The banned book club
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 9 June 2022
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
How high school students across the country are fighting for their right to read. Plus, what the Golden State Warriors represent off the basketball court.
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A few months ago, education reporter Hannah Natanson sat in on the meeting of an unusual book club at Vandegrift High School in Austin, Tex. – one in which students read exclusively books banned by their school district, and think deeply about the aspects of the world that’ll remain hidden to them if grown-ups keep banning books.
Then, we hear from Washington Post global opinions writer Jason Rezaian on the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, their outspoken coach Steve Kerr, and why Jason thinks the Warriors should now be considered “America’s team.”
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | When it comes to book bans, we hear a lot from adults. |
| 0:06.3 | But what do kids think about the books that adults don't want them to read? |
| 0:19.4 | Education reporter Hannan Ainson traveled to Leander, Texas for a meeting of the band book |
| 0:24.0 | club at Bandagrift High School. |
| 0:26.5 | It's a group dedicated to reading the books that their school district has banned. |
| 0:30.9 | I came in on a hot Wednesday afternoon to listen to them discuss a novel by I.W. Gregorio called |
| 0:39.8 | None of the Above, which is about a high school student who is intersex. |
| 0:44.8 | That's when a person is born with a combination of male and female sex characteristics, reproductive |
| 0:50.4 | anatomy that doesn't fit into the box of either male or female. |
| 0:55.0 | So I came in and the girls were gathered at a table, they were munching on snacks, they |
| 1:00.8 | were talking about TikTok dances. |
| 1:03.4 | And then the meeting starts. |
| 1:05.4 | All right. |
| 1:06.4 | Welcome to Meeting 14. |
| 1:08.4 | Good job everybody. |
| 1:09.4 | And thank you for coming at 6 in the evening. |
| 1:18.1 | They started off by discussing the book. |
| 1:20.7 | And then they wound up making a statement at the end of the meeting, which they always do, |
| 1:24.7 | planning why it had been banned and whether they agreed with that and they did not agree |
| 1:29.0 | with that. |
| 1:30.0 | They have not once agreed with that. |
| 1:32.8 | I think what drove me to report the story and what stuck out to me the most about it is |
... |
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