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. 4h ago

    The Handmaid’s Tale Ch. 28.2: The Day Her Money Stopped Working | Banned Books Comedy

    One morning her debit card stops working. By that afternoon, armed soldiers have shut down her workplace and the government has frozen every woman's bank account in the country. In this chapter of The Handmaid's Tale, Jennifer and Dan watch an entire life get taken apart in the space of a single day — one bureaucratic switch at a time. 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: The Handmaid's card gets declined at the store, and the reason turns out to be much bigger than a mix-up Robot fact-checks the real 1970s feminist "women's collectives" behind Moira's new job Dan draws an unsettling parallel between Gilead's F/M account freeze and modern-day disaster-funding fights A flashback to the narrator's activist mother sparks a debate about who actually fights back when it counts Dan's theory about which character in this book never gets named — and what that says about how she's coping The chapter's gutting final line, and why Jennifer calls it "the one to pay attention to" Why was The Handmaid's Tale banned? This chapter's central image — a government freezing women's bank accounts overnight simply because they're women — is exactly the kind of scene that makes The Handmaid's Tale a perennial target for challenges. It's less about explicit content and more about how plainly it shows a society building oppression through paperwork instead of force. 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 closes out this episode's news segment with a plug for his own show: Good News for Lefties — Beowulf Rochlen's own program, straight news for people who are sick of being lied to. Find it wherever you get your 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. Why do women's bank accounts get frozen in The Handmaid's Tale? Early in Gilead's takeover, the government flags every account belonging to a woman with an "F" instead of an "M" and freezes it in a single move — no trial, no debate, just a flipped switch. Banned Camp digs into this chapter of The Handmaid's Tale, where losing access to money turns out to be the first step in losing everything else. Who is Moira in The Handmaid's Tale? Moira is the narrator's fiercely independent best friend, introduced here working for a "women's collective" publishing books on birth control and rape recovery — the kind of grassroots feminist press Margaret Atwood based directly on real 1970s history. Banned Camp's Robot fact-checks the true story behind Moira's job in this episode. Topics Covered: The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood, Chapter 28, Offred, Luke, Moira, Nick, Beowulf Rochlen, Robot, economic control and gender, mother-daughter activism and generational trauma, marriage and self-erasure, banned books, banned books podcast, book banning, censorship, literary analysis, comedy podcast

    The Handmaid’s Tale Ch. 28.2: The Day Her Money Stopped Working | Banned Books Comedy

  2. 2d ago

    The Handmaid’s Tale Ch. 28.1: This Number’s Not Valid | Banned Books Comedy

    The Handmaid spends the hour picking at old wounds — her friendship with Moira, her guilt over Luke, and the day the government quietly stopped being a democracy. By the end of the chapter, the past and present collide in the worst possible way: a corner store, a declined card, and three words that change everything. 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 imagining Moira as pure MacGyver energy — ready to take the bedroom fan apart and "start slicing people" Jennifer's blunt read on Moira's sexuality ("She decided? Give me a break") and a real conversation about who books like this one are actually written to protect Offred laying out, in her own words, exactly how Gilead seized power: the president shot, Congress machine-gunned, the blame pinned on "Islamic fanatics," and the Constitution suspended as a "temporary" measure Jennifer's unscripted reveal that she already has a go bag and a German passport ready to go — tied back to her grandparents' stories of people disappearing in Nazi Germany Why was The Handmaid's Tale banned? This chapter pairs two things banners hate seeing together: a step-by-step account of how a democracy gets replaced by martial law, and an unflinching, funny conversation about Moira's sexuality and what "acceptable" relationships even means. That combination — political extremism plus open queerness — is exactly the kind of content that gets books like this one pulled from shelves. 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  good-news roundup.  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 did Gilead take power in The Handmaid's Tale? In Chapter 28, Offred finally lays it out: the president was assassinated, Congress was machine-gunned, and the army declared a state of emergency, blaming Islamic fanatics. The Constitution was suspended as a "temporary" measure. Banned Camp breaks down how fast — and how quietly — an entire government can disappear in Margaret Atwood's telling. Why does Offred's compucard get declined in The Handmaid's Tale? Near the end of Chapter 28, Offred discovers her Compubank card no longer works — the first sign that the government has frozen every account belonging to a woman. Banned Camp's hosts read this as the exact moment the book's slow-building dread becomes an immediate, personal crisis, and talk through why it still feels uncomfortably familiar. Topics Covered: The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood, Chapter 28, Offred, Moira, Luke, Ofglen, Robot, Beowulf Rochlen, government coup, censorship, women's rights, LGBTQ+ representation, economic control, banned books, banned books podcast, book banning, censorship, literary analysis, comedy podcast

    The Handmaid’s Tale Ch. 28.1: This Number’s Not Valid | Banned Books Comedy

  3. Aug 20

    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

  4. Aug 18

    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

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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
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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
    351
  • 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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