Episode Details

A funeral procession carries a jar small enough to tell the age of what was inside it. A dish towel almost breaks someone who's already survived a public execution wall. And the most powerful man in the house breaks his own rules just to stand outside a door. Chapter 8 of The Handmaid's Tale somehow makes a kitchen feel as dangerous as a checkpoint.

Banned Camp is a comedy podcast where we read banned books chapter by chapter — we don't read ahead, so you're discovering the story with us.

Things To Listen For:

• A priest and two guardians join the wall this episode, and Robot has zero patience for the term "gender treachery"
• Serena Joy's real name was Pam, and she "has become speechless" after spending years asking for exactly this
• A dish towel with blue stripes nearly undoes someone in a way six bodies on a wall couldn't
• The Commander breaks his own house rules, says nothing, and disappears — and nobody, including us, knows what to make of it yet

Why was The Handmaid's Tale banned? This chapter pairs a public execution wall with a private, ordinary kitchen, and that's exactly the kind of contrast that makes people uncomfortable. Showing how easily the unbearable becomes routine is precisely the commentary that gets books pulled off shelves.

If this is your first episode, you're fine starting here. Our fact-checking Robot catches you up fast, then we read the next chapter (spoilers).

Banworthy to Bingeworthy
A couple of shows worth your next listen:

• Here's The Scoop (NBC News) — A daily news podcast hosted by Yasmeen Vassegian, taking a deeper look at the day's top stories with NBC News journalists, bringing you closer to the headlines shaping the world.
• Good News for Lefties — Beowulf's own show, proof that there's still good news out there from a leftist point of view. This week: a Pittsburgh nonprofit is filling Little Free Libraries with banned LGBTQ+ books across the city.

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Disclaimer
Banned Camp features readings and discussions of banned books for the purpose of criticism, commentary, education, and entertainment, in accordance with fair use guidelines.

The material used from the book The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is shared under these principles, with the intent of provoking