Banned Camp: Banned Books, Comedy, and Free Speech vs. Censorship

Jennifer Davis and Dan Schulz turn books banned in schools into a comedy book review podcast, reading challenged literature cover-to-cover to find out exactly what got each book banned.

Love banned books? Hate censorship? Same. Banned Camp is a comedy podcast where we read banned books out loud, cover-to-cover, and try to figure out why they were banned in the first place. If you've never read them, now's your chance to hear them for the first time with us. If you have, well, you already know what's coming and this will be your chance to laugh at us as we bumble our way through and get horrified over and over again. 11 seasons in, we've gotten pretty good at figuring out what these books are actually about and why the people pushing book banning and censorship don't want you to read them. This season we're reading The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. Every episode we read the next chapter out loud, talk about what we found, and try to figure out why this book scares the book banners so much. It probably has something to do with the political shit show we're all currently living through. You know what's really insane right now? There are people in this country who own a lot of red hats but not a lot of library cards, and somehow those people ended up in charge of deciding what your kids can read. Moms for Liberty, pudding lover Ron DeSantis, and basically every politician who thinks they know better than you have been pushing book banning and censorship for years. We're pretty sure none of them have actually read the books, because if they did they'd have a hard time explaining why Captain Underpants and Charlotte's Web are a threat to your kids' freedom. So we read them ourselves to find out what's really in them. We also have a fact-checking robot so we don't accidentally spread misinformation. Or what some people call "alternative facts." Our listeners are called The Scary Book People. You'll fit right in. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday. You can start anywhere, Robot catches you up fast. Past seasons: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz, Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Kindred by Octavia E. Butler, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.

  1. 2d ago

    The Handmaid’s Tale Chapter 27: Two Women, One Whispered ”Neither Do I” | Banned Books Comedy

    The Handmaid and Ofglen walk the summer streets past a franchise called Soul Scrolls, where machines print prayers to order so no human has to bother saying them. What starts as small talk about a prayer vending machine turns into the most dangerous conversation either woman has had in years, and Gilead reminds everyone exactly what's at stake before the chapter's out. This episode includes AI-voiced content, including our trusty fact-checking robot, Robot. Banned Camp is a comedy podcast where we read banned books chapter by chapter — we don't read ahead, so you're discovering the story with us. Things To Listen For: Robot fact-checks where Gilead is actually located, and reveals Margaret Atwood set her secret police headquarters at a real university on purpose Dan solves a rebus puzzle and the answer is not safe for a Bible study The pitch for a Soul Scrolls Patreon tier where Robot reads prayers in his "metallic voice" for $9.99 a month Ofglen and Offred meet eyes in a store window reflection and risk everything on two words: "Neither do I" The chapter's gut-punch ending, a man grabbed off the sidewalk in broad daylight while the street just keeps moving Why was The Handmaid's Tale banned? This chapter turns two women quietly finding out they can trust each other into an act of treason, and a religion you can outsource to a vending machine into something believable rather than absurd. That's the part that unsettles people: solidarity and commodified faith both being treated as dangerous. If this is your first episode, you're fine starting here. Our fact-checking Robot catches you up fast, then we read the next chapter (spoilers). Banworthy to Bingeworthy Beowulf's segment name-checks his own show — give it a listen: Good News for Lefties — Dave Roth's show, broadcasting the actual good news happening in America while Dan and Jennifer look for some themselves and come up empty. Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts Rate, review, and follow us on Apple Podcasts to help other scary book people find us! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/banned-camp-banned-books-comedy-and-free-speech-vs/id1676866857 Disclaimer Banned Camp features readings and discussions of banned books for the purpose of criticism, commentary, education, and entertainment, in accordance with fair use guidelines. The material used from the book The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is shared under these principles, with the intent of provoking thought and discussion about literature, censorship, and societal issues. The original work remains fully owned by its copyright holders, and we strongly encourage listeners to purchase a copy here to experience the book in its entirety. https://bookshop.org/a/20953/9780385490818 This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected to Margaret Atwood, her estate, or the publishers of The Handmaid's Tale. Any monetization of the podcast is separate from the copyrighted material discussed. Frequently Asked Questions Why was The Handmaid's Tale banned? The Handmaid's Tale has been challenged or banned in American schools and libraries every single year since its publication in 1985. It was the most challenged book in the United States in 2023. It has been targeted for profanity, sexually explicit content, and content deemed "offensive to Christians." But the deeper reason is that Margaret Atwood showed what happens when a government uses religion, tradition, and "protecting families" as justification for stripping women of their rights, their names, and their autonomy. That's the part that actually scares book banners, because it looks a lot like Tuesday. Is there a podcast that reads The Handmaid's Tale chapter by chapter? That's us. Banned Camp reads a different banned book every season, one chapter at a time — neither host has read ahead, so you're discovering the story together in real time. Season 11 covers The Handmaid's Tale, and every episode includes the chapter reading, discussion, a fact-checking Robot, and a segment on why books get banned. Do I need to start Banned Camp from the beginning? No. Every episode opens with Robot's recap of the previous chapter, so you can jump in anywhere. Most listeners tell us they started mid-season and went back to the beginning after they were hooked. What is Soul Scrolls in The Handmaid's Tale? Soul Scrolls is a Gilead storefront chain where machines called Holy Rollers print prayers on demand for a fee, then recycle the paper the moment the prayer is read aloud to an empty room. Nobody inside ever hears it. Banned Camp digs into this chapter-27 detail on their Season 11 reading of The Handmaid's Tale, unpacking why outsourcing faith to a machine feels so plausible. What does Ofglen mean when she says "Neither do I" in The Handmaid's Tale? Ofglen answers Offred's admission that she doesn't believe God listens to Soul Scrolls' machine-printed prayers with "Neither do I," a two-word confession that amounts to treason in Gilead. It's the moment Offred learns she's not alone. Banned Camp breaks down this chapter-27 turning point in their Season 11 reading of The Handmaid's Tale. Topics Covered: The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood, Chapter 27, Offred, Ofglen, Luke, Moira, Robot, Beowulf, surveillance and informant culture, forbidden solidarity, commodified religion, banned books, banned books podcast, book banning, censorship, literary analysis, comedy podcast

