Episode 40: Banned in Boston

Despite our liberal reputation today, for years Boston was a bastion of official censorship. Authors and playwrights whose works were considered obscene had to create a watered-down “Boston version.” The Watch and Ward Society decided what art, theater, and literature was permissible, and what would be Banned in Boston!

Banned in Boston

This Week in Boston History

One update from last week: Listener Michael John Süch recommends the book Fire in the Grove: The Cocoanut Grove Tragedy and Its Aftermath for further reading on the fire.

 

*We’re aware of the irony of censoring the word “bitch” in an episode devoted to Boston’s history of censorship.  We’re working hard to avoid the dreaded iTunes “explicit” label.