Kitchen Table Cult Pod Kitchen Table Cult Pod

Kieryn and Eve explain the updated policy agenda of the Christian right. We talk about the various tools Christian nationalists plan on using to usurp democracy regardless of who wins the presidential election this year. We dive into Project 2025, the little known and even less talked about Convention of States, and the bureaucratic mechanism at the crux of it all.

Notes:
Read Kieryn's reporting for prism -
https://prismreports.org/2024/05/20/christian-nationalist-playbook-usurp-democracy/

This episode was originally made as a test episode for a major media company, our producer was Mary Steffenhagen!

Errin Haines of The 19th* News joins Kieryn and Eve to talk about the future of journalism, being a progressive Christian while covering the news, and the liberatory nature of Black Christianity in the US.


Notes:

https://19thnews.org/
https://19thnews.org/topics/podcast/
https://x.com/errinhaines
https://www.instagram.com/emarvelous

Kieryn and Eve talk with Carly Butler about her memoir, Apocalypse Child, what identity abuse looks like for homeschooled kids, and how it feels to reparent yourself while parenting children.

Pre-order the book: https://bookshop.org/p/books/apocalypse-child-carly-butler/20702732?ean=9781773861326

Follow Carly: @carlymbutton everywhere

Kieryn and Eve chat with Michelle Dowd about her fascinating memoir, Forager. What it was like growing up in the family of a cult leader and how wild it is to get out into the real world after growing up in the woods.

Check out Michelle's work and get the book!
https://bookshop.org/p/books/forager-field-notes-on-survival-a-memoir-michelle-dowd/18759728
https://www.michelledowd.org/
https://www.instagram.com/michelledowdz/
https://mdowd.substack.com/
https://mdowd.substack.com/subscribe?utm_campaign=email-subscribe&next=https%3A%2F%2Fmdowd.substack.com%2Fp%2Fcontinue-foraging-for-what-you-need

Kieryn & Eve are joined by the organizers of Read Freely Alabama to discuss the attempt to censor LGBTQ materials in the Augauta-Prattville library and their efforts to protect the library as a community resource for everyone.

What do censorship, homeschooling, intellectual freedom, and libraries have in common? We get into it today with Eddie Kristan about the fight libraries are seeing with parental-rights extremist groups trying to censor books and the impact that has on children's rights to access information.

Show Notes:

Institutions on the job:

Freedom to Read Foundation (IF arm of the ALA): https://www.ftrf.org/

Emily Knox - Freedom to Read Foundation - knox@illinois.edu

PEN American has been on the job: https://pen.org/report/book-bans-pressure-to-censor/

DPLA - the banned book club: https://www.dplabannedbookclub.com/

Queer Liberation Library https://www.queerliberationlibrary.org/

Brooklyn Public Library's Books Unbanned: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/books-unbanned

Chicago Public Library Book Sanctuaries: https://www.chipublib.org/news/book-sanctuaries-committed-to-protecting-banned-and-challenge-books/

CPL Book Sanctuary Project: https://www.booksanctuary.org/

Past ALA cases:

United States, et al. v. American Library Association, Inc. et al., 539 U.S. 194, 123 S.Ct. 2297, 156 L.Ed.2d 221 (2003)
Tattered Cover, Inc. v. City of Thornton, 44 P.3d 1044 (Colo. Sup. Ct., 2002)
Sund v. City of Wichita Falls, Texas, 121 F. Supp. 2d 530 (N.D. Texas, 2000) the “300 signatories” case.
Case v. Unified School District No. 233, 908 F. Supp. 864 (D. Kan. 1995) The “Annie on my mind” case.

Active cases to follow:

Pen America v. Escanaba School District 23-cv-10385 Filed May 17, 2023
Fayetteville Public Library v Crawford County et al. -23-CV-05086
Book People Inc et al. v. Wong 23-cv-00858 - Filed July 25, 2023
Leila Green Little, et al. v. Llano County, Llano County Texas Library

Most concerning bills:

Idaho HB 666
Indiana SB 17
Iowa HB 2176
Oklahoma SB 1142
South Dakota House Bill 1337:
Tennessee House Bill 1944
Tennessee House Bill 800


Follow:

emilyknox.net
@fobettarh
EddieKristan
Eddie the Giant Librarian