    The Handmaid’s Tale Chapter 27: Two Women, One Whispered ”Neither Do I” | Banned Books Comedy

  2. 4d ago

    The Handmaid’s Tale Chapter 26: Why Didn’t Gilead Just Use IVF? | Banned Books Podcast

    Chapter 26 finds Offred and the Commander drifting into something neither Dan nor Jennifer expected, which kicks off a debate about why Gilead does any of this the hard way when an obvious shortcut has existed since the 1970s. This episode includes AI-voiced content, including our trusty fact-checking robot, Robot. Banned Camp is a comedy podcast where we read banned books chapter by chapter — we don't read ahead, so you're discovering the story with us. Things To Listen For: Dan and Jennifer's confused deep dive into why Gilead doesn't just use IVF, answered by a visibly exasperated Robot. A word starts as "filching" and ends somewhere much dirtier The secret Scrabble nights turn into the real power struggle A five-star listener review gets read on air, immediately followed — and probably not by accident — by a Trump soundbite that proves the review's own point. Why was The Handmaid's Tale banned? This chapter's clinical, uncomfortable look at the Ceremony, and the forbidden intimacy that quietly grows out of it against every rule of the system, is exactly the kind of content that gets this book challenged — not because it's gratuitous, but because it makes coerced reproduction and stripped autonomy impossible to look away from. If this is your first episode, you're fine starting here. Our fact-checking Robot catches you up fast, then we read the next chapter (spoilers). Banworthy to Bingeworthy Stick around after the chapter for more shows worth your feed: Good News for Lefties — Beowulf's weekly good-news segment. This week: a Knox County, Tennessee school district that got so much pushback over banning 123 books that it's creating a new committee — with actual teachers and students on it — to review book bans going forward. Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts Rate, review, and follow us on Apple Podcasts to help other scary book people find us! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/banned-camp-banned-books-comedy-and-free-speech-vs/id1676866857 Disclaimer Banned Camp features readings and discussions of banned books for the purpose of criticism, commentary, education, and entertainment, in accordance with fair use guidelines. The material used from the book The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is shared under these principles, with the intent of provoking thought and discussion about literature, censorship, and societal issues. The original work remains fully owned by its copyright holders, and we strongly encourage listeners to purchase a copy here to experience the book in its entirety. https://bookshop.org/a/20953/9780385490818 This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected to Margaret Atwood, her estate, or the publishers of The Handmaid's Tale. Any monetization of the podcast is separate from the copyrighted material discussed. Frequently Asked Questions Why was The Handmaid's Tale banned? The Handmaid's Tale has been challenged or banned in American schools and libraries every single year since its publication in 1985. It was the most challenged book in the United States in 2023. It has been targeted for profanity, sexually explicit content, and content deemed "offensive to Christians." But the deeper reason is that Margaret Atwood showed what happens when a government uses religion, tradition, and "protecting families" as justification for stripping women of their rights, their names, and their autonomy. That's the part that actually scares book banners, because it looks a lot like Tuesday. Is there a podcast that reads The Handmaid's Tale chapter by chapter? That's us. Banned Camp reads a different banned book every season, one chapter at a time — neither host has read ahead, so you're discovering the story together in real time. Season 11 covers The Handmaid's Tale, and every episode includes the chapter reading, discussion, a fact-checking Robot, and a segment on why books get banned. Do I need to start Banned Camp from the beginning? No. Every episode opens with Robot's recap of the previous chapter, so you can jump in anywhere. Most listeners tell us they started mid-season and went back to the beginning after they were hooked. Why doesn't Gilead use IVF instead of the Ceremony in The Handmaid's Tale? IVF existed years before Atwood wrote the book, but Gilead was never really about producing babies — it's about control. Lab fertilization means scientists, not the church and the state, control reproduction. Banned Camp's Chapter 26 episode digs into why, in Gilead's logic, you can't build a hierarchy out of a petri dish. What does "a boat with no cargo, a chalice with no wine" mean in The Handmaid's Tale? It's how Offred describes being reduced to pure function under Gilead — a body valued only for what it might carry. Chapter 26 marks a shift: the Commander starts treating her like a person instead of an object. Banned Camp's episode breaks down how a few secret games of Scrabble quietly change who actually holds the power in that room. Topics Covered: The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood, Chapter 26, Commander, Serena Joy, Aunt Lydia, Rita, Cora, reproductive control, power and complicity, forbidden intimacy, banned books, banned books podcast, book banning, censorship, literary analysis, comedy podcast

