Slaughterhouse-Five | Ch. 8.3 - From Barbershop to Bombing: Why Billy Can't Let Go
Today on Banned Camp, we dive into Chapter 8.3 of Slaughterhouse-Five, where Billy Pilgrim—our favorite emotionally unstable time-traveling optometrist—falls apart over a barbershop quartet. Why? Because nothing screams “war trauma” like synchronized harmonizing. Meanwhile, Dan discovers his hidden talent for 1920s rap, and Jennifer ponders how a vivid pink guitar ended up on a toilet.
Things to Listen For:
- Dan raps “11 Cent Cotton, 40 Cent Meat” and, shockingly, no one presses charges.
- Billy Pilgrim’s meltdown over “That Old Gang of Mine”—proving once and for all that music can indeed kill a vibe.
- A step-by-step guide to surviving Dresden’s firebombing: Step 1, find a slaughterhouse. Step 2, nope, that’s it.
- War is... unhygienic.
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Featured Clips:
That Old Gang of Mine” by Billy Murray & Ed Smalle (1923). Used for entertainment and commentary under fair use guidelines.
Disclaimer:
Banned Camp features readings and discussions of banned books for the purpose of criticism, commentary, education, and entertainment under fair use guidelines. The material used from Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut is shared with the intent of provoking thought and discussion about literature, censorship, and societal issues. Copyrights remain with the original holders. Support literature by purchasing a copy of the book.
Topics Covered:
Slaughterhouse-Five, Billy Pilgrim, barbershop quartet, Dresden bombing, firestorm survival, censorship, Tralfamadorian zoo, absurdity of war, Vonnegut’s storytelling, banned books.
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Banned Camp is a comedy podcast where we read banned books and try to figure out why they were banned in the first place.
Each season, we tackle a new banned book, reading it chapter by chapter and asking: What made someone clutch their pearls and scream, "BAN IT!"? (Spoiler: It’s rarely what you’d expect.)
One thing is clear: the people banning these books often haven’t read them. While we uncover some eyebrow-raising moments, nothing truly justifies censorship.
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Past seasons have featured classics like:
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
- The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
- Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
This season, we’re reading into Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. Together, we’ll explore its dark humor, wild storytelling, and the controversies that made it one of the most challenged books of all time.
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