In this season finale, Christine and Jessica reflect on the first two seasons of "The Beautiful and Banned" in a year in which book banning has exploded in our country--more than 10,000 books were banned in the last school year alone, up from a record 3,000+ the year before. After two seasons of the podcast, Jessica and Christine talk about what they've learned, four moments that stood out to each of them, what is coming next year, and what brings them hope for the future. You don't want to miss it!

"The Beautiful and Banned" will return with Season 3 in early 2025! Stay tuned for more details!

"The Beautiful and Banned" is produced by Jessica Goudeau and Christine Renee Miller. Follow us on social media: @beautifulandbannedpod, @christinereneemiller, and @jessica_goudeau.

Read Jessica's latest book, We Were Illegal: Uncovering a Texas Family's Mythmaking and Migration.

If you haven’t yet become 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!

If you’d like to advertise with 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 a new podcast is to share it with your friends!

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

Episode 14 Links:

• Frank Strong's "Anger and Clarity" newsletter: subscribe today!
• "The Threat of Project 2025" (In the episode, Jessica erroneously said Project 2025 was 900 words long--it's 900+ pages long. Words are hard.)

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 Kindred by Octavia E. Butler. This seminal work explores the idea that we are always connected to our national and familial past--in this case, literally. As they discuss, many of the concepts in The Handmaid's Tale that are apocalyptic possibilities--oppressive treatment of women, forced pregnancies, restricting the right to read and write--are all things that actually happened to Black women in US history. This book (among many others) is a necessary addition to the conversation about preserving the freedom to read for everyone. Plus, this book is just so dang good!

"The Beautiful and Banned" is produced by Jessica Goudeau and Christine Renee Miller. Follow us on social media: @beautifulandbannedpod, @christinereneemiller, and @jessica_goudeau.

Read Jessica's latest book, We Were Illegal: Uncovering a Texas Family's Mythmaking and Migration.

If you’d like to advertise with 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 a new podcast is to share it with your friends!

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

Join us next week as Christine and Jessica recap the year in the season finale!

Episode 13 Links:

• Bio of Octavia Estelle Butler
• Buy Kindred by Octavia Butler
• "Octavia Butler's Science Fiction Predicted the World We Live In," New York Times
• Book banning in prisons, Equal Justice Initiative
• Jessica's last event of 2024 at BookWoman in Austin, Texas on December 15

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

Carolyn Foote, co-founder of Texas FReadom Fighters joins Christine and Jessica in a riveting conversation about the recent history of book banning in the US, and what's about to come. This discussion blew our minds--we understand the outrage, the fear, and the political strategies in totally new ways. Of course it was the experienced librarian who is also a freedom fighter whose words changed our lives!

"The Beautiful and Banned" is produced by Jessica Goudeau and Christine Renee Miller. Follow us on social media: @beautifulandbannedpod, @christinereneemiller, and @jessica_goudeau.

Read Jessica's latest book, We Were Illegal: Uncovering a Texas Family's Mythmaking and Migration.

If you’d like to advertise with 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 a new podcast is to share it with your friends!

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

Join us next week as Christine and Jessica talk about Octavia Butler's Kindred!

Episode 12 Links:

• The Texas FReadom Fighters
• FReadom Fighters Becky Calzada and Carolyn Foote featured in People Magazine as the 2023 Women Changing the World
• The organizations Carolyn mentioned to support currently: The ACLU, American Library Association, and PEN America
• And don't forget your local libraries--here's a place to find one near you

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