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. 13.1: Lenina’s Meltdown and John’s Confusion | Banned Books Podcast
Lenina is quietly falling apart and John is loudly falling in love. Chapter 13.1 puts two people raised in two completely different emotional universes into the same room… and the results are chaotic, awkward, and very funny.
Banned Camp is a comedy podcast where we read banned books chapter by chapter, discovering the story right along with you.
Things To Listen For:
- Dan and Jennifer try to decode “jim-jams” and why Henry Foster prescribes doctors like candy
- Lenina is so lovesick she causes a fatal embryo-processing mistake
- Fannie tells Lenina to just “go take him,” Brave New World style
- John declares his love with Shakespeare and panic, while Lenina is ready for… something else entirely
- The Savage spirals into noble quests and mountain lions, confusing Lenina into new levels of frustration
- A disastrous romantic collision that ends with a mental flashback to that awful feely, “Three Weeks in a Helicopter”
Why was Brave New World banned?
This chapter dives straight into the reasons: state-sanctioned drug use, state-sanctioned sex, and the complete erasure of emotional autonomy. Books that question government control of pleasure and feelings tend to freak censors out.
New to Banned Camp? Start anywhere — each episode stands alone while building on the story.
Banworthy to Bingeworthy
We’re swapping promos this week, and you should absolutely check these out:
- Dead Certain (NBC)
A deeply reported true-crime series that digs into the Martha Moxley murder — what really happened, who was protected, and why this case still haunts investigators. If you like meticulous storytelling and cases that won’t leave your head, start this one immediately.
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Featured Clips
This episode includes short clips from Seinfeld – The Comeback.
All rights belong to their respective owners and are used here under fair use for the purpose of cultural commentary and education.
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 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, Chapter 13, Lenina, John the Savage, Henry Foster, Fannie, Hemholtz, Soma, conditioning, love, emotional control, dystopia, Seinfeld, banned books, banned books podcast, book banning, censorship, literary analysis, comedy podcast