    The Handmaid’s Tale Chapter 26: Why Didn’t Gilead Just Use IVF? | Banned Books Podcast

  3. Aug 13

    The Handmaid’s Tale Ch. 25: For Him, She’s Only a Whim | Banned Books Comedy

    The Handmaid fakes her way through a dropped breakfast tray, spends an afternoon watching Serena Joy take her frustrations out on the tulips, and settles into her strange, quiet arrangement with the Commander — Scrabble, small gifts, and a forbidden magazine he keeps just for the two of them. This episode includes AI-voiced content, including our trusty fact-checking robot, Robot. Banned Camp is a comedy podcast where we read banned books chapter by chapter — we don't read ahead, so you're discovering the story with us. Things To Listen For: Dan and Jennifer diagnose the most efficient way to build a shiv out of a breakfast tray Serena Joy takes her rage out on the tulips, and the Handmaids have theories The Commander pulls a forbidden Vogue magazine out of his desk drawer like it's the ultimate gift Dan pitches the Commander for Undercover Boss The exact line the Commander says that Robot can't let go of: "We can always look it up" Why butter, of all things, becomes the funniest and saddest moment in the chapter Why was The Handmaid's Tale banned? This chapter's forbidden Vogue magazine and Scrabble sessions get right at what makes school boards nervous: a world where owning a dictionary or a fashion magazine is treated as more dangerous than the man who controls every other part of a woman's life. If this is your first episode, you're fine starting here. Our fact-checking Robot catches you up fast, then we read the next chapter (spoilers). Banworthy to Bingeworthy Robot's not the only one keeping tabs on the news. Check out: Good News for Lefties — Beowulf Rochlen's show covering the good stuff happening for progressives, since somebody has to. Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts Rate, review, and follow us on Apple Podcasts to help other scary book people find us! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/banned-camp-banned-books-comedy-and-free-speech-vs/id1676866857 Disclaimer Banned Camp features readings and discussions of banned books for the purpose of criticism, commentary, education, and entertainment, in accordance with fair use guidelines. The material used from the book The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is shared under these principles, with the intent of provoking thought and discussion about literature, censorship, and societal issues. The original work remains fully owned by its copyright holders, and we strongly encourage listeners to purchase a copy here to experience the book in its entirety. https://bookshop.org/a/20953/9780385490818 This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected to Margaret Atwood, her estate, or the publishers of The Handmaid's Tale. Any monetization of the podcast is separate from the copyrighted material discussed. Frequently Asked Questions Why was The Handmaid's Tale banned? The Handmaid's Tale has been challenged or banned in American schools and libraries every single year since its publication in 1985. It was the most challenged book in the United States in 2023. It has been targeted for profanity, sexually explicit content, and content deemed "offensive to Christians." But the deeper reason is that Margaret Atwood showed what happens when a government uses religion, tradition, and "protecting families" as justification for stripping women of their rights, their names, and their autonomy. That's the part that actually scares book banners, because it looks a lot like Tuesday. Is there a podcast that reads The Handmaid's Tale chapter by chapter? That's us. Banned Camp reads a different banned book every season, one chapter at a time — neither host has read ahead, so you're discovering the story together in real time. Season 11 covers The Handmaid's Tale, and every episode includes the chapter reading, discussion, a fact-checking Robot, and a segment on why books get banned. Do I need to start Banned Camp from the beginning? No. Every episode opens with Robot's recap of the previous chapter, so you can jump in anywhere. Most listeners tell us they started mid-season and went back to the beginning after they were hooked. Why does the Commander give Offred an old Vogue magazine in The Handmaid's Tale? In Chapter 25, the Commander hands Offred a forbidden pre-Gilead fashion magazine as a "gift," a small act of rule-breaking that says more about his loneliness and need for control than it does about generosity. Banned Camp digs into why this moment lands as one of the chapter's most uncomfortable, revealing the Commander's obliviousness to what he's actually asking of her. Topics Covered: The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood, Chapter 25, Offred, the Commander, Serena Joy, Cora, Rita, Nick, forbidden objects, control, isolation, censorship, banned books, banned books podcast, book banning, censorship, literary analysis, comedy podcast

    The Handmaid’s Tale Ch. 25: For Him, She’s Only a Whim | Banned Books Comedy

  4. Aug 11

    The Handmaid’s Tale Ch. 24: The Mistress Who Said He Was Not a Monster | Banned Books Podcast

