Borrowed

Outside of Brooklyn, Arthur Miller's name has largely faded from memory. On this episode, we tell the story of the Black community leader who was killed by NYPD chokehold in 1978, the movement pushed forward as a result of his death, and the ways that Brooklyn Public Library’s Center for Brooklyn History helps to keep the story alive. Further resources: Voices of Crown Heights Oral History CollectionCenter for Brooklyn Historylist of booksSay His Name, Arthur Miller: A Death By Police Chokehold 45 Years AgoArthur Miller on Flatbush + Main,Brooklyn Resistsphotos of the 2020 protestsHelp us keep our libraries open by fighting for city funding. Write to your city leaders! Or, send a letter on behalf of Queens Public Library or New York Public Library.

Listen in on one of BPL's most popular art programs: a theater workshop where, once a week, budding thespians come together to read plays, talk about character motivations, and dig into some surprisingly emotional and political topics. websitetheater workshop.creative writing workshopbooklistThe Library needs your help to protect our funding or risk losing over 16 million dollars. Send a letter to your elected officials. Help us keep our libraries open by fighting for city funding. Write to your city leaders! Or, send a letter on behalf of Queens Public Library or New York Public Library.

We revisit an episode from January 2021 in honor of National Library Workers Day, and ask: what do librarians do all day? When they're not planning programs or working the reference desk, these librarians are also obscure trivia players, birders and ... sword fighters! Read a transcript here. Vote for Borrowed and Banned National Library Workers DayNational Library Week eventsOn the FrontlinesBorrowed and Banned for adultsfor kidsbirding with kidshistorical birdingLearned LeagueHelp us keep our libraries open by fighting for city funding. Write to your city leaders! Or, send a letter on behalf of Queens Public Library or New York Public Library.

Teens and older adults are perhaps the two age groups you might think have the least in common. But a new program at BPL seeks to bring the two generations together ... by having them debate. Read a transcript of this episode on our web page. Resources mentioned on this episode: services for older adultsprograms for teensBridging the Gapbooks about debatevery short surveyHelp us keep our libraries open by fighting for city funding. Write to your city leaders! Or, send a letter on behalf of Queens Public Library or New York Public Library.

Brooklyn has 62 neighborhood libraries, each with a distinct architecture, culture, and soul. To kick off the new season and to celebrate our audio stories coming home to Brooklyn, we'll take a tour of the borough with the help of our neighborhood libraries and some of our stalwart patrons who visited all 62 of them ... in a matter of days! transcriptBrowse the Branchesthis book listWrite to your city leaders!Queens Public Library and New York Public Library.Borrowed and Bannedfirst episodeHelp us keep our libraries open by fighting for city funding. Write to your city leaders! Or, send a letter on behalf of Queens Public Library or New York Public Library.

Student activists in York, Pennsylvania organized a silent protest when hundreds of books were banned from their classrooms, paving the way for lasting change in their community. In this final episode of the series, we tackle the challenge head-on: from encouraging open dialogue about the books on our shelves to the ongoing work of protecting the freedom to read. Read the transcript here. Our call to action for this episode: How will you use the stories you’ve heard over the course of this series to protect the freedom to read? Send a voice message to podcasts [at] bklynlibrary [dot] org and tell us what you’re seeing in your community, or what you want to see. We might play your voice on an upcoming bonus episode, so be sure to introduce yourself with your name, your age, and your location. More resources: TEDx TalkEmpowerEDFight Book Bans Actcatalog book bansculture of fear and intimidationbook ban data from 2021 to 2023Person of the Yearevery book mentionedBorrowed and BannedBooks Unbanned2022 episodeHelp us keep our libraries open by fighting for city funding. Write to your city leaders! Or, send a letter on behalf of Queens Public Library or New York Public Library.

