Banned Camp Bonus: The Bookstore Fighting Back—with a Taser
In this special episode of Banned Camp, Jennifer and Dan take a break from 1984 to talk with Lindsay Schultz, owner of The Spine Bookshop in Smyrna, Tennessee. Lindsay isn’t just selling banned books—she’s giving them away for free to students who need them, dodging bigotry with boldness, and standing up to extremist attacks with a taser in one hand and a banned book cart in the other. This episode is a must-listen for anyone who’s ever wondered what resistance looks like in real life.
Things To Listen For:
- A bookstore owner who’s banned from school board meetings… and proud of it
- What happens when the Rainbow Sex Cult gets banished by evangelicals
- SAT prep sabotage via censorship (yes, really)
- How to give a Pride group a $500K settlement and still not learn your lesson
- What it looks like to fight for books in Tennessee—tattoos, tasers, and truth
- Dan and Jennifer trying not to cry (or rage)
- Robot gets the day off, but the resistance does not
Banworthy to Bingeworthy:
Check out Good News for Lefties, the daily podcast that proves progressive victories still exist—even when headlines say otherwise. Available wherever you get your podcasts or at goodnewsforlefties.com.
💥 Support The Cause:
Lindsay’s bookstore is The Spine Bookshop, and her Banned Book Brigade is doing life-changing work. Visit thespinebookshop.com to buy a banned book, donate one, or just throw money at someone who’ll fight the good fight with it.
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Topics Covered:
Banned books, censorship, The Spine Bookshop, Moms for Liberty, tasers, Tennessee school boards, SAT access, LGBTQ+ rights, free expression, bookstore activism, Pride festival lawsuits, federal vs. state law, the Miller test, resistance, community organizing
Don’t forget, you can grab a free ‘I Read Banned Books’ decal at BannedCampPodcast.com/stickers. Supplies are limited, so don’t wait.
