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When Banned Things Happen To Good People is a podcast about censorship and the arts. Hosts Todd Sullivan and Peter Aman examine books, films, and more that have been banned or challenged in the past.
Episodes
Aug 6, 2025
Aug 6, 2025
1hr 4 min
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: bannedthingshappen@gmail.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen
Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com
Patreon: https://patreon.com/blahblahblahmedia
Jul 21, 2025
Jul 21, 2025
1hr 6 min
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: bannedthingshappen@gmail.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen
Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com
Patreon: https://patreon.com/blahblahblahmedia
Jun 16, 2025
Jun 16, 2025
59 min
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: bannedthingshappen@gmail.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen
Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com
Patreon: https://patreon.com/blahblahblahmedia
May 5, 2025
May 5, 2025
50 min
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 Party. We talk about the film, the weaponization of language, and how things are likely to get worse before they get better.
Watched Banned Together here: https://watch.eventive.org/bannedtogether/play/680946b470d7a15f473ad676
Email: bannedthingshappen@gmail.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen
Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com
Patreon: https://patreon.com/blahblahblahmedia
Apr 1, 2025
Apr 1, 2025
1hr 12 min
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 Hitler's rule over Germany at a time when few people were giving the man a second thought.
Email: bannedthingshappen@gmail.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen
Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com
Patreon: https://patreon.com/blahblahblahmedia
Mar 18, 2025
Mar 18, 2025
1hr 31 min
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 own mind.
Email: bannedthingshappen@gmail.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen
Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com
Patreon: https://patreon.com/blahblahblahmedia
Feb 10, 2025
Feb 10, 2025
1hr 23 min
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
Feb 5, 2025
Feb 5, 2025
1hr 11 min
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 student asks the question, "Do I dare disturb the universe?" The answer might surprise you! Or maybe it won't! You could probably google that answer.
Email: bannedthingshappen@gmail.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen
Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com
Patreon: https://patreon.com/blahblahblahmedia
Jan 13, 2025
Jan 13, 2025
23 min
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 experience this episode). But if for some reason you don't want to do that, we've whittled that episode down to a pretty spry 25 minutes of us talking about the game with a smattering of game sound effects in the background. Also, some of the early audio is not ideal. Look, just go watch the YouTube version, okay?
Email: bannedthingshappen@gmail.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen
Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com
Patreon: https://patreon.com/blahblahblahmedia
Nov 11, 2024
Nov 11, 2024
1hr 43 min
Todd and Pete head back to the 17th century courtesy of Ken Russel's The Devils, a notoriously controversial film that is next to impossible to see. But somehow we got our hands on it! And we're here to talk about it!
Email: bannedthingshappen@gmail.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen
Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com
Patreon: https://patreon.com/blahblahblahmedia