Banned Camp: Banned Books, Comedy, and Free Speech vs. Censorship
Love banned books? Hate censorship?
Same. You’re our kind of people.
Banned Camp is a comedy podcast where we read banned books and try to figure out why they were banned in the first place.
Each season, we tackle a new banned book, reading it chapter by chapter and asking: What made someone clutch their pearls and scream, "BAN IT!"? (Spoiler: It’s rarely what you’d expect.) One thing is clear—the people banning these books often haven’t read them. While we uncover some eyebrow-raising moments, nothing truly justifies censorship.
Join us—and our listeners, "The Scary Book People"—as we explore the strange, hilarious, and sometimes baffling world of banned books.
Past seasons have featured classics like 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 diving into Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. It's a dystopia built on pleasure, not fear. People are engineered, drugged, and distracted into obedience, and they’re taught to love the system that controls them. It’s funny, creepy, and disturbingly familiar. And like all great banned books, it makes you question the world you're living in.
By reading these books, we ask big questions: Why are banned books important? What does “banned” mean? What does “challenged” mean? How do book bans affect students? Are book bans constitutional?
Come hang out with us and have some laughs while we dig into the drama behind banned books—you might even learn something cool along the way!
- Update frequency
- every 3 days
- Average duration
- 27 minutes
- Episodes
- 249
- Years Active
- 2023 - 2025
To Kill a Mockingbird | Chapter 28 - From Stage Fright to Real Fright
Jen and Dan read chapter 28 of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Maycomb's Halloween festivities take a dark turn as Scout, trapped in a ham-shaped cage of her own making, and Jem confronts the unseen horrors of…
To Kill a Mockingbird | Chapter 27 - Scout in a Ham Suit: An Unforgettable Halloween
Jen and Dan read chapter 27 of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Bob Ewell's petty blame game with Atticus and his creepy stalking tactics have nothing on Scout's Halloween transformation into a ham. Meanwhile, …
To Kill a Mockingbird | Chapter 26 - Old Hitler: Served with a Side of Lane Cake
Jen and Dan read chapter 26 of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Scout learns about Hitler, hate, and hypocrisy from a contradictory teacher, while Dan and Jen counter the sour taste with a whisky-infused sweet …
To Kill a Mockingbird | Chapter 25 - Scout, Spirits, and the Unveiling of 'Tequila Mockingbird'
Jen and Dan read chapter 25 of To Kill a Mockingbird.
As Scout mulls over bug ethics and the town expresses an empathy level comparable to a dried-up gourd, Dan and Jen introduce the only sensible res…
To Kill a Mockingbird | Chapter 24 - Sipping Hypocrisy with Aunt Alexandra
Jen and Dan read chapter 24 of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Scout trades overalls for a dress at Aunt Alexandra's tea party, where the ladies, drenched in irony, lament distant African tribes while ignoring…
To Kill a Mockingbird | Chapter 23 - Aunt Alexandra's Guide to Snobbery
Jen and Dan read chapter 22 of To Kill a Mockingbird.
In this twist of Maycomb madness, we see revenge mistaken for catharsis, the justice system doing the limbo under a very low bar, and Boo Radley b…
To Kill a Mockingbird | Chapter 22 - Jem's Struggle with Maycomb's True Colors
Jen and Dan read chapter 22 of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Bob Ewell upgrades his public persona from 'racist townie' to 'spitting, revenge-swearing menace.' And somewhere, in the midst of all this, the qu…
To Kill a Mockingbird | Chapter 21 - The Verdict Unveiled: Toilet Tours and Tensions Rise
Jen and Dan read chapter 21 of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Amidst the nail-biting courtroom suspense, Dan and Jen's curiosity for a potential 'Toilet Tour' ignites, adding a humorous twist to the grave adu…
To Kill a Mockingbird | Chapter 20 - Trial Twists: Coke, Court, and Calpurnia
Jen and Dan read chapter 20 of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Mr. Dolphus Raymond lives out his own version of 'Drunk History' - except, it's more of 'Pretend-Drunk Social Commentary,' which even Dan finds ap…
To Kill a Mockingbird | Chapter 19 - Tom's Velvety Testimony: Tom's Testimony Sends Shockwaves
Jen and Dan read chapter 19 of To Kill a Mockingbird.
As Tom spins a velvety tale that has even Dan and Jen on the edge of their seats, Dill's emotional complexity is becoming the spin-off series nobo…
To Kill a Mockingbird | Chapter 18 - Scrubbed, Scared, and Stammering: Mayella's Meltdown
Jen and Dan read chapter 18 of To Kill a Mockingbird.
As Mayella Ewell takes the stand, we're plunged into a narrative that's less 'Law and Order' and more 'Law and Odor'. Her convoluted testimony rai…
To Kill a Mockingbird | Chapter 17 - Fifty Shades of Maycomb: The Left-Handed Edition
Jen and Dan read chapter 17 of To Kill a Mockingbird.
We dive headfirst into a world where physicians are a luxury, left-handers are prime suspects, and living behind a trash heap is just another Tues…
To Kill a Mockingbird | Chapter 16 - Courthouse Capers & Ear Wax Escapades
Jen and Dan read chapter 16 of To Kill a Mockingbird.
As the courthouse bustles, Jem, Scout, and Dill meet Maycomb's quirkiest characters, witness a showdown between foot-washing Baptists and Miss Mau…
To Kill a Mockingbird | Chapter 15 - Nuts About Justice: How Scout's Foot Changed Everything
Jen and Dan read chapter 15 of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Between summer adventures with Dill, tension-filled jailhouse standoffs, and Scout inadvertently turning the tide by nailing a nasty bully where i…
To Kill a Mockingbird | Chapter 14 - Meddling Aunts and Mysterious Bedfellows
Jen and Dan read chapter 14 of To Kill a Mockingbird.
In a chapter filled with Aunt Alexandra's disapproval, Jem's newfound maturity, and a not-so-slithery surprise under the bed, Jen and Dan can't he…
To Kill a Mockingbird | Chapter 13 - Auntzilla Alexandra's Iron Fist & Sweet Crispy Treats
Jen and Dan read chapter 13 of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Scout, Jem, and Atticus grapple with Aunt Alexandra's relentless pursuit to impose her "feminine influence" on the family. Meanwhile, Jen and Dan …
To Kill a Mockingbird | Chapter 12 - Locked In: When Church Collections Get Intense and Aliens Invade
Jen and Dan read chapter 12 of To Kill a Mockingbird.
In this chapter, where Jem and Scout delve into Calpurnia's hidden life and experience an unforgettable church service, Jen and Dan find themselve…
To Kill a Mockingbird | Chapter 11 - Jem's War on Dubose's Bushes & Payback
Jen and Dan read chapter 11 of To Kill a Mockingbird.
As Jem and Scout delve into the dark underbelly of Mrs. Dubose's bitter existence, we learn that even the nastiest neighbors have a story to tell.…
To Kill a Mockingbird | Chapter 10 - The Secret Life of Atticus Finch
Jen and Dan read chapter 10 of To Kill a Mockingbird.
In an episode where Jem and Scout discover that their seemingly uncool dad is actually "Ol' One-Shot" Atticus, the deadest shot in Maycomb County,…
To Kill a Mockingbird | Chapter 9 - Dove Disputes & Scout's Fight Club
Jen and Dan read chapter 9 of To Kill a Mockingbird.
In this rip-roaring chapter, Scout fiercely defends Atticus against playground bullies and snarky relatives, proving that the only thing more tena…