We celebrate our 69th episode with a look at SEX! No, not the act, but the coffee table book by Madonna from 1992. Also, yes, it was entirely an accident that this turned out to be the 69th episode, but we're gonna lean into it like it was intentional. Heck yeah. Let's talk about sex! Email: bannedthingshappen@gmail.com Facebook: https://facebook.c…

This LIVE episode features Todd and Pete wrapping up their look at Beloved by Toni Morrison, the Pulitzer Prize winning novel on the horrors of slavery, and how far a mother might go to save her children from those horrors. Email: bannedthingshappen@gmail.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com Patre…

Todd and Pete push through the sometimes confusing, sometimes confounding, and always engaging final section of Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize winning Beloved to get to the final moments of this book about slavery, suffering, and sacrifice. Email: bannedthingshappen@gmail.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen Web: https://blahblahbl…

Todd and Pete continue their journey through Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize winning Beloved, which leads them to such questions as what the age of consent is for a spiritual manifestation. Don't ask, just listen to the episode, it'll all make sense in context. We promise. Email: bannedthingshappen@gmail.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthin…

Peter and Todd step through the doors of 124 to begin their examination of the Pulitzer Prize winning Beloved by Toni Morrison. It's a beautiful, confusing, painful journey, and we're only about a third of the the way through. Email: bannedthingshappen@gmail.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com Pa…

Well it had happen eventually -- not just because every book ends up with a wrap-up episode, but also because it's all already happened, every moment ever, and we're all just sliding through moments that could only ever be, like a beautiful Tralfamadorian night sky. Or something. Yes, this episode Pete and Todd wrap up their look at Slaughter-House…

It took until the end of January to finish up the book we were supposed to read in November, but Todd and Pete finally made it through Kurt Vonnegut Jr's Slaughterhouse-Five. So it goes. Email: bannedthingshappen@gmail.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen Web: https://blahblahblahmedia.com Patreon: https://patreon.com/blahblahblahm…

Peter and Todd begin their look at Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five with an episode covering roughly half the short novel, featuring the first few weeks of Billy's experiences in World War 2, his trip to Tralfamadore, his wedding, his daughter's wedding, that time he almost cheated on his wife, and his birth and death, which seems like a lot for…

One of the best horror films of all time has also occasionally felt the pressures of rating boards who have prevented the film from being released in varying formats in varying countries, and that film is William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist directed by William Friedkin. The film turns 50 this year and Todd and Peter had the opportunity to watch The…

Our crew gathered around their microphones for a LIVE episode to wrap up their thoughts on Heartstopper by Alice Oseman. Though technical difficulties prevented any callers from engaging in the conversation with Todd, Peter, and Ayla, our hosts shared their predictions for the future of this series, discussed the roots of transphobia, and just gene…

And we're off to FRANCE! Well, not us, unfortunately, but the cast of Heartstoppers are, in Volume Three of Heartstopper by Alice Oseman. Todd, Pete and Ayla gather once again to break down the growth of both the central love story as well as well as the supporting cast, who feature far more frequently this time. Email: bannedthingshappen@gmail.com…

Summer break has taken its toll on the podcast, as vacations and long weekends have made it hard to get Todd and Pete in the same room together, but we've finally put together Part Two of our look at Heartstopper, covering Volume Two of the graphic novel by Alice Oseman. We're also joined once again by guest Ayla Aman, who is quick to reference the…

Todd and Pete tone things down this episode with the first look at a slightly different high-school set story in Alice Oseman's Heartstopper. This queer-friendly young adult romance tells the story of Charlie and Nick, two fast friends who may have to confront slightly more complicated feelings for each other. This episode also features a perspecti…

Todd and Peter take the podcast live to share their final thoughts on the Stephen King / Richard Bachman novel Rage -- a book so controversial that King pulled it from publication himself. Tune in to find out what they thought, and also where you might be able to find a copy if you want to read it (it might be hard to find, but not impossible). Ema…

Todd and Peter make it through the second of half of the early Stephen King novel Rage, a book that is definitely short, and maybe a little bit sweet? Is it possible that a story that opens with two homicides could have a heart-warming ending? You'll have to listen to find out! Email: bannedthingshappen@gmail.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/bann…

This week Todd and Peter get it on with the short novel Rage by Richard Bachman, an author better known as Stephen King. Rage is a unique case of self-censorship, as King removed the book from publication in the 90s following its connection to a number of school shootings. Is it as controversial as all that might lead one to think? Come along for t…

Todd and Peter reflect back on their time with Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and consider whether it was as good as a grams of SOMA or instead something to inspire a return to the wilderness. And, perhaps most importantly, exactly whom, if anyone, should read this thing (hint, you probably should, it's pretty good). Email: bannedthingshappen@gmai…

Todd Sullivan and Peter Aman finish up their visit to futuristic London, shake the soma out of their system, get their libidos back in check, and chat about the experience. Did the second half of Brave New World live up to the expectations from the first half? (Hint: Not entirely). Email: bannedthingshappen@gmail.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/…

The podcast that just won't die has finally returned to the land of the living -- When Banned Things Happen To Good People is BACK after a hiatus of more than six months, with a new book, a new co-host, and...well, pretty much everything else is still the same. This week Todd is joined by new face and voice Peter Aman to cover Aldous Huxley's Brave…

They say it's better late than never, and in that spirit, here is the recorded version of our 50th episode live celebration, finally posted two months after the original stream. Hosts Todd Sullivan and Oren Barter look back on the first 50 episodes of When Banned Things Happen to Good People, discussing the highs and the lows, and also, what's up w…

Todd Sullivan and Dave Coalmine wrap up their look at the first volume of Art Spiegelman's Maus: My Father Bleeds History. We share our thoughts on the graphic novel, what age groups we think it's appropriate for, and whether the banning was reasonable. Also, we talk about butt aliens for some reason. Email: bannedthingshappen@gmail.com Facebook: h…

Todd Sullivan is once again joined by Dave Coalmine to finish up their look at the first volume of Art Spiegelman's Maus, subtitled My Father Bleeds History. The story of Spiegelman's father Vladek get substantially darker as Germans begin to intensify their assaults against the Jews of Poland. Email: bannedthingshappen@gmail.com Facebook: https://…

Well, it took us a bit longer than usual to get out our first proper episode of 2022 after first losing our permanent recording of a live episode, and then losing half of the audio recorded for this episode, requiring us to start from scratch again, but here we are at last with our first part of our look at Maus by Art Spiegelman. Todd Sullivan is …

It's late, but we hope you enjoy this Boxing Day edition of When Banned Things Happen to Good People, where we look at the controversial Christmas film Silent Night, Deadly Night. This episode, Todd is joined by guest host Jason Hewlett of the Paranormal Network, and they break down this very weird 1984 film.…

Todd is once again joined by guest Dave Coalmine to wrap-up their discussion of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, a book that does indeed contain both mice and men, as well as copious amounts of bleakness, despair, desperation, and frustration. But does it contain a mention of pornographic magazines? That -- and more! -- is all discussed in this ep…

Todd is joined on this episode by Dave Coalmine to begin their look at John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, a book filled with dread almost from page one. This novella has been frequently banned or challenged over the years and was the 28th most banned or challenged book from 2010 to 2019. Email: bannedthingshappen@gmail.com Facebook: https://facebook…

Todd Sullivan and guest host Carlo Sia (Half-Cut Conspiracies) wrap up their look at This Book is Anti-Racist in this recording of their live episode. They discuss the important differences between being not racist and being anti-racist, why one is probably better than the other, and tackle the question of why the heck two very white dudes are even…

This episode Todd and guest host Carlo Sia (Half-Cut Conspiracies) explore the second half of the controversial This Book is Anti-Racist which was led to a crackdown on certain books in the Southlake Texas school curriculum. This portion of the book is primarily focused on what you can do to be anti-racist. And that's something we should all want t…

This Book is Anti Racist has inspired a touch of controversy in Southlake, Texas recently as a complaint from a mother about the title led the school district to stamp down on similar books, asking teachers to ensure that any controversial topics be treated neutrally, which makes one wonder, what is the neutral take on racism? That's what we talk a…

Todd takes a crack at hosting the podcast solo with a look at the 1974 "video nasty" The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. This might be one of the most popular horror films of all time, but it's also, surprisingly, probably tamer than you realize or remember. Email: bannedthingshappen@gmail.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedthingshappen Web: https:…

It's a week late, but we're all relaxing for the summer anyway, right? This episode it's The Little Prince that Oren and Todd are discussing as they finish up their summer reading program of children's books. It's actually a novella rather than a children's book, so maybe the extra reading caused the delay? We'll never know. Email: bannedthingshapp…

Things get silly this week when Todd invites his 10-year-old daughter to join the podcast to talk about The Paper Bag Princess, a book that was challenged in the 80s for promoting anti-family messages. So how do we feel about this Robert Munsch story about a boy, a girl, and a dragon? All we'll tell you is that at the end of the day, one of them is…

Our hosts continue to kick back with some easy-to-read children's books, including the LGBTQ+ friendly Prince & Knight, an apparently simple fairy tale that features a prince and a knight falling in love and living happily ever after, which is apparently considered pornography now. Sure, it's a shorter episode than many, but Oren and Todd still get…

Todd and Oren take a bit of a break from big, serious novels to spend a few weeks look at books intended for a younger audience -- that still somehow manage to get themselves banned. This week we look at the adventures of a man who runs around fighting crime in his tighty whities -- Captain Underpants. Email: bannedthingshappen@gmail.com Facebook: …

