12 episodes
Rogue Librarians Rogue Librarians
-
- Arts
-
-
5.0 • 3 Ratings
-
Since 2021, an unprecedented number of Young Adult books, especially ones with LGBTQ+ and BIPOC characters, have been removed from libraries across the country. In this podcast, we discuss YA books that have been banned in recent years. We discuss each selected book in two episodes. The first episode illuminates why the book has been banned and why we think it is worth reading. The second episode discusses the book's characters, themes, and significance in greater detail. Please join us for our conversations! Books are meant to be read.
-
10. Out of Darkness (Part 2: Close Reading)
We do a close reading of Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez. First published in 2015, Out of Darkness received a 2016 Printz Honor for excellence in young adult literature and won the 2016 Tomás Rivera Book Award and the 2016 Américas Book Award. Out of Darkness was not challenged until 2021, the same year it became the fourth-most-challenged book in the country.
We discuss our opinions of the book's characters, themes, and significance. Please listen to the ninth episode for our interview with the author, Ashley Hope Pérez.
Marian referred to the song "Brave" by Sara Bareilles. You can find the lyrics here: https://genius.com/Sara-bareilles-brave-lyrics.
Thanks to Chris for our music and to Lizzie for our audio editing! Please visit our website for a transcript of this episode.
If you would like to join our conversation, please visit theroguelibrarians.com or follow us on social media. Please consider supporting our podcast on Patreon. We appreciate your support!
Linktree: @roguelibrarianspod
Instagram: @roguelibrarianspod
Facebook: @roguelibrarianspod
Twitter: @RLibrarians
Patreon: patreon.com/roguelibrarians
---
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/roguelibrarians/message -
9. Out of Darkness: Interview with Ashley Hope Pérez
In this special episode, we interview Ashley Hope Pérez, the author of Out of Darkness. First published in 2015, Out of Darkness received a 2016 Printz Honor for excellence in young adult literature and won the 2016 Tomás Rivera Book Award and the 2016 Américas Book Award. Out of Darkness was not challenged until 2021, the same year it became the fourth-most-challenged book in the country.
In the interview, we discuss why Out of Darkness has been banned. We also learn more about Ashley's background, reasons for writing the book, writing process, narrative choices, and experiences before and after the book was banned. We were thrilled to have the opportunity to talk with her.
Please listen to our tenth episode for a close reading of the book's characters, themes, and significance.
To learn more about Ashley Hope Pérez, please visit:
Her website: ashleyperez.com
Her linktree: @ashleyhopeperez
Instagram: @ashleyhopeperez
Her response to the viral school board meeting video: https://youtube.com/watch?v=z4dNu4UA-As…
Thanks to Chris for our music and to Lizzie for our audio editing! Please visit our website for a transcript of this episode.
If you would like to join our conversation, please visit theroguelibrarians.com or follow us on social media. Please consider supporting our podcast on Patreon. We appreciate your support!
Linktree: @roguelibrarianspod
Instagram: @roguelibrarianspod
Facebook: @roguelibrarianspod
Twitter: @RLibrarians
Patreon: patreon.com/roguelibrarians
---
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/roguelibrarians/message -
Bonus: Legislation Involving Banned Books
In this bonus episode, we discuss current and proposed legislation involving banned books. We mention different forms of censorship; examples of bills and laws that restrict books in schools and public libraries; and ways that we can fight censorship. It is essential that we oppose these types of laws and contact our elected officials.
You can find more information about censorship and organizations that fight it on the Resources page on our website (theroguelibrarians.com/resources).
Some of the sources mentioned in this episode:
https://bookriot.com/states-that-have-enacted-book-ban-laws-2022/
https://bookriot.com/book-ban-legislation-2023/
https://www.slj.com/story/censorship-attempts-will-have-a-long-lasting-impact-on-school-library-collections-slj-survey-shows
https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/censorship
https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom#:~:text=ALA%20actively%20advocates%20and%20educates,right%20in%20our%20democratic%20society
https://www.ala.org/advocacy/fight-censorship?utm_source=ala&utm_medium=topbanner&utm_campaign=redesign
Thanks to Chris for our music and to Lizzie for our audio editing (for all of our episodes)! Please visit our website for a transcript of this episode.
If you would like to join our conversation, please visit theroguelibrarians.com or follow us on social media. Please consider supporting our podcast on Patreon. We appreciate your support!
Linktree: @roguelibrarianspod
Instagram: @roguelibrarianspod
Facebook: @roguelibrarianspod
Twitter: @RLibrarians
Patreon: patreon.com/roguelibrarians
---
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/roguelibrarians/message -
8. Drama (Part 2: Close Reading)
We do a close reading of Drama by Raina Telgemeier, which was the seventh-most-banned book between 2010 and 2019. Drama is notable because it was one of the first graphic novels to include gay characters.
