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Banned Camp: Banned Books, Comedy, and Free Speech vs. Censorship
Love banned books? Hate censorship?
Same. You’re our kind of people.
Banned Camp is a comedy podcast where we read banned books and try to figure out why they were banned in the first place.
Each season, we tackle a new banned book, reading it chapter by chapter and asking: What made someone clutch their pearls and scream, "BAN IT!"? (Spoiler: It’s rarely what you’d expect.) One thing is clear—the people banning these books often haven’t read them. While we uncover some eyebrow-raising moments, nothing truly justifies censorship.
Join us—and our listeners, "The Scary Book People"—as we explore the strange, hilarious, and sometimes baffling world of banned books.
Past seasons have featured classics like 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 Sáenz, and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut.
This season, we’re diving into 1984 by George Orwell—a dystopian warning that feels eerily real today. From thought control to banned books, its message is more relevant than ever, and that’s exactly why it remains one of the most challenged books of all time.
By reading these books, we ask big questions: Why are banned books important? What does “banned” mean? What does “challenged” mean? How do book bans affect students? Are book bans constitutional?
Come hang out with us and have some laughs while we dig into the drama behind banned books—you might even learn something cool along the way!
Episodes
222 episodes
1984 | Ch. 17.7 - No One Escapes the Iron Voice
Winston and Julia thought they had a secret — a room, a routine, a bit of freedom. But the telescreen was listening the whole time. In this brutal end to Chapter 17, Orwell rips away the last illusion of safety. Dan and Jennifer react in real t...
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Season 8
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Episode 35
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24:21
1984 | Ch. 17.6 - The Party Makes You Forget You Forgot
In this episode of Banned Camp, Jennifer and Dan read the next section of Goldstein’s manifesto—and it gets bleak. Orwell explains how the Party rewrites reality so often that people forget they ever believed anything else. Jennifer re...
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Season 8
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Episode 34
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27:33
1984 | Ch. 17.5 - The Dumb Masses vs. the Baby Elephants
Jennifer and Dan return to Orwell’s nightmare to decode the Party’s obsession with eternal control. This chapter dives into the rigid social hierarchy, the myth of Big Brother, and the dark genius of “protective stupidity.” Along the way, Dan b...
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Season 8
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Episode 33
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32:14
They Fired the Librarian. We Called a Children’s Book Legend.
Dr. Carla Hayden—America’s first Black woman Librarian of Congress—was just fired by Trump’s goons.So we called Jon Scieszka.Yes, that Jon Scieszka—author of The Stinky Cheese Man and the first national ambassado...
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Season 8
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Episode 32
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28:41
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1984 | Ch. 17.4: - Big Brother Is... AI?
In this episode, Jennifer and Dan continue rteading Goldstein’s Manifesto and wrestle with the mind-melting logic of 1984’s most infamous slogan: "War is peace." Jennifer proposes Big Brother might be AI (terrifying but plausible), whi...
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Season 8
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Episode 31
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30:49
1984 | Ch. 17.3 - Obedience by Design
In this episode of Banned Camp, Jennifer and Dan dive into Chapter 17.3 of Orwell’s 1984, where Goldstein’s manifesto outlines how perpetual war preserves power, not peace. From floating fortresses that serve no purpose to a s...
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Season 8
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Episode 30
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34:13
1984 | Ch. 17.2 - The War That Never Ends (On Purpose)
In this episode of Banned Camp, Jennifer and Dan read more of Emmanuel Goldstein’s forbidden manifesto. Enjoy (?) Orwell’s vision of endless war, oligarchical control, and labor as a weapon. From laughing at Greenland’s future to...
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Season 8
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Episode 29
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30:52
1984 | Ch. 17 - When Reality Changed Mid-Sentence
On this episode of Banned Camp, Jennifer and Dan wade into the madness of Chapter 17 of 1984—where Hate Week hits its sweaty, propaganda-drenched climax. Winston works 90 hours in five days, people rewrite history in real-time...
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Season 8
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Episode 28
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26:03
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1984 | Ch. 16.2: Resistance in the Dark
n this episode of Banned Camp, Jennifer and Dan dive into Chapter 16.2 of 1984 by George Orwell. O’Brien lays out the grim reality of resistance, reminding Winston and Julia that their fight is destined to be futile—and deadly...
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Season 8
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Episode 27
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28:59
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1984 | Ch. 16.1 - The Brotherhood or the Bait?
In this episode of Banned Camp, Jennifer and Dan dive into Chapter 16 of George Orwell's 1984. O’Brien welcomes Winston and Julia into his inner sanctum, leading to tense revelations about the Brotherhood. Winston’s hopes for ...
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Season 8
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Episode 26
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31:07
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1984 | Ch. 15 - She Had a Face Like a Monkey… and Then She Was Gone
Winston remembers the moment he stole chocolate from his starving little sister—and the moment she disappeared. Jennifer calls it one of the darkest scenes in the book. Dan agrees, then spirals. Julia calls him a swine. Somewhere between the gu...
