The Beautiful and Banned

In a special episode, Jessica interviews Kalyn Gensic and Kate Stover, who both work in her hometown of Abilene, Texas. Come for the in-depth conversation about what is happening on the ground right now in one corner of Texas; stay for the beautiful discussion about the teachers and librarians who have changed our lives. You'll want to send this to a teacher or librarian in your own life--we're so grateful to the people who often face insurmountable odds (including personal threats!) to make sure our kids learn and grow and thrive. Kalyn's incredible words at the end made us cry.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:

Jessica's new cozy mystery, A Zoom with a View, under the not-so-secret pseudonym, Jess Cannon, is now out wherever books are sold! Literary nerds, you will love it. A cozy murder mystery filled with hometown drama, social media influencers, an over-the-top mother, and two very attractive local men, A Zoom with a View will make you want to move to Blue Oak—if only the Fourth of July festivities didn’t end with a dead body.

Join the conversation on Substack! If you'd prefer to be a Patreon subscriber, you can join now for just $3 a month. Thank you for your support! The success of this podcast depends on you!

"The Beautiful and Banned" is produced by Jess Cannon and Christine Renee Miller. Follow us on social media: @beautifulandbannedpod, @christinereneemiller, and @JessCannonWrites.

If you have questions for us, visit the "Contact Us" page on our website. If you liked our show, please rate and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to podcasts. The best way to support our podcast is to share it with your friends!

Our co-producer, Rob Heath, wrote and performed our theme music. Kalin Siegwald designed our logo. This is A Sisters By Different Misters Production.

Episode 2 links: 

• Kalyn Genesis's tearjerker of a piece for the Texas Observer, "How a High School Librarian in Abilene Fought Back Against Moms for Liberty"
• Read Kalyn's cozy academic rom-com books: https://kalyngensic.com/
• More info on Texas SB 13
• An excellent piece on US HR 7661 (the national book banning bill)

We'd love to hear from you! Send us a text to suggest books, plays, films, or guests, or just share your thoughts!

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. We're delighted to have one of the smartest women we know join us to talk all things Heated Rivalry, including why it's been banned in Russia, what exactly that means in a country where it's illegal to be LGBTQIA+, and what Russian young people are telling the world about what it's like to finally see a joyful depiction of a queer relationship. Also: even in the midst of everything going on right now, we're still finding hope!

Join the conversation on Substack! If you'd prefer to be a Patreon subscriber, you can join now for just $3 a month. Thank you for your support! The success of this podcast depends on you!

"The Beautiful and Banned" is produced by Jess Cannon and Christine Renee Miller. Follow us on social media: @beautifulandbannedpod, @christinereneemiller, and @JessCannonWrites.

If you have questions for us, visit the "Contact Us" page on our website. If you liked our show, please rate and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to podcasts. The best way to support our podcast is to share it with your friends!

Our co-producer, Rob Heath, wrote and performed our theme music. Kalin Siegwald designed our logo. This is A Sisters By Different Misters Production.

Episode 1 links: 

• Rachel Reid's website with the books from Carina Press
• NBC News article about HR as a "word-of-mouth hit" in Russia that could lead to prison
• Reuters article about the Russian Supreme Court's banning of the "LGBTQ movement" as "extremist"
• The ramifications of that law, according to Coming Out
• The Moscow Times overview of the HR phenomenon in Russia

Nisha's recs for writers to read if you liked HR: 

• Meryl Wilsner (they/them)
• Cat Sebastian (she/her) [Jessica seconds; I'm obsessed with Cat Sebastian]
• AJ Truman (he/him)
• Tal Baur (he/him)
• KT Hoffman (he/him)
• Julian Winters (he/him)--YA

We'd love to hear from you! Send us a text to suggest books, plays, films, or guests, or just share your thoughts!

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. You won't want to miss this discussion.

Join the conversation on Substack! If you'd prefer to be a Patreon subscriber, you can join now for just $3 a month. Thank you for your support! The success of this podcast depends on you!

"The Beautiful and Banned" is produced by Jess Cannon and Christine Renee Miller. Follow us on social media: @beautifulandbannedpod, @christinereneemiller, and @JessCannonWrites.

If you have questions for us, visit the "Contact Us" page on our website. If you liked our show, please rate and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to podcasts. The best way to support our podcast is to share it with your friends!

Our co-producer, Rob Heath, wrote and performed our theme music. Kalin Siegwalddesigned our logo. Jillian Benedict is our amazing podcast assistant. This is A Sisters By Different Misters Production.

