The Overview podcast: why are more books being banned?

In each episode of The Overview, we'll examine one story from the headlines, looking back through history to explain how we got to the current situation – and predicting what will happen next.

With contributions from The Week’s writers and insights from leading specialists in our topics, The Overview is a concise exploration of the debates and questions shaping the news agenda of today and the future.

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The history of banning books reaches back thousands of years, but censorship is now being used increasingly as a political and cultural weapon, with more and more books disappearing from library shelves and syllabuses.

Amid a rising tide of challenges to literature tackling themes such as LGBTQ+ issues, what could the future hold for books, readers and authors? This is The Overview.

Presented by Julia O'Driscoll with The Week's Leaf Arbuthnot and guests Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, and Daniel Gorman, director of human rights organisation English PEN.