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
A Wrinkle in Time | Chapter 6 (pt 1) - A Star's Sacrifice and Cosmic Courage
Episode Summary:
Join Jennifer and Dan as they read the first half of Chapter 6 of "A Wrinkle in Time," where the narrative deeply explores the ongoing battle between light and darkness.
This episode …
Behind the Scenes: Choosing Books for a Banned Book Podcast
Episode Summary
This week on Banned Camp, Jennifer, Dan, and our occasionally sassy robot dive into the peculiar world of banned books without reading a single page! Instead, we're opening up the mail…
A Wrinkle in Time | Chapter 5 - The Battle Against Darkness Begins
Episode Summary:
In this episode of Banned Camp, Jen and Dan read Chapter 5 of "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L'Engle.
Our journey through the tesseract takes us beyond the confines of our universe,…
A Wrinkle in Time | Chapter 4 - Whisper of Darkness: A Starlit Mystery!
Episode Summary:
Welcome back, scary book people! In this episode, we're on a cosmic voyage with Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace, exploring the universe's eerie unknown and breathtaking beauty in Cha…
A Wrinkle in Time | Chapter 3 - A Journey Through Space and Emotions
Episode Summary:
In this captivating episode, Jen and Dan explore Chapter 3 of "A Wrinkle in Time," where Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace's adventure turns into the unknown. The chapter weaves a tale…
A Wrinkle in Time | Chapter 2 - The Mystery of Mrs. Whatsit
Episode Summary:
In this chapter of "A Wrinkle in Time," Meg and Charles Wallace find themselves wrapped in the enigmatic folds of Mrs. Whatsit's secrets. As they navigate through the aftermath of a s…
A Wrinkle in Time | Chapter 1- The Night of the Mysterious Visitor
Episode Summary: In this kickoff to Season 5, Jennifer, Dan and Robot dive headfirst into the stormy world of "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L'Engle. The chapter sets the stage with Meg Murray, a y…
Huckleberry Finn | The Last Page - Unraveling Twain's Finale
Episode Summary:
In our season finale, Dan and Jennifer delve into the last chapter of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain, exploring the complex themes of freedom, morality, and identi…
Huckleberry Finn | Chapter 42 - Tom’s Real Plan
Episode Summary:
In this episode, Jen and Dan tackle Chapter 42 of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", where Huck's lies and Tom's elaborate plans come to a head. As the trio's escape plan unfolds, …
Huckleberry Finn | Chapter 41 - Aunt Sally's Vigil: The Ties That Bind!
Episode Summary:
In the latest dive into "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," Dan and Jennifer navigate the complexities of Chapter 41, where Huck, Jim, and Tom's adventure spirals into an intense bl…
Huckleberry Finn | Chapter 40 - The Grand Escape: A Butter-Steeped Adventure!
This episode takes us through the twists and turns of Mark Twain's world, where Huck, Jim, and Tom's escape plan unfolds with more hiccups than a soda-drinking contest. Picture this: a plan so slippe…
Huckleberry Finn | Chapter 39 - Aunt Sally's Unwanted Menagerie
In Chapter 39 of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," the plot thickens with Tom Sawyer's convoluted escape plan. From acquiring a rat trap leading to unexpected chaos under Aunt Sally's bed to the …
Huckleberry Finn | Chapter 38 - Chains, Plans, and Rattlesnakes!
Episode Summary
In this episode of Banned Camp, Jennifer and Dan read Chapter 38 of Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." The chapter unfolds with Tom Sawyer's complex plan to free Jim, i…
Huckleberry Finn | Chapter 37 - Tom's Troublesome Tactics: Chaos in the Kitchen!
In this episode of Banned Camp, Dan and Jennifer dive into Chapter 37 of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain, where Tom Sawyer's elaborate escape plans for Jim turn Aunt Sally's househ…
Huckleberry Finn | Chapter 36 - The Strategy of Absurdity: Tom's Escape Plan!
Episode Summary:
This episode delves into Chapter 36 of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," where Tom Sawyer's intricate escape plan for Jim unfolds. Dan and Jennifer examine the chapter's events, a…
Huckleberry Finn | Chapter 35 - Huck and Tom's Great Escape: A Battle of Wits!
Episode Summary:
In this episode, Jen and Dan tackle Chapter 35 of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." They dive into the quirky world of Tom Sawyer's escape plans for Jim, which range from digging …
Huckleberry Finn | Chapter 34 - Tom and Huck's Wild Scheme
In this episode of Banned Camp, Jen, and Dan read Chapter 34 of Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” unfolding a chapter filled with schemes, mistaken identities, and the lengths friend…
Huckleberry Finn | Chapter 33 - Tom Sawyer's Unexpected Ally!
In this riveting chapter of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," Jen and Dan dive into the complexities of mistaken identities, ghostly assumptions, and the unexpected camaraderie between Huck and T…
Huckleberry Finn | Chapter 32 - Huck's Wild Ride in Identity Theft!
In our latest episode, we dive into Chapter 32 of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" where Huck finds himself in a mix-up, mistaken for somebody else. It's a situation that unfolds with unexpected …
Huckleberry Finn | Chapter 31 - Huck's Heart: A Tug of War!
Episode Summary
In this episode of Banned Camp, we dive into Chapter 31 of Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Jennifer and Dan unravel Huck's intense moral conflict as he grapples with…