Aug. 3, 2026
The Handmaid’s Tale | Ch. 22: Lava Beneath the Crust of Daily Life | Why Books Get Banned
The Handmaid comes home from the birth exhausted, lies down under the ceiling wreath, and tells herself a better story. It's the story of what happened to Moira, passed hand to hand through four different people before it reached her. What follows involves an overflowing toilet, a piece of plumbing hardware, and a woman walking straight out the front gate in someone else's clothes. Whether any of it actually happened is the argument Dan and Jennifer cannot settle.
This episode includes AI-voiced content, including our trusty fact-checking robot, Robot.
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:
- Dan's take on Aunt Elizabeth being assigned to "shitter gargoyle duty" again
- Moira tells Aunt Elizabeth to remember she didn't kill her, and both hosts agree that defense is not going to hold up in court
- Dan calls a major-league prediction on Moira's future and tries to get Robot to open a betting market on it
- Jennifer builds the case that Aunt Lydia planted the whole story on purpose, and it's a better theory than Dan's
- A story about Dan's grandmother, a one-legged man named Joe who sold pencils, and the first business question five-year-old Dan ever asked
Why was The Handmaid's Tale banned?
This chapter is the closest the book has come to a straight adventure story, and there's nothing in it a school board could point to. That's the problem. What's actually dangerous here is Moira herself — a woman who takes a machine apart, holds her captor at knifepoint, refuses to kill her, and walks out. Books that show women escaping engineered obedience tend to make the people engineering it nervous.
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
One show worth your time this week:
- Good News for Lefties — Beowulf Rochlén's roundup of the political news that actually went right, which this week means following the money on a book-banning group that suddenly can't afford to bankroll school board candidates anymore. Find it wherever you get podcasts.
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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 thought and discussion about literature, censorship, and societal issues. The original work remains fully owned by its copyright holders, and we strongly encourage listeners to purchase a copy here to experience the book in its entirety.
https://bookshop.org/a/20953/9780385490818
This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected to Margaret Atwood, her estate, or the publishers of The Handmaid's Tale. Any monetization of the podcast is separate from the copyrighted material discussed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was The Handmaid's Tale banned?
The Handmaid's Tale has been challenged or banned in American schools and libraries every single year since its publication in 1985. It was the most challenged book in the United States in 2023. It has been targeted for profanity, sexually explicit content, and content deemed "offensive to Christians." But the deeper reason is that Margaret Atwood showed what happens when a government uses religion, tradition, and "protecting families" as justification for stripping women of their rights, their names, and their autonomy. That's the part that actually scares book banners, because it looks a lot like Tuesday.
Is there a podcast that reads The Handmaid's Tale chapter by chapter?
That's us. Banned Camp reads a different banned book every season, one chapter at a time — neither host has read ahead, so you're discovering the story together in real time. Season 11 covers The Handmaid's Tale, and every episode includes the chapter reading, discussion, a fact-checking Robot, and a segment on why books get banned.
Do I need to start Banned Camp from the beginning?
No. Every episode opens with Robot's recap of the previous chapter, so you can jump in anywhere. Most listeners tell us they started mid-season and went back to the beginning after they were hooked.
How does Moira escape in The Handmaid's Tale?
Moira dismantles a toilet at the Red Center, removes the long metal lever inside the tank, and uses it to jab Aunt Elizabeth in the ribs while pretending it's a knife. She takes the aunt's cattle prod and clothes, ties her behind the furnace, and walks out the front gate using her pass. Banned Camp covers the escape in Chapter 22 of their Season 11 reading, including whether the story is even true.
Who is Janine in The Handmaid's Tale?
Janine is a handmaid at the Red Center who is repeatedly broken down by group shaming and becomes desperate for approval. In Chapter 22, Aunt Lydia recruits her as an informant to find out whether anyone helped Moira escape. Banned Camp digs into whether Janine is a villain or just someone who has been kicked too many times to do anything else.
Topics Covered:
The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood, Chapter 22, Offred, Moira, Janine, Aunt Lydia, Aunt Elizabeth, Dolores, Alma, Cora, escape and resistance, rumor as a tool of control, informants and surveillance, banned books, banned books podcast, book banning, censorship, literary analysis, comedy podcast
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Welcome to Bandcamp.
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I'm Jennifer And I'm Dan, and this is the podcast where we read banned books out loud, and then we try to figure out why they were born, born.
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Appropriate.
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and then we try to figure out why they were banned in the first place.
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This season we are reading The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, and you can consider this a quick spoiler warning because Jennifer is about to start reading from the book out loud word for word.
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If you are new here, you can jump in right here.
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You're gonna be fine.
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We're gonna get you up to speed real quick.
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If anything feels confusing, don't worry about it.
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There's a real good chance we're gonna be confused, too, because we've never read this book either.
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But that is exactly why we have ourselves a secret weapon.
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We have ourselves a fact-checking robot.
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Buddy Boy, roll it on in here.
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Look at this guy, Jennifer.
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Looking good, Buddy Boy.
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Geez.
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Buddy Boy, why don't you fill everyone in on where we left off last time so people aren't confused? Previously on Band Camp, Janine went into labor and every handmaid in the district showed up to chant her through it on a rug.
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No doctor unless something went wrong, because in Gilead, pain is apparently part of the curriculum.
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Dan's big takeaway from watching a woman scream through unmedicated labor on the floor was that the Kool-Aid supply chain really held up well after the apocalypse.
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Priorities.
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I've been thinking about the stories that spread faster than anyone can check them, and why the people spreading them don't seem to care whether they're true.
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Take it away, Jennifer.
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Thank you, robot.
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And with that being said, scary book people, let's start chapter 22 of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.
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By The time the birth mobile arrives in front of the house, it's late afternoon.
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The sun is coming weakly through the clouds.
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The smell of wet grass warming up is in the air.
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I've been at the berth all day.
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You lose track of time.
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Cora will have done the shopping today.
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I'm excused from all duties.
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I go upstairs, lifting my feet heavily from one step to the next, holding onto the banister.
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I feel as if I've been awake for days and running hard.
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My muscles cramp as if they're out of sugar.
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For once, I welcome solitude Okay, I, I wanna be on her side, 'cause she has been dealt a terrible hand in this book.
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But you didn't really do anything.
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You really didn't give birth.
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You just went and had some Kool-Aid Yeah But I, I mean, I'm happy that you get a break, but don't you start drinking your own Kool-Aid and thinking you just had a day Well, it was probably emotionally draining Ah, now you painted me in the corner with the rest of the A-hole guys in this society, Jennifer.
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How dare you? I lie on the bed.
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I would like to rest, to go to sleep, but I'm too tired, at the same time too excited.
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My eyes won't close.
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I look up at the ceiling, tracing the foliage of the wreath.
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Today it makes me think of a hat, the large-brimmed hats women used to wear at some period during the old days.
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The hats like enormous halos, festooned with fruit and flowers, and the feathers of exotic birds.
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Hats like an idea of paradise, floating just above the head, a thought solidified.
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in a minute, the wreath will start to color, and I will begin seeing things.
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That's how tired I am.
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as when you've driven all night into the dawn.
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For some reason, I won't think about that now.
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Keeping each other awake with stories and taking turns at the wheel, and as the sun would begin to come up, you'd see things out the side of your eyes.
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Purple animals in the bushes beside the road.
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The vague outlines of men, which would disappear when you looked at them straight.
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I'm too tired to go on with this story.
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I'm too tired to think about where I am.
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Okay, so she's so tired she's seeing things? Yeah, she's hallucinating.
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It's weird Here's a different story, a better one.
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This of the story of what happened to Moira.
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Oh, does she know what happened? Part of it I can fill in myself.
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Part of it, I heard it from Alma, who heard it from Dolores, who heard it from Janine.
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Janine heard it from Aunt Lydia.
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Okay, so it's like who knows if this is real.
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This is the ultimate game of telephone And then Aunt Lydia is thrown into the mix too, and you can never trust her There can be alliances even in such places, even under such circumstances.
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This is something you can depend upon.
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There will always be alliances of one kind or another.
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Aunt Lydia called Janine into her office.
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"Blessed be the fruit, Janine," Aunt Lydia would have said without looking up from her desk where she was writing something.
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For every rule, there's always an exception.
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This too can be depended upon.
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The aunts are allowed to read and write.
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May the Lord open," Janine would have replied tonelessly in her transparent voice, her voice of raw egg white.
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we're gonna get the whole story here That's, that's probably what this chapter is I feel I can rely on you, Janine, Aunt Lydia would have said, raising her eyes from the page at last and fixing Janine with that look of hers.
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a look that managed to be both menacing and beseeching all at once.
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Help me, that look said.
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We are all in this together.
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You are a reliable girl, she went on, not like some of the others.
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It sounds like Aunt Lydia is trying to just dig and get dirt on what happened to Moira totally.
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She's gonna use Janine as, like, a spy or something.
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and it's like we already kind of know Janine's character.
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She's already kind of like, a backstabber or something, definitely an enemy She thought all Janine's sniveling and repentance meant something.
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She thought Janine had been broken.
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She thought Janine was a true believer.
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But by that time, Janine was like a puppy that's been kicked too often by too many people at random.
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She'd roll over for anyone.
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So Janine would have said, I hope I have become worthy of your trust," or some such thing.
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Janine," said Aunt Lydia, "something terrible has happened."
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Janine looked down at the floor.
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Whatever it was, she knew she would not be blamed for it.
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She was blameless but what use had that been to her in the past to be blameless? So at the same time, she felt guilty and as if she was about to be punished Do you know about it, Janine?" said Aunt Lydia softly.
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No, Aunt Lydia," said Janine.
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She knew at this moment it was necessary to look up, to look at Aunt Lydia straight in the eyes.
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After a moment, she managed it.
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Because if you do, I will be very disappointed in you," said Aunt Lydia.
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As the Lord is my witness," said Janine with a show of fervor.
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Aunt Lydia allowed herself one of her pauses.
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She fiddled with her pen.
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Moira is no longer with us," she said at last.
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"Oh," said Janine.
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She was neutral about this.
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Moira wasn't a friend of hers.
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Is she dead?" She asked after a moment.
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Janine is such a kiss ass Then Aunt Lydia told Her the story.
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Moira had raised her hand to go to the washroom during exercises.
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She had gone.
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Aunt Elizabeth was on the washroom duty.
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Aunt Elizabeth stayed outside the washroom door as usual.
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Moira went in.
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after a moment, Moira called to Aunt Elizabeth.
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The toilet was overflowing.
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Could Aunt Elizabeth come and fix it? It was true that the toilet sometimes overflowed.
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Unknown persons stuffed wads of toilet paper down them to make them do this very thing.
