Show Notes
Welcome to season 5 of The Rogue Librarians! We are opening with a discussion of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Published in 1986, this dystopian tale of a religious revolution in the U.S. only seems to get more relevant with time. In Part 1 we learn a little about the history of the book and of course, why it’s been banned. We are joined by a special guest, Rogue name Undine, who brings insight and art history to the conversation. Materials discussed during the podcast include: In Banned Bits: Article Why This School District Used A.I. to Help Determine Which Books to Ban, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Aug 2023.
In Why It’s Banned: Article Why The Handmaid's Tale was banned from schools - The Mirror US, 10 Apr 2025
Article Why was The Handmaid's Tale banned?, MSN.com, 22 Mar 2026
Article There’s a simple reason The Handmaid’s Tale was banned in the US, from the website Dexerto 10 Apr 2025
The ALA’s Censorship Search Portal | Banned Books
In Context Blog Post The Handmaid's Tale: 10 intriguing facts about Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel, CBC-Radio (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), Apr 26, 2017
No Balm in Gilead for Margaret Atwood, The New York Times on the Web, Books column, February 17, 1986
Web page Timeline of Legal History of Women in the United States, National Women’s History Alliance,
Project 2025, The Heritage Foundation, 2023
Project 2025 Explained, The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Utah Philips, Folksinger, Storyteller and Activist.
Decree 770 - Reference.org
Paintings Depicting the Rape of the Sabine Women
Pietro da Cortona, Rape of the Sabines, 1629-1630
Nicolas Poussin, The Rape of the Sabine Women, 1635
Peter Paul Rubins, The Rape of the Sabine Women, 1640
Jacques-Louis David, The Intervention of The Sabine Women, 1799
Pablo Picasso, The Rape of the Sabines, 1962
Friedrich Christof Steinhammer, Rape of the Sabine Women, 1622
Album - Sabine Women, 271+ Images
Related Media Movie The Handmaid’s Tale directed by Volker Schlöndorff, 1990
Opera The Handmaid’s Tale, written by , Poul Ruders, alongside librettist, Paul Bentley, 2000
TV Series The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu, 2017-2025
The Handmaid's Tale: The Graphic Novel, adapted by Renée Nault, 2019
Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet, The Handmaid’s Tale, 2022
Join the conversation at therogelibrarians.com or follow @RogueLibrariansPod on Instagram and Facebook. You can support the podcast on Patreon at patreon.com/roguelibrarians. “Any book worth banning is a book worth reading.” — Isaac Asimov
More from Rogue Librarians
When you’re fighting censorship, the goal isn’t just to say “this is bad.” It’s to make sure kids can still find the books, the stories, and themselves. In our conversation with authors Ashley Hope Pérez and Elana K. Arnold, we talk about how the anthology Banned Together helps librarians, teachers, readers, and writers stand up for the freedom to read—and build community along the way. What are you protecting right now: a book, a voice, or a space? The following things came up during our discussion. Rogue Librarians Episode 10. Out of Darkness: Interview with Ashley Hope Pérez
Week, schmeek, we’re celebrating Banned Books Month and our freedom to read throughout October. This week we talk with author and poet Amber McBride about her novel in verse, The Leaving Room, which turns big questions about death, story, and spirit into something tender and human. Our conversation ranges from books and storytelling to censorship and the comfort literature can offer young readers. Amber reminds us that reading can be joy, resistance, and freedom all at once. And yes — the freedom to choose what we read matters more than ever. We are not saying read everything. We are saying people should have access, choice, and context. That distinction changes everything. You can find Amber McBride at amber-mcbride.com and on Instagram, Tiktok, and Threads @ambsmcbride Books and media we discussed during our conversation include: Tar Beach, by Faith Ringgold
Join us as we kick off our celebration of banned books week and our freedom to read. We welcomed back our friend Sam Helmick, the immediate past president of the American Library Association, to discuss Susan Orlean’s marvelous book, The Library Book. During our discussion, we brought up a few prior episodes of Rogue Librarians, including: Episode 17. The Librarian of Basra (Part 1: Why It's Banned) Episode 18. The Librarian of Basra (Part 2: Close Reading) Episode 54. Fahrenheit 451 (Part 1: Why It’s Banned Episode 53. Fahrenheit 451 (Part 2 : Close Reading)
In this episode we welcome back our friend, Rogue name Undine, for a close reading of The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. We decided to give this book the Sacred Reading treatment introduced to us by the incredible podcast Harry Potter and the Sacred Text. We used the practice of Lectio Divinia and modeled our discussion after the “sacred reading” format used by Casper ter Kuile, Vanessa Zoltan and Matthew Potts in their podcast. Here is the link to their webpage, which explains the process in more detail. Harry Potter and the Sacred Text
Welcome to Season 5 of the Rogue Librarians. We are excited to announce the starting line-up for the season. Upcoming books include: The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood