Censored
Aoife Bhreatnach
Censored is a podcast for the filthy minded. Explore banned films, books, magazines, newspapers and cinema like a smut-obsessed censor. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jan 28, 2021 • 41min
Torrid trash: Wheatley 'To the Devil a Daughter' (1953)
Wheatley was a successful popular-fiction writer who was censored five times in Ireland. This spy thriller with a dash of Satanism is stuffed with reactionary xenophobic nonsense. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 21, 2021 • 39min
Hex & Sex: Smith 'Passionate Witch' (1942)
Only a truly paranoid censor would ban book this innocuous. But even barely there smut can give readers ideas... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 14, 2021 • 30min
Ravishing: Anon 'The Lustful Turk' (1828)
Why on earth was antique erotica, with its hilarious genital metaphors, censored in Ireland? This titillating text was officially 'obscene' for more than one hundred years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 7, 2021 • 25min
The worst girl: Madonna 'Sex' (1992)
With nudity, leather and simulated sex of all varieties, Madonna tried to 'de-sin' sexual expression. This photographic book provoked over-reactions in Ireland, Britain, France and America. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dec 3, 2020 • 30min
Republican Love Triangle: Broderick 'The Fugitives' (1962)
An uncensored book that was full of sex, violence and subterfuge. How did Broderick get away with writing about gay, republican freedom-fighters? I don't know for sure, but I'm going to speculate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Nov 26, 2020 • 30min
Thick Thighs: O'Brien, 'At Swim Two Birds' (1939)
O'Brien was that rare thing: an Irish writer who was never banned in Ireland. A book that was less a plot and more a conspiracy distracted the filthy-minded censors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Nov 19, 2020 • 35min
Mass Perversion: Comfort, 'The Joy of Sex' (1972)
JoS was a bestselling sex guide that captured the spirit of the 70s sexual revolution. Although banned in Ireland, it was openly on sale. This is a complicated story of prohibited publications and outraged readers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Nov 12, 2020 • 44min
Compulsive wanking: Roth 'Portnoy's Complaint' (1969)
Why did the Irish censors ignore this spectacularly rude book? And why is this story of a sex-obsessed Jewish man so important in the history of censorship in Australia? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Nov 5, 2020 • 41min
Satanic Love Triangle: Mannin, 'Lucifer and the Child' (1946)
What happens when a child meets a horned man in a dark forest? A book that explores the nature of evil and decides that sex isn’t the problem. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 29, 2020 • 42min
Queer, with cocktails: Moore, 'Chocolates for Breakfast' (1956)
A candid, haunting novel about the coming-of-age of a teenage girl. Full of decadent sexuality that would have given the censors a fit of the vapours. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
