Ep. 276: Book banning's trial of the century w/ Anthony Aycock
Ep. 276: Book banning's trial of the century w/ Anthony Aycock  
Podcast: So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast
Published On: Wed Jul 01 2026
Description: Over the past five years, book bans and book challenges have become a major flashpoint in American politics. School boards, parents, librarians, and lawmakers are fighting over what students should—and shouldn't—have access to on library shelves. Supporters of library restrictions say they are protecting children. Opponents say they are censoring ideas. But this debate isn't new. In the 1970s, America saw a similar surge in book challenges. One local dispute in Long Island, New York, made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court and became the only school-library book-removal case the Court has ever decided. That case was Island Trees School District v. Pico, better known simply as Pico. In this episode, we're joined by Anthony Aycock, legislative library director at the North Carolina General Assembly and the author of Just Plain Filthy: The Story Behind Book Banning's Trial of the Century. His book tells the story behind Pico, including the school board that removed the books from its libraries, the students who fought back, and the Supreme Court justices who delivered a fractured ruling that left some of the case's most important constitutional questions unresolved. Don't miss the free speech event of the year! Get your tickets and learn more about our Soapbox Conference at soapbox.fire.org. The early bird discount ends July 4.   Timestamps:  00:00 Intro   03:02 How Anthony became a librarian 05:08 What inspired Anthony's book? 07:33 The origins of Island Trees School District v. Pico 13:25 The Miller test for obscenity  14:43 Steven Pico and the road to the Supreme Court 18:15 The local reaction to Pico 20:17 If libraries choose what comes in, why can't they choose what goes out? 20:51 How librarians build a collection 26:05 When and why books leave library shelves 26:52 The Supreme Court's plurality opinion 30:08 Why Pico still matters: the Llano County case 35:41 Libraries, viewpoint diversity, and public access  38:24 When is censorship justified? 39:55 Should parents decide what everyone can read? 51:01 Stress test: Should Hitler's Mein Kampf be available in libraries? 54:05 How librarians feel about literary censorship today 57:57 Outro Read the transcript here. Enjoy listening to the podcast? Donate to FIRE today and get exclusive content like member webinars, special episodes, and more.  If you became a FIRE Member through a donation to FIRE at fire.org and would like access to Substack's paid subscriber podcast feed, please email sotospeak@fire.org.