Velshi Banned Book Club
Episodes
MS NOW Presents: Clock It with Symone and Eugene
05 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Symone Sanders Townsend and Eugene Daniels were once at odds as White House staffer and White House reporter. Now they’re friends and colleagues—e...
Preview of “Rachel Maddow Presents: Burn Order”
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Rachel Maddow’s new series lays bare one of the most shocking decisions in American history. It’s story that reveals how an executive order author...
The Power of Poetry
24 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of the Velshi Banned Book Club will confront the barrier to entry that surrounds poetry and tear it down by closely examining a mastercla...
Reading Rites of Passage
17 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There is one thing that connects the disparate generations of Americans: books. This episode of the Velshi Banned Book Club will look at two novels th...
Star-Crossed Lovers
10 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
At first glance, the two books that make-up this episode of the Velshi Banned Book Club have very little similarities. Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Ju...
Memoir as a Medium
03 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What is braver than sharing your own story with the world? Nothing. This episode of the Velshi Banned Book Club will examine two true stories: “Hung...
War in Literature
26 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Heralded as one of the most enduring and salient novels in American history, “The Things They Carried”, written by Tim O’Brien, is a fictionaliz...
Coming to America
19 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The story of this country is told through the eyes of immigrants. This episode of the Velshi Banned Book Club will explore two critically acclaimed ad...
A Legacy of Advocacy
12 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We are starting Season 2 of the "Velshi Banned Book Club" with a very special featured book: Ali Velshi’s own “Small Acts of Courage: A Legacy of ...
The Power of Dystopian Literature
12 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Good dystopian literature forces its readers to confront ideas of government, culture, community, and identity. This episode of the "Velshi Banned Boo...
Introducing: Season 2 of “Velshi Banned Book Club”
05 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
MSNBC's Ali Velshi brings you a second season of the “Velshi Banned Book Club.” Book banning is happening more and more. Removing literature from ...
The Constitution of the United States: A Complete Reading
12 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Is there a work of writing more influential than the Constitution of the United States? Is there a work of writing more weaponized, more debated, and ...
The Black Literary Canon
05 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Few authors have changed American culture more than the unparalleled Toni Morrison and the amazing Zora Neale Hurston. This episode of the Velshi Bann...
BONUS: How to Win 2024: The “Kiddie Table” Debate
29 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Debate guru Ron Klain joins Claire McCaskill and Jennifer Palmieri on their new podcast “How to Win 2024” to discuss the winners and losers of the...
Reclaiming “Chick-Lit”
28 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There is a persistent and damaging sexist trope that books written by women and for women are frivolous, light, and devoid of true meaning. On this ep...
The Latino Identity in Literature
21 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Latino representation in the literary and publishing community is startlingly low -- a survey conducted by Lee & Low Books and Boston University in 20...
Reexamining and Reframing U.S. History with Nikole Hannah-Jones
14 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“The 1619 Project”, named for the year the first enslaved African people arrived on the shores of Virginia, began as an editorial franchise for th...
Using Literature to Grapple with School Shootings
07 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
School shootings can feel inescapable -- especially if you're an American. Authors Jodi Picoult and Todd Strasser grapple with school shootings throug...
The Prodigious Margaret Atwood
31 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Most everyone knows Margaret Atwood’s name for her seminal work “The Handmaid’s Tale”. “The Handmaid’s Tale” is more relevant with each ...
Coming of Age as a Black Teen in America
24 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The stakes are high when you’re a Black teenager in America – they can be life or death. Both books featured on this episode of Velshi Banned Book...
LGBTQ+ Coming of Age Stories
24 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Books that tell LGBTQ+ stories are banned at a disproportionately high rate. The first episode of Velshi Banned Book Club features two equally powerfu...
Introducing: Velshi Banned Book Club
15 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
MSNBC’s Ali Velshi brings you the “Velshi Banned Book Club,” an act of resistance against the epidemic of book banning. In each episode, a diffe...