American Libraries Dewey Decibel Podcast

To coincide with the conclusion of Banned Books Week, Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart looks at book banning, challenges, and censorship with three individuals at the forefront of the conversation: James LaRue, director of the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom and the executive director of the Freedom to Read Foundation. James and Phil talk about the difference between a challenge and a banning, the reasons behind books bannings in the US, and more. Sara Stevenson, a librarian at O. Henry Middle School in Austin, Texas, who recently experienced a book challenge situation at her school. She relives the experience and offers tips to librarians facing similar books challenges or bannings. Marjane Satrapi, the author of the award-winning graphic novel, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, and director of the Oscar-nominated film adaptation. Satrapi's book was briefly banned in a high school in Chicago in 2013. Phil spoke with Marjane from Paris about her work, the situation in Chi