The Beautiful and Banned

S4, E2: Texas Librarians

In a special episode, Jessica interviews Kalyn Gensic and Kate Stover, who both work in her hometown of Abilene, Texas. Come for the in-depth conversation about what is happening on the ground right now in one corner of Texas; stay for the beautiful discussion about the teachers and librarians who have changed our lives. You'll want to send this to a teacher or librarian in your own life--we're so grateful to the people who often face insurmountable odds (including personal threats!) to make sure our kids learn and grow and thrive. Kalyn's incredible words at the end made us cry. SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Jessica's new cozy mystery, A Zoom with a View [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/788165/a-zoom-with-a-view-by-jess-cannon/], under the not-so-secret pseudonym, Jess Cannon, is now out wherever books are sold! Literary nerds, you will love it. A cozy murder mystery filled with hometown drama, social media influencers, an over-the-top mother, and two very attractive local men, A Zoom with a View will make you want to move to Blue Oak—if only the Fourth of July festivities didn’t end with a dead body. Join the conversation on Substack [https://injusticereport.substack.com/s/the-beautiful-and-banned]! If you'd prefer to be a Patreon subscriber, you can join now for just $3 a month [https://www.patreon.com/TheBeautifulandBanned]. Thank you for your support! The success of this podcast depends on you! "The Beautiful and Banned [http://beautifulandbannedpod.com/]" is produced by Christine Renee Miller [https://www.christinermiller.com/] and Jessica Goudeau [https://jessicagoudeau.com/]/Jess Cannon [https://www.jess-cannon.com]. Follow us on social media: @beautifulandbannedpod [https://www.instagram.com/beautifulandbannedpod/], @christinereneemiller [https://www.instagram.com/christinereneemiller/], and @jessica_goudeau [https://www.instagram.com/jessica_goudeau/] and @jesscannonwrites [https://www.instagram.com/jesscannonwrites/]. If you have questions for us, visit the "Contact Us" page on our website [https://www.beautifulandbannedpod.com/contact]. If you liked our show, please rate and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to podcasts. The best way to support our podcast is to share it with your friends! Our co-producer, Rob Heath [https://www.robheathstudios.com/], wrote and performed our theme music. Kalin Siegwald [https://www.kalinkalin.com/] designed our logo. This is A Sisters By Different Misters Production. Episode 2 links:  * Kalyn Genesis's tearjerker of a piece for the Texas Observer, "How a High School Librarian in Abilene Fought Back Against Moms for Liberty [https://www.texasobserver.org/abilene-isd-librarian-book-ban/]" * Read Kalyn's cozy academic rom-com books: https://kalyngensic.com/ [https://kalyngensic.com/] * More info on Texas SB 13 [https://tfn.org/sb-13-signed/] * An excellent piece on US HR 7661 [https://skidmorenews.com/new-blog/2026/3/25/reading-between-the-lines-hr-7661-seeks-to-ban-lgbtqia-books] (the national book banning bill) We'd love to hear from you! Send us a text to suggest books, plays, films, or guests, or just share your thoughts! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2312739/fan_mail/new]