Holy hell this podcast has been around for a year! Who saw that coming!? So Oren and Todd took some time too look back at where they've been, and to look to where they'd like to go. And along the way their share which moments they regretted and whether doing this podcast was the worst decision they ever made in their lives. Email: bannedthingshappe…

We wrap up our first year of podcasting with one of the most controversial films of all time, and a film that released during the year that Todd was gestating in his mother's womb -- Last Tango in Paris (no The). Is it "obscene content offensive to public decency, characterized by an exasperating pansexualism for its own end, presented with obsessi…

This week Oren (accidentally) brings something nasty to the Banned Things table with the 1987 West German horror film Nekromantik. He said he thought it as a comedy. It definitely wasn't. Come along for the ride as our hosts try to process what might be the second most romantic film about necrophilia (the first, obviously, being Nekromantik 2). Ema…

It's starting to look like Zombie Month with yet another zombie film in the Banned Things queue, this time the 1985 George Romero film Day of the Dead. Oren and Todd break down this very goopy, gory movie with their usual wit and insight, though they were both wrong about the accent being sported by performer Terry Alexander -- it was meant to be C…

Oren and Todd do their first episode looking at a banned piece of music, with guest coast Dave Coalmine along for the ride. Just how nasty was the album Nasty As They Wanna Be? Well, you'll have to tune in to find out, but it's probably pretty nasty. Also, be sure to stick around until the very end for a special surprise. Email: bannedthingshappen@…

This week Oren and Todd settle in with a film that reaches new heights of gore that's from the director of The Lord of The Rings Trilogy, Peter Jackson. Brain Dead (or, as it was known in North America, Deadalive) it's been banned in places like Germany and South Korea. Also ... it's kind of funny? Email: bannedthingshappen@gmail.com Facebook: http…

We've had a few weeks off and now Oren and Todd are back with something a bit more mellow -- a look at the Disney XD show Gravity Falls. What, that's been banned!? Well, no, but it's been censored, and that's close enough for us this week. Plus, Oren takes the lead this week, guiding us through a look at just what it takes to get censored in South …

We completed our epic Easter cross-over event with a live episode featuring Todd, Oren, and Carlo Sia from Half-Cut Conspiracies to discuss a film that probably shouldn't have been that controversial but actually was, Monty Python's The Life of Brian from 1979. Hope you all had a great holiday!By toddsullivan

Here it is, part one of our special Easter Crossover Event, with special guest Carlo Sia of Half-Cut Conspiracies here to help us take a look at Martin Scorsese's most controversial film, The Last Temptation of Christ. Is it a film about a man's struggle to be good despite the temptation to do otherwise, or is it a film about Jesus banging Mary Mag…

Wait, has Dr. Seuss been cancelled!? Well, no, not really, but Todd and Oren decided to take a look at five of the six books that are being removed from publication by Dr. Seuss Enterprises. And while there are a few images here that are somewhat problematic, this episode still proved to be a pleasant departure after the last three weeks of intense…

Did you miss the live wrap-up of The Turner Diaries? Don't fret! We've got the recorded version of it right here! It's exactly the same as the live version, except you can't phone in anymore. We talk about racism. We make some announces. There are special guests. It's a good time. Except for when we're talking about The Turner Diaries which is a ve…

It's over. They've done it. Oren and Todd have made it to the end of The Turner Diaries which, they hope, is the worst thing they'll ever have to experience as part of this podcast. And boy, did this part of the book give them a lot to dig through, including the "heroic" destruction of every race on the planet except the white one. If you've follow…

Todd and Oren survive another week with the "Bible of the Racist Right" and continue to follow Earl Turner on his exciting adventures in attempting to overthrow The System. Here there be N-words and Nazi sympathy and a couple of hosts are mostly just eager for this to be over with. Email: bannedthingshappen@gmail.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/…

Join Todd and Oren as they dig into the first nine chapters of what will hopefully be the worst thing they ever read on this podcast, a book that has been called the "Bible of the Racist Right" -- The Turner Diaries. This is an ugly book filled to the brim with racism, so consider this a content warning before diving into this one. Email: bannedthi…

Oren and Todd once again went live to wrap up their look at A Clockwork Orange, a dicussion that included both the novel by Anthony Burgess and Stanley Kubrick's film. Also, a caller gave our hosts a quiz on some Nadsat words, and oh my brothers, they did not do well at all. Email: bannedthingshappen@gmail.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/bannedt…

A Clockwork Orange has the rare distinction of being a work that has been banned as not only a novel but a film as well, so Oren and Todd decided to take look at the 1971 Stanley Kubrick adaptation alongside their discussion of the novel. What they find is an adaptation that's impressively true to the source material (until the very end) and also a…