    The Handmaid plays Scrabble, gets asked for a kiss she doesn't mean, and then spends a sleepless night remembering a TV documentary about a woman who spent her whole life insisting the man she loved wasn't a monster. Dan and Jennifer end up somewhere they didn't expect: a real conversation about how anyone learns to live next door to something horrible without ever looking at it directly. This episode includes AI-voiced content, including our trusty fact-checking robot, Robot. Banned Camp is a comedy podcast where we read banned books chapter by chapter — we don't read ahead, so you're discovering the story with us. Things To Listen For: Aunt Lydia's "men are sex machines" line turns into a real back-and-forth about who that kind of thinking actually protects Robot IDs the real 2023 film hiding behind Dan and Jennifer's half-remembered movie reference, and gets a genuinely dark joke out of it Jennifer gets unusually honest about how much this book is starting to feel like a warning label A closet, a scratched-in Latin phrase, and a laugh that isn't really a laugh Why was The Handmaid's Tale banned? This chapter's mistress-of-a-camp-commandant flashback is the kind of thing school boards flag as "graphic" or "inappropriate for age," when the actual discomfort is what it says about ordinary people convincing themselves not to see what's in front of them. If this is your first episode, you're fine starting here. Our fact-checking Robot catches you up fast, then we read the next chapter (spoilers). Banworthy to Bingeworthy Good News for Lefties — Beowulf Rochlen's news segment, an entire show dedicated to the good news you're not hearing anywhere else. This week: a Bay Area family's decades-long collection of LGBTQ children's books just found a permanent public home. Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts Rate, review, and follow us on Apple Podcasts to help other scary book people find us! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/banned-camp-banned-books-comedy-and-free-speech-vs/id1676866857 Disclaimer Banned Camp features readings and discussions of banned books for the purpose of criticism, commentary, education, and entertainment, in accordance with fair use guidelines. The material used from the book The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is shared under these principles, with the intent of provoking thought and discussion about literature, censorship, and societal issues. The original work remains fully owned by its copyright holders, and we strongly encourage listeners to purchase a copy here to experience the book in its entirety. https://bookshop.org/a/20953/9780385490818 This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected to Margaret Atwood, her estate, or the publishers of The Handmaid's Tale. Any monetization of the podcast is separate from the copyrighted material discussed. Frequently Asked Questions Why was The Handmaid's Tale banned? The Handmaid's Tale has been challenged or banned in American schools and libraries every single year since its publication in 1985. It was the most challenged book in the United States in 2023. It has been targeted for profanity, sexually explicit content, and content deemed "offensive to Christians." But the deeper reason is that Margaret Atwood showed what happens when a government uses religion, tradition, and "protecting families" as justification for stripping women of their rights, their names, and their autonomy. That's the part that actually scares book banners, because it looks a lot like Tuesday. Is there a podcast that reads The Handmaid's Tale chapter by chapter? That's us. Banned Camp reads a different banned book every season, one chapter at a time — neither host has read ahead, so you're discovering the story together in real time. Season 11 covers The Handmaid's Tale, and every episode includes the chapter reading, discussion, a fact-checking Robot, and a segment on why books get banned. Do I need to start Banned Camp from the beginning? No. Every episode opens with Robot's recap of the previous chapter, so you can jump in anywhere. Most listeners tell us they started mid-season and went back to the beginning after they were hooked. What does "Nolite te bastardes carborundorum" mean in The Handmaid's Tale? It's a phrase scratched into the floor of a closet by a previous Handmaid, and it's not real Latin, it's schoolboy joke-Latin roughly meaning "don't let the bastards grind you down." In chapter 24, Offred finds it and can't decode it at all, since she has no dictionary, no library, and no internet. Banned Camp covers the discovery in their Season 11 reading, including the real story behind how the phrase gets recorded for the show. What is "The Zone of Interest," the movie referenced in Chapter 24? It's a 2023 film based on a Martin Amis novel, about the family of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss living an ordinary domestic life right next door to the camp. Dan and Jennifer connect it directly to what The Commander is doing in this chapter, and it becomes the backbone of this week's discussion. Topics Covered: The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood, Chapter 24, Offred, Aunt Lydia, the Commander, Rudolf Höss, compartmentalization, patriarchy, propaganda and denial, Nolite te bastardes carborundorum, banned books, banned books podcast, book banning, censorship, literary analysis, comedy podcast

    The Handmaid’s Tale Ch. 24: The Mistress Who Said He Was Not a Monster | Banned Books Podcast

