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
Brave New World | Ch. 7.1 – Snakes, Smells, and Savage Reservations
In this episode of Banned Camp, Jennifer and Dan reach Chapter 7 of Brave New World, where Bernard and Lenina finally arrive at the Savage Reservation — and instantly regret it. Lenina hates the smells, the dust, and the people; Bernard tries to stay philosophical, and Robot ends up the only one keeping his composure.
The two witness poverty, age, motherhood, and death — everything their sanitized society has erased. Jennifer defends the locals’ dignity while Dan compares Lenina to a modern influencer who just lost her Wi-Fi and her Soma. They also tackle a listener email about racial slurs Huxley uses in the text, turning it into a candid discussion on language and ignorance. By the time an old man totters down the ladder and Lenina realizes she’s run out of Soma, chaos is guaranteed.
Things to Listen For
- Bernard and Lenina’s first impressions of the Savage Reservation.
- The clash between comfort and authenticity — why Lenina can’t handle “real life.”
- The debate over natural aging, youth culture, and “vampire billionaires.”
Banworthy to Bingeworthy
Need a break from dystopia? Tune into Good News for Lefties, a hopeful, progressive news show that reminds you the future isn’t all bad.
And if you’re into gripping real-world storytelling, check out Lester Holt’s new Dateline original, The Last Appeal — a haunting investigation into justice, truth, and whether an innocent man might be put to death.
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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 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, Bernard Marx, Lenina, Savage Reservation, Malpais, hypnopaedia, Soma, aging, race and language, banned books