S4, E1: Heated Rivalry with Special Guest Nisha Sharma

We're back and we have missed you! Is it even a podcast if we haven't talked about Heated Rivalry? In the first episode of Season 4, we are joined by special guest Nisha Sharma: a lawyer, award-wining writer, former corporate culture executive, scholar and author of over ten published books for teens and adults--and, more importantly for us, our dear colleague at Wilkes University [https://www.wilkes.edu/academics/graduate-programs/creative-writing-ma-mfa/index.aspx?utm_source=google_ppc&utm_medium=ads&utm_campaign=cw&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=6495607136&gbraid=0AAAAAD9nyrGi2HPq1XPjTnUaidK0kpjHM&gclid=CjwKCAjwvqjOBhAGEiwAngeQnWJrmq1u4tfrr_Y8M6SyWbPPHCA80eK0jfK3x9GtuHKF52EMO_ZlBRoC0aIQAvD_BwE]! We're delighted to have one of the smartest women we know join us to talk all things Heated Rivalry, including why it's been banned in Russia, what exactly that means in a country where it's illegal to be LGBTQIA+, and what Russian young people are telling the world about what it's like to finally see a joyful depiction of a queer relationship. Also: even in the midst of everything going on right now, we're still finding hope! Join the conversation on Substack [https://injusticereport.substack.com/s/the-beautiful-and-banned]! If you'd prefer to be a Patreon subscriber, you can join now for just $3 a month [https://www.patreon.com/TheBeautifulandBanned]. Thank you for your support! The success of this podcast depends on you! "The Beautiful and Banned [http://beautifulandbannedpod.com/]" is produced by Jessica Goudeau [https://jessicagoudeau.com/] and Christine Renee Miller [https://www.christinermiller.com/]. Follow us on social media: @beautifulandbannedpod [https://www.instagram.com/beautifulandbannedpod/], @christinereneemiller [https://www.instagram.com/christinereneemiller/], and @jessica_goudeau [https://www.instagram.com/jessica_goudeau/].  If you have questions for us, visit the "Contact Us" page on our website [https://www.beautifulandbannedpod.com/contact]. If you liked our show, please rate and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to podcasts. The best way to support our podcast is to share it with your friends! Our co-producer, Rob Heath [https://www.robheathstudios.com/], wrote and performed our theme music. Kalin Siegwald [https://www.kalinkalin.com/] designed our logo. This is A Sisters By Different Misters Production. Episode 1 links:  * Rachel Reid's website [https://www.rachelreidwrites.com/books] with the books from Carina Press * NBC News article [https://www.nbcnews.com/world/russia/russia-heated-rivalry-gay-romance-lgtbq-hockey-jail-putin-pride-rcna256337] about HR as a "word-of-mouth hit" in Russia that could lead to prison * Reuters article [https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russias-supreme-court-bans-lgbt-movement-extremist-2023-11-30/] about the Russian Supreme Court's banning of the "LGBTQ movement" as "extremist" * The ramifications of that law, according to Coming Out [https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/06/30/russia-rising-toll-of-lgbt-extremism-designation] * The Moscow Times overview [https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/01/15/heated-rivalry-catches-fire-in-russia-despite-kremlins-anti-lgbtq-repressions-a91681] of the HR phenomenon in Russia Nisha's recs for writers to read if you liked HR:  * Meryl Wilsner (they/them) * Cat Sebastian (she/her) [Jessica seconds; I'm obsessed with Cat Sebastian] We'd love to hear from you! Send us a text to suggest books, plays, films, or guests, or just share your thoughts! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2312739/fan_mail/new]

S3, E9: 1984 by George Orwell, Season Finale

Is George Orwell psychic? In this emotional season finale, Christine and Jessica discuss the rise of totalitarianism and Orwell's eerily accurate predictions. In prepping for the episode, they saw firsthand how AI is already doing the very thing Orwell warned us again--erasing our past in real time. And, as they recorded on the heels of a war that ended as quickly as it began, the idea of constant war has never felt so real. You won't want to miss this discussion. Join the conversation on Substack [https://injusticereport.substack.com/s/the-beautiful-and-banned]! If you'd prefer to be a Patreon subscriber, you can join now for just $3 a month [https://www.patreon.com/TheBeautifulandBanned]. Thank you for your support! The success of this podcast depends on you! "The Beautiful and Banned [http://beautifulandbannedpod.com/]" is produced by Jessica Goudeau [https://jessicagoudeau.com/] and Christine Renee Miller [https://www.christinermiller.com/]. Follow us on social media: @beautifulandbannedpod [https://www.instagram.com/beautifulandbannedpod/], @christinereneemiller [https://www.instagram.com/christinereneemiller/], and @jessica_goudeau [https://www.instagram.com/jessica_goudeau/].  If you have questions for us, visit the "Contact Us" page on our website [https://www.beautifulandbannedpod.com/contact]. If you liked our show, please rate and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to podcasts. The best way to support our podcast is to share it with your friends! Our co-producer, Rob Heath [https://www.robheathstudios.com/], wrote and performed our theme music. Kalin Siegwald [https://www.kalinkalin.com/]designed our logo. Jillian Benedict is our amazing podcast assistant. This is A Sisters By Different Misters Production. We will be taking the rest of the summer off to read and rest. We hope you join us in the fall for season 4 of "The Beautiful and Banned"! Episode 9 Links:  * 1984 by George Orwell [https://ebookwoman.com/book/9781328869333] * A Britannica [https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Orwell] biography of Orwell * A link to an accurate [https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Orwell]story about 1984 being banned--in 1981 in Jacksonville, Florida. * A link to an inaccurate story [https://explorethearchive.com/history-of-banned-books] of it being banned (the book does not, as this Am*zon affiliation site claims, maintain "its status as the most banned book of all time in America"). This is one example of many that inaccurately called 1984 the most banned book in the US. * Park MacDougald's 2016 article on Peter Thiel in The Intelligencer [https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2016/06/peter-thiel.html] * The "Behind the Bastards [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/behind-the-bastards/id1373812661?i=1000669798693]" episodes with Ed Helms on Curtis Yarvin (Mencius Moldbug) are a great place to learn more.  * Or this New Yorker profile [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/06/09/curtis-yarvin-profile] about Yarvin.  We'd love to hear from you! Send us a text to suggest books, plays, films, or guests, or just share your thoughts! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2312739/fan_mail/new]