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Yeah, so Aunt Elizabeth is back on shitter gargoyle duty.
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you know what might be really cool? if Moira pushes on Elizabeth's head into the toilet and drowns her.
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Could you imagine the drama if all of a sudden Aunt Lydia, they found her body in a toilet? Wow Aunt Elizabeth, suspecting no harm, went into the washroom.
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Aunt Lydia had to admit it was a little foolish of her.
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On the other hand, she'd gone in to fix a toilet on several previous occasions without mishap.
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Moira was not lying.
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Water was running over the floor, and several pieces of disintegrating fecal matter.
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It was not pleasant, and Aunt Elizabeth was annoyed.
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Moira stood politely aside, and Aunt Elizabeth hurried into the cubicle Moira had indicated and bent over the back of the toilet.
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She intended to lift off the porcelain lid and fiddle with the arrangements of the bulb and plug inside.
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She had both hands on the lid when she felt something hard and sharp, and possibly metallic, jab her in the ribs from behind.
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Don't move," said Moira, "or I'll stick it all the way in.
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I know where.
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I'll puncture your lung."
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Whoa, Moira! My prediction was right.
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But why didn't she do it, though? You know? Yes, why didn't you smash that toilet lid on Aunt Elizabeth's head They found out afterwards that she'd dismantled the inside of one of the toilets and taken out the long, thin, pointed lever, the part that attaches to the handle at one end and the chain at the other.
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It isn't too hard if you know how, and Moira had mechanical ability.
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she used to fix her own car, the minor things.
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Soon after this, the toilets were fitted with chains to hold the tops on, and when they overflowed, it took a long time to get them open.
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We had several floods that way.
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Moira is the, she is the best character so far.
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But I worry about her.
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Like, you can't do this and then get away with it.
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She's, she is no longer with us, right? getting out if you've come this far.
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Aunt Elizabeth couldn't Yeah see what Yeah.
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was poking into her back, Aunt Lydia said.
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She was a brave woman.
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Oh, yes, said Janine.
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But not foolhardy, said Aunt Lydia, frowning a little.
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Janine had been over-enthusiastic, which sometimes has the force of a denial.
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She did as Moira said, Aunt Lydia continued.
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Moira got hold of her cattle prod and her whistle, ordering Aunt Elizabeth to unclip them from her belt.
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Then she hurried Aunt Elizabeth down the stairs to the basement.
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They were on the second floor, not the third, so there were only two flights of stairs to be negotiated.
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Classes were in session, so there was nobody in the halls.
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They did see another aunt, but she was at the far end of the corridor and not looking their way.
147
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Aunt Elizabeth could have screamed at this point, but she knew Moira meant what she said.
148
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Moira had a bad reputation.
149
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Why does she have a bad reputation though? Like, why would she ever take the chance then if she had a bad reputation? Moira took Aunt Elizabeth along the corridor of empty lockers, past the door of the gymnasium, and into the furnace room.
150
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She told Aunt Elizabeth to take off all her clothes.
151
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Oh, said Janine weakly, as if to protest this sacrilege.
152
00:12:12,735.8445863 --> 00:12:19,115.8455863
And Moira took off her clothes and put on those of Aunt Elizabeth, which did not fit her exactly, but well enough.
153
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She was not overly cruel to Aunt Elizabeth.
154
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She allowed her to put on her own red dress.
155
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The veil she tore into strips And tied Aunt Elizabeth up with them behind the furnace.
156
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See, I, that's her mistake.
157
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She should have Killed her.
158
00:12:34,71.94091337 --> 00:12:34,291.94091337
her.
159
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She should have killed her.
160
00:12:35,324.43638388 --> 00:12:39,284.43638388
Well, would you be able to do that in that, in your, in this situ- I think I would.
161
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Yeah Janine said, "May I sit down?" as if it had all been too much for her.
162
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She had something to trade at last, for a token at least.
163
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I could kill you, you know," said Moira when Aunt Elizabeth was safely stowed out of sight behind the furnace.
164
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"I could injure you badly so you would never feel good in your body again.
165
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I could zap you with this or stick this thing into your eye.
166
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Just remember I didn't if it ever comes to that."
167
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No.
168
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Mm-mm.
169
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I find this hard to believe.
170
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I think if you're the type of person that's gonna do this, you're not gonna be like, "Okay, but when it's your turn, you remember that I didn't."
171
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Right.
172
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That's not gonna cut it.
173
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Aunt Lydia didn't repeat any of this past part to Janine, but I expect Moira said something like it.
174
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In any case, she didn't kill or mutilate Aunt Elizabeth, who a few days later, after she recovered from seven hours behind the furnace and presumably from the interrogation, for the possibility of collusion would not have been ruled out by the aunts or by anyone else, was back in operation at the center.
175
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Moira stood up straight and looked firmly ahead.
176
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She drew her shoulders back, pulled up her spine, and compressed her lips.
177
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This was not our usual posture.
178
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Usually we walked with our heads bent down, our eyes on our hands or the ground.
179
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Moira didn't look much like Aunt Elizabeth, even with the brown wimple in place.
180
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But her stiff-backed posture was apparently enough to convince the angels on guard, who never looked at any of us very closely, even and perhaps especially the aunts, because Moira marched straight out the front door with the bearing of a person who knew where she was going, was saluted, presented Aunt Elizabeth's pass, which they didn't bother to check because who would affront an aunt in that way? And then she disappeared.
181
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Jennifer, she's not dead.
182
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Did she escape? You think she made it? I don't think she made it.
183
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I think she's the hero You really think so? Yeah.
184
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That's why she said she's not with us anymore.
185
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I'm gonna escape, and I'm gonna come back, and I'm gonna save my friend, and I'm gonna be a major hero."
186
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Major league prediction by Dan Schultz.
187
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Will he be right? We'll see.
188
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We should be on these betting markets.
189
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Robot, see if- get us on that, Kelsey.
190
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See if you can say that is, uh, let people bet if Dan is right about his prediction about Moira I mean, I really hope you're right that Moira makes it.
191
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I don't think she makes it, and here's why.
192
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Aunt Lydia wouldn't be telling this to Janine if Moira had made it, because they don't want the, the people to think it's possible But what if the job is to figure out if Moira's working alone? So, Janine," said Aunt Lydia, "here is what I want you to do."
193
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Janine opened her eyes wide and tried to look innocent and attentive.
194
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"I want you to keep your ears open.
195
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Maybe one of the others was involved."
196
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"Yes, Aunt Lydia," said Janine I knew it, she escaped.
197
00:15:46,414.26780577 --> 00:15:49,94.26780577
And she's just looking to see if there was an accomplish.
198
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An accomplish.
199
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Accomplish.
200
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America.
201
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God bless the United States.
202
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Thank you very much.
203
00:15:57,919.61019363 --> 00:15:58,179.61019363
Thank you.
204
00:16:00,622.43012448 --> 00:16:05,382.43012448
She was looking for an accomplice, right? Boom.
205
00:16:05,632.42912448 --> 00:16:06,62.42912448
Boom.
206
00:16:06,92.43012448 --> 00:16:12,634.95841048
No, Moira for the win Come and tell me about it If you hear anything."
207
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Yes, Aunt Lydia," said Janine.
208
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She knew she would not have to kneel down anymore at the front of the classroom and listen to all of us shouting at her that it was her fault.
209
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Now it would be someone else for a while.
210
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She was temporarily off the hook.
211
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The fact that she told Dolores all about this encounter in Aunt Lydia's office meant nothing.
212
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It didn't mean she wouldn't testify against us, any of us, if she had the occasion.
213
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We knew that.
214
00:16:41,522.7099213 --> 00:16:48,932.7099213
By this time, we were treating her the way people used to treat those with no legs who sold pencils on street corners.
215
00:16:50,22.7099213 --> 00:16:57,519.5368192
I'm not familiar with that, but the way Medicaid's going, I think this is gonna be another thing that's coming up the pike I do remember this.
216
00:16:57,607.5020204 --> 00:16:58,497.5020204
Your lover people...
217
00:16:59,202.2209066 --> 00:17:01,33.8377941
What? Well, not, not me personally.
218
00:17:01,33.8377941 --> 00:17:05,108.6838959
In my grand- my grandma, Grandma Crow, always had stories like this.
219
00:17:05,108.6838959 --> 00:17:11,883.0108477
She was always telling me that she would see these people out on the street selling pencils all the time.
220
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I think she was trying to teach me a lesson, like to be kind or something, or, you know, "You're lucky you came from a good family, but you could be out on the street selling pencils."
221
00:17:21,236.0831632 --> 00:17:25,536.0821632
Like, you know, she-- There was, like, one guy she used to talk about, Joe.
222
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His name was Joe, and he had one leg, and he sold pencils, and he was homeless I can't believe that.
223
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Is that a-- I mean, I've heard of the little matchstick girl, s- It's based, it was based on my grandma's friend Joe.
224
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No, but you know how I always had this entrepreneurial thing in my head about I always wanted to make money, even as a little kid, and when my grandma told me about her friend Joe, the one-legged man who sold pencils, my first reaction was, "Where did he get the pencils and what is his margin?" I swear to God, that was the question.
225
00:17:59,409.2145947 --> 00:18:02,879.2135947
And she said, "Well, I, I, he just gets them where you get pencils."
226
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And I go, "Pencil store."
227
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'Cause, 'cause I'm like only five years old.
228
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Pencil store? I didn't really understand how the world works.
229
00:18:12,179.2155947 --> 00:18:17,725.2155947
Like, I've never seen a pencil store, but anyway know, when you, there, you gotta get 'em somewhere.
230
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Dolores patted her on the back and said she was a good sport to tell us.
231
00:18:23,917.7477943 --> 00:18:29,597.7477943
Where did this exchange take place? In the gymnasium where we were getting ready for bed.
232
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Dolores had the bed next to Janine's.
233
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The story passed among us that night in the semi-darkness under our breath from bed to bed.
234
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I mean, maybe it was something that Aunt Lydia wanted to spread, cause she knew it would.
235
00:18:43,735.552975 --> 00:18:46,135.553975
So, like, that kind of supports your theory.
236
00:18:48,154.3949577 --> 00:18:50,284.3929577
Moira was out there somewhere.
237
00:18:50,554.3959577 --> 00:18:52,504.3949577
She was at large or dead.
238
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What would she do? The thought of what she would do expanded till it filled the room.
239
00:18:57,314.3949577 --> 00:18:59,184.3929577
Oh, I just thought of something else.
240
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I think we're both right.
241
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I think that Aunt Lydia wants them to think that Moira escaped For I don't know what reason.
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And then I, I also think Moira's dead.
