Rogue Librarians
Since 2021, an unprecedented number of Young Adult books, especially ones with LGBTQ+ and BIPOC characters, have been removed from libraries across the country. In this podcast, our mission is to provide clarity and context during this period of record-breaking book challenges by discussing banned books. Please join us for our conversations! Books are meant to be read.
Episodes
In this episode we do a close reading of the book I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban, by Malala Yousafzai. As always, we found the conversation enlightening and cathartic. Learning about Pakistan’s history and the Pashtun people was fascinating. We also found that the struggle between religious conservatives and those challenging traditional values is universal, not isolated ...
First, we apologize for some sound issues we were having in this episode. We’ve changed a few things and are learning as we go. We hope to solve this problem before our next recording.
In this Part 1 episode we discuss the book I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban, by Malala Yousafzai. In Part 1 we discuss why the book is banned, share some context to help understand the book,...
In Part 2 of Cemetery Boys we do a close reading of the book. There are generally a few spoilers, but trust me, there is so much more to discover in the book! Cemetery Boys is a young adult urban fantasy novel written by Latinx American author Aiden Thomas. Published in 2020, this is Thomas’s debut novel. It became the first book by a transgender author featuring a trans character to be on the New York Times Bestseller List. I...
In this Part 1 episode we discuss the book Cemetery Boys, by Aiden Thomas. In Part 1 we discuss why the book is banned, share some context to help understand the book, and give our assessment of why it’s worth reading. Cemetery Boys is a young adult urban fantasy novel written by Latinx American author Aiden Thomas. Published in 2020, this is Thomas’s debut novel. It became the first book by a transgender author featuring a tr...
In Part 2 of our discussion of 1984 by George Orwell, we were inspired by Harry Potter and the Sacred Text to use the sacred reading practice, Lectio Divinia. We modeled our discussion after the “sacred reading” format used by Casper ter Kuile, Vanessa Zoltan and Matthew Potts in their podcast. Here is the link to their webpage, which explains the process in more detail.
We highly reco...
We’re celebrating Banned Books Week by reading 1984 by George Orwell. In Part 1, we discuss how this classic tale of censorship taken to the nth degree ended up being one of the most banned books of all time. Here are a few links to articles mentioned in the episode.
Banned Bits references the article Baker County Library gives away copies of Orwell’s ‘1984’ as part of anti-censorship campaign in the Baker City Herald.
It’s fall and we are ready to get in a spooky Halloween mood. In this episode we interview the delightful duo Shannon Watters and Branden Boyer-White, co-creators of the YA Graphic Novel series Hollow. The books are beautifully illustrated by Berenice Nelle and take place in Sleepy Hollow where a group of teens discover the secret of the Headless Horseman. The first book, Hollow, was published in 2022, and the second, Woman in W...
In this episode we interview author Khadijah VanBrakle about her second book, My Perfect Family, which came out on August 26th. Khadijah is a Muslim woman of color, born and raised in Canada to American parents. She writes coming-of-age stories featuring Black American Muslim teens. Her debut novel, Fatima Tate Takes The Cake was published in 2023. You can find Khadijah at her website, https://www.khadijahvanbrakle.com/ and on I...
In this special episode we interview freelance writer Kaila Yu on the publication of her first book, Fetishized: A Reckoning With Yellow Fever, Feminism, and Beauty. Kaila has written for The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, CNN, Glamour, and more. Formerly, she was a model and the lead singer for the all–Asian American female rock band Nylon Pink.
Below are links to some of the things we discuss in the interview:
...
In this episode we discuss Patricia McCormick’s beautiful and heartbreaking Book, Sold. The book is written in poetic vignettes and follows the story of Lakshme, a Nepalese girl who is sold into prostitution. Join us as we discuss how McCormick brought her characters to life and humanized them despite their dehumanizing situation. We took inspiration for our conversation from the Book Resume provided by Unite Against Banned Boo...
In this episode we discuss why the book Sold, by Patricia McCormick, appears in ALA’s Top 10 most challenged books of 2024.
Here are some links relevant to our conversation:
About Patricia McCormick and the book
Unite Against Banned Books. Book Resume:Sold
Information on why Sold has been banned.
Information on human trafficking
Join us for our discussion with Melissa Kantor about her newest book, Biology Lessons. Melissa wrote the book in response to the Dobbes Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v Wade. Below are a few links to things discussed in the podcast.
Supreme Court Case Roe v Wade
Supreme Court Case Dobbes v Jackson Women’s Health Organization
Here is a link to a documentary about the original Jane Collective in Chicago, it’s an HBO fi...
In this episode, we discuss The Family Book by Todd Parr. We’ve combined our usual 2 episode format since the book is so short.
Here are the sources referenced in our Banned Bits segment.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Briefs Members of the Media, May 09, 2025 - statement on Carla Hayden is at minute 27:30
Milk & Honey Part 2:
In this episode, we discuss Rupi Kaur’s beautiful and emotional work, choosing poems to illustrate the different sections of the book as well as the many themes and motifs that run through the poems.
While doing so, we digress quite a bit, as we do. Here are some of the books, music, and television we related to Kaur’s work.
milk and honey Part 1: Why It’s Banned
In this episode we discover why Rupi Kaur’s book of poetry, milk and honey, consistently makes lists of banned books. Kaur self-published milk and honey in November of 2014 and it was later picked up by publisher Andrews McMeel. According to their web site, the book spent more than three years on the New York Times bestseller list. It’s been published in over 40 languages and has sold ove...
Hold on, Sam Helmick is coming. In this episode of Rogue Librarians, we speak with Sam Helmick, president-elect of the American Library Association, for a second time. We explore the many challenges facing libraries, the upcoming ALA Annual Conference, and ways you can advocate for your library.
Here are links to some things we talk about in the interview:
Stand Up For Libraries: an ALA program where you can donate to support libra...
In this episode, we do a close reading of Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Mist and Fury.
We discuss our personal histories with romance novels, the evolution of romantic tropes, and the implications of freedom and control in relationships as depicted in the book. We explore themes such as patriarchy, agency, empowerment, consent, and sexuality within the context of the story.
In this episode, we discuss Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Mist and Fury. In addition to discussing why the book has been banned, we touch on some history of the Romance Novel, and the new hybrid genre Romantasy.
Today’s Banned Bit, comes to us from School Library Journal in their article Librarians and Allies Must Act to Secure the Future of Libraries and Intellectual Freedom |”
The resources we reference in this episode include:
In this episode, we delve into part two of our discussion on Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. We share some school bus hijinx and the transformative power of love. The
conversation highlights themes of bullying, body image, and the importance of consent in young relationships, all while emphasizing the emotional depth and relatability of the characters' experiences.
In this episode, we discuss Rainbow Rowell’s book Eleanor & Park, why it’s banned, and the controversy over Korean-American representation in the novel.
Our banned bit today is about the Department of Education’s Press Release entitled, “U.S. Department of Education Ends Biden’s Book Ban Hoax.”
Other articles referenced during our discussion include:
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