How Slaughterhouse-Five Became a Repeated Target of Book Burners
As recently as 2011, a school board in Missouri barred the book from the curriculum and ordered it confined to a special section of the school's library.
Features
How Stalin Toyed With Mikhail Bulgakov
The author of The Master and Margarita faced a bewildering mixture of rewards and censorship.
The Failed Campaign To Kill To Kill a Mockingbird
Recent moves to censor the book have come from Virginia, Mississippi, and California.
Allen Ginsberg's Howl and Other Poems Triggered Confiscations, Arrests
San Francisco port officials seized copies of Howl and Other Poems in 1957, accusing publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti of obscenity.
London Libel Lawsuits Punish Truth Tellers
The U.S. shouldn't import British defamation law, no matter how much Donald Trump would like to.
Fahrenheit 451 Was Once Sanitized for Public Schools
A publishing company ironically removed the original version of the Ray Bradbury novel depicting mass media censorship.
Dr. Seuss' Books Gained Popularity After They Were Removed
And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street and other titles shot up Amazon's bestseller list after being self-censored by Dr. Seuss Enterprises.
Dav Pilkey's The Adventures of Ook and Gluk Is Charming, Not Racist
Pilkey's whole gag is that the censorial impulse is ridiculous and kids instinctively know it should be mocked.
Lady Chatterley's Lover Case Dealt a Blow to U.S. Book Censors
Up through the 1950s, federal agents kept confiscating books they deemed obscene. But in 1959, a judge ruled that D.H. Lawrence's book deserved First Amendment protection.
Hobbes' Leviathan and Thousands of Others Were Off-Limits to Catholics
Leviathan was a challenge to the governing independence of the Holy See.
You Can't Stop Pirate Libraries
Where there's demand for books, the internet will supply them.
Little Libraries, Free at Last?
Good news for fans of literacy and opponents of restrictive zoning codes
How SEC Gag Orders Silence the Accused
"They don't want the defendant to tell this side of the story," says Clark Neily of the Cato Institute.
Read the Real Romeo and Juliet, Not the Kid-Friendly Version
Though book banners may try to convince otherwise, students don't need protection from the passion portrayed in Shakespeare's classic.
How the Controversy Around When Harry Became Sally Boosted Its Popularity
Amazon's decision to stop selling the book shows the pressure platforms are under to reject speech that doesn't conform to progressive orthodoxy.
Why Ryan Reynolds Can Use Winnie-the-Pooh To Sell You a Phone Plan
As pop culture icons enter the public domain, a strange new era of copyright begins.
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Book on Prison Uprisings Banned in New York Prisons
Heather Ann Thompson's Blood in the Water might lead to "disobedience," prison officials say.
Trans Author Jennings' I Am Jazz Is One of the Most Banned Books in the U.S.
The book may never achieve the cultural recognition of some other top censorship targets, but the fight over I Am Jazz symbolizes America's trans moral panic.
The Dangerous Lesson of Book Bans in Public School Libraries
An obscure Supreme Court case provides a roadmap through the curricular culture war.
When Spiegelman's Maus Was Challenged, Sales Spiked
How school board members lashed out against dirty words
Sensitivity Readers Are the New Literary Gatekeepers
Overzealous gatekeeping on race and gender is killing books before they're published—or even written.
Comic: Roger Williams in 'Crazy Talk!'
Williams believed the government had no authority to meddle in religious beliefs. Blasphemy!
50 Years Later, the Motive Behind Watergate Remains Clouded
Despite the abundance of transcripts, FBI reports, and memoirs from those involved, we still know more about the cover-up than we do about the infamous political scandal.
Zap Comix Were Never for Kids
Disreputable and censored comix improbably brought the art form from the gutter to the museums.
Labyrinthine Zoning Rules Restricted Homeless Shelters During the Pandemic
As COVID-19 spread across the country, complex rules around land use and building permits made housing the poor and vulnerable effectively impossible.
Saving the Rainforest, One Pet Fish at a Time
Despite the objections of animal protection organizations, careful commercial fishing may be the best bet for the Amazon and the world's aquariums.
The Perpetually Canceled Ludwig von Mises
"Hold on, now, you're starting to sound like an anarchist..."
This Is the School Choice Moment. Will the GOP Screw It Up?
Republicans are in danger of squandering a promising opportunity for education reform on culture war squabbles.
11 Insanely Corrupt Speed-Trap Towns
Caught stealing from motorists, these towns disbanded their police forces or even disbanded their governments altogether.
After the War
In the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it's time for Europe to step up and America to step back.
'They Just Took Me Away'
Adults declared "incapacitated" by the courts can lose everything—their homes, their savings, their freedom—to Florida's sprawling guardianship system.
What Old-Time Saloons Tell Us About the Pandemic's Damage
Killing barroom social networks kills innovation.
The New Campaign for a Sex-Free Internet
Sex, money, and the future of online free speech
Welcome to the Nicotine Prohibition Era
Regulators have long targeted tobacco products, but there's new energy behind outright bans on vapes and cigarettes.
Must Libertarians Care About More Than the State?
The tension between two libertarianisms in the big tent
Corruption and Crackdowns in California's Marijuana Market
Black markets thrive under mismanaged legalization.
How Robots Will Transform the 2020s
The service bot will revolutionize warehouses, hospitals, farms, and maybe your home.
Massacre at Flowertown
2.5 million dead bees, and an unlikely test of public health powers.
How Anti-Smut Activists Made 'Louie, Louie' Famous
Censors wore out their welcome during the 20th century's indecency wars.
It's the End of the Neoliberal Era, and We Still Don't Know What Neoliberalism Is
Politics is filled with words that mean different things in different mouths, but "neoliberalism" is an especially tangled case.
Life Gets Better for Sports Bettors
But placing a wager on your favorite team is still illegal or too complicated in many states.
The Destruction of Detroit's Black Bottom
How the zeal for government project housing killed a prosperous black community in Detroit.
Gun Control Is Just as Racist as Drug Control
Both public safety strategies are rooted in bigotry and disproportionately harm African Americans.
What Progressives Get Wrong About Judicial Review
Without judicial review, liberals confronting a Republican-controlled legislature will have no opportunity to seek constitutional redress in federal court.
