Slaughterhouse-Five | Ch. 8.3 - From Barbershop to Bombing: Why Billy Can't Let Go

Banned Camp: Banned Books, Comedy, and Free Speech vs. Censorship

Today on Banned Camp, we dive into Chapter 8.3 of Slaughterhouse-Five, where Billy Pilgrim—our favorite emotionally unstable time-traveling optometrist—falls apart over a barbershop quartet. Why? Because nothing screams “war trauma” like synchronized harmonizing. Meanwhile, Dan discovers his hidden talent for 1920s rap, and Jennifer ponders how a vivid pink guitar ended up on a toilet.

Things to Listen For:

• Dan raps “11 Cent Cotton, 40 Cent Meat” and, shockingly, no one presses charges.
• Billy Pilgrim’s meltdown over “That Old Gang of Mine”—proving once and for all that music can indeed kill a vibe.
• A step-by-step guide to surviving Dresden’s firebombing: Step 1, find a slaughterhouse. Step 2, nope, that’s it.
• War is... unhygienic.

Banworthy to Bingeworthy Podcast:

Check out the Good News for Lefties podcast! Hosted by Beowulf Rochlene, this daily show shares uplifting stories of justice, progress, and democracy. Listen on your favorite podcast app or visit GoodNewsForLefties.com.

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts:

Rate, review, and follow us on Apple Podcasts to help other Scary Book People find us!

Featured Clips:
That Old Gang of Mine” by Billy Murray & Ed Smalle (1923). Used for entertainment and commentary under fair use guidelines.

Disclaimer:

Banned Camp features readings and discussions of banned books for the purpose of criticism, commentary, education, and entertainment under fair use guidelines. The material used from Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut is shared with the intent of provoking thought and discussion about literature, censorship, and societal issues. Copyrights remain with the original holders. Support literature by purchasing a copy of the book.

Topics Covered:

Slaughterhouse-Five, Billy Pilgrim, barbershop quartet, Dresden bombing, firestorm survival, censorship, Tralfamadorian zoo, absurdity of war, Vonnegut’s storytelling, banned books.
Comedy Banned Book Podcast:
Banned Camp is a comedy podcast where we read banned books and try to figure out why they were banned in the first place.

Each season, we tackle a new banned book, reading it chapter by chapter and asking: What made someone clutch their pearls and scream, "BAN IT!"? (Spoiler: It’s rarely what you’d expect.)

One thing is clear: the people banning these books often haven’t read them. While we uncover some eyebrow-raising moments, nothing truly justifies censorship.

Join us—and our listeners, "The Scary Book People"—as we explore the strange, hilarious, and sometimes baffling world of banned books.

Past seasons have featured classics like:

• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
• Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

This season, we’re reading into Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. Together, we’ll explore its dark humor, wild storytelling, and the controversies that made it one of the most challenged books of all time.

By reading these books, we ask big questions:

• Why are banned books important?
• What does “banned books” mean?
• What does “challenged” books mean?
• How do book bans affect students?
• Are book bans constitutional?

Come hang out with us and have some laughs while we dig into t