In this look at Part Three of George Orwell’s 1984 we finally see the inside of the Ministry of Love, and eventually even get a look at room 101. But will the Ministry of Love live up to its name? Will there be a heart-felt reunion between Winston and Julia? Will…

In the second part of our look at George Orwell’s 1984, love, or something like it, blooms in the grey-dusted despair of Oceania as Winston meets and gets to know, yes in the biblical sense, Julia, and our pair dabbles in revolution. Surely nothing terrible could happen in this dystopia….

It’s time to get a little dystopian up in here as Todd and Peter begin their look at George Orwell’s 1949 novel 1984. As we gaze at the news south of the Canadian border, it’s kind of hard to believe how prescient this book is until you remember it was written…

Todd and Pete dig into some media controversies ripped from the headlines, including the the arrest of Daddy’s Little Toy author, Lauren Tesolin-Mastrosa, and Kanye West’s release of the song Heil Hitler. How much is too much, and do either of these works cross a line? Join us for the conversation….

We’re doing something a little different this week as we invite producer Allyson Rice to join us as we discuss her new documentary Banned Together. The film is a look at the in book bans and challenges in the United States in recent years, particularly under the hand of the Republican…

It’s movie night at ‘Banned Things’ headquarters so Todd and Peter decided to check out what is almost certainly the funniest movie about fascism that’s ever graced the silver screen, Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator. This film, which was released before the United States had joined World War II, satirized Adolph…

Todd and Pete wrap up their look at ‘The Chocolate War’, the controversial 1974 young adult novel by Robert Cormier, in which a catholic school’s annual chocolate sale becomes a battleground for freedom. Do we dare disturb the universe? Well, we do, but you may have to make up your…

Todd and Pete glide through the second half of Robert Cormer’s The Chocolate War to reach the controversial ending, as well as the true answer to the question “Do I dare disturb the universe?” And no, you probably don’t want to know what the answer is.  Email: bannedthingshappen@gmail.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com Patreon: https://patreon.com/blahblahblahmedia…

After some delays, we’re BACK (we hope) to a more regular release schedule starting with this episode, part one of our look at Robert Cormier’s The Chocolate War. This 1974 young adult novel sees what should have been a standard high school fundraising chocolate sale turned on its head when one…

Holy crap it’s our 75th episode and we’re celebrating by covering a video game! Actually, we already did that when we livestreamed us playing Postal 2 while we talked about it! You can find that on YouTube if you want to watch (and honestly, it’s probably the optimum way to…