Velshi Banned Book Club

Books that tell LGBTQ+ stories are banned at a disproportionately high rate. The first episode of Velshi Banned Book Club features two equally powerful and poignant novels that grapple with what it means to discover who you are and who you love. “Two Boys Kissing” by David Levithan masterfully weaves four separate narratives and a haunting Greek chorus of AIDS victims to tell a story of freedom, equality, intergenerational mobility, and community through a tender, coming-of-age lens. “Boy Erased” centers around author Garrard Conley’s two-week treatment at a so-called conversion therapy center and explores the crucial role of family, understanding of religion, and, of course, identity. This episode features audio from various school board meetings across the nation including: Spotsylvania County Public Schools on November 8, 2021; Dearborn Public School District on October 10, 2022; Lake Travis Independent School District on September 17, 2021; and Hillsborough County Public Schools on February 10, 2022. 

MSNBC’s Ali Velshi brings you the “Velshi Banned Book Club,” an act of resistance against the epidemic of book banning. In each episode, a different author of a banned book joins Ali—including Margaret Atwood, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Laurie Halse Anderson, George M. Johnson and more—to talk about why their work is being targeted and about the literature itself. “Velshi Banned Book Club” is a series rooted in literary and cultural analysis and in the notion of reading as resistance. Read along with Ali and follow now to listen to the first two episodes on August 24th.