Silenced: A History of Censorship in the U.S.

Send us Fan MailToday, we’re diving into a conversation that feels more urgent than ever: censorship. Across the country — in classrooms, libraries, boardrooms, and online spaces — powerful forces are working overtime to erase the voices of women, LGBTQ folks, and Black, Indigenous, and people of color. Books are being banned. Websites are being scrubbed. Histories are being rewritten. And the dangerous truth is: when we lose these ystories, we lose part of ourselves. On this show, we believe that storytelling is survival. That visibility matters. That history belongs to everyone — not just those in power. And so today, we're going to name what’s happening, why it matters, and how communities are fighting back to protect the voices that shape who we are and where we’re going. So buckle up, friends. Because censorship might be loud right now — but Jen & Carolyn are louder.Levy, L. W. (1985). Emergence of a Free Press. Oxford University Press.Alexander, L. (2005). Is There a Right of Freedom of Expression? Cambridge University Press.Stone, G. R. (2004). Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime from The Sedition Act of 1798 to The War on Terrorism. W.W. Norton.Kennedy, D. M. (1980). Over Here: The First World War and American Society. Oxford University PressAmerican Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). (2011). Surveillance Under the Patriot Act.Greenwald, G. (2014). No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State.ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom. Libraries and the Patriot Act.Navasky, V. (1980). Naming Names. Viking Press.American Library Association (2023). State of America's Libraries Report.Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-regulation. W.W. Norton & Company.Dana, D. (2018). The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy: Engaging the Rhythm of Regulation. W.W. Norton & Company.DeGruy, J. (2005). Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America's Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing.Martín-Baró, I. (1994). Writings for a Liberation Psychology. Harvard University Press.Sue, D. W. (2010). Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation. Wiley.Van der Kolk, B. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Viking.Menakem, R. (2017). My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies. Central Recovery Press.de Sousa Santos, B. (2014). Epistemologies of the South: Justice Against Epistemicide. Routledge.Tuck, E., & Yang, K. W. (2012). Decolonization is not a metaphor. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 1(1), 1-40.PEN America. (2023). Banned in the USA: The Growing Movement to Censor Books in Schools.Carello, J., & Butler, L. D. (2015). Practicing what we teach: Trauma-informed educational practice. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 35(3), 262-278.