Advertise on podcast: When Banned Things Happen To Good People

Todd and Peter wrap up their look at The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank with this live episode, discussing the challenges the book faced on its way to publication, the different versions of the book that were published over the years, and the controversies around its inclusion in school libraries and curriculums. It is perhaps because of the power of the story that it has seen as much controversy as it has, because, as our hosts agree, it's a story that's as valuable today as ever, if not even moreso. Email: [email protected] Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com Patreon: https://patreon.com/blahblahblahmedia Support: https://buymeacoffee.com/blahblahblah Merch: https://shop.spreadshirt.ca/blah-blah-blah-media/

Todd and Peter dig into the final 100 pages of The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, and ultimately the final weeks and months of her life. Hope still lingers in these pages, even as we know what is waiting for them at the end. Email: [email protected] Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com Patreon: https://patreon.com/blahblahblahmedia Support: https://buymeacoffee.com/blahblahblah Merch: https://shop.spreadshirt.ca/blah-blah-blah-media/

We enter the second year of living in the Annex with Anne and her family as World War II continues around them. Hope is diminished but not gone and Anne struggles with complicated adolescent feelings -- whether frustration with the elders around her or budding feelings of love for Peter -- in this difficult and confined space. These entries cover a period from mid‑1943 to early‑1944. Email: [email protected] Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com Patreon: https://patreon.com/blahblahblahmedia Support: https://buymeacoffee.com/blahblahblah Merch: https://shop.spreadshirt.ca/blah-blah-blah-media/

After a few weeks of scheduling difficulties, Todd and Peter have managed to get back to the microphones to start their look at The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, a true story of a young girl and her family's attempt to avoid detection from the Nazis during World War II. Email: [email protected] Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com Patreon: https://patreon.com/blahblahblahmedia Support: https://buymeacoffee.com/blahblahblah Merch: https://shop.spreadshirt.ca/blah-blah-blah-media/

Todd and Peter dig into some literal shit this episode with a look at Pier Paolo Pasolini's controversial Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom a film that is both graphically and thematically grotesque. Telling the story of four best friends living their best life in the Italian countryside, torturing, raping, and eventually murdering a number of local teenagers in the fascist Republic of Salò. Email: [email protected] Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com Patreon: https://patreon.com/blahblahblahmedia Support: https://buymeacoffee.com/blahblahblah Merch: https://shop.spreadshirt.ca/blah-blah-blah-media/

If you missed our recent live episode, worry not because we made a copy of it for you so you could check it out to hear our final thoughts on Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a book that takes a pretty intimate look at some of the best and worst sides of high school. We also talk briefly about the film adaptation, which was written and directed by Chbosky. Email: [email protected] Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com Patreon: https://patreon.com/blahblahblahmedia Support: https://buymeacoffee.com/blahblahblah Merch: https://shop.spreadshirt.ca/blah-blah-blah-media/

Charlie continues to struggle with his high school experience in the latter half of Stephen Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Todd and Pete take the journey with him and come out the other side, a little bit wiser, a little bit more emotional, and yes, a little bit more messedup. Email: [email protected] Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com Patreon: https://patreon.com/blahblahblahmedia Support: https://buymeacoffee.com/blahblahblah Merch: https://shop.spreadshirt.ca/blah-blah-blah-media/

It's been a crazy few weeks for us here at Banned Things, and we haven't had the chance to get together to record a new episode, so here's one from our bank that we recorded earlier in 2025 dedicated to Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead. Todd and Pete break down this classic of sloppy gore, slapstick comedy, and books of the dead, while considering its rightful place in horror history. Email: [email protected] Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com Patreon: https://patreon.com/blahblahblahmedia Support: https://buymeacoffee.com/blahblahblah Merch: https://shop.spreadshirt.ca/blah-blah-blah-media/

It's back to school time (or at least it was when we started reading this), and Todd and Pete are pulling The Perks of Being a Wallflower out of the school library to read over Christmas vacation, or however long it takes for all these episodes to come out. Here's part one of our look at the fourth most banned book of 2024. Email: [email protected] Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com Patreon: https://patreon.com/blahblahblahmedia Support: https://buymeacoffee.com/blahblahblah Merch: https://shop.spreadshirt.ca/blah-blah-blah-media/

We're adjacent to 1984 this episode as Todd and Peter take a look at the Terry Gilliam film Brazil, which also features a dystopian society, fascistic government bodies, and a doomed love story, but with noticeably more laughs. Though Gilliam did eventually get his version of the film to audiences, it didn't come without a fight, which you'll learn a bit about here. Email: [email protected] Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com Patreon: https://patreon.com/blahblahblahmedia Support: https://buymeacoffee.com/blahblahblah Merch: https://shop.spreadshirt.ca/blah-blah-blah-media/

We've made it to the end of 1984, experiencing life in Oceania, and learning what Room 101 contains, and now it's time to finish things up with our final thoughts on whether this book was a decent predictor of what the today's United States of America might start drifting towards (short answer, yes; longer answer, just listen to the podcast, okay?) Todd and Pete share their take on this dystopian novel while answering a few pointed questions from the live audience. Email: [email protected] Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com Patreon: https://patreon.com/blahblahblahmedia Support: https://buymeacoffee.com/blahblahblah Merch: https://shop.spreadshirt.ca/blah-blah-blah-media/

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 Goldstein overthrow Big Brother? There's only one way to find out! Well, there are more than that, but one of them is listening to this podcast. Email: [email protected] Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com Patreon: https://patreon.com/blahblahblahmedia Support: https://buymeacoffee.com/blahblahblah Merch: https://shop.spreadshirt.ca/blah-blah-blah-media/

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. Email: [email protected] Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com Patreon: https://patreon.com/blahblahblahmedia Support: https://buymeacoffee.com/blahblahblah Merch: https://shop.spreadshirt.ca/blah-blah-blah-media/

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 following a previous attempt at fascism when the dangers were fresh in the mind of the author. And if you think we're looking at this book without making some comparisons to recent events, you'd be mistaken. Email: [email protected] Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com Patreon: https://patreon.com/blahblahblahmedia Support: https://buymeacoffee.com/blahblahblah Merch: https://shop.spreadshirt.ca/blah-blah-blah-media/

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. Email: [email protected] Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com Patreon: https://patreon.com/blahblahblahmedia Support: https://buymeacoffee.com/blahblahblah Merch: https://shop.spreadshirt.ca/blah-blah-blah-media/