Episode 17: Page-Offs and the Hamptons: All-Star Celebrity Edition with Amanda Jones
At long last, it’s our end-of-summer edition of Flat River Front Porch! This one has been a long time coming, but it is packed full of (low-key, nerd-friendly) celebrity guests. While we will be coming back home in our next episode to interview a local retired teacher, our guest this week is a teacher from much farther away. She is Amanda Jones, small-town Louisiana school librarian turned freedom fighter who has been making headlines for fighting back against individuals in her community trying to scare her into silence over attempts to remove books from the public library. Her fight turned into a multi-year lawsuit and a bestselling book, That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America (check our shelves!). Cassie, our Marketing and Outreach Librarian and fellow intellectual freedom enthusiast, joins us as we talk about the threats Amanda had to deal with and the good things she was able to take away from the experience. (Warning: there is a small amount of profanity in this episode.) The episode also features some recognizable names and voices from 30 Rock, The Good Place and Parks and Recreation who were excited and kind enough to be featured on our little podcast. Take one last trip for the summer on the Flat River Front Porch!
Amanda and I excited to cross paths at ALA Annual!
…and me in the foreground with her in ALA Magazine
Amanda’s new book
Amanda on Morning Joe (and being lauded by Oprah!)
People Magazine: In New Memoir, Librarian Amanda Jones Recounts Her Fight Against Book Bans: ‘I’m Going to Keep Going’
New York Times: From School Librarian to Activist: ‘The Hate Level and the Vitriol Is Unreal’
NYT Book Review: Put Kids’ Interests First, This Librarian Insists
Oprah Daily: I Spoke Out Against Library Book Bans. Then the Death Threats Started
Other Guest Stars:
Paul Scheer from 30 Rock, The Good Place, and more
Jim O’Heir from Parks and Rec
Brian Baumgartner from The Office (not in the episode but still awesome)
Read about our new Student Hot Spot program: ‘Collaboration and ingenuity’ – The Daily News