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Season 8
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Episode 25
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36:52
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1984 | Ch. 13.2–14 - Woke Winston and the Meat Modems
Winston realizes the past has been erased—and the future might be, too. Jennifer wonders if anything even matters anymore. Dan points out that Project 2025 might not take 30 years... more like 30 months. Also: O’Brien makes a suspicious move, J...
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Season 8
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Episode 24
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29:26
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1984 | Ch. 13 - How to Disappear Your Best Friend (and Everyone Else)
In this episode of Banned Camp, Jennifer and Dan read Chapter 13 of George Orwell’s 1984. Winston watches friends vanish, propaganda ignite, and a world of fear tighten its grip. Jennifer and Dan unpack Hate Week'...
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Season 8
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Episode 23
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34:36
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1984 | Ch. 12 - Bugs, Beds, and Brown Snow
In this episode of Banned Camp, Winston and Julia’s secret love nest gets less romantic and more... rodent-infested. Jennifer and Dan wade through Orwell’s sensual rebellion: contraband jam, lipstick resistance, and an entire kilo of “...
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Season 8
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Episode 22
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30:22
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1984 | Ch. 11.2 - The Ministry of Love Is a Lie
In this episode of Banned Camp, Jennifer and Dan dig into Chapter 11.2 of 1984, where Winston and Julia lean fully into their doomed rebellion—with jam, real sugar, and a mattress that probably has bedbugs. As they debate whet...
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Season 8
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Episode 21
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36:22
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How to Stop Moms for Liberty Without Losing Your Mind
In this special episode of Banned Camp, Jennifer and Dan set aside Orwell for a moment to unveil a four-part framework designed to help you stand up to groups like Moms for Liberty. From showing up at school board meetings to dismantli...
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Season 8
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Episode 20
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21:07
1984 | Ch. 11.1 – Love in the Time of Telescreens
In Chapter 11.1 of 1984, Winston and Julia’s rebellion gets complicated. Their secret meetups involve shoelace codes, bird-scented hideouts, and dodging telescreens like Olympic sprinters. Meanwhile, Julia drops a few bombshells of her...
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Season 8
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Episode 19
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35:02
1984 | Ch. 10 - Love, Lies & Black Market Butter
In this episode of Banned Camp, Jennifer and Dan unpack Chapter 10 of Orwell’s 1984, where Winston and Julia’s secret relationship takes a physical and emotional leap. From bluebells and black market butter to the political we...
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Season 8
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Episode 18
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38:56
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1984 | Ch. 9 - Flirting Under Fascism
In this episode of Banned Camp, Jennifer and Dan dive into Chapter 9 of Orwell's 1984 (also known as Part Two). Sparks fly—literally and figuratively—as Winston receives a handwritten note in a government bathroom and tries to...
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Season 8
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Episode 17
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39:28
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Banned Camp Bonus: The Bookstore Fighting Back—with a Taser
In this special episode of Banned Camp, Jennifer and Dan take a break from 1984 to talk with Lindsay Schultz, owner of The Spine Bookshop in Smyrna, Tennessee. Lindsay isn’t just selling banned books—she’s giving them away for...
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Season 8
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Episode 16
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16:57
1984 | Ch. 8.3 - Trinkets of the Past
In this episode of Banned Camp, Jennifer and Dan explore Chapter 8.3 of 1984, where Winston returns to the junk shop and stumbles upon relics of a forgotten world. From an antique paperweight to a banned nursery rhyme, beauty ...
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Season 8
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Episode 15
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36:17
1984 | Ch. 8.2 – You Can’t Buy a Revolution in Half-Liters
In this episode of Banned Camp, Winston ventures into a pub hoping to unearth truth from the lips of a prole old enough to remember the world before the Party. Instead, he gets vague memories, bladder complaints, and a pint of wallop. ...
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Season 8
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Episode 14
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33:23
1984 | Ch. 8 - Winston Kicks a Severed Hand and Calls It a Day
In Chapter 8 of 1984, Winston skips out on mandatory fun and wanders into the “prole” section of London, where the smell of real coffee gives way to rocket bombs, severed limbs, and prole drama over lottery numbers that probably don’t ...
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Season 8
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Episode 13
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26:29
1984 | Ch. 7.2 - The Forced Confessions of the Fallen Trio
In this episode, Jen and Dan read Chapter 7.2 of George Orwell's '1984'. They really wrestle with the big moment where Winston's mysterious evidence finally comes to light—struggling to grasp its significance. Robot, of course, instant...
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Season 8
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Episode 12
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34:56
1984 | Ch. 6.2 - Uprising in the Utensil Aisle
This episode of Banned Camp sees Jennifer and Dan exploring Chapter 6.2 of George Orwell’s 1984. They discuss the latent power of the proles and their potential to overthrow the oppressive regime, blending in-depth analysis wi...
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Season 8
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Episode 11
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29:38