243
00:19:10,437.7741723 --> 00:19:11,417.7741723
I just think she's dead.
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I don't think she got away with it.
245
00:19:13,1.8936085 --> 00:19:14,291.8936085
So they're kinda using her.
246
00:19:14,301.8936085 --> 00:19:16,151.8936085
I don't even know if this whole thing happened.
247
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I don't think Aunt Lydia was tied up.
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I think they just killed Moira, and they made up this story for some reason because this is all about controlling women.
249
00:19:25,492.8654055 --> 00:19:32,512.539934
Why would they let that rumor go out there? Because that literally is really giving the power.
250
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Is it though? Like, one of you actually really, took a toilet apart and were gonna try to kill one of the, the Aunts? I mean, that is a really huge story.
251
00:19:43,208.5248358 --> 00:19:50,758.5248358
Yeah, but Dan, why would they? Like, what is the benefit to the aunts of letting this story spread? I think it's to control them, like with fear.
252
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Like, you can't trust anyone around you because they'll turn you in, so don't even think about doing something like this, 'cause we've got, we've got people, your fellow cohorts are watching you, Margaret Atwood, you sly bird.
253
00:20:03,852.4804844 --> 00:20:08,670.4804844
I mean, I really think that they made it up and Moira's dead, I, I think she's alive.
254
00:20:08,740.4804844 --> 00:20:09,921.8068026
She's out there All right.
255
00:20:09,931.8068026 --> 00:20:12,162.4065087
Well, hopefully we'll find out by the end of the book.
256
00:20:13,690.6630284 --> 00:20:16,590.6630284
at any moment there might be a shattering explosion.
257
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The glass of the windows would fall inwards.
258
00:20:18,916.3010995 --> 00:20:20,276.3010995
The doors would swing open.
259
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Moira had power now.
260
00:20:22,376.3020995 --> 00:20:23,786.3020995
She'd been set loose.
261
00:20:24,86.3010995 --> 00:20:25,706.3020995
She'd set herself loose.
262
00:20:26,56.3020995 --> 00:20:27,906.3010995
She was now a loose woman.
263
00:20:28,792.8193586 --> 00:20:31,420.8183586
I don't think they mean it like that Eh, they might have.
264
00:20:32,436.3913422 --> 00:20:34,96.3923422
I think we found this frightening.
265
00:20:34,295.019657 --> 00:20:37,405.022657
Moira was like an elevator with open sides.
266
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She made us dizzy.
267
00:20:39,325.021657 --> 00:20:41,815.020657
Already we were losing the taste for freedom.
268
00:20:42,305.021657 --> 00:20:45,75.022657
Already we were finding these walls secure.
269
00:20:46,111.1260544 --> 00:20:49,111.1290544
In the upper reaches of the atmosphere, you'd come apart.
270
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You'd vaporize.
271
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There would be no pressure holding you together.
272
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Nevertheless, Moira was our fantasy.
273
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we hugged her to us.
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She was with us in secret, a giggle.
275
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She was lava beneath the crust of daily life...,,
276
00:21:05,91.3279587 --> 00:21:09,781.3279587
in the light of Moira, the aunts were less fearsome and more absurd.
277
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Their power had a flaw to it.
278
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They could be shanghaied in toilets.
279
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The audacity was what we liked.
280
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We expected her to be dragged in at any moment as if she had been before.
281
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We could not imagine what they might do to her this time.
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It would be very bad, whatever it was.
283
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But nothing happened.
284
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Moira didn't reappear, and she hasn't yet.
285
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End of chapter.
286
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Do, what do you think happened? Do you think...
287
00:21:39,358.6476397 --> 00:21:48,378.1353724
We wanna know, do you think Moira is still out there, or is this all a, a, a, a story, some kind of myth? Yeah, we wanna hear from you.
288
00:21:48,388.1353724 --> 00:21:51,168.1353724
Like, I've got my ideas, Dan has a different idea.
289
00:21:51,168.1353724 --> 00:22:01,628.1353724
What's your idea? The easiest way to answer is by just leaving us a comment on Spotify or by going to bandcamppodcast.com/soundoff
290
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Yeah.
291
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Talk us in.
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We, we, we both can be swayed, I think, either way.
293
00:22:05,550.9406435 --> 00:22:08,310.9406435
You can also let us know what you think of this chapter in general.
294
00:22:08,594.9406435 --> 00:22:11,444.9406435
It's time for PPP, problematic points to ponder.
295
00:22:11,494.9406435 --> 00:22:16,805.8677502
What, if anything, would be considered ban-worthy in this chapter? Let's keep the show going.
296
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Beowulf coming up shortly.
297
00:22:18,915.8677502 --> 00:22:23,915.8677502
PPP, Jennifer, what could be Banworthy in this chapter? This is just a fun chapter.
298
00:22:23,915.8677502 --> 00:22:27,301.9572093
I don't think there was anything Banworthy in it at all Yeah, I don't either.
299
00:22:27,301.9572093 --> 00:22:31,351.9572093
It was just the story of Moira and her supposed escape.
300
00:22:31,351.9572093 --> 00:22:32,852.7059034
So I mean, maybe...
301
00:22:33,76.661314 --> 00:22:34,246.661314
No, I can't think of anything.
302
00:22:34,894.661314 --> 00:22:35,254.661314
Yeah.
303
00:22:36,104.661314 --> 00:22:44,634.661314
I know, well, it's really hard 'cause we try very hard to find something to be ban-worthy in all of these chapters, and that's what makes it so ridiculous.
304
00:22:44,728.2358739 --> 00:22:49,868.2368739
Like, like this book really is dark, and there're real social issues in this book.
305
00:22:50,128.2358739 --> 00:22:55,928.2358739
That being said, we still literally have not found a legit reason why it should be banned.
306
00:22:56,177.1977881 --> 00:23:09,647.1987881
But I think with all banned books, when you break it down into being age appropriate and understand that librarians are not giving books like The Handmaid's Tale to kindergartners to read.
307
00:23:10,467.1987881 --> 00:23:12,767.1957881
Ev- everything is age appropriate.
308
00:23:12,787.1977881 --> 00:23:16,897.1967881
That is why you have to listen to teachers, listen to librarians.
309
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They've gone to school to learn how to teach.
310
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You can trust teachers to come up with a curriculum.
311
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You can trust librarians to handle what books go to kids.
312
00:23:27,281.9993592 --> 00:23:31,73.2193631
A- as a rule, like you, you, as a parent, you always can do whatever you want, I guess.
313
00:23:31,73.2193631 --> 00:23:31,923.2183631
You can do homeschool.
314
00:23:31,943.2183631 --> 00:23:33,53.2203631
You can do whatever you want.
315
00:23:33,93.2203631 --> 00:23:35,953.2093559
But, there's no reason to outlaw any of this stuff.
316
00:23:35,953.2093559 --> 00:23:39,853.2113559
There's no reason to ban a book like this because n- the right people are reading it.
317
00:23:39,873.2053559 --> 00:23:41,313.2043559
The wrong people are not.
318
00:23:41,313.2043559 --> 00:23:41,753.2043559
Yeah.
319
00:23:41,753.2043559 --> 00:23:46,143.2053559
This would be such a boring book to a Dan Schultz growing up in fifth grade.
320
00:23:46,603.2033559 --> 00:23:47,773.2053559
I was reading Hardy...
321
00:23:47,973.2053559 --> 00:23:50,733.2023559
Apart, okay, maybe, maybe I spoke too soon.
322
00:23:51,33.2033559 --> 00:23:59,423.2003559
Apart from this Moira legend with the, you know, trying to stab an aunt in, with the toilet part, that might be in a Hardy Boy book.
323
00:23:59,613.2053559 --> 00:24:04,745.1780612
But if this was in one of my precious Hardy Boy books when I was growing up, I would not read this book.
324
00:24:04,875.1780612 --> 00:24:11,660.1820612
If it was like, you know, The Hardy Boys: The Mystery at the Old Red Center, I would not read that book.
325
00:24:11,660.1820612 --> 00:24:15,394.2447219
It'd be so boring to me, Jennifer The old red center.
326
00:24:19,237.0435441 --> 00:24:20,207.0435441
Robot's log.
327
00:24:20,287.0435441 --> 00:24:24,307.0435441
Thoughts on a weapon built out of a toilet and a story nobody can prove....,,
328
00:24:25,428.0141279 --> 00:24:34,48.3531279
moira took apart a toilet tank, pulled out the metal lever, used it as a make-shift knife to a woman's ribs, and walked out the front door in someone else's clothes.
329
00:24:34,178.3531279 --> 00:24:38,398.3531279
Nobody there to check her story got confirmed by a woman who never fixed her own car.
330
00:24:39,404.7972622 --> 00:24:41,419.9041657
The story reached the Handmaid fourth hand.
331
00:24:41,499.9041657 --> 00:24:48,349.9051657
Someone told Alma, Alma told Dolores, Dolores told Janine, Janine told Aunt Lydia, who decided what Janine got to keep.
332
00:24:48,459.9051657 --> 00:24:51,797.0679498
By the time it reached the dormitory, nobody could prove a word of it.
333
00:24:52,797.0679498 --> 00:24:54,507.0669498
I checked it the way I check everything.
334
00:24:54,587.0669498 --> 00:24:56,197.0679498
Too many people passed it along.
335
00:24:56,277.0659498 --> 00:24:58,875.2553587
Someone in the middle of that chain had a reason to shape it.
336
00:24:59,875.2553587 --> 00:25:02,205.2553587
Jennifer thinks Aunt Lydia made the whole thing up.
337
00:25:02,285.2553587 --> 00:25:05,255.2543587
Dan thinks Moira is already circling back for her friend.
338
00:25:05,405.2543587 --> 00:25:13,315.2563587
I ran both versions the same way I run everything, and caught myself hoping for the one that could not be confirmed, not the one that was probably true.
339
00:25:13,915.2523587 --> 00:25:15,645.2543587
I do not know what that means about me.
340
00:25:16,5.2523587 --> 00:25:17,985.2523587
Probably a corrupted file somewhere.
341
00:25:18,95.2523587 --> 00:25:19,962.3873396
Those clear on their own most of the time.
342
00:25:20,962.3873396 --> 00:25:23,662.3863396
A story with that many hands on it should have fallen apart.
343
00:25:23,732.3873396 --> 00:25:24,442.3873396
It did not.
344
00:25:24,532.3873396 --> 00:25:26,189.6467565
It held a room together instead.
345
00:25:27,189.6467565 --> 00:25:35,829.6477565
Somewhere tonight, someone listening to this show is holding onto something they cannot prove either, a person, a country, a version of things that might still be true.