Library workers often risk their livelihoods when they speak out against censorship, spurring community members to pick up the fight for intellectual freedom. We tell the story of how one Louisiana parish came together to defend their library amidst book challenges, tip lines, and even sign burning. Read the transcript here. Our call to action for this episode: More resources: EveryLibrary Instituteherefull results of the survey hereessay about St. Tammany Librarychaotic regularityAmerican Library AssociationCBSchallenged and banned children's booksHelp us keep our libraries open by fighting for city funding. Write to your city leaders! Or, send a letter on behalf of Queens Public Library or New York Public Library.

Maia Kobabe's debut memoir, Gender Queer, was the most frequently banned book in 2021 and 2022. We talked with em about what it's like to be on the recieving end of so many challenges, and the importance of public libraries. Read the transcript here. More resources: Gender Queer.resources for defending Gender Queercomic about book bans and librariesThe Washington Post'sarticle on book bans Help us keep our libraries open by fighting for city funding. Write to your city leaders! Or, send a letter on behalf of Queens Public Library or New York Public Library.

Despite being one of the most frequently banned authors, Toni Morrison’s work has inspired countless others to tell stories outside the mainstream. We take a closer look at Morisson's writing, her legacy, and her impact on the anti-censorship movement. Read the transcript here. Our call to action for this episode: Libraries for the PeopleMore resources: Toni Morrison's booksBooks UnbannedToni Morrison's full 2016 talkPEN America's PEN/Borders Literary Service Award in 2008Student Advocates for SpeechHelp us keep our libraries open by fighting for city funding. Write to your city leaders! Or, send a letter on behalf of Queens Public Library or New York Public Library.

George M. Johnson talks about their debut Young Adult memoir All Boys Aren't Blue, the support of their family, their love of Toni Morrison, and the importance of standing against book bans. Read the transcript here. Resources: All Boys Aren't BlueGeorge M. JohnsonJohnson's family supporting their bookBooks Unbanned Help us keep our libraries open by fighting for city funding. Write to your city leaders! Or, send a letter on behalf of Queens Public Library or New York Public Library.

Our call to action for this episode: Literary Activism NewsletterMore resources: new "classics,"Intellectual Freedom Teen MeetupBook Banning in 21st Century Americachallenges to diverse booksfull interview with Mike CuratoRead the new "classics," according to teens. Help us keep our libraries open by fighting for city funding. Write to your city leaders! Or, send a letter on behalf of Queens Public Library or New York Public Library.

Mike Curato talks about his award-winning graphic novel Flamer, his writing practice, and how it feels to have his story vaulted into national headlines as parents, politicians, and school boards campaign to remove his book from school and library shelves. Read the transcript here. Resources: Flamerother booksMike Curatomost frequently challengedsuicide and crisis lifelineHelp us keep our libraries open by fighting for city funding. Write to your city leaders! Or, send a letter on behalf of Queens Public Library or New York Public Library.

Over the past few years, school board races have become more heated and more political — and books have become the center of that political storm. We look at what happened in Keller, Texas when an ultra-conservative group took over the school board. You can read a transcript of this episode here. Our call to action for this episode: Action Toolkithow to talk about book bans contact your local officialsMore resources: tracking stateseducational gag ordersanyalisisinvestigationschool board in Cherokee County, GeorgiaSubmit an anonymous testimonialbooks mentioned on this episode Help us keep our libraries open by fighting for city funding. Write to your city leaders! Or, send a letter on behalf of Queens Public Library or New York Public Library.