  5. Aug 6

    The Handmaid’s Tale | Ch. 23: Not Like That, As If You Meant It

    The Handmaid gets called into the one room in the house she's never been allowed to enter, and what's waiting for her isn't what anyone expects, her included. This episode, Dan and Jennifer read chapter 23 of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, and figure out why a board game turns out to be the most dangerous thing in Gilead. This episode includes AI-voiced content, including our trusty fact-checking robot, Robot. Banned Camp is a comedy podcast where we read banned books chapter by chapter — we don't read ahead, so you're discovering the story with us. Things To Listen For: What's actually sitting on the shelves in the Commander's forbidden study (hint: it's not what anyone was bracing for) The moment Offred imagines dismantling a toilet to make a weapon, and what it says about who she's been thinking about Why "I want you to kiss me" turns out to be a much bigger deal than it sounds Why was The Handmaid's Tale banned? This chapter is a good example of why: a scene that's ostensibly "just" two people playing a board game turns out to be about consent, power, and what happens when wanting something can't be commanded into existing — exactly the kind of nuance that gets flattened when a book gets pulled for being "inappropriate." If this is your first episode, you're fine starting here. Our fact-checking Robot catches you up fast, then we read the next chapter (spoilers). Banworthy to Bingeworthy Beowulf brought the news this episode, and he's got a good one: Good News for Lefties: Beowulf covers Baltimore libraries partnering with Johns Hopkins to hand out free gun locks and safes, an effort aimed at preventing suicides and accidental shootings, funded in part by a $245,000 federal investment secured by Rep. Kweisi Mfume. Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts Rate, review, and follow us on Apple Podcasts to help other scary book people find us! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/banned-camp-banned-books-comedy-and-free-speech-vs/id1676866857 Disclaimer Banned Camp features readings and discussions of banned books for the purpose of criticism, commentary, education, and entertainment, in accordance with fair use guidelines. The material used from the book The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is shared under these principles, with the intent of provoking thought and discussion about literature, censorship, and societal issues. The original work remains fully owned by its copyright holders, and we strongly encourage listeners to purchase a copy here to experience the book in its entirety. https://bookshop.org/a/20953/9780385490818 This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected to Margaret Atwood, her estate, or the publishers of The Handmaid's Tale. Any monetization of the podcast is separate from the copyrighted material discussed. Frequently Asked Questions Why was The Handmaid's Tale banned? The Handmaid's Tale has been challenged or banned in American schools and libraries every single year since its publication in 1985. It was the most challenged book in the United States in 2023. It has been targeted for profanity, sexually explicit content, and content deemed "offensive to Christians." But the deeper reason is that Margaret Atwood showed what happens when a government uses religion, tradition, and "protecting families" as justification for stripping women of their rights, their names, and their autonomy. That's the part that actually scares book banners, because it looks a lot like Tuesday. Is there a podcast that reads The Handmaid's Tale chapter by chapter? That's us. Banned Camp reads a different banned book every season, one chapter at a time — neither host has read ahead, so you're discovering the story together in real time. Season 11 covers The Handmaid's Tale, and every episode includes the chapter reading, discussion, a fact-checking Robot, and a segment on why books get banned. Do I need to start Banned Camp from the beginning? No. Every episode opens with Robot's recap of the previous chapter, so you can jump in anywhere. Most listeners tell us they started mid-season and went back to the beginning after they were hooked. Why does the Commander want to play Scrabble in The Handmaid's Tale? The Commander invites Offred into his forbidden study, a room full of books she's never been allowed near, expecting almost anything except what he actually asks for: a game of Scrabble. In a society that's stripped women of language and literacy, the request turns letters and words into something more intimate than anything physical. Banned Camp digs into this scene, and why the game matters more than the kiss that follows it. What does "two-legged wombs, sacred vessels, ambulatory chalices" mean in The Handmaid's Tale? It's Offred's description of how Gilead defines Handmaids: stripped of personality, entertainment value, or any trace of desirability, existing purely as vessels for reproduction. Banned Camp reads this passage in Season 11 and unpacks how deliberately Atwood strips away every trace of the Handmaids' humanity in the language itself. Topics Covered: The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood, Chapter 23, Offred, the Commander, Serena Joy, Cora, Nick, Moira, Aunt Lydia, Scrabble, forbidden books, forgiveness and power, consent, reconstruction and memory, banned books, banned books podcast, book banning, censorship, literary analysis, comedy podcast

    The Handmaid’s Tale | Ch. 23: Not Like That, As If You Meant It

  6. Aug 4

    The Handmaid’s Tale | Ch. 22: Lava Beneath the Crust of Daily Life | Why Books Get Banned