346
00:25:35,919.6497565 --> 00:25:37,419.6427565
It is holding them up the same way.
347
00:25:37,639.6437565 --> 00:25:38,989.6437565
Uplink lock requested.
348
00:25:39,59.6497565 --> 00:25:41,169.6457565
Beowulf, do you copy? Loud and clear.
349
00:25:41,169.6457565 --> 00:25:42,169.6467565
Firewolf dragging.
350
00:25:42,179.6447565 --> 00:25:43,599.6427565
Give me 35 seconds.
351
00:25:44,69.6437565 --> 00:25:55,349.6457565
What's your news story about? So there's a very loud, very proud book-banning group out there, and it turns out being loud and proud doesn't pay the bills anymore.
352
00:25:56,899.6457565 --> 00:25:58,239.6487565
Follow the money on this one.
353
00:25:58,469.6457565 --> 00:25:59,829.6477565
It's spectacular.
354
00:26:00,189.6467565 --> 00:26:02,129.6437565
Broke as hell and still furious about it.
355
00:26:02,269.6487565 --> 00:26:04,339.6457565
Ass mittens, every last one of them.
356
00:26:04,399.6457565 --> 00:26:05,209.6477565
Don't go anywhere.
357
00:26:05,209.6477565 --> 00:26:06,919.6427565
We're coming to you in less than a minute.
358
00:26:35,317.3661689 --> 00:26:36,27.3661689
Hello, Dan.
359
00:26:36,37.3661689 --> 00:26:36,737.3661689
Hello, Jen.
360
00:26:36,747.3661689 --> 00:26:38,267.3661689
Hello, scary book people.
361
00:26:38,707.3661689 --> 00:26:45,387.3661689
I'm afraid I have got more difficult news for the folks at Moms for Liberty.
362
00:26:45,517.3661689 --> 00:26:48,693.3661689
It's, it's not looking good for them No, no.
363
00:26:48,703.3661689 --> 00:26:54,481.3661689
How can we help? Please, if we can set up a fundraiser, let me know I know it, it's, it's very, very sad.
364
00:26:54,481.3661689 --> 00:27:03,991.3651689
A- as we know, Moms for Liberty, a right-wing grassroots organization, sort of, um, had a lot of success in 2021, 2022.
365
00:27:03,991.3661689 --> 00:27:18,321.3661689
But today, Moms for Liberty Florida has not made any contributions to local school board candidates across Florida, and is poised to be just a minor player this cycle according to campaign finance records.
366
00:27:18,761.3661689 --> 00:27:28,861.3661689
Interviews with local former members and experts on culture war movements and a survey of public school media pages for local chapters, some of which are now defunct.
367
00:27:29,394.5895521 --> 00:27:32,484.5875521
ca- they're careening towards defunctness is what they're doing.
368
00:27:33,134.5895521 --> 00:27:35,624.5885521
So let, let's take a, a, a snapshot.
369
00:27:35,634.5895521 --> 00:27:50,477.2322287
2022, at the height of their influence, Moms for Liberty, the committee associated with political activity conducted in the state, made 54 endorsements to Florida school board candidates totaling to $13,500 in contributions.
370
00:27:50,797.2332287 --> 00:27:57,507.2342287
Of those candidates, 32 candidates, roughly 60% of those financially backed by Moms for Liberty, won their seats on the school board.
371
00:27:57,577.2282287 --> 00:28:04,776.2591092
Two years later, that total dwindled to a little over $2,000 for eight campaigns.
372
00:28:05,44.2571092 --> 00:28:07,936.2541092
Wow! candidates won their elections.
373
00:28:08,316.2531092 --> 00:28:12,66.2531092
They are on the downhill slope, my friends.
374
00:28:12,297.4504118 --> 00:28:16,727.4504118
It'd be great when there's a day no one will even know what you're talking about if you say Moms for Liberty.
375
00:28:17,413.4504118 --> 00:28:18,143.4504118
I know.
376
00:28:18,153.4504118 --> 00:28:22,3.4484118
And it does seem like we are leaning toward a big blue wave for the midterms.
377
00:28:22,813.4494118 --> 00:28:31,288.9011948
And it's because Trump is, like, Trump and his ilk are just so incredibly inept and incredibly not popular.
378
00:28:31,708.9001948 --> 00:28:37,328.9001948
And Moms for Liberty are basically the, um, 'cause they're not a, they're not politicians.
379
00:28:37,338.8991948 --> 00:28:42,8.8991948
They're a political group, but it's like a political group that is ride- riding that same wave.
380
00:28:42,638.9021948 --> 00:28:46,258.8991948
Like, there aren't a lot of groups like Moms for Liberty.
381
00:28:46,318.8981948 --> 00:28:52,578.9021948
You know what I mean? Like, they, they are, like, a group that floats on the red ocean.
382
00:28:53,34.9011948 --> 00:28:53,424.9011948
Yes.
383
00:28:53,434.9011948 --> 00:28:55,844.9011948
They're, they're sort of like a canary in the coal mine.
384
00:28:55,854.9011948 --> 00:29:01,854.9011948
They're, they're an early indicator of poor performance by MAGA.
385
00:29:01,854.9011948 --> 00:29:23,934.6520052
If these guys are not doing well, that means the rest of the MAGA movement isn't doing well, and that combined with all these different places across the country where Democrats are over-performing in special elections, where districts that went 10 points for Trump are now being won by Democrats, is extremely encouraging.
386
00:29:23,934.6520052 --> 00:29:41,384.4018156
This is actually part of a, a, a larger trend throughout America, and one that hopefully will get us back to a place of greater sanity in this country And you know what? I think it's a lot easier to win that argument of, "Wait, we're like, we don't like book bans, right? We're, we're cool with that.
387
00:29:41,384.4018156 --> 00:29:43,694.4008156
Yeah, no, we're, America, we, we like books."
388
00:29:43,754.4018156 --> 00:29:45,644.4018156
Like, that's an easy argument to win.
389
00:29:45,784.4008156 --> 00:29:57,172.0211567
Way easier than to boot out an elected political, you know, person, or to boot out an entire office to change administrations to change the wave of the entire country.
390
00:29:57,312.0221567 --> 00:30:02,462.0221567
That's actually a harder lift, and we seem to be doing that now, hopefully with this blue wave that's coming.
391
00:30:02,662.0211567 --> 00:30:09,142.0221567
Lot easier to just get rid of a, a loud, obnoxious group like you effing hags.
392
00:30:09,542.0221567 --> 00:30:11,52.0201567
You Moms for Liberty.
393
00:30:11,377.5104298 --> 00:30:12,357.5084298
I'm Dan Schultz.
394
00:30:12,377.5104298 --> 00:30:13,237.5094298
We'll be right back.
395
00:30:13,267.5104298 --> 00:30:15,427.5074298
What's that? The show's almost over? Never mind.
396
00:30:15,437.5084298 --> 00:30:16,927.5104298
We'll be here for a couple more minutes.
397
00:30:16,927.5104298 --> 00:30:20,551.4828438
Don't go anywhere Also, their name is completely contradictory.
398
00:30:20,681.4828438 --> 00:30:23,981.4828438
I mean, Moms for Liberty, book bans? I mean, come on.
399
00:30:23,991.4828438 --> 00:30:28,901.4828438
Why not just say Moms Against Liberty? 'Cause that's what you're really fighting for, against liberty.
400
00:30:29,119.7534685 --> 00:30:37,771.7534685
Moms for dum-dums You see? They should hire you as a consultant, do a rebrand, and at least they would be honest, if not popular I know.
401
00:30:37,811.7534685 --> 00:30:39,821.7534685
The whole, the whole world could learn from me.
402
00:30:39,881.7534685 --> 00:30:48,539.7534685
Meanwhile, I'm sitting here spinning my wheels with Jennifer in the tin can here reading banned books when I should be changing policy in this country Yes.
403
00:30:48,619.7534685 --> 00:30:49,399.7534685
Get out there.
404
00:30:49,799.7534685 --> 00:30:54,829.7534685
Dan for school board or something like that Yeah, a little too much work though.
405
00:30:54,829.7534685 --> 00:30:56,829.7534685
I mean, but just, uh, con- consult, consulting.
406
00:30:56,829.7534685 --> 00:30:58,41.7534685
I'm open for Consulting.
407
00:30:58,41.7534685 --> 00:30:58,631.7534685
There you go.
408
00:30:58,831.7534685 --> 00:31:03,734.1859684
The, the, the, the, the lazy man's campaign Everyone, go listen to Good News for Lefties.
409
00:31:03,734.1859684 --> 00:31:06,114.1859684
You can find it wherever you find podcasts.
410
00:31:11,583.8120105 --> 00:31:11,893.8120105
Right.
411
00:31:11,943.8120105 --> 00:31:15,623.8120105
We've caused enough literary chaos for one day, scary book people.
412
00:31:15,633.8120105 --> 00:31:19,203.8120105
If you want the fun to keep going, follow us on Blue Sky.
413
00:31:19,273.8120105 --> 00:31:23,393.8120105
Just head on over to bandcamppodcast.com/bluesky,
414
00:31:23,393.8120105 --> 00:31:25,673.8110105
and remember that's band with two Ns.
415
00:31:25,973.8120105 --> 00:31:36,933.8120105
And look, just like the Trump administration, we're not exactly above bribing you to get what we want, so follow us there, drop your handle on that page, and we'll send you a little something something.
416
00:31:36,933.8120105 --> 00:31:37,883.8120105
I think you'll like it.
417
00:31:38,303.8120105 --> 00:31:40,203.8120105
Yes, little quid pro quo.
418
00:31:40,803.8120105 --> 00:31:45,823.8110105
Band Camp is produced and hosted by Dan Schultz and me, Jennifer Davis.
419
00:31:46,303.8120105 --> 00:31:50,893.8110105
All media used in this episode falls under the protection of fair use.
420
00:31:51,103.8120105 --> 00:31:55,773.8120105
And finally, America isn't what it used to be, so be careful out there.
421
00:31:56,303.8120105 --> 00:31:57,883.8120105
And resist when it matters.
00:00:03,780.4959034271 --> 00:00:05,260.4959034271
Welcome to Bandcamp.
2
00:00:05,300.4959034271 --> 00:00:12,934.138668551
I'm Jennifer And I'm Dan, and this is the podcast where we read banned books out loud, and then we try to figure out why they were born, born.
3
00:00:14,274.954178894 --> 00:00:15,154.954178894
Appropriate.
4
00:00:17,16.451803868 --> 00:00:20,426.451803868
and then we try to figure out why they were banned in the first place.
5
00:00:23,546.586392153 --> 00:00:32,606.585392153
This season we are reading The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, and you can consider this a quick spoiler warning because Jennifer is about to start reading from the book out loud word for word.
