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, Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, and 1984 by George Orwell.
This season, we’re diving into Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. It's a dystopia built on pleasure, not fear. People are engineered, drugged, and distracted into obedience, and they’re taught to love the system that controls them. It’s funny, creepy, and disturbingly familiar. And like all great banned books, it makes you question the world you're living in.
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!
Banned Camp: Banned Books, Comedy, and Free Speech vs. Censorship
Brave New World | Ch. 4.1 – The Lift Man Who Saw the Sky
In this episode of Banned Camp, Jennifer and Dan begin Chapter 4 of Brave New World. Lenina publicly makes plans with Bernard, much to his discomfort, while a Simeon-like lift man discovers the beauty of the roof — only to be dragged back into the mechanical stupor of his job. Along the way, Benito Hoover shows up with cheer, Soma, and sex hormone gum, while helicopters buzz toward an afternoon of obstacle golf.
Things To Listen For:
- Lenina’s bold invitation to Bernard and his embarrassed reaction.
- The lift man’s fleeting glimpse of the roof, described as rapture.
- Dan and Jennifer debating whether “obstacle golf” is just disc golf.
- Benito Hoover offering Bernard a dose of Soma and his stash of hormone sex gum.
- Why this “cheerful dystopia” feels so different from Orwell’s 1984.
Banworthy to Bingeworthy
Need more listening? Check out Here’s the Scoop from NBC News for quick daily rundowns, and Good News For Lefties for a hopeful progressive take on politics.
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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. To ensure the best listening experience, some sections may be lightly abridged for clarity and pacing. However, we always stay true to the author’s intent and encourage listeners to purchase the book in full.
The material used from the book Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 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.
This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected to Aldous Huxley, his estate, or the publishers of Brave New World. Any monetization of the podcast is separate from the copyrighted material discussed.
Topics Covered:
Brave New World, Aldous Huxley, Lenina, Bernard Marx, Mustafa Mond, Benito Hoover, Soma, obstacle golf, Simeon lift man, dystopia, satire, banned books