We discuss our opinions of Drama's characters, themes, and significance. Please see Episode 7 for a discussion of why the book has been banned recently.
Thanks to Chris for our music and to Lizzie for our audio editing (for all of our episodes)! Please visit our website for a transcript of this episode.
If you would like to join our conversation, please visit theroguelibrarians.com or follow us on social media. Please consider supporting our podcast on Patreon. We appreciate your support!
Linktree: @roguelibrarianspod
Instagram: @roguelibrarianspod
Facebook: @roguelibrarianspod
Twitter: @RLibrarians
Patreon: patreon.com/roguelibrarians
---
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/roguelibrarians/message -
7. Drama (Part 1: Why It's Banned)
We discuss Drama by Raina Telgemeier, which was the seventh-most-banned book between 2010 and 2019. First published in 2012, this graphic novel won the Stonewall Book Award in 2013, in addition to receiving many starred reviews and honors. Drama is notable because it was one of the first graphic novels to include gay characters.
In this episode, we discuss why Drama has been banned. We also offer our assessment of its pros and cons. Please listen to our eighth episode for a close reading of the book's characters, themes, and significance.
Some of the sources mentioned in this episode:
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/drama
https://www.slj.com/review/drama
https://cbldf.org/banned-challenged-comics/case-study-drama/
https://goodcomicsforkids.slj.com/2017/06/22/interview-raina-telgemeier-on-drama/
https://www.slj.com/story/just-another-day-in-an-lgbtq-comic
https://www.glaad.org/about
https://www.slj.com/story/yalsa-hub-challenge-drama-by-raina-telgemeier
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10583-016-9299-x
Thanks to Chris for our music and to Lizzie for our audio editing (for all of our episodes)! Please visit our website for a transcript of this episode.
If you would like to join our conversation, please visit theroguelibrarians.com or follow us on social media. Please consider supporting our podcast on Patreon. We appreciate your support!
Linktree: @roguelibrarianspod
Instagram: @roguelibrarianspod
Facebook: @roguelibrarianspod
Twitter: @RLibrarians
Patreon: patreon.com/roguelibrarians
---
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/roguelibrarians/message -
6. Maus (Part 2: Close Reading)
We do a close reading of The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman, which made the news after a Tennessee school board voted to remove it from the curriculum in January 2022. We discuss our opinions of the graphic memoir's characters, themes, and significance. Please see Episode 5 for a discussion of why the book has been banned recently.
Thanks to Chris for our music and to Lizzie for our audio editing (for all of our episodes)! Please visit our website for a transcript of this episode.
If you would like to join our conversation, please visit theroguelibrarians.com or follow us on social media. Please consider supporting our podcast on Patreon. We appreciate your support!
Linktree: @roguelibrarianspod
Instagram: @roguelibrarianspod
Facebook: @roguelibrarianspod
Twitter: @RLibrarians
Patreon: patreon.com/roguelibrarians
---
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/roguelibrarians/message
Customer Reviews
America should take notice of this podcast.
I enjoy listening to a number of different podcasts for different reasons. I turned to the Rogue Librarians podcast less for pure entertainment than to be educated about the highly important subject of banned books. The well informed and well intentioned panel of three or four share a strong desire to push back the despicable nationwide trend of book banning.
It is interesting that they don’t adhere to the simple formula of just fomenting hate towards the opposition and pat each other on the back for being smarter and more enlightened than the lay folk. Each of the panelists offer some different background, experience and perspective to some highly nuanced issues. I didn’t actually read Gender Queer which is the subject matter of the first two episodes; perhaps I will in time. Because of this I was going to skip E.2 but I tuned in and enjoyed it very much. Each of the four casters extrapolated beyond the story itself to clearly explain its relevance. They did not shy away from personal revelations and sometimes humorous anecdotes that really humanize the subject.
Much of what was discussed bears relevance to my own family and was actually quite helpful to me. I look forward to upcoming episodes around “The Hate You Give.” It covers some different territory than the first book, but managed to get banned for some other reasons that we can learn about soon. I am sure it will be given thorough and thoughtful treatment. Please take the time to review the RL website. Click around. It is quite informative. I think it my favorite podcast website. I think the quality put in to it shows us they will put the same level of quality in to the discussions themselves. I like the musical transitions that are used in the audio as well. Please listen and subscribe to this wonderful podcast. I think it will have excellent staying power. Please consider supporting with patronage as well. I think I will. Great show ladies and guests! Keep up the good work!