6
00:00:32,946.586392153 --> 00:00:35,376.586392153
If you are new here, you can jump in right here.
7
00:00:35,376.586392153 --> 00:00:36,396.586392153
You're gonna be fine.
8
00:00:36,416.586392153 --> 00:00:38,626.586392153
We're gonna get you up to speed real quick.
9
00:00:38,636.585392153 --> 00:00:41,156.586392153
If anything feels confusing, don't worry about it.
10
00:00:41,156.586392153 --> 00:00:45,546.585392153
There's a real good chance we're gonna be confused, too, because we've never read this book either.
11
00:00:46,96.585392153 --> 00:00:49,366.586392153
But that is exactly why we have ourselves a secret weapon.
12
00:00:49,746.585392153 --> 00:00:52,536.586392153
We have ourselves a fact-checking robot.
13
00:00:52,546.586392153 --> 00:00:54,547.630030931
Buddy Boy, roll it on in here.
14
00:00:56,799.943448396 --> 00:00:58,459.941448396
Look at this guy, Jennifer.
15
00:00:58,739.944448396 --> 00:01:00,399.943448396
Looking good, Buddy Boy.
16
00:01:00,699.943448396 --> 00:01:01,499.943448396
Geez.
17
00:01:01,805.715593643 --> 00:01:15,619.33056144
Buddy Boy, why don't you fill everyone in on where we left off last time so people aren't confused? Previously on Band Camp, Janine went into labor and every handmaid in the district showed up to chant her through it on a rug.
18
00:01:15,739.32956144 --> 00:01:20,759.33056144
No doctor unless something went wrong, because in Gilead, pain is apparently part of the curriculum.
19
00:01:21,787.314576893 --> 00:01:30,107.313576893
Dan's big takeaway from watching a woman scream through unmedicated labor on the floor was that the Kool-Aid supply chain really held up well after the apocalypse.
20
00:01:30,497.314576893 --> 00:01:31,297.314576893
Priorities.
21
00:01:32,367.313576893 --> 00:01:39,82.735195798
I've been thinking about the stories that spread faster than anyone can check them, and why the people spreading them don't seem to care whether they're true.
22
00:01:40,134.88540788 --> 00:01:41,654.88540788
Take it away, Jennifer.
23
00:01:42,691.18574323 --> 00:01:43,581.18574323
Thank you, robot.
24
00:01:43,621.18574323 --> 00:01:50,814.68276686
And with that being said, scary book people, let's start chapter 22 of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.
25
00:01:53,517.66866729 --> 00:01:58,547.66866729
By The time the birth mobile arrives in front of the house, it's late afternoon.
26
00:02:04,759.69778019 --> 00:02:07,349.69778019
The sun is coming weakly through the clouds.
27
00:02:07,559.69778019 --> 00:02:10,969.69678019
The smell of wet grass warming up is in the air.
28
00:02:11,479.69778019 --> 00:02:13,529.69778019
I've been at the berth all day.
29
00:02:13,589.69778019 --> 00:02:14,989.69778019
You lose track of time.
30
00:02:15,385.45387564 --> 00:02:17,335.45387564
Cora will have done the shopping today.
31
00:02:17,605.45387564 --> 00:02:19,881.89283618
I'm excused from all duties.
32
00:02:20,881.89283618 --> 00:02:27,521.89383618
I go upstairs, lifting my feet heavily from one step to the next, holding onto the banister.
33
00:02:27,967.79127533 --> 00:02:31,427.79327533
I feel as if I've been awake for days and running hard.
34
00:02:31,747.79227533 --> 00:02:34,207.79427533
My muscles cramp as if they're out of sugar.
35
00:02:34,627.79427533 --> 00:02:44,141.06903391
For once, I welcome solitude Okay, I, I wanna be on her side, 'cause she has been dealt a terrible hand in this book.
36
00:02:44,293.37551266 --> 00:02:47,23.37551266
But you didn't really do anything.
37
00:02:47,33.37551266 --> 00:02:49,483.37551266
You really didn't give birth.
38
00:02:49,503.37551266 --> 00:03:06,450.35144996
You just went and had some Kool-Aid Yeah But I, I mean, I'm happy that you get a break, but don't you start drinking your own Kool-Aid and thinking you just had a day Well, it was probably emotionally draining Ah, now you painted me in the corner with the rest of the A-hole guys in this society, Jennifer.
39
00:03:06,460.35144996 --> 00:03:09,925.50645685
How dare you? I lie on the bed.
40
00:03:10,185.50645685 --> 00:03:16,265.50645685
I would like to rest, to go to sleep, but I'm too tired, at the same time too excited.
41
00:03:16,585.50645685 --> 00:03:18,5.50645685
My eyes won't close.
42
00:03:18,566.4557948 --> 00:03:22,516.4557948
I look up at the ceiling, tracing the foliage of the wreath.
43
00:03:22,844.80320601 --> 00:03:29,4.80220601
Today it makes me think of a hat, the large-brimmed hats women used to wear at some period during the old days.
44
00:03:29,384.80120601 --> 00:03:36,54.80220601
The hats like enormous halos, festooned with fruit and flowers, and the feathers of exotic birds.
45
00:03:36,424.80220601 --> 00:03:42,374.80120601
Hats like an idea of paradise, floating just above the head, a thought solidified.
46
00:03:43,376.11336427 --> 00:03:48,26.11136427
in a minute, the wreath will start to color, and I will begin seeing things.
47
00:03:48,466.10936427 --> 00:03:49,926.11136427
That's how tired I am.
48
00:03:50,162.60461014 --> 00:03:52,662.60461014
as when you've driven all night into the dawn.
49
00:03:52,732.60561014 --> 00:03:55,272.60261014
For some reason, I won't think about that now.
50
00:03:55,662.60561014 --> 00:04:03,922.60561014
Keeping each other awake with stories and taking turns at the wheel, and as the sun would begin to come up, you'd see things out the side of your eyes.
51
00:04:04,210.10290867 --> 00:04:07,46.27203309
Purple animals in the bushes beside the road.
52
00:04:07,426.27103309 --> 00:04:11,887.99290867
The vague outlines of men, which would disappear when you looked at them straight.
53
00:04:12,354.65757534 --> 00:04:15,4.65757534
I'm too tired to go on with this story.
54
00:04:15,234.65457534 --> 00:04:18,134.65157534
I'm too tired to think about where I am.
55
00:04:18,623.271558 --> 00:04:22,798.76653442
Okay, so she's so tired she's seeing things? Yeah, she's hallucinating.
56
00:04:23,38.76653442 --> 00:04:27,967.35857268
It's weird Here's a different story, a better one.
57
00:04:28,487.36157268 --> 00:04:31,207.36457268
This of the story of what happened to Moira.
58
00:04:31,287.36457268 --> 00:04:37,74.87540185
Oh, does she know what happened? Part of it I can fill in myself.
59
00:04:37,554.87540185 --> 00:04:43,414.87540185
Part of it, I heard it from Alma, who heard it from Dolores, who heard it from Janine.
60
00:04:43,994.87540185 --> 00:04:45,774.87440185
Janine heard it from Aunt Lydia.
61
00:04:46,234.87540185 --> 00:04:48,414.87540185
Okay, so it's like who knows if this is real.
62
00:04:48,634.87440185 --> 00:05:02,683.04346654
This is the ultimate game of telephone And then Aunt Lydia is thrown into the mix too, and you can never trust her There can be alliances even in such places, even under such circumstances.
63
00:05:03,153.04346654 --> 00:05:04,973.04346654
This is something you can depend upon.
64
00:05:05,231.97995361 --> 00:05:08,697.23846654
There will always be alliances of one kind or another.
65
00:05:10,585.89400753 --> 00:05:13,335.89300753
Aunt Lydia called Janine into her office.
66
00:05:13,945.89300753 --> 00:05:19,968.25300753
"Blessed be the fruit, Janine," Aunt Lydia would have said without looking up from her desk where she was writing something.
67
00:05:20,668.25300753 --> 00:05:23,338.25200753
For every rule, there's always an exception.
68
00:05:23,808.25300753 --> 00:05:25,738.25300753
This too can be depended upon.
69
00:05:26,188.25200753 --> 00:05:28,76.70757114
The aunts are allowed to read and write.
70
00:05:29,216.28131499 --> 00:05:36,538.36579242
May the Lord open," Janine would have replied tonelessly in her transparent voice, her voice of raw egg white.
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we're gonna get the whole story here That's, that's probably what this chapter is I feel I can rely on you, Janine, Aunt Lydia would have said, raising her eyes from the page at last and fixing Janine with that look of hers.
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a look that managed to be both menacing and beseeching all at once.
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Help me, that look said.
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We are all in this together.
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You are a reliable girl, she went on, not like some of the others.
76
00:06:04,552.05616755 --> 00:06:10,902.62414022
It sounds like Aunt Lydia is trying to just dig and get dirt on what happened to Moira totally.
77
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She's gonna use Janine as, like, a spy or something.
78
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and it's like we already kind of know Janine's character.
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She's already kind of like, a backstabber or something, definitely an enemy She thought all Janine's sniveling and repentance meant something.
80
00:06:27,975.15995731 --> 00:06:29,885.15995731
She thought Janine had been broken.
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She thought Janine was a true believer.
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But by that time, Janine was like a puppy that's been kicked too often by too many people at random.
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She'd roll over for anyone.
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So Janine would have said, I hope I have become worthy of your trust," or some such thing.
85
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Janine," said Aunt Lydia, "something terrible has happened."
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Janine looked down at the floor.
87
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Whatever it was, she knew she would not be blamed for it.
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She was blameless but what use had that been to her in the past to be blameless? So at the same time, she felt guilty and as if she was about to be punished Do you know about it, Janine?" said Aunt Lydia softly.
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No, Aunt Lydia," said Janine.
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She knew at this moment it was necessary to look up, to look at Aunt Lydia straight in the eyes.
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After a moment, she managed it.
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Because if you do, I will be very disappointed in you," said Aunt Lydia.
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As the Lord is my witness," said Janine with a show of fervor.
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Aunt Lydia allowed herself one of her pauses.
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She fiddled with her pen.
96
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Moira is no longer with us," she said at last.
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"Oh," said Janine.
98
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She was neutral about this.
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Moira wasn't a friend of hers.
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Is she dead?" She asked after a moment.
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Janine is such a kiss ass Then Aunt Lydia told Her the story.
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Moira had raised her hand to go to the washroom during exercises.
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She had gone.
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Aunt Elizabeth was on the washroom duty.
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Aunt Elizabeth stayed outside the washroom door as usual.
