Squeamish Feelings About a Sex-Ed Book

On this episode: Jamilah Lemieux, Zak Rosen, and Elizabeth Newcamp are joined by Slate writer, Aymann Ismail, to talk about his piece, Closed Book. He tracked down one of the most challenged books—a health and sexual education book called It’s Perfectly Normal—to see why it’s being banned. It’s “particularly blunt and graphic” yet Aymann was surprised at the feelings of embarrassment and shame surfacing as he read the book. They talk about parent’s squeamish feelings when it comes to sexual education, why age-appropriate education is so important, and what these involuntary reactions have to do with book bans. 

Recommendations: 

Zak: Slow-Cooker Cauliflower, Potato and White Bean Soup

Elizabeth: Make your own ‘choose your own adventure’ game.

Jamilah: Connections

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Podcast produced by Rosemary Belson and Maura Currie.

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