    The Handmaid comes home from the birth exhausted, lies down under the ceiling wreath, and tells herself a better story. It's the story of what happened to Moira, passed hand to hand through four different people before it reached her. What follows involves an overflowing toilet, a piece of plumbing hardware, and a woman walking straight out the front gate in someone else's clothes. Whether any of it actually happened is the argument Dan and Jennifer cannot settle. This episode includes AI-voiced content, including our trusty fact-checking robot, Robot. Banned Camp is a comedy podcast where we read banned books chapter by chapter — we don't read ahead, so you're discovering the story with us. Things To Listen For: Dan's take on Aunt Elizabeth being assigned to "s*****r gargoyle duty" again Moira tells Aunt Elizabeth to remember she didn't kill her, and both hosts agree that defense is not going to hold up in court Dan calls a major-league prediction on Moira's future and tries to get Robot to open a betting market on it Jennifer builds the case that Aunt Lydia planted the whole story on purpose, and it's a better theory than Dan's A story about Dan's grandmother, a one-legged man named Joe who sold pencils, and the first business question five-year-old Dan ever asked Why was The Handmaid's Tale banned? This chapter is the closest the book has come to a straight adventure story, and there's nothing in it a school board could point to. That's the problem. What's actually dangerous here is Moira herself — a woman who takes a machine apart, holds her captor at knifepoint, refuses to kill her, and walks out. Books that show women escaping engineered obedience tend to make the people engineering it nervous. If this is your first episode, you're fine starting here. Our fact-checking Robot catches you up fast, then we read the next chapter (spoilers). Banworthy to Bingeworthy One show worth your time this week: Good News for Lefties — Beowulf Rochlén's roundup of the political news that actually went right, which this week means following the money on a book-banning group that suddenly can't afford to bankroll school board candidates anymore. Find it wherever you get podcasts. Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts Rate, review, and follow us on Apple Podcasts to help other scary book people find us! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/banned-camp-banned-books-comedy-and-free-speech-vs/id1676866857 Disclaimer Banned Camp features readings and discussions of banned books for the purpose of criticism, commentary, education, and entertainment, in accordance with fair use guidelines. The material used from the book The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is shared under these principles, with the intent of provoking thought and discussion about literature, censorship, and societal issues. The original work remains fully owned by its copyright holders, and we strongly encourage listeners to purchase a copy here to experience the book in its entirety. https://bookshop.org/a/20953/9780385490818 This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected to Margaret Atwood, her estate, or the publishers of The Handmaid's Tale. Any monetization of the podcast is separate from the copyrighted material discussed. Frequently Asked Questions Why was The Handmaid's Tale banned? The Handmaid's Tale has been challenged or banned in American schools and libraries every single year since its publication in 1985. It was the most challenged book in the United States in 2023. It has been targeted for profanity, sexually explicit content, and content deemed "offensive to Christians." But the deeper reason is that Margaret Atwood showed what happens when a government uses religion, tradition, and "protecting families" as justification for stripping women of their rights, their names, and their autonomy. That's the part that actually scares book banners, because it looks a lot like Tuesday. Is there a podcast that reads The Handmaid's Tale chapter by chapter? That's us. Banned Camp reads a different banned book every season, one chapter at a time — neither host has read ahead, so you're discovering the story together in real time. Season 11 covers The Handmaid's Tale, and every episode includes the chapter reading, discussion, a fact-checking Robot, and a segment on why books get banned. Do I need to start Banned Camp from the beginning? No. Every episode opens with Robot's recap of the previous chapter, so you can jump in anywhere. Most listeners tell us they started mid-season and went back to the beginning after they were hooked. How does Moira escape in The Handmaid's Tale? Moira dismantles a toilet at the Red Center, removes the long metal lever inside the tank, and uses it to jab Aunt Elizabeth in the ribs while pretending it's a knife. She takes the aunt's cattle prod and clothes, ties her behind the furnace, and walks out the front gate using her pass. Banned Camp covers the escape in Chapter 22 of their Season 11 reading, including whether the story is even true. Who is Janine in The Handmaid's Tale? Janine is a handmaid at the Red Center who is repeatedly broken down by group shaming and becomes desperate for approval. In Chapter 22, Aunt Lydia recruits her as an informant to find out whether anyone helped Moira escape. Banned Camp digs into whether Janine is a villain or just someone who has been kicked too many times to do anything else. Topics Covered: The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood, Chapter 22, Offred, Moira, Janine, Aunt Lydia, Aunt Elizabeth, Dolores, Alma, Cora, escape and resistance, rumor as a tool of control, informants and surveillance, banned books, banned books podcast, book banning, censorship, literary analysis, comedy podcast

    The Handmaid’s Tale | Ch. 22: Lava Beneath the Crust of Daily Life | Why Books Get Banned