S3, Interlude 2

In this short interlude, Jessica and Christine are together at the Creative Writing MFA program Wilkes University, where they met and they both teach. They tell you why there will be a one-week delay on the season finale--which gives you time to read George Orwell's 1984 along with them! Join us next Tuesday for the final episode of season 3!  Join the conversation on Substack [https://injusticereport.substack.com/s/the-beautiful-and-banned]! If you'd prefer to be a Patreon subscriber, you can join now for just $3 a month [https://www.patreon.com/TheBeautifulandBanned]. Thank you for your support! The success of this podcast depends on you! "The Beautiful and Banned [http://beautifulandbannedpod.com/]" is produced by Jessica Goudeau [https://jessicagoudeau.com/] and Christine Renee Miller [https://www.christinermiller.com/]. Follow us on social media: @beautifulandbannedpod [https://www.instagram.com/beautifulandbannedpod/], @christinereneemiller [https://www.instagram.com/christinereneemiller/], and @jessica_goudeau [https://www.instagram.com/jessica_goudeau/].  If you have questions for us, visit the "Contact Us" page on our website [https://www.beautifulandbannedpod.com/contact]. If you liked our show, please rate and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to podcasts. The best way to support our podcast is to share it with your friends! Our co-producer, Rob Heath [https://www.robheathstudios.com/], wrote and performed our theme music. Kalin Siegwald [https://www.kalinkalin.com/]designed our logo. Jillian Benedict is our amazing podcast assistant. This is A Sisters By Different Misters Production. Interlude 2 link: * Find out more about the Maslow Family Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Wilkes University [https://www.wilkes.edu/academics/graduate-programs/creative-writing-ma-mfa/index.aspx] We'd love to hear from you! Send us a text to suggest books, plays, films, or guests, or just share your thoughts! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2312739/fan_mail/new]

S3, E8: Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Christine and Jessica discuss Red, White, and Royal Blue, one of the most banned books in recent history: a royal romp with political overtones and a heart of gold. Jessica's life goal of getting Christine to read contemporary romance is unlocked! And even though Jessica was less than hopeful about Texas politics in this episode, just a few days after it was recorded, the first lesbian, Asian-American mayor of San Antonio was elected in a decisive victory despite being the outspent underdog, proving why McQuiston's book remains so timely--because Texas will always, always surprise you. Join the conversation on Substack [https://injusticereport.substack.com/s/the-beautiful-and-banned]! If you'd prefer to be a Patreon subscriber, you can join now for just $3 a month [https://www.patreon.com/TheBeautifulandBanned]. Thank you for your support! The success of this podcast depends on you! "The Beautiful and Banned [http://beautifulandbannedpod.com/]" is produced by Jessica Goudeau [https://jessicagoudeau.com/] and Christine Renee Miller [https://www.christinermiller.com/]. Follow us on social media: @beautifulandbannedpod [https://www.instagram.com/beautifulandbannedpod/], @christinereneemiller [https://www.instagram.com/christinereneemiller/], and @jessica_goudeau [https://www.instagram.com/jessica_goudeau/].  If you have questions for us, visit the "Contact Us" page on our website [https://www.beautifulandbannedpod.com/contact]. If you liked our show, please rate and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to podcasts. The best way to support our podcast is to share it with your friends! Our co-producer, Rob Heath [https://www.robheathstudios.com/], wrote and performed our theme music. Kalin Siegwald [https://www.kalinkalin.com/]designed our logo. Jillian Benedict is our amazing podcast assistant. This is A Sisters By Different Misters Production. Join us in two weeks in the season 3 finale as Christine and Jessica discuss 1984 by George Orwell! Episode 8 Links:  * Red, White, and Royal Blue [https://shop.blackpearlbookstore.com/item/MWp_c1qAP1yBBPDaVACG8Q] * Casey McQuiston's website [https://www.caseymcquiston.com] * A 2022 Publisher's Weekly interview [https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-authors/article/89201-q-a-with-casey-mcquiston.html] with McQuiston * The Texas Tribune  [https://www.texastribune.org/2025/05/02/texas-legislature-teachers-parents-protections/]on one of the Texas lege bills we mention We'd love to hear from you! Send us a text to suggest books, plays, films, or guests, or just share your thoughts! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2312739/fan_mail/new]