When Book Bans Came to Small Town New Jersey
7 December 2022 - 44 mins explicitThis episode contains strong language.
In the contentious debate over who controls what happens in America’s schools, a new battleground has emerged: library books.
This is the story of what happened when parents in one town in New Jersey tried to remove a handful of books that they said were explicit and sexually inappropriate — and the battle that ensued.
Guest: Alexandra Alter, a reporter covering publishing and the literary world for The New York Times.
Background reading:
As highly visible and politicized book bans have exploded across the United States, librarians — accustomed to being seen as dedicated public servants in their communities — have found themselves on the front l...
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