Rogue Librarians

Join us as we kick off our celebration of banned books week and our freedom to read.   We welcomed  back our friend Sam Helmick, the immediate past president of the American Library Association, to discuss Susan Orlean’s marvelous book, The Library Book.  
During our discussion, we brought up a few prior episodes of Rogue Librarians, including:
Episode 17. The Librarian of Basra (Part 1: Why It's Banned)
Episode 18. The Librarian of Basra (Part 2: Close Reading)
Episode 54. Fahrenheit 451 (Part 1: Why It’s Banned
Episode 53. Fahrenheit 451 (Part 2 : Close Reading)

In this episode we welcome back our friend, Rogue name Undine, for a close reading of The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.  We decided to give this book the Sacred Reading treatment introduced to us by the incredible podcast Harry Potter and the Sacred Text.  We used the practice of Lectio Divinia and modeled our discussion after the “sacred reading” format used by Casper ter Kuile, Vanessa Zoltan and Matthew Potts in their podcast. Here is the link to their webpage, which explains the process in more detail.
Harry Potter and the Sacred Text

The three of us discuss the book through the themes of Transformation and Control.  
The following works were referenced during our discussion:
The painting by Pietro da Cortona, Rape of the Sabines, 1629-1630

The 1953 movie Elephant Walk 

Man’s Search for Meaning, by Victor Frankel

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

The Disney Plus series Andor

The Hulu series Creamerie

The Dream Hotel, by Laila Lalami

We referenced some of Margaret Atwood’s inspirations for the book, which we discovered in the article Haunted by The Handmaid's Tale | Science fiction books | The Guardian, specifically, 
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley

Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

And 1984, by George Orwell

Also, we discussed several artworks that were inspired by The Handmaid’s Tale, including 
The Balbusso Twins, Margaret Atwood Collection. 

Ken Cunningham Studios, Margaret Atwood

Paula Scher and Abbot Miller’s 2017 large-scale installation, Nolite te bastardes carborundorum

Finally, if you want to hear related episodes of our podcast, try 
Episode 81. The Handmaid's Tale (Part 1: Why It's Banned) 
Episode 68. 1984 (Part 1: Why It's Banned) - Rogue Librarians 
Episode 69. 1984 (Part 2: Close Reading) - Rogue Librarians

Welcome to season 5 of The Rogue Librarians!  We are opening with a discussion of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.  Published in 1986, this dystopian tale of a religious revolution in the U.S. only seems to get more relevant with time. In Part 1 we learn a little about the history of the book and of course, why it’s been banned.  We are joined by a special guest, Rogue name Undine, who brings insight and art history to the conversation.  
Materials discussed during the podcast include:
In Banned Bits: 
Article Why This School District Used A.I. to Help Determine Which Books to Ban, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Aug 2023.

In Why It’s Banned:  
Article  Why The Handmaid's Tale was banned from schools - The Mirror US, 10 Apr 2025 

Article Why was The Handmaid's Tale banned?, MSN.com, 22 Mar 2026

Article  There’s a simple reason The Handmaid’s Tale was banned in the US, from the website Dexerto 10 Apr 2025

The ALA’s Censorship Search Portal | Banned Books 

In Context
Blog Post The Handmaid's Tale: 10 intriguing facts about Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel, CBC-Radio (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), Apr 26, 2017 

 No Balm in Gilead for Margaret Atwood, The New York Times on the Web, Books column, February 17, 1986

Web page Timeline of Legal History of Women in the United States, National Women’s History Alliance, 

Project 2025, The Heritage Foundation, 2023

Project 2025 Explained, The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

Utah Philips, Folksinger, Storyteller and Activist.

 Decree 770 - Reference.org 

Paintings Depicting the Rape of the Sabine Women

Pietro da Cortona, Rape of the Sabines, 1629-1630

Nicolas Poussin, The Rape of the Sabine Women, 1635

Peter Paul Rubins, The Rape of the Sabine Women, 1640

Jacques-Louis David, The Intervention of The Sabine Women, 1799

Pablo Picasso, The Rape of the Sabines, 1962

Friedrich Christof Steinhammer, Rape of the Sabine Women, 1622

Album - Sabine Women, 271+ Images


Related Media
Movie The Handmaid’s Tale directed by Volker Schlöndorff, 1990

Opera The Handmaid’s Tale, written by , Poul Ruders, alongside librettist, Paul Bentley, 2000

TV Series The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu, 2017-2025

The Handmaid's Tale: The Graphic Novel, adapted by Renée Nault, 2019

Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet, The Handmaid’s Tale, 2022

Join the conversation at therogelibrarians.com or follow @RogueLibrariansPod on Instagram and Facebook. You can support the podcast on Patreon at patreon.com/roguelibrarians. 
“Any book worth banning is a book worth reading.” — Isaac Asimov

Welcome to Season 5 of the Rogue Librarians.  We are excited to announce the starting line-up for the season. Upcoming books include:
The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood

Slaughterhouse 5, by Kurt Vonnegut

Persepolis, by Marjane S

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez 

For Banned Books Week we will release lots of special discussions during the month of October, including: 
Banned Together, by Elana K. Arnold and Ashley Hope Perez, with special guest Elana K. Arnold.

The Library Book, by Susan Orlean, with special guest Sam Helmick

The Astral Library by Kate Quinn.

We hope you’ll join us.

In this episode, we interview author Ray Stoeve about their latest book 'Worst Case Scenario' and discuss their work on trans and non-binary youth literature, including a valuable master list of books by and about trans characters. Join us as we explore the importance of diverse voices in literature and the resources available for advocating against censorship.
You can find Ray on socials at: 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raystoeve/      

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@raystoeve 

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RayStoeve 

Bluesky: @ raystoeve

Or on Ray’s website which includes:
The Masterlist of young adult and middle grade fiction titles written by trans and/or nonbinary authors that include trans and/or nonbinary characters.

Links to all of Ray’s books:    

Worst Case Scenario

The Summer Love Strategy

Arden Gray

Between Perfect and Real 

And the compilation Take the Mic

Other books we discussed include:
(trans books)
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
Half Magic and Knight’s Castle by Edward Eager
Tamora Pierce, who has written so many great books. (We suggest you start with Alanna: The First Adventure)
The Alice Series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor’s Alice Series
Keeping You a Secret by Julie Anne Peters
If you’re interested in hearing more about trans authors and books, you might enjoy the following episodes of Rogue Librarians:
Episode 1. Gender Queer (Part 1: Why It’s Banned)
Episode 2. Gender Queer (Part 2: Close Reading)
Episode 12. All Boys Aren’t Blue (Part 1: Why It’s Banned)
Episode 13. All Boys Aren’t Blue (Part 2: Close Reading)
Episode 27. This Book is Gay (Part 1: Why It’s Banned)
Episode 28. This Book is Gay (Part 2: Close Reading)
Episode 70. Cemetery Boys (Part 1: Why It’s Banned)
Episode 71. Cemetery Boys (Part 2: Close Reading)
Join the conversation at therogelibrarians.com or follow @RogueLibrariansPod on Instagram Facebook or Blue Sky. You can support the podcast on Patreon at patreon.com/roguelibrarians. 
“Any book worth banning is a book worth reading.” — Isaac Asimov