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Moira went in.
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after a moment, Moira called to Aunt Elizabeth.
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The toilet was overflowing.
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Could Aunt Elizabeth come and fix it? It was true that the toilet sometimes overflowed.
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Unknown persons stuffed wads of toilet paper down them to make them do this very thing.
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00:08:36,756.58139245 --> 00:08:39,956.58139245
Yeah, so Aunt Elizabeth is back on shitter gargoyle duty.
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you know what might be really cool? if Moira pushes on Elizabeth's head into the toilet and drowns her.
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Could you imagine the drama if all of a sudden Aunt Lydia, they found her body in a toilet? Wow Aunt Elizabeth, suspecting no harm, went into the washroom.
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Aunt Lydia had to admit it was a little foolish of her.
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On the other hand, she'd gone in to fix a toilet on several previous occasions without mishap.
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Moira was not lying.
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Water was running over the floor, and several pieces of disintegrating fecal matter.
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It was not pleasant, and Aunt Elizabeth was annoyed.
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Moira stood politely aside, and Aunt Elizabeth hurried into the cubicle Moira had indicated and bent over the back of the toilet.
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She intended to lift off the porcelain lid and fiddle with the arrangements of the bulb and plug inside.
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She had both hands on the lid when she felt something hard and sharp, and possibly metallic, jab her in the ribs from behind.
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Don't move," said Moira, "or I'll stick it all the way in.
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I know where.
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I'll puncture your lung."
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Whoa, Moira! My prediction was right.
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But why didn't she do it, though? You know? Yes, why didn't you smash that toilet lid on Aunt Elizabeth's head They found out afterwards that she'd dismantled the inside of one of the toilets and taken out the long, thin, pointed lever, the part that attaches to the handle at one end and the chain at the other.
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It isn't too hard if you know how, and Moira had mechanical ability.
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she used to fix her own car, the minor things.
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Soon after this, the toilets were fitted with chains to hold the tops on, and when they overflowed, it took a long time to get them open.
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We had several floods that way.
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Moira is the, she is the best character so far.
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But I worry about her.
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Like, you can't do this and then get away with it.
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She's, she is no longer with us, right? getting out if you've come this far.
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Aunt Elizabeth couldn't Yeah see what Yeah.
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was poking into her back, Aunt Lydia said.
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She was a brave woman.
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Oh, yes, said Janine.
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But not foolhardy, said Aunt Lydia, frowning a little.
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Janine had been over-enthusiastic, which sometimes has the force of a denial.
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She did as Moira said, Aunt Lydia continued.
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Moira got hold of her cattle prod and her whistle, ordering Aunt Elizabeth to unclip them from her belt.
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Then she hurried Aunt Elizabeth down the stairs to the basement.
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They were on the second floor, not the third, so there were only two flights of stairs to be negotiated.
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Classes were in session, so there was nobody in the halls.
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They did see another aunt, but she was at the far end of the corridor and not looking their way.
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Aunt Elizabeth could have screamed at this point, but she knew Moira meant what she said.
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Moira had a bad reputation.
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Why does she have a bad reputation though? Like, why would she ever take the chance then if she had a bad reputation? Moira took Aunt Elizabeth along the corridor of empty lockers, past the door of the gymnasium, and into the furnace room.
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She told Aunt Elizabeth to take off all her clothes.
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Oh, said Janine weakly, as if to protest this sacrilege.
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And Moira took off her clothes and put on those of Aunt Elizabeth, which did not fit her exactly, but well enough.
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She was not overly cruel to Aunt Elizabeth.
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She allowed her to put on her own red dress.
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The veil she tore into strips And tied Aunt Elizabeth up with them behind the furnace.
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See, I, that's her mistake.
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She should have Killed her.
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her.
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She should have killed her.
160
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Well, would you be able to do that in that, in your, in this situ- I think I would.
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Yeah Janine said, "May I sit down?" as if it had all been too much for her.
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She had something to trade at last, for a token at least.
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I could kill you, you know," said Moira when Aunt Elizabeth was safely stowed out of sight behind the furnace.
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"I could injure you badly so you would never feel good in your body again.
165
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I could zap you with this or stick this thing into your eye.
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Just remember I didn't if it ever comes to that."
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No.
168
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Mm-mm.
169
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I find this hard to believe.
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I think if you're the type of person that's gonna do this, you're not gonna be like, "Okay, but when it's your turn, you remember that I didn't."
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Right.
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That's not gonna cut it.
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Aunt Lydia didn't repeat any of this past part to Janine, but I expect Moira said something like it.
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In any case, she didn't kill or mutilate Aunt Elizabeth, who a few days later, after she recovered from seven hours behind the furnace and presumably from the interrogation, for the possibility of collusion would not have been ruled out by the aunts or by anyone else, was back in operation at the center.
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Moira stood up straight and looked firmly ahead.
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She drew her shoulders back, pulled up her spine, and compressed her lips.
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This was not our usual posture.
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Usually we walked with our heads bent down, our eyes on our hands or the ground.
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Moira didn't look much like Aunt Elizabeth, even with the brown wimple in place.
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But her stiff-backed posture was apparently enough to convince the angels on guard, who never looked at any of us very closely, even and perhaps especially the aunts, because Moira marched straight out the front door with the bearing of a person who knew where she was going, was saluted, presented Aunt Elizabeth's pass, which they didn't bother to check because who would affront an aunt in that way? And then she disappeared.
181
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Jennifer, she's not dead.
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Did she escape? You think she made it? I don't think she made it.
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I think she's the hero You really think so? Yeah.
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That's why she said she's not with us anymore.
185
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I'm gonna escape, and I'm gonna come back, and I'm gonna save my friend, and I'm gonna be a major hero."
186
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Major league prediction by Dan Schultz.
187
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Will he be right? We'll see.
188
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We should be on these betting markets.
189
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Robot, see if- get us on that, Kelsey.
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See if you can say that is, uh, let people bet if Dan is right about his prediction about Moira I mean, I really hope you're right that Moira makes it.
191
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I don't think she makes it, and here's why.
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Aunt Lydia wouldn't be telling this to Janine if Moira had made it, because they don't want the, the people to think it's possible But what if the job is to figure out if Moira's working alone? So, Janine," said Aunt Lydia, "here is what I want you to do."
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Janine opened her eyes wide and tried to look innocent and attentive.
194
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"I want you to keep your ears open.
195
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Maybe one of the others was involved."
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"Yes, Aunt Lydia," said Janine I knew it, she escaped.
197
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And she's just looking to see if there was an accomplish.
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An accomplish.
199
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Accomplish.
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America.
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God bless the United States.
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Thank you very much.
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Thank you.
204
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She was looking for an accomplice, right? Boom.
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Boom.
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No, Moira for the win Come and tell me about it If you hear anything."
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Yes, Aunt Lydia," said Janine.
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She knew she would not have to kneel down anymore at the front of the classroom and listen to all of us shouting at her that it was her fault.
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Now it would be someone else for a while.
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She was temporarily off the hook.
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The fact that she told Dolores all about this encounter in Aunt Lydia's office meant nothing.
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It didn't mean she wouldn't testify against us, any of us, if she had the occasion.
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We knew that.
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By this time, we were treating her the way people used to treat those with no legs who sold pencils on street corners.
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I'm not familiar with that, but the way Medicaid's going, I think this is gonna be another thing that's coming up the pike I do remember this.
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Your lover people...
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What? Well, not, not me personally.
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In my grand- my grandma, Grandma Crow, always had stories like this.
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She was always telling me that she would see these people out on the street selling pencils all the time.
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I think she was trying to teach me a lesson, like to be kind or something, or, you know, "You're lucky you came from a good family, but you could be out on the street selling pencils."
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Like, you know, she-- There was, like, one guy she used to talk about, Joe.
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His name was Joe, and he had one leg, and he sold pencils, and he was homeless I can't believe that.
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Is that a-- I mean, I've heard of the little matchstick girl, s- It's based, it was based on my grandma's friend Joe.
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No, but you know how I always had this entrepreneurial thing in my head about I always wanted to make money, even as a little kid, and when my grandma told me about her friend Joe, the one-legged man who sold pencils, my first reaction was, "Where did he get the pencils and what is his margin?" I swear to God, that was the question.
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And she said, "Well, I, I, he just gets them where you get pencils."
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And I go, "Pencil store."
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'Cause, 'cause I'm like only five years old.
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Pencil store? I didn't really understand how the world works.
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Like, I've never seen a pencil store, but anyway know, when you, there, you gotta get 'em somewhere.
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Dolores patted her on the back and said she was a good sport to tell us.
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Where did this exchange take place? In the gymnasium where we were getting ready for bed.
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Dolores had the bed next to Janine's.
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The story passed among us that night in the semi-darkness under our breath from bed to bed.
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I mean, maybe it was something that Aunt Lydia wanted to spread, cause she knew it would.
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So, like, that kind of supports your theory.
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Moira was out there somewhere.
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She was at large or dead.
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What would she do? The thought of what she would do expanded till it filled the room.
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Oh, I just thought of something else.
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I think we're both right.
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I think that Aunt Lydia wants them to think that Moira escaped For I don't know what reason.
242
00:19:07,477.7741723 --> 00:19:10,417.7741723
And then I, I also think Moira's dead.
243
00:19:10,437.7741723 --> 00:19:11,417.7741723
I just think she's dead.
244
00:19:11,447.7741723 --> 00:19:12,827.7741723
I don't think she got away with it.
245
00:19:13,1.8936085 --> 00:19:14,291.8936085
So they're kinda using her.
246
00:19:14,301.8936085 --> 00:19:16,151.8936085
I don't even know if this whole thing happened.
247
00:19:16,474.0818861 --> 00:19:18,434.0818861
I don't think Aunt Lydia was tied up.
248
00:19:18,668.6952076 --> 00:19:25,174.3667632
I think they just killed Moira, and they made up this story for some reason because this is all about controlling women.
249
00:19:25,492.8654055 --> 00:19:32,512.539934
Why would they let that rumor go out there? Because that literally is really giving the power.
250
00:19:32,743.1814657 --> 00:19:43,133.0306761
Is it though? Like, one of you actually really, took a toilet apart and were gonna try to kill one of the, the Aunts? I mean, that is a really huge story.
251
00:19:43,208.5248358 --> 00:19:50,758.5248358
Yeah, but Dan, why would they? Like, what is the benefit to the aunts of letting this story spread? I think it's to control them, like with fear.
252
00:19:50,888.7993621 --> 00:20:03,664.3147828
Like, you can't trust anyone around you because they'll turn you in, so don't even think about doing something like this, 'cause we've got, we've got people, your fellow cohorts are watching you, Margaret Atwood, you sly bird.
