218. Banned Books
The Allusionist
Helen Zaltzman
4.7 • 3.8K Ratings
🗓️ 7 October 2025
⏱️ 40 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
It's Banned Books Week. Honorary youth chair Iris Mogul and Sam Helmick, president of the American Library Association, talk about what it is, why it matters so much, and how you can get involved.
Visit theallusionist.org/bannedbooks for more information and many links about today's topics, plus a transcript of the episode.
Support the show at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcast going, you also get behind-the-scenes info about every episode; livestreams with me, Martin and my ever-growing collection of dictionaries, and the charming and nurturing Allusioverse Discord community, where we're watching the current season of Great British Bake Off - donors also get a weekly work of flanfic about the show.
This episode was produced by me, Helen Zaltzman. Thanks to Thanks to Charisse Barnachea, and to Liv for the Judy Blume books circa 1989. Martin Austwick sings and composed the music. Download his own songs at palebirdmusic.com and on Bandcamp, and listen to his podcasts Song By Song and Neutrino Watch.
Find the Allusionist at youtube.com/allusionistshow, instagram.com/allusionistshow, facebook.com/allusionistshow, @allusionistshow.bsky.social… If I’m there, I’m there as @allusionistshow.
Our ad partner is Multitude. If you want me to talk compellingly about your product, sponsor an episode: contact Multitude at multitude.productions/ads. This episode is sponsored by:
• Squarespace, your one-stop shop for building and running your online forever home. Go to squarespace.com/allusionist for a free trial, and get 10 percent off your first purchase of a website or domain with the code allusionist.
• Home Chef, meal kits that fit your needs. For a limited time, Home Chef is offering Allusionist listeners fifty per cent off and free shipping on your first box, plus free dessert for life, at HomeChef.com/allusionist.
• Rosetta Stone, immersive and effective language learning. Allusionist listeners get 50% off unlimited access to all 25 language courses, for life: go to rosettastone.com/allusionist.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is The Illusionist, in which I, Helen Zaltzman, sip language with a finger sticking out, all classy light. |
| 0:10.8 | It is Band Books Week, 5th to 11th of October 2025. |
| 0:15.7 | Happy Band Books Week? |
| 0:18.0 | Merry Band Book. |
| 0:19.5 | Doesn't seem very appropriate, does it? Wishing you an adjective |
| 0:22.7 | Band Books Week. In today's episode, we are talking about what Band Books Week involves and why it |
| 0:28.8 | matters so much. You can find out more about it at Band Booksweek.org. It is run by a coalition of |
| 0:34.4 | organizations, many of which are US-based, including the American |
| 0:37.7 | Library Association and Amnesty International USA, but it is an international event. For instance, |
| 0:43.9 | in the UK, the Index on Censorship is partnering this year, because book bands are not |
| 0:49.3 | just an American problem. But good gravy, are they an American problem? On with the show. |
| 1:00.8 | When I was eight, my cousin Helene lent me a copy of Deanie, my first encounter with a Judy Blume novel. |
| 1:12.7 | It's about the 13-year-old Deiney being diagnosed with scoliosis and going through treatment |
| 1:17.5 | and how it affects her life with her family and friends and at school. |
| 1:22.2 | Sometimes she talks about touching her special place to make herself feel good. |
| 1:27.2 | And being eight at the time, I didn't know what that meant. I thought she liked rubbing her magic elbows or something. I chased Deanie with as many other Judy Bloom books as I could get hold of. Tiger eyes. Blubber. Are you there, God? It's me, Margaret. Forever. Many more. Most of these I borrowed from my friend leave and read in her bathroom |
| 1:44.8 | when sleeping over at her house, because I was an insomniac kid, but also because Judy Blume was not |
| 1:50.4 | welcome in my house. My mother didn't allow the books. As an adult, I learned that it wasn't |
| 1:55.2 | just my mother who forbade Judy Blume. She is one of the most banned authors in the United States. During my four and a half |
| 2:02.5 | decade lifespan, each one of those titles that I have mentioned has been challenged on the grounds of |
| 2:07.1 | containing content about puberty or periods or sex or magic elbow rubbing. Those weren't the |
| 2:13.5 | reasons my mother didn't allow them. She felt they weren't edifying. She was always trying to |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Helen Zaltzman, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Helen Zaltzman and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.