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Summer reading picks and why a YMCA-funded…

The Modern Law Library Summer reading picks and why a YMCA-funded crusade against obscenity matters today

By Lee Rawles

July 10, 2024, 3:15 pm CDT

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Do you need some distractions during vacation travel or while lying directly under your A/C unit and sweating? It’s time for The Modern Law Library’s summer recommendations episode, in which host Lee Rawles shares her pop culture picks with you, plus a re-airing of one of our older episodes with current relevance.

As states navigate a post-Dobbs world, a series of federal and state regulations known as Comstock laws are being discussed as avenues to further restrict access to abortion drugs and birth control.

In 2018, with Roe v. Wade still the law of the land, Rawles and Amy Werbel discussed the fiery namesake of those laws and Werbel’s book Lust on Trial: Censorship and the Rise of American Obscenity in the