We will be taking the rest of the summer off to read and rest. We hope you join us in the fall for season 4 of "The Beautiful and Banned"!

Episode 9 Links: 

• 1984 by George Orwell
• A Britannica biography of Orwell
• A link to an accurate story about 1984 being banned--in 1981 in Jacksonville, Florida.
• A link to an inaccurate story of it being banned (the book does not, as this Am*zon affiliation site claims, maintain "its status as the most banned book of all time in America"). This is one example of many that inaccurately called 1984 the most banned book in the US.
• Park MacDougald's 2016 article on Peter Thiel in The Intelligencer
• The "Behind the Bastards" episodes with Ed Helms on Curtis Yarvin (Mencius Moldbug) are a great place to learn more. 
• Or this New Yorker profile about Yarvin. 

We'd love to hear from you! Send us a text to suggest books, plays, films, or guests, or just share your thoughts!

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! 

Join the conversation on Substack! If you'd prefer to be a Patreon subscriber, you can join now for just $3 a month. Thank you for your support! The success of this podcast depends on you!

"The Beautiful and Banned" is produced by Jess Cannon and Christine Renee Miller. Follow us on social media: @beautifulandbannedpod, @christinereneemiller, and @JessCannonWrites.

If you have questions for us, visit the "Contact Us" page on our website. If you liked our show, please rate and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to podcasts. The best way to support our podcast is to share it with your friends!

Our co-producer, Rob Heath, wrote and performed our theme music. Kalin Siegwalddesigned our logo. Jillian Benedict is our amazing podcast assistant. This is A Sisters By Different Misters Production.

Interlude 2 link:

• Find out more about the Maslow Family Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Wilkes University

We'd love to hear from you! Send us a text to suggest books, plays, films, or guests, or just share your thoughts!

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 elected in a decisive victory despite being the outspent underdog, proving why McQuiston's book remains so timely--because Texas will always, always surprise you.

Join the conversation on Substack! If you'd prefer to be a Patreon subscriber, you can join now for just $3 a month. Thank you for your support! The success of this podcast depends on you!

"The Beautiful and Banned" is produced by Jess Cannon and Christine Renee Miller. Follow us on social media: @beautifulandbannedpod, @christinereneemiller, and @JessCannonWrites.

If you have questions for us, visit the "Contact Us" page on our website. If you liked our show, please rate and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to podcasts. The best way to support our podcast is to share it with your friends!

Our co-producer, Rob Heath, wrote and performed our theme music. Kalin Siegwalddesigned our logo. Jillian Benedict is our amazing podcast assistant. This is A Sisters By Different Misters Production.

Join us in two weeks in the season 3 finale as Christine and Jessica discuss 1984 by George Orwell!

Episode 8 Links: 

• Red, White, and Royal Blue
• Casey McQuiston's website
• A 2022 Publisher's Weekly interview with McQuiston
• The Texas Tribune on one of the Texas lege bills we mention

We'd love to hear from you! Send us a text to suggest books, plays, films, or guests, or just share your thoughts!

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 incredible, the roots of racism and how it hurts all of us, and how we can move forward as a nation. This book is deeply critical and holds well-earned hope--we promise, this conversation will change you.

Join the conversation on Substack! If you'd prefer to be a Patreon subscriber, you can join now for just $3 a month. Thank you for your support! The success of this podcast depends on you!

"The Beautiful and Banned" is produced by Jess Cannon and Christine Renee Miller. Follow us on social media: @beautifulandbannedpod, @christinereneemiller, and @JessCannonWrites.

If you have questions for us, visit the "Contact Us" page on our website. If you liked our show, please rate and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to podcasts. The best way to support our podcast is to share it with your friends!

Our co-producer, Rob Heath, wrote and performed our theme music. Kalin Siegwald designed our logo. Jillian Benedict is our amazing podcast assistant. This is A Sisters By Different Misters Production.

Join us in two weeks as Christine and Jessica discuss Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston! 

Episode 7 links: 

• Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin
• Baldwin's biography 
• Info about Baldwin's relationship with Lucien Happersberger

We'd love to hear from you! Send us a text to suggest books, plays, films, or guests, or just share your thoughts!

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.  

Call your representatives ASAP and tell them you're very worried about what's happening at the Library of Congress and expect them to speak up! We look forward to joining you next week with our episode about James Baldwin's Notes of a Native Son--not a banned book but a critical one for us today.

We'd love to hear from you! Send us a text to suggest books, plays, films, or guests, or just share your thoughts!

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 cover fairy smut!

Join the conversation on Substack! If you'd prefer to be a Patreon subscriber, you can join now for just $3 a month. Thank you for your support! The success of this podcast depends on you!