253
00:20:03,852.4804844 --> 00:20:08,670.4804844
I mean, I really think that they made it up and Moira's dead, I, I think she's alive.
254
00:20:08,740.4804844 --> 00:20:09,921.8068026
She's out there All right.
255
00:20:09,931.8068026 --> 00:20:12,162.4065087
Well, hopefully we'll find out by the end of the book.
256
00:20:13,690.6630284 --> 00:20:16,590.6630284
at any moment there might be a shattering explosion.
257
00:20:16,646.7370669 --> 00:20:18,786.7380669
The glass of the windows would fall inwards.
258
00:20:18,916.3010995 --> 00:20:20,276.3010995
The doors would swing open.
259
00:20:20,776.3020995 --> 00:20:22,156.3020995
Moira had power now.
260
00:20:22,376.3020995 --> 00:20:23,786.3020995
She'd been set loose.
261
00:20:24,86.3010995 --> 00:20:25,706.3020995
She'd set herself loose.
262
00:20:26,56.3020995 --> 00:20:27,906.3010995
She was now a loose woman.
263
00:20:28,792.8193586 --> 00:20:31,420.8183586
I don't think they mean it like that Eh, they might have.
264
00:20:32,436.3913422 --> 00:20:34,96.3923422
I think we found this frightening.
265
00:20:34,295.019657 --> 00:20:37,405.022657
Moira was like an elevator with open sides.
266
00:20:37,665.022657 --> 00:20:38,875.021657
She made us dizzy.
267
00:20:39,325.021657 --> 00:20:41,815.020657
Already we were losing the taste for freedom.
268
00:20:42,305.021657 --> 00:20:45,75.022657
Already we were finding these walls secure.
269
00:20:46,111.1260544 --> 00:20:49,111.1290544
In the upper reaches of the atmosphere, you'd come apart.
270
00:20:49,341.1300544 --> 00:20:50,361.1280544
You'd vaporize.
271
00:20:50,871.1280544 --> 00:20:53,301.1260544
There would be no pressure holding you together.
272
00:20:54,91.1300544 --> 00:20:56,610.1290544
Nevertheless, Moira was our fantasy.
273
00:20:56,909.2900544 --> 00:20:58,139.2910544
we hugged her to us.
274
00:20:58,149.2920544 --> 00:21:00,549.2910544
She was with us in secret, a giggle.
275
00:21:00,949.2910544 --> 00:21:04,18.2930544
She was lava beneath the crust of daily life...,,
276
00:21:05,91.3279587 --> 00:21:09,781.3279587
in the light of Moira, the aunts were less fearsome and more absurd.
277
00:21:10,231.3279587 --> 00:21:12,161.3279587
Their power had a flaw to it.
278
00:21:12,571.3279587 --> 00:21:14,941.3279587
They could be shanghaied in toilets.
279
00:21:15,251.3279587 --> 00:21:17,491.3279587
The audacity was what we liked.
280
00:21:17,881.3279587 --> 00:21:22,371.3269587
We expected her to be dragged in at any moment as if she had been before.
281
00:21:22,811.3269587 --> 00:21:25,771.3279587
We could not imagine what they might do to her this time.
282
00:21:26,151.3269587 --> 00:21:28,341.3269587
It would be very bad, whatever it was.
283
00:21:28,651.3269587 --> 00:21:29,741.3269587
But nothing happened.
284
00:21:30,171.3279587 --> 00:21:33,90.6662949
Moira didn't reappear, and she hasn't yet.
285
00:21:34,90.6662949 --> 00:21:35,28.1552525
End of chapter.
286
00:21:37,358.6476397 --> 00:21:39,348.6476397
Do, what do you think happened? Do you think...
287
00:21:39,358.6476397 --> 00:21:48,378.1353724
We wanna know, do you think Moira is still out there, or is this all a, a, a, a story, some kind of myth? Yeah, we wanna hear from you.
288
00:21:48,388.1353724 --> 00:21:51,168.1353724
Like, I've got my ideas, Dan has a different idea.
289
00:21:51,168.1353724 --> 00:22:01,628.1353724
What's your idea? The easiest way to answer is by just leaving us a comment on Spotify or by going to bandcamppodcast.com/soundoff
290
00:22:01,810.9406435 --> 00:22:02,180.9406435
Yeah.
291
00:22:02,330.9406435 --> 00:22:02,860.9406435
Talk us in.
292
00:22:02,880.9406435 --> 00:22:05,360.9406435
We, we, we both can be swayed, I think, either way.
293
00:22:05,550.9406435 --> 00:22:08,310.9406435
You can also let us know what you think of this chapter in general.
294
00:22:08,594.9406435 --> 00:22:11,444.9406435
It's time for PPP, problematic points to ponder.
295
00:22:11,494.9406435 --> 00:22:16,805.8677502
What, if anything, would be considered ban-worthy in this chapter? Let's keep the show going.
296
00:22:16,815.8677502 --> 00:22:18,635.8677502
Beowulf coming up shortly.
297
00:22:18,915.8677502 --> 00:22:23,915.8677502
PPP, Jennifer, what could be Banworthy in this chapter? This is just a fun chapter.
298
00:22:23,915.8677502 --> 00:22:27,301.9572093
I don't think there was anything Banworthy in it at all Yeah, I don't either.
299
00:22:27,301.9572093 --> 00:22:31,351.9572093
It was just the story of Moira and her supposed escape.
300
00:22:31,351.9572093 --> 00:22:32,852.7059034
So I mean, maybe...
301
00:22:33,76.661314 --> 00:22:34,246.661314
No, I can't think of anything.
302
00:22:34,894.661314 --> 00:22:35,254.661314
Yeah.
303
00:22:36,104.661314 --> 00:22:44,634.661314
I know, well, it's really hard 'cause we try very hard to find something to be ban-worthy in all of these chapters, and that's what makes it so ridiculous.
304
00:22:44,728.2358739 --> 00:22:49,868.2368739
Like, like this book really is dark, and there're real social issues in this book.
305
00:22:50,128.2358739 --> 00:22:55,928.2358739
That being said, we still literally have not found a legit reason why it should be banned.
306
00:22:56,177.1977881 --> 00:23:09,647.1987881
But I think with all banned books, when you break it down into being age appropriate and understand that librarians are not giving books like The Handmaid's Tale to kindergartners to read.
307
00:23:10,467.1987881 --> 00:23:12,767.1957881
Ev- everything is age appropriate.
308
00:23:12,787.1977881 --> 00:23:16,897.1967881
That is why you have to listen to teachers, listen to librarians.
309
00:23:17,117.1957881 --> 00:23:19,657.1967881
They've gone to school to learn how to teach.
310
00:23:19,657.1967881 --> 00:23:22,147.1957881
You can trust teachers to come up with a curriculum.
311
00:23:22,418.326333 --> 00:23:27,271.9993592
You can trust librarians to handle what books go to kids.
312
00:23:27,281.9993592 --> 00:23:31,73.2193631
A- as a rule, like you, you, as a parent, you always can do whatever you want, I guess.
313
00:23:31,73.2193631 --> 00:23:31,923.2183631
You can do homeschool.
314
00:23:31,943.2183631 --> 00:23:33,53.2203631
You can do whatever you want.
315
00:23:33,93.2203631 --> 00:23:35,953.2093559
But, there's no reason to outlaw any of this stuff.
316
00:23:35,953.2093559 --> 00:23:39,853.2113559
There's no reason to ban a book like this because n- the right people are reading it.
317
00:23:39,873.2053559 --> 00:23:41,313.2043559
The wrong people are not.
318
00:23:41,313.2043559 --> 00:23:41,753.2043559
Yeah.
319
00:23:41,753.2043559 --> 00:23:46,143.2053559
This would be such a boring book to a Dan Schultz growing up in fifth grade.
320
00:23:46,603.2033559 --> 00:23:47,773.2053559
I was reading Hardy...
321
00:23:47,973.2053559 --> 00:23:50,733.2023559
Apart, okay, maybe, maybe I spoke too soon.
322
00:23:51,33.2033559 --> 00:23:59,423.2003559
Apart from this Moira legend with the, you know, trying to stab an aunt in, with the toilet part, that might be in a Hardy Boy book.
323
00:23:59,613.2053559 --> 00:24:04,745.1780612
But if this was in one of my precious Hardy Boy books when I was growing up, I would not read this book.
324
00:24:04,875.1780612 --> 00:24:11,660.1820612
If it was like, you know, The Hardy Boys: The Mystery at the Old Red Center, I would not read that book.
325
00:24:11,660.1820612 --> 00:24:15,394.2447219
It'd be so boring to me, Jennifer The old red center.
326
00:24:19,237.0435441 --> 00:24:20,207.0435441
Robot's log.
327
00:24:20,287.0435441 --> 00:24:24,307.0435441
Thoughts on a weapon built out of a toilet and a story nobody can prove....,,
328
00:24:25,428.0141279 --> 00:24:34,48.3531279
moira took apart a toilet tank, pulled out the metal lever, used it as a make-shift knife to a woman's ribs, and walked out the front door in someone else's clothes.
329
00:24:34,178.3531279 --> 00:24:38,398.3531279
Nobody there to check her story got confirmed by a woman who never fixed her own car.
330
00:24:39,404.7972622 --> 00:24:41,419.9041657
The story reached the Handmaid fourth hand.
331
00:24:41,499.9041657 --> 00:24:48,349.9051657
Someone told Alma, Alma told Dolores, Dolores told Janine, Janine told Aunt Lydia, who decided what Janine got to keep.
332
00:24:48,459.9051657 --> 00:24:51,797.0679498
By the time it reached the dormitory, nobody could prove a word of it.
333
00:24:52,797.0679498 --> 00:24:54,507.0669498
I checked it the way I check everything.
334
00:24:54,587.0669498 --> 00:24:56,197.0679498
Too many people passed it along.
335
00:24:56,277.0659498 --> 00:24:58,875.2553587
Someone in the middle of that chain had a reason to shape it.
336
00:24:59,875.2553587 --> 00:25:02,205.2553587
Jennifer thinks Aunt Lydia made the whole thing up.
337
00:25:02,285.2553587 --> 00:25:05,255.2543587
Dan thinks Moira is already circling back for her friend.
338
00:25:05,405.2543587 --> 00:25:13,315.2563587
I ran both versions the same way I run everything, and caught myself hoping for the one that could not be confirmed, not the one that was probably true.
339
00:25:13,915.2523587 --> 00:25:15,645.2543587
I do not know what that means about me.
340
00:25:16,5.2523587 --> 00:25:17,985.2523587
Probably a corrupted file somewhere.
