The Beautiful and Banned

We're back and we have missed you! Is it even a podcast if we haven't talked about Heated Rivalry? In the first episode of Season 4, we are joined by special guest Nisha Sharma: a lawyer, award-wining writer, former corporate culture executive, scholar and author of over ten published books for teens and adults--and, more importantly for us, our dear colleague at Wilkes University! We're delighted to have one of the ...

Is George Orwell psychic? In this emotional season finale, Christine and Jessica discuss the rise of totalitarianism and Orwell's eerily accurate predictions. In prepping for the episode, they saw firsthand how AI is already doing the very thing Orwell warned us again--erasing our past in real time. And, as they recorded on the heels of a war that ended as quickly as it began, the idea of constant war has never felt so real. Y...

In this short interlude, Jessica and Christine are together at the Creative Writing MFA program Wilkes University, where they met and they both teach. They tell you why there will be a one-week delay on the season finale--which gives you time to read George Orwell's 1984 along with them! Join us next Tuesday for the final episode of season 3! 

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Christine and Jessica discuss Red, White, and Royal Blue, one of the most banned books in recent history: a royal romp with political overtones and a heart of gold. Jessica's life goal of getting Christine to read contemporary romance is unlocked! And even though Jessica was less than hopeful about Texas politics in this episode, just a few days after it was recorded, the first lesbian, Asian-American mayor of San Antonio was ...

For the first time on this podcast, we're reading a book that is not banned: Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin is controversial and challenging, but not challenged--at least not yet. But it's such a seminal book for understanding where we are in the country, and how we can both criticize and love our country, that we decided to read it anyway. Listen in to this important conversation about Baldwin whose every word is...

In this short interlude, Jessica talks about why there's not an episode this week, what next week's episode will hold as we discuss our first book that has NOT been banned, and what's happening at the Library of Congress in the one of the most bonkers stories of our time (which is saying a lot).

All links and quotes for today's LOC story can be found in today's article in The Injustice Report.  

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To talk about ACOTAR, Jessica is joined this week by special guest Alyssa Morris, whose popular Romancing the Phone newsletter demystifies into BookTok trends and digs into the publishing industry. Alyssa and Jessica talk about the phenomenon of A Court of Thorn and Roses (banned statewide in Utah schools), what's really happening with romance and romantasy, and why these genres deserve such respect. Don't worry, we also ...

Read, Review, and Recommend! These are the suggestions by today's guest, children's book author, Rob Sanders, about how to support writers of challenged and banned books. Join us for this delightful conversation about the cutest book we will ever feature on this show, Book Comes Home: A Banned Book Journey--Rob's most recent book that had us reminiscing about our own dearly beloved childhood favorites--as well as Pri...

Is this the funniest episode about The Satanic Verses ever recorded? We like to think so! Join us as Christine and Jessica finish their discussion on this controversial book. Jessica loved it, Christine not so much, but they both found it deeply relevant to our current day. 

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Christine and Jessica discuss one of the most controversial books in the world since its publication in 1988. Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses caused an immediate uproar; after the Ayatollah Khomeini declared a fatwa, Rushdie spent ten years in hiding. Even when it was over, he was not safe: a knife-wielding attacker in 2022 stabbed him in the face and neck, resulting in several injuries and the loss of his sight in one eye...

Whew, Christine has THOUGHTS in today's episode as she and Jessica discuss All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson, one of the most frequently banned books in the country. Christine makes the point that, just because a book shouldn't be banned, doesn't mean it shouldn't be critiqued. But what are the boundaries of that criticism, and how do we grapple with those questions in an age of censorship? 

Please n...

In the first episode of season 3, Christine and Jessica ask the question that is on everyone's lips: WTF, USA? They look at the state of the country and book banning in these deeply unprecedented times--and still, as always, find both humor and hope.

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In this season finale, Christine and Jessica reflect on the first two seasons of "The Beautiful and Banned" in a year in which book banning has exploded in our country--more than 10,000 books were banned in the last school year alone, up from a record 3,000+ the year before. After two seasons of the podcast, Jessica and Christine talk about what they've learned, four moments that stood out to each of them, what is co...

Christine and Jessica discuss Kindred by Octavia E. Butler. This seminal work explores the idea that we are always connected to our national and familial past--in this case, literally. As they discuss, many of the concepts in The Handmaid's Tale that are apocalyptic possibilities--oppressive treatment of women, forced pregnancies, restricting the right to read and write--are all things that actually happened to Black women in ...

Carolyn Foote, co-founder of Texas FReadom Fighters joins Christine and Jessica in a riveting conversation about the recent history of book banning in the US, and what's about to come. This discussion blew our minds--we understand the outrage, the fear, and the political strategies in totally new ways. Of course it was the experienced librarian who is also a freedom fighter whose words changed our lives!

"The Be...

Jessica and Christine discuss THE HANDMAID'S TALE, a shockingly relevant book for our current political moment. As Margaret Atwood says in her 2017 introduction to the 1985 books, times of political authoritarianism bring out the true believers, sadists, and opportunists, and the "literature of witness" is an important "act of hope." Join in as Christine and Jessica laugh and cry and talk about what is comi...

GO VOTE! On this Election Day, Christine and Jessica talk about The 1619 Project by focusing on two essays in particular: "Capitalism" by Matthew Desmond and "Politics" by Jamelle Bouie. These essays provide fascinating insights into our current own moment--and the inequality and tensions that were built into our political systems from the very beginning. It's perfect to listen to while you're standing...

In a continuation of last week's episode, Christine and Jessica discuss THE 1619 PROJECT by Nikole Hannah-Jones, the New York Times Magazine, and others, especially "Democracy" (by Hannah-Jones), "The Creation of Race" (by Dorothy Roberts), and "Sugar" (by Kahlil Gibran Muhammad). They talk about why this book is controversial, what it means for it to be a "new origin story," and the pow...

In this mini-episode, Christine and Jessica have a live conversation at the Brooklyn Public Library's first ever Freedom to Read Rally at the Grand Army Plaza! On October 19, the BPL organized a nationwide rally with more than 200 libraries across the country celebrating our freedom to read. Jessica and Christine talk about The 1619 Project and the importance of allowing people to learn a more complex view of history. When the...