Project Censored - 10-6-26

This week: the 44th annual Banned Books Week. This week celebrates the right to read and protecting your right to know. This past year the American Library Association, a co-sponsor of Banned Books Week, tracked 4,235 unique titles challenged - in 2025 alone. That's the second highest ever documented, the highest ever was in 2023. In a special one hour episode this week, Mickey speaks with President of the American Library Association Dr. Maria McCauley, and one of the youth honorary chairs, Marshall Romero. Notes: Dr. Maria McCauley is the 2026-2027 American Libraries Association President. Maria is Director of Libraries for the City of Cambridge, where she leads 167 dedicated professionals in delivering an inclusive, futurefocused vision of library service for all. Maria previously served as Director of Libraries in Santa Monica, CA and in Somerville and held key leadership roles at Northeastern University. Marshall Romero is a youth advocate based in Houston, Texas. Their advocacy journey has taken them from local neighborhoods to the Texas Legislature, where they spoke out against harmful policies targeting LGBTQ+ and marginalized students. As someone who sees themself within banned literature, Marshall believes it is critical we are all engaged to abolish book banning in our country.