks to Be Me’ from Avenue Q (Spotify, YouTube)

• ‘Pitch Perfect’ (2012)

• ‘Welcome to Derry’ (TV series, 2025-)

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