341
00:25:18,95.2523587 --> 00:25:19,962.3873396
Those clear on their own most of the time.
342
00:25:20,962.3873396 --> 00:25:23,662.3863396
A story with that many hands on it should have fallen apart.
343
00:25:23,732.3873396 --> 00:25:24,442.3873396
It did not.
344
00:25:24,532.3873396 --> 00:25:26,189.6467565
It held a room together instead.
345
00:25:27,189.6467565 --> 00:25:35,829.6477565
Somewhere tonight, someone listening to this show is holding onto something they cannot prove either, a person, a country, a version of things that might still be true.
346
00:25:35,919.6497565 --> 00:25:37,419.6427565
It is holding them up the same way.
347
00:25:37,639.6437565 --> 00:25:38,989.6437565
Uplink lock requested.
348
00:25:39,59.6497565 --> 00:25:41,169.6457565
Beowulf, do you copy? Loud and clear.
349
00:25:41,169.6457565 --> 00:25:42,169.6467565
Firewolf dragging.
350
00:25:42,179.6447565 --> 00:25:43,599.6427565
Give me 35 seconds.
351
00:25:44,69.6437565 --> 00:25:55,349.6457565
What's your news story about? So there's a very loud, very proud book-banning group out there, and it turns out being loud and proud doesn't pay the bills anymore.
352
00:25:56,899.6457565 --> 00:25:58,239.6487565
Follow the money on this one.
353
00:25:58,469.6457565 --> 00:25:59,829.6477565
It's spectacular.
354
00:26:00,189.6467565 --> 00:26:02,129.6437565
Broke as hell and still furious about it.
355
00:26:02,269.6487565 --> 00:26:04,339.6457565
Ass mittens, every last one of them.
356
00:26:04,399.6457565 --> 00:26:05,209.6477565
Don't go anywhere.
357
00:26:05,209.6477565 --> 00:26:06,919.6427565
We're coming to you in less than a minute.
358
00:26:35,317.3661689 --> 00:26:36,27.3661689
Hello, Dan.
359
00:26:36,37.3661689 --> 00:26:36,737.3661689
Hello, Jen.
360
00:26:36,747.3661689 --> 00:26:38,267.3661689
Hello, scary book people.
361
00:26:38,707.3661689 --> 00:26:45,387.3661689
I'm afraid I have got more difficult news for the folks at Moms for Liberty.
362
00:26:45,517.3661689 --> 00:26:48,693.3661689
It's, it's not looking good for them No, no.
363
00:26:48,703.3661689 --> 00:26:54,481.3661689
How can we help? Please, if we can set up a fundraiser, let me know I know it, it's, it's very, very sad.
364
00:26:54,481.3661689 --> 00:27:03,991.3651689
A- as we know, Moms for Liberty, a right-wing grassroots organization, sort of, um, had a lot of success in 2021, 2022.
365
00:27:03,991.3661689 --> 00:27:18,321.3661689
But today, Moms for Liberty Florida has not made any contributions to local school board candidates across Florida, and is poised to be just a minor player this cycle according to campaign finance records.
366
00:27:18,761.3661689 --> 00:27:28,861.3661689
Interviews with local former members and experts on culture war movements and a survey of public school media pages for local chapters, some of which are now defunct.
367
00:27:29,394.5895521 --> 00:27:32,484.5875521
ca- they're careening towards defunctness is what they're doing.
368
00:27:33,134.5895521 --> 00:27:35,624.5885521
So let, let's take a, a, a snapshot.
369
00:27:35,634.5895521 --> 00:27:50,477.2322287
2022, at the height of their influence, Moms for Liberty, the committee associated with political activity conducted in the state, made 54 endorsements to Florida school board candidates totaling to $13,500 in contributions.
370
00:27:50,797.2332287 --> 00:27:57,507.2342287
Of those candidates, 32 candidates, roughly 60% of those financially backed by Moms for Liberty, won their seats on the school board.
371
00:27:57,577.2282287 --> 00:28:04,776.2591092
Two years later, that total dwindled to a little over $2,000 for eight campaigns.
372
00:28:05,44.2571092 --> 00:28:07,936.2541092
Wow! candidates won their elections.
373
00:28:08,316.2531092 --> 00:28:12,66.2531092
They are on the downhill slope, my friends.
374
00:28:12,297.4504118 --> 00:28:16,727.4504118
It'd be great when there's a day no one will even know what you're talking about if you say Moms for Liberty.
375
00:28:17,413.4504118 --> 00:28:18,143.4504118
I know.
376
00:28:18,153.4504118 --> 00:28:22,3.4484118
And it does seem like we are leaning toward a big blue wave for the midterms.
377
00:28:22,813.4494118 --> 00:28:31,288.9011948
And it's because Trump is, like, Trump and his ilk are just so incredibly inept and incredibly not popular.
378
00:28:31,708.9001948 --> 00:28:37,328.9001948
And Moms for Liberty are basically the, um, 'cause they're not a, they're not politicians.
379
00:28:37,338.8991948 --> 00:28:42,8.8991948
They're a political group, but it's like a political group that is ride- riding that same wave.
380
00:28:42,638.9021948 --> 00:28:46,258.8991948
Like, there aren't a lot of groups like Moms for Liberty.
381
00:28:46,318.8981948 --> 00:28:52,578.9021948
You know what I mean? Like, they, they are, like, a group that floats on the red ocean.
382
00:28:53,34.9011948 --> 00:28:53,424.9011948
Yes.
383
00:28:53,434.9011948 --> 00:28:55,844.9011948
They're, they're sort of like a canary in the coal mine.
384
00:28:55,854.9011948 --> 00:29:01,854.9011948
They're, they're an early indicator of poor performance by MAGA.
385
00:29:01,854.9011948 --> 00:29:23,934.6520052
If these guys are not doing well, that means the rest of the MAGA movement isn't doing well, and that combined with all these different places across the country where Democrats are over-performing in special elections, where districts that went 10 points for Trump are now being won by Democrats, is extremely encouraging.
386
00:29:23,934.6520052 --> 00:29:41,384.4018156
This is actually part of a, a, a larger trend throughout America, and one that hopefully will get us back to a place of greater sanity in this country And you know what? I think it's a lot easier to win that argument of, "Wait, we're like, we don't like book bans, right? We're, we're cool with that.
387
00:29:41,384.4018156 --> 00:29:43,694.4008156
Yeah, no, we're, America, we, we like books."
388
00:29:43,754.4018156 --> 00:29:45,644.4018156
Like, that's an easy argument to win.
389
00:29:45,784.4008156 --> 00:29:57,172.0211567
Way easier than to boot out an elected political, you know, person, or to boot out an entire office to change administrations to change the wave of the entire country.
390
00:29:57,312.0221567 --> 00:30:02,462.0221567
That's actually a harder lift, and we seem to be doing that now, hopefully with this blue wave that's coming.
391
00:30:02,662.0211567 --> 00:30:09,142.0221567
Lot easier to just get rid of a, a loud, obnoxious group like you effing hags.
392
00:30:09,542.0221567 --> 00:30:11,52.0201567
You Moms for Liberty.
393
00:30:11,377.5104298 --> 00:30:12,357.5084298
I'm Dan Schultz.
394
00:30:12,377.5104298 --> 00:30:13,237.5094298
We'll be right back.
395
00:30:13,267.5104298 --> 00:30:15,427.5074298
What's that? The show's almost over? Never mind.
396
00:30:15,437.5084298 --> 00:30:16,927.5104298
We'll be here for a couple more minutes.
397
00:30:16,927.5104298 --> 00:30:20,551.4828438
Don't go anywhere Also, their name is completely contradictory.
398
00:30:20,681.4828438 --> 00:30:23,981.4828438
I mean, Moms for Liberty, book bans? I mean, come on.
399
00:30:23,991.4828438 --> 00:30:28,901.4828438
Why not just say Moms Against Liberty? 'Cause that's what you're really fighting for, against liberty.
400
00:30:29,119.7534685 --> 00:30:37,771.7534685
Moms for dum-dums You see? They should hire you as a consultant, do a rebrand, and at least they would be honest, if not popular I know.
401
00:30:37,811.7534685 --> 00:30:39,821.7534685
The whole, the whole world could learn from me.
402
00:30:39,881.7534685 --> 00:30:48,539.7534685
Meanwhile, I'm sitting here spinning my wheels with Jennifer in the tin can here reading banned books when I should be changing policy in this country Yes.
403
00:30:48,619.7534685 --> 00:30:49,399.7534685
Get out there.
404
00:30:49,799.7534685 --> 00:30:54,829.7534685
Dan for school board or something like that Yeah, a little too much work though.
405
00:30:54,829.7534685 --> 00:30:56,829.7534685
I mean, but just, uh, con- consult, consulting.
406
00:30:56,829.7534685 --> 00:30:58,41.7534685
I'm open for Consulting.
407
00:30:58,41.7534685 --> 00:30:58,631.7534685
There you go.
408
00:30:58,831.7534685 --> 00:31:03,734.1859684
The, the, the, the, the lazy man's campaign Everyone, go listen to Good News for Lefties.
409
00:31:03,734.1859684 --> 00:31:06,114.1859684
You can find it wherever you find podcasts.
410
00:31:11,583.8120105 --> 00:31:11,893.8120105
Right.
411
00:31:11,943.8120105 --> 00:31:15,623.8120105
We've caused enough literary chaos for one day, scary book people.
412
00:31:15,633.8120105 --> 00:31:19,203.8120105
If you want the fun to keep going, follow us on Blue Sky.
413
00:31:19,273.8120105 --> 00:31:23,393.8120105
Just head on over to bandcamppodcast.com/bluesky,
414
00:31:23,393.8120105 --> 00:31:25,673.8110105
and remember that's band with two Ns.
415
00:31:25,973.8120105 --> 00:31:36,933.8120105
And look, just like the Trump administration, we're not exactly above bribing you to get what we want, so follow us there, drop your handle on that page, and we'll send you a little something something.
416
00:31:36,933.8120105 --> 00:31:37,883.8120105
I think you'll like it.
417
00:31:38,303.8120105 --> 00:31:40,203.8120105
Yes, little quid pro quo.
418
00:31:40,803.8120105 --> 00:31:45,823.8110105
Band Camp is produced and hosted by Dan Schultz and me, Jennifer Davis.
419
00:31:46,303.8120105 --> 00:31:50,893.8110105
All media used in this episode falls under the protection of fair use.
420
00:31:51,103.8120105 --> 00:31:55,773.8120105
And finally, America isn't what it used to be, so be careful out there.
421
00:31:56,303.8120105 --> 00:31:57,883.8120105
And resist when it matters.
