CodEX Machina

Listen to the episode that will get us buried in the algorithm because Natalia, Bethany, and Laura discuss what is defined as “sexually explicit conduct” in 18 U.S.C. § 2256, part of the U.S. Code that H.R. 7661 intends to update. H.R. 7661 is a bill introduced on Feburary 24, 2026 in the House of Representatives. This bill would prohibit the use of federalfunding in schools to include “sexually oriented material” intheir curriculum, as defined by the aforementioned US Code, but now to also include “gender dysphoria or transgenderism”, thus continuing the slippery slide of disenfranchising people on tenuous moral grounds.

More importantly, the bill proposes to restrict which books are acceptable for literature education, drawing on three specific lists of books. We discuss these lists, how literature becomes canonized, and ask ourselves questions like who are the people behind these lists, and why should they setthe canon for schools in order to receive funding from the federal government?

Congressional site for the bill (also showing it’s progress in the House) https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7661/text

Wikipedia listing of the works in Great Books of the Western World (both 1st and 2nd edition)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Books_of_the_Western_World

Classics Every Middle Schooler Should Read

https://compassclassroom.com/blog/classics-every-middle-schooler-read/

Classics Every High Schooler Should Read

https://compassclassroom.com/blog/classics-every-high-schooler-should-read/

“People who don’t like joy don’t like fry bread.”

Can you believe a book about a Native American child baking fry bread with her grandma is banned?

On this episode of Codex Machina, Bethany and Laura have a chat with the lovely and amazing Aileen Loy. Loy, an Atlanta artist/musician/writer/philanthropist who took it upon herself to “abduct” old and unused newspaper boxes and turn them into fancy Little Free Contentious Libraries containing books that had been banned. The project started as a response to book bans that began to spring up after Black Lives Matter – Loy wanted to highlight the fact that books about PoC characters were suddenly being banned, and wanted to also educate people on exactly what was being banned. For example, Good Hair by Yvonne Sewankambo, which is about a little girl who doesn’t want to go to school because she hates her hair. Today, Loy has deposited over 55 of these boxes in 5 states: Texas, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, and Louisiana, covering all sorts of banned books that celebrity diversity, individuality, and children’s agency. We chat with Loy about her project and banned books in general, and how important it is that people understand what kinds of books are being banned, and why.

Links:

https://c4aa.org/people/aileen-loy/

Insta: @aileenloyartist

PEN America

https://pen.org/book-bans/book-ban-resources/

https://pen.org/book-bans/pen-america-book-ban-index-data/

“A novelist’s business is lying.” – Ursula LeGuin

On this episode of Strange Land Book Club, Bethany, Laura special guest Systke discussThe Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin. As with all of our book club episodes, there will be spoilers, so keep that in mind if you haven’t read it already. But you should read it. Read it right now. LeGuin was a pioneering author in science fiction and fantasy, winning multiple awards over her lifetime (we list them in the podcast). With guidance from LeGuin, we discuss what science fictionis supposed to be (NOT predictive), how gender is portrayed on the world of Gethen (Winter), unreliable narrators, and much, much more.

RPG inspired by the works of Ursula LeGuin and other writers

https://www.flatlandgames.com/btw/

On this episode, Natalia, Bethany and Laura pay homage to American icon Dolly Parton -  songwriter, musician, and actress. She is also the founder of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (part of her charitable Dollywood Foundation), which sends free books to children from birth to age 5 in the U.S., Canada, Australia, U.K., and the Republic of Ireland. This program not only fosters a love of reading, but helps children build a personal library. In 31 years, over 300 million books have gone out to eager young readers around the world, with over 3 million children registered to receive books each month. Thank you, Dolly!!!

Imagination Library website:

https://imaginationlibrary.com/

How to see if the program is available in your area and register your child:

https://imaginationlibrary.com/check-availability/

How to donate to the Imagination Library:

https://donate.imaginationlibrary.com/

The Journey of an Imagination Library Book (YouTube):

https://youtu.be/IjxcK1ZZw3c?si=BPNITfmwpVR0kGYf

Lindbergh by Torben Kuhlmann (see his other mice stories)

https://www.torben-kuhlmann.com/b%C3%BCcher-jugendb%C3%BCcher/lindbergh-the-tale-of-a-flying-mouse/

Why are librarians being vilified in 2026? On this episode Laura, Bethany, and special guest Erin the librarian discuss the documentary “The Librarians”, which is currently airing on PBS.We delve into “the Krause list” from the documentary, as well as Moms for Liberty and their impact on school boards and book bans. Wetalk about how books are chosen for libraries, and the skill set librarians obtain (and generally heap lots of love on librarians and libraries). There are also occasionally sounds of a baby cooing in the background.

WARNING: the episodewill non-graphically discuss terms such as p*dophile and CSAM

Links discussed:

The Librarians on PBS: https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/the-librarians/

The Librarians documentary website:

https://thelibrariansfilm.com/streaming/

The Krause List:https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/94fee7ff93eff9609f141433e41f8ae1/krausebooklist.pdf

Text of the emailsent by Matt Krause to selected school superintendants in Texas:https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/965725d7f01b8a25ca44b6fde2f5519b/krauseletter.pdf

Text of the billH.B. No. 3979:https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/87R/billtext/pdf/HB03979F.pdf

Analysis of theKrause List by Danika Ellis:https://bookriot.com/texas-book-ban-list/

Moms For LibertyAcademy “Comprehensive Sexuality Education Smart Book”:https://m4lacademy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/M4LA_CSE-Smart-Book.pdf

The Miller Test (theSupreme Court’s definition of obscenity):

https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/miller-test/

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Intro music by Leonardo Granados

What if the most ordinary moments of life hold the deepest beauty?

In this episode, Eyesha Elahi invites us into her research on the mundane — the quiet rituals, routines, and unnoticed details that shape our days. Through philosophy and literature, we explore how writers and thinkers have described and transformed the everyday into something profound.

The novels in questions are:

• Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
• Severance by Ling Ma
• Moby Dick by Herman Melville
• Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Wolf

This recording has travelled a long road to reach you, and traces of that journey remain in its sound. But beyond the imperfections lies a conversation we are truly excited to share: a thoughtful exploration of books, stories, and ideas that may inspire you to see the ordinary with new eyes.

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Intro music by Leonardo Granados

On this episode Laura, Bethany and Natalia are discussing the Memory Police (1994) by Yoko Ogawa. This is a marvellous novel that deserves its own separate podcast but for now these are our first impressions.

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Intro music by Leonardo Granados

On this episode of CodEx Machina, Bethany and Laura lead you through a day in the life of the Frankfurt Book Fair 2025. Listen to our highlights (which include a booth dedicated to the history of a 14th century Korean book printed with moveable type – almost a century before our good friend Gutenberg did his ol’ printing thang) as we walk you through the sights and activities of the fair.

Millicent Weber https://researchportalplus.anu.edu.au/en/persons/millicent-weber/

Ylva Verlag https://ylva-verlag.de/

More about Jikji: https://www.bnf.fr/en/jikji-treasure-world-printing

The Hof https://www.buchmesse.de/timetable/session/hof-live-ai-and-battle-reality

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Intro music by Leonardo Granados

In this episode, we talk to Andrea Reyes Elizondo, a PhD candidate at the University of Leiden, about her research in the history of reading, which focuses on influences on reading in various social groups in New Spain in the eighteenth century. We discuss the answer to “what is reading” then vs. now, and how it relates heavily on access to resources, connections to power and positions in society, and how сritical understanding complex texts is to literacy.

We continue to talk about readers during the Inquisition in New Spain, and Andrea provides us with a few cases of readers who push back against power.

And of course, we ask Andrea what she is currently reading!

Also: Are Bethany, Natalia, and Laura trying to proselytize people into the cult of Book Studies? You have to listen to find this out and so much more!

Some of the books mentioned are:

Proust and the Squid by Maryann Wolf

The AI Con by Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna

Pixel by Krisztina Tóth

Andrea Reyes Elizondo is a self-funded PhD candidate at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society (LUCAS).

Reyes Elizondo researches the history of reading under the supervision of Prof. Paul Hoftijzer and Prof. Adriaan van der Weel. Her dissertation focuses on reconstructing the possibilities of reading for various groups in a society by looking into the context of this cultural technique and the elements that influence it: education, occupation, sociality ofconsumption, culture, and the legal and political system thatregulated the access to texts. Her geographical area of research is New Spain during the eighteenth century. She has written several blog posts about the different aspects of reading: sonority, imagery, speed, approved texts, and distance.She has also written about the ethical considerations fordifferentiating textual from media interpretation when studying past periods, and on the challenges andopportunities for book historical research in Mexico's notarialarchive.

Reyes Elizondo is also a researcher at the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University where she works on projects related to scientific integrity and openscience, and where she coordinates the focal area ResearchEvaluation & Culture.

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Intro music by Leonardo Granados

In this episode, we dive into Laila Lalami’s The Dream Hotel — a sharp, thought-provoking novel that blends imagination with unsettling realism.

Join us as we unpack our impressions of the book and explore how its vision of AI, capitalism, and power imbalance mirrors our own world. From questions of who controls technology to what it means to be human in a data-driven age, this conversation looks at the future through the lens of literature — and asks whether it’s really as distant as it seems.

Tune in to reflect, question, and maybe even dream a little differently.

Follow us on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠YouTube ⁠⁠⁠and ⁠⁠⁠TikTok  ⁠⁠⁠for more pictures and videos of all things books that we discuss in the podcast!

Intro music by Leonardo Granados