Censored

Information about contraception or ‘family planning’ was illegal under the censorship act but weirdly, the censors banned this booklet for being ‘indecent or obscene’. What followed was a lengthy legal battle and a dent in the authority of the mighty censor. With guest, Dr Laura Kelly.  ‘The IFPA felt there was a huge need for this booklet in Ireland.’ ‘What’s distinctly Irish about this is there’s no mention of things like abortion or sexual pleasure. You get those in British and American publications of the same time.’  ‘It’s lovely to think that this little booklet changed so much.’ Join me on Patreon for show notes and unexpurgated guest interviews: https://www.patreon.com/censoredpod Check out my merch https://censoredpod.bigcartel.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What could be indecent in a novel about God as a travelling wine salesman? Apart from the blasphemy, there are dirty deeds done under the oak tree in Folly Down village.  Join me on Patreon for show notes and unexpurgated guest interviews: https://www.patreon.com/censoredpod Check out my merch https://censoredpod.bigcartel.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This ‘novel’ is an odd entry on the blacklist: why would censors in 1989 ban a publication from 1899? This antique erotica reveals a lot about 19th century kinks as well as the marketing strategies of smut merchants. Pity about the nauseating amounts of racism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Part 1 of a deep dive into the early work of Edna O’Brien, whose work has infuriated people since 1960. How did The Country Girls become one of the most notorious Irish novels of the 20th century? Blacklisting made this coming-of-age novel and it’s young author wildly famous. So many myths surround The Country Girls that it’s past time to read the novel for filth and rate its rudeness. With Dr Maureen O'Connor. Join me on Patreon for show notes and unexpurgated guest interviews: https://www.patreon.com/censoredpod Check out my merch https://censoredpod.bigcartel.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This fine collection of stories about the Berlin’s bohemian underclass in Berlin probably annoyed the censors. If they had read it closely, the rent boys and loose women would have given them a collective coronary. Guest: Dr Jonathan Kemp Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Seán O’Faoláin’s love letter to his homeplace, Cork city, was singled out for censorship in 1936. Being blacklisted provoked his career-long critiques of the Irish state. Was this atmospheric, sometimes nostalgic novel banned because of its author or its content? Guest: Dr Paul Delaney. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Doris Lessing's radical politics scared the government of more than one country. This semi-autobiographical novel features an angry, impatient teenager growing up amidst the racial conflict in Africa.Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/censoredpodGet your merch here https://censoredpod.bigcartel.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This little book was so dangerous that the French, British and South African governments joined the Irish censors in banning it. The blunt honesty about sex and drugs caused a global moral panic about childhood and innocence.Support the show with stickers or subs!Merch: https://censoredpod.bigcartel.com/Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/censoredpod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When it was published in America, this popular anthropology book made its author famous. The censors ignored it for nearly 20 years, until they banned it in 1944. Maybe they finally noticed that Mead praised horny teenage girls.Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/censoredpodMerch: https://censoredpod.bigcartel.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With unparliamentary sex and a tug-of-love legal battle, 'Laura' was a bestseller in 1989. So why on earth was it before the censors in 2013? It seemed very silly then but it appears more sinister now.Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/censoredpodMerch: https://censoredpod.bigcartel.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.