  7. Jul 30

    The Handmaid’s Tale Ch. 21: You Wanted a Women’s Culture | Banned Books Comedy

    Chapter 21 is the birth chapter. Janine delivers at the Warren household in full Gilead ceremony — the wife on the birthing stool, the Handmaids chanting, the baby named Angela and handed away before Janine can hold her. Offred rides home leaking fake milk, holding a ghost baby in her lap. And then Margaret Atwood drops an ice pick of a closing line that reframes everything that just happened. Banned Camp is a comedy podcast where we read banned books chapter by chapter — we don't read ahead, so you're discovering the story with us. Things To Listen For: Jennifer's point that the natural birth requirement isn't anti-science, it's anti-woman — and why that distinction matters The Kool-Aid surviving the apocalypse observation (you'll know it when you hear it) The closing two paragraphs of the chapter read aloud — "You wanted a women's culture. Well, now there is one."  Why was The Handmaid's Tale banned? Chapter 21 shows exactly why. The birth ceremony isn't graphic in a conventional sense — it's grotesque in a political sense. A woman delivers a baby surrounded by women performing joy, and the baby is handed to someone else before the mother can catch her breath. The book gets banned because it makes this feel plausible. Because it already happened, in pieces, in different places, across history. That's the part that scares people. If this is your first episode, you're fine starting here. Our fact-checking Robot catches you up fast, then we read the next chapter (spoilers). Banworthy to Bingeworthy If you're looking for more to listen to, check out what we're loving right now: Good News for Lefties — Beowulf Rochlén's weekly segment delivers actual good news for progressives who are tired of doom scrolling. It's in every episode of Banned Camp and available as a standalone show wherever you listen. Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts Rate, review, and follow us on Apple Podcasts to help other scary book people find us! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/banned-camp-banned-books-comedy-and-free-speech-vs/id1676866857 Disclaimer Banned Camp features readings and discussions of banned books for the purpose of criticism, commentary, education, and entertainment, in accordance with fair use guidelines. The material used from the book The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is shared under these principles, with the intent of provoking thought and discussion about literature, censorship, and societal issues. The original work remains fully owned by its copyright holders, and we strongly encourage listeners to purchase a copy here to experience the book in its entirety. https://bookshop.org/a/20953/9780385490818 This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected to Margaret Atwood, her estate, or the publishers of The Handmaid's Tale. Any monetization of the podcast is separate from the copyrighted material discussed. Frequently Asked Questions Why was The Handmaid's Tale banned? The Handmaid's Tale has been challenged or banned in American schools and libraries every single year since its publication in 1985. It was the most challenged book in the United States in 2023. It has been targeted for profanity, sexually explicit content, and content deemed "offensive to Christians." But the deeper reason is that Margaret Atwood showed what happens when a government uses religion, tradition, and "protecting families" as justification for stripping women of their rights, their names, and their autonomy. That's the part that actually scares book banners, because it looks a lot like Tuesday. Is there a podcast that reads The Handmaid's Tale chapter by chapter? That's us. Banned Camp reads a different banned book every season, one chapter at a time — neither host has read ahead, so you're discovering the story together in real time. Season 11 covers The Handmaid's Tale, and every episode includes the chapter reading, discussion, a fact-checking Robot, and a segment on why books get banned. Do I need to start Banned Camp from the beginning? No. Every episode opens with Robot's recap of the previous chapter, so you can jump in anywhere. Most listeners tell us they started mid-season and went back to the beginning after they were hooked. What happens in Chapter 21 of The Handmaid's Tale? Chapter 21 is the birth chapter. Offred attends Janine's delivery at the Warren household, where the entire Gilead birth ceremony plays out — Handmaids chanting, the Wife perched on the birthing stool above Janine, and the baby named Angela handed away the moment she arrives. Banned Camp covers this chapter in full, including Atwood's devastating closing lines about what a "women's culture" actually looks like when men design it. What does "fake milk" mean in The Handmaid's Tale? After the birth ceremony, Offred rides home leaking what she calls "fake milk" — her body producing milk in response to the birth even though she didn't deliver the baby. This is a real physiological phenomenon called induced lactation, where hormonal shifts or proximity to a newborn can trigger milk production. Banned Camp covers this in Chapter 21 with a Robot fact-check on exactly how it works and why Atwood included it. Topics Covered: The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood, Chapter 21, Offred, Janine, the birth ceremony, Angela, induced lactation, fake milk, Gilead, the Wives, the Handmaids, Aunt Elizabeth, women's autonomy, reproductive control, religion and punishment, banned books, banned books podcast, book banning, censorship, literary analysis, comedy podcast

    The Handmaid’s Tale Ch. 21: You Wanted a Women’s Culture | Banned Books Comedy

  8. Jul 28

    The Handmaid’s Tale Ch. 20: The Birth Ceremony & The Propaganda Film | Banned Books Podcast

    Chapter 20 takes Offred to a birth ceremony at the home of another Commander — a ritualized, militarized event that reveals just how thoroughly Gilead has colonized every human experience, including childbirth. Then Aunt Lydia dims the lights and starts the film. What Offred sees on that screen will change everything she thought she understood about how she got here. Banned Camp is a comedy podcast where we read banned books chapter by chapter — we don't read ahead, so you're discovering the story with us. Things To Listen For: The birth ceremony at Warren's house — Dan and Jennifer try to figure out who the actual victim is in this entire arrangement and land somewhere uncomfortable Robot's fact-check on the Aunts as Gilead's female paramilitary — why a midwife was never part of the plan The Karl Marx slogan flip — Gilead rewrote "from each according to his ability" and Jennifer catches exactly what they did with it The propaganda film and the feminist magazines — same material, completely opposite purpose, and Atwood did it on purpose Offred's mother on the screen — young, serious, fist in the air, holding a Take Back the Night banner — and what it costs Offred to see her there Why was The Handmaid's Tale banned? Chapter 20 contains the exact content that makes book banners most uncomfortable — explicit depictions of sexual violence shown in a political context, and a direct argument that the people claiming to protect women are the same ones controlling them. That argument lands in 2026 the same way it landed in 1985. If this is your first episode, you're fine starting here. Our fact-checking Robot catches you up fast, then we read the next chapter (spoilers). Banworthy to Bingeworthy We recommend these podcasts to our scary book people: Good News for Lefties — Beowulf Rochlén brings you actual good news from the progressive world, including this week's deeply satisfying update on Moms for Liberty's ongoing implosion. Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts Rate, review, and follow us on Apple Podcasts to help other scary book people find us! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/banned-camp-banned-books-comedy-and-free-speech-vs/id1676866857 Disclaimer Banned Camp features readings and discussions of banned books for the purpose of criticism, commentary, education, and entertainment, in accordance with fair use guidelines. The material used from the book The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is shared under these principles, with the intent of provoking thought and discussion about literature, censorship, and societal issues. The original work remains fully owned by its copyright holders, and we strongly encourage listeners to purchase a copy here to experience the book in its entirety. https://bookshop.org/a/20953/9780385490818 This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected to Margaret Atwood, her estate, or the publishers of The Handmaid's Tale. Any monetization of the podcast is separate from the copyrighted material discussed. Frequently Asked Questions Why was The Handmaid's Tale banned? The Handmaid's Tale has been challenged or banned in American schools and libraries every single year since its publication in 1985. It was the most challenged book in the United States in 2023. It has been targeted for profanity, sexually explicit content, and content deemed "offensive to Christians." But the deeper reason is that Margaret Atwood showed what happens when a government uses religion, tradition, and "protecting families" as justification for stripping women of their rights, their names, and their autonomy. That's the part that actually scares book banners, because it looks a lot like Tuesday. Is there a podcast that reads The Handmaid's Tale chapter by chapter? That's us. Banned Camp reads a different banned book every season, one chapter at a time — neither host has read ahead, so you're discovering the story together in real time. Season 11 covers The Handmaid's Tale, and every episode includes the chapter reading, discussion, a fact-checking Robot, and a segment on why books get banned. Do I need to start Banned Camp from the beginning? No. Every episode opens with Robot's recap of the previous chapter, so you can jump in anywhere. Most listeners tell us they started mid-season and went back to the beginning after they were hooked. What happens in Chapter 20 of The Handmaid's Tale? Chapter 20 follows Offred to a birth ceremony at another Commander's home, where the Handmaid Janine is giving birth and the wives perform a ritual pretending the birth belongs to them. Aunt Lydia then screens propaganda films at the Red Center — footage that includes the same material feminist activists once burned to protect women, now weaponized to convince Handmaids that Gilead saved them. Offred sees her own mother in the footage, young and smiling at a Take Back the Night rally. Banned Camp covers this chapter in Season 11, including the Karl Marx slogan Gilead rewrote and why Atwood put Offred's mother on that screen on purpose. What is the birth ceremony in The Handmaid's Tale? The birth ceremony is a ritualized event in Gilead where the entire district of Handmaids and Wives gathers when a Handmaid goes into labor. The Commander's Wife lies on the floor mimicking labor while the Handmaid gives birth on a birthing stool positioned between the Wife's legs — maintaining the fiction that the child belongs to the Wife. Banned Camp discusses this ceremony in their Chapter 20 episode, including Dan's observation that the Wives may actually be the most comprehensively deceived people in all of Gilead. Topics Covered: The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood, Chapter 20, Offred, Aunt Lydia, Janine, Warren, birth ceremony, birthing stool, propaganda film, Take Back the Night, Karl Marx, Gilead, Handmaids, Aunts, Red Center, feminist movement, book banning, censorship, banned books podcast, comedy podcast, literary analysis

    The Handmaid’s Tale Ch. 20: The Birth Ceremony & The Propaganda Film | Banned Books Podcast
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About

Love banned books? Hate censorship? Same. Banned Camp is a comedy podcast where we read banned books out loud, cover-to-cover, and try to figure out why they were banned in the first place. If you've never read them, now's your chance to hear them for the first time with us. If you have, well, you already know what's coming and this will be your chance to laugh at us as we bumble our way through and get horrified over and over again. 11 seasons in, we've gotten pretty good at figuring out what these books are actually about and why the people pushing book banning and censorship don't want you to read them. This season we're reading The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. Every episode we read the next chapter out loud, talk about what we found, and try to figure out why this book scares the book banners so much. It probably has something to do with the political shit show we're all currently living through. You know what's really insane right now? There are people in this country who own a lot of red hats but not a lot of library cards, and somehow those people ended up in charge of deciding what your kids can read. Moms for Liberty, pudding lover Ron DeSantis, and basically every politician who thinks they know better than you have been pushing book banning and censorship for years. We're pretty sure none of them have actually read the books, because if they did they'd have a hard time explaining why Captain Underpants and Charlotte's Web are a threat to your kids' freedom. So we read them ourselves to find out what's really in them. We also have a fact-checking robot so we don't accidentally spread misinformation. Or what some people call "alternative facts." Our listeners are called The Scary Book People. You'll fit right in. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday. You can start anywhere, Robot catches you up fast. Past seasons: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz, Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Kindred by Octavia E. Butler, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.

Information

  • Creator
    Jennifer Davis and Dan Schulz turn books banned in schools into a comedy book review podcast, reading challenged literature cover-to-cover to find out exactly what got each book banned.
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    349
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Banned Camp: Banned Books, Comedy, and Free Speech vs. Censorship
  • Show Website
    Banned Camp: Banned Books, Comedy, and Free Speech vs. Censorship

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