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Banned Camp: Banned Books, Comedy, and Free Speech vs. Censorship
If you think banning books is stupid, so do we.
Banned Camp is a comedy podcast where we read banned books and try to figure out why they were banned in the first place.
If you’re new here, don’t sweat it. You can start anywhere. We’ll get you oriented fast (and if you get confused, there’s a good chance we’re confused too).
Here’s what makes us different: we actually read the book out loud, every chapter, cover to cover, and we’ve never read it before. So you hear us stumble through the text, mispronounce names, miss obvious foreshadowing, and slowly piece together what freaks Moms for Liberty and the pudding-fingered politicians out.
Our listeners are called The Scary Book People. You’ll fit right in.
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 Sáenz, Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, and 1984 by George Orwell.
This season we’re reading Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. A dystopia built on pleasure instead of fear. People are engineered, drugged, and distracted into obedience, and taught to love the system that controls them. It’s funny, creepy, and way too familiar right now.
Book bans are at a 20-year high. The people doing the banning usually haven’t read the books… so we read them out loud together, and by the end you can honestly say you’ve read it too.
Nine seasons in. #1 ranked banned books comedy podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Hit follow. The book banners are idiots. Come help us prove it.
Banned Camp: Banned Books, Comedy, and Free Speech vs. Censorship
Slaughterhouse-Five | Ch. 9.3 – Billy Pilgrim Walks Into a Times Square Bookstore...
Billy Pilgrim sneaks out of bed rest and takes an impromptu trip to New York City—because of course he does. His itinerary? Wandering into a seedy Times Square bookstore, buying a Kilgore Trout novel, dodging a Shetland pony scandal, and accidentally landing himself on a radio talk show. Oh, and he may have spotted Montana Wild Hack in the back of a magazine. So it goes.
Things To Listen For:
- Billy Pilgrim’s foolproof plan to get on TV (spoiler: it fails).
- The weirdest bookstore scene in literary history.
- A sci-fi take on Jesus that’s just asking to be banned.
- The infamous hand-drawn boobs that make this book a “bad influence.”
- Jennifer and Dan trying to process whatever the hell just happened.
Banworthy to Bingeworthy: Check out Good News for Lefties! Start your day with uplifting news and sharp commentary that cuts through the chaos. Visit goodnewsforlefties.com or find it on your favorite podcast app.
Featured Clips
This episode includes a short clip from the MyPillow jingle, owned by MyPillow, Inc. and used here for entertainment, commentary, and discussion under fair use guidelines. All rights remain with the original copyright holders. No copyright infringement intended.
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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 Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut is shared under these principles, with the intent of provoking thought and discussion about literature, censorship, and societal issues. We do not claim any ownership over the original work, and all copyrights remain with the original copyright holder. We strongly encourage listeners to purchase copies of the discussed works to fully appreciate them in their original context.
This podcast is not endorsed by Kurt Vonnegut’s estate or the publishers of Slaughterhouse-Five. Any monetization of the podcast is separate and not derived directly from the copyrighted material discussed.
Topics Covered:
Slaughterhouse-Five, Billy Pilgrim, Kilgore Trout, Times Square bookstores, banned books, censorship, Jesus, Tralfamadorians, radio talk shows, alien zoos, satire, Moms for Liberty, book banning debates, and Vonnegut’s infamous boob drawing.