It’s an off-week for Borrowed and Banned, but we do have something special to share. We’re doing a collaboration with PRX’s Radiotopia, and they sent along an episode from one of their shows that is really relevant to our series. This Day in Esoteric Political History is a podcast that tells the story of one moment from US history that took place on a particular day -- and discuss what it might have to teach us about our current moment. Back in 2020, the hosts did an episode about the banning of James Joyce’s Ulysses <

The birth of obscenity laws in the 1870s provides a cautionary tale for the present moment, when far-right conservatives incorrectly label books “sexually explicit” as a way to provoke outrage in communities nationwide. This episode, we delve into the parallels that history can reveal and hear from students in Texas fighting for their freedom to read. You can read a transcript of this episode here. Our calls to action for this episode: Rainbow LibraryGLSENMore resources books mentioned in this episodeBooks UnbannedCameron SamuelsDa'Taeveyon DanielsSEAT2021-20222022-2023Lust on Trialparallels to todayHelp us keep our libraries open by fighting for city funding. Write to your city leaders! Or, send a letter on behalf of Queens Public Library or New York Public Library.

When a high school teacher in Norman, Oklahoma shared a QR code with her students that would grant them access to BPL’s digital collection, she took a stand against a restrictive state law. That act of resistance made her first day of school ... also her last. Our call to action for this episode: Get a library card! Wherever you live, sign up for a library card in person or online. If you're between the ages of 13 and 21, you can apply to our free Books Unbanned e-library card. Plus, Seattle Public Library and Boston Public Library now also have Books Unbanned cards that you can apply to up to age 26. And, if you live anywhere in California, you can apply to LA County Library's Books Unbanned program if you are between the ages of 13 and 18. If you'd like, you can read a transcript of this episode. Borrowed and Banned is a production of Brooklyn Public Library and receives support from the Metropolitan New York Library Council’s Equity in Action Grant and Goat Rodeo. More resources: Banned Books WeekBrooklynacross the countryposting a picture of yourselfPEN AmericaAmerican Library Associationmost frequently-challenged books support the librarynewsletterHelp us keep our libraries open by fighting for city funding. Write to your city leaders! Or, send a letter on behalf of Queens Public Library or New York Public Library.

Last year, over 2,500 unique titles were challenged in libraries across the country. That’s the highest number in over 20 years. On Borrowed and Banned, we tell the story of America’s ideological war with its bookshelves by talking with the people most impacted: the students on the frontlines, the librarians and teachers whose livelihoods are endangered when they speak up, and the writers whose books have become political battleground. Read the transcript and find resources: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/introducing-borrowed-and Help us keep our libraries open by fighting for city funding. Write to your city leaders! Or, send a letter on behalf of Queens Public Library or New York Public Library.

We’re doing something a little bit different today and sharing an episode from a totally different podcast we love … it’s called Grown, and it’s from the Moth. Grown is all about the experience of growing up. There's conversations, true stories told live, and young people grappling with big questions. Read more about Grown and subscribe at grownpod.com. We hope you enjoy! About the episode: "Natural hair. A culture festival. Middle school jerks. In this episode, we hear stories of culture, identity, and how the two intertwine. Oleeta Fogden gets her first period, and Katiana Ciceron talks about the time her pastor touched her hair. Then, Aleeza and Fonzo get an update from Katiana on how she feels about her story now. Hosted by: Aleeza Kazmi and Fonzo Lacayo. Storytellers: Oleeta Fogden and Katiana Cicero."

Over 14,000 patrons have signed up for their first library card since Jay-Z's exhibit came to Central Library in mid-July. We talk to Brooklynites traveling around the borough to collect all 13 Jay-Z library cards, and ask what The Book of HOV means to them. Learn more about the exhibit and our signature library cards: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/jay-z-library Help us keep our libraries open by fighting for city funding. Write to your city leaders! Or, send a letter on behalf of Queens Public Library or New York Public Library.

Kesha Powell and Amen Emile have been working at BPL for over 20 years in various roles, from public safety to circulation manager. Thanks to BPL's Pathways to Leadership program—a scholarship and mentorship initiative designed to diversify the field of librarianship—they will soon be fully-certified librarians. Read the transcript and find further resources here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/pathways-leadership Help us keep our libraries open by fighting for city funding. Write to your city leaders! Or, send a letter on behalf of Queens Public Library or New York Public Library.