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. 9: Love, Lust, and the Right to Say No | Banned Books Comedy
Lenina crashes on a Soma holiday while Bernard hatches a plan... and John breaks into her room in a lovesick spiral that’s equal parts Shakespearean and creepy. Robot fact-checks the chaos, Jennifer calls out Huxley’s lazy racism, and Dan coins “the shark rule” for slur warnings.
Banned Camp is a comedy podcast where we read banned books chapter by chapter—we don’t read ahead, so you’re discovering the story with us.
Things to Listen For
- Bernard pulls bureaucratic strings to bring John and Linda back to London.
- Jennifer and Dan stop the show to unpack Huxley’s use of octoroon—and create the “shark-sound” content warning rule.
- Robot clarifies the racial slur with historical context and dry precision.
- John sneaks into Lenina’s room, sniffs her clothes, and wrestles with desire vs. decency.
- Jennifer insists John’s restraint is the real rebellion; Dan… gets weirdly good at guessing underwear scenes.
Why Was Brave New World Banned?
Huxley’s dystopia has been banned for sexual content, drug use, and “anti-family values.” This chapter hits every nerve—lust, control, and what happens when pleasure replaces morality. It’s the moment censors love to clutch their pearls over.
Banworthy to Bingeworthy
If you liked this episode, check out our promo-swap friends:
- It’s Been a Minute (NPR) – Smart, funny dissections of the culture we can’t stop talking about.
- The Last Appeal (Dateline NBC) – True-crime meets justice reform; real stakes, real storytelling.
- The Blueprint with Jen Psaki (MSNBC) – Progressives mapping a saner future.
- Good News for Lefties – Daily doses of hopeful headlines in a dark timeline.
Rate, Review & Follow
Rate, review, and follow us on Apple Podcasts
to help other Scary Book People find us!
Disclaimer
Banned Camp features readings and discussions of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley for criticism, commentary, education, and entertainment under fair use.
We strongly encourage listeners to purchase a copy here to experience the novel in full.
Banned Camp is not affiliated with Huxley or his publishers. Any monetization is independent of the copyrighted material discussed.
Topics Covered
Brave New World, Aldous Huxley, Chapter 9, John the Savage, Lenina Crowne, Bernard Marks, Mustafa Mond, book banning, censorship, literary analysis, comedy podcast