This week, Dr. Jennifer Gouck joins us to unpack one of the most pressing issues in American literary culture today — book bans. What exactly are book challenges? Who’s behind them? And what might these bans mean for readers, educators, and publishers in today’s political and cultural climate?

Join us as we dig into the complex world of censorship, libraries, and the fight to keep stories accessible — and, as always, to remind everyone to read more books!

Resources and works mentioned:
📘 Unbecoming — Seema Yasmin (Simon & Schuster link)
📗 Banned Together — Edited by Ashley Hope Pérez, illustrated by Debbie Fong
🎥 Banned Together Documentary
📖 Forever... by Judy Blume (Wikipedia)
📚 WWU Münster — Banned Books Project
📸 Instagram post 1
📸 Instagram post 2
📖 Ex Marks the Spot — Goodreads
📖 Direbound — Goodreads

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Intro music by Leonardo Granados