"The Beautiful and Banned" is produced by Jess Cannon and Christine Renee Miller. Follow us on social media: @beautifulandbannedpod, @christinereneemiller, and @JessCannonWrites.

If you have questions for us, visit the "Contact Us" page on our website. If you liked our show, please rate and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to podcasts. The best way to support our podcast is to share it with your friends!

Our co-producer, Rob Heath, wrote and performed our theme music. Kalin Siegwald designed our logo. Jillian Benedict is our amazing podcast assistant. This is A Sisters By Different Misters Production.

Join us in two weeks as Christine and Jessica discuss Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin! 

Episode 6 links:

• Alyssa's newsletter, Romancing the Phone
• Alyssa's website
• About ACOTAR from Alpha Reader, AP News, and Utah State Board of Education  

Alyssa's Recs:

Romance:

• We Could Be So Good and You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian
• Beach Read and Book Lovers by Emily Henry
• Pretty Face by Lucy Parker
• Psy Changeling series by Nalini Singh
• You Made A Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
• A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams
• What I Did for a Duke by Julie Anne Long

YA:

• Anna and the French Kiss, Lola and the Boy Next Door, and Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins, plus her upcoming adult romance debut Overdue (October)
• The Wallflower series by Lisa Kleypas

Romantasy: 

• An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Taahir, 
• The Star Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi, 
• Radiance by Grace Draven

Jessica's Romance/Romantasy Recs:

Anything by:

• Naina Kumar
• Ali Hazelsood
• Nisha Sharma
• Ehi Okosun
• Nia "N.E." Davenport
• Susan Lee

We'd love to hear from you! Send us a text to suggest books, plays, films, or guests, or just share your thoughts!

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 Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag, which remains one of the most banned children's book in the US. Make sure to check out Rob's recommendations for organizations he loves below!

Join the conversation on Substack! If you'd prefer to be a Patreon subscriber, you can join now for just $3 a month. Thank you for your support! The success of this podcast depends on you!

"The Beautiful and Banned" is produced by Jess Cannon and Christine Renee Miller. Follow us on social media: @beautifulandbannedpod, @christinereneemiller, and @JessCannonWrites.

If you have questions for us, visit the "Contact Us" page on our website. If you liked our show, please rate and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to podcasts. The best way to support our podcast is to share it with your friends!

Our co-producer, Rob Heath, wrote and performed our theme music. Kalin Siegwald designed our logo. Jillian Benedict is our amazing podcast assistant. This is A Sisters By Different Misters Production.

Join us in two weeks as Jessica discusses A Court of Thorn and Roses with special guest, Alyssa Morris (May 6)!

Episode 5 links:

• Rob Sanders's website
• Book Comes Home
• Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag
• Pride and Less Prejudice, which provides LGBTQ-inclusive books to Pre-K through 3rd grade classrooms to help students and teachers “Read out loud, read out proud!”
• Florida Freedom to Read Project: defending every student’s right to access information and ideas while at school.

We'd love to hear from you! Send us a text to suggest books, plays, films, or guests, or just share your thoughts!

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. 

Join the conversation on Substack! If you'd prefer to be a Patreon subscriber, you can join now for just $3 a month. Thank you for your support! The success of this podcast depends on you!

"The Beautiful and Banned" is produced by Jess Cannon and Christine Renee Miller. Follow us on social media: @beautifulandbannedpod, @christinereneemiller, and @JessCannonWrites.

If you have questions for us, visit the "Contact Us" page on our website. If you liked our show, please rate and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to podcasts. The best way to support our podcast is to share it with your friends!

Our co-producer, Rob Heath, wrote and performed our theme music. Kalin Siegwald designed our logo. Jillian Benedict is our amazing podcast assistant. This is A Sisters By Different Misters Production.

Episode 4 Links:

• "The Satanic Verses," Brittanica
• "A tsunami of outrage: Salman Rushdie and The Satanic Verses," The Guardian, August 2022
• "What is a fatwa and why did Iran issue one against Salman Rushdie for The Satanic Verses in 1989?" The Independent, April 2024
• "New Jersey man is convicted of attempted murder in the stabbing of Salman Rushdie," Associated Press, February 2025
• “The Salman Rushdie Affair: Apostasy, Honor, and Freedom of Speech," M.M. Slaughter,Virginia Law Review, vol. 79, no. 1, 1993, pp. 153–204. JSTOR.

We'd love to hear from you! Send us a text to suggest books, plays, films, or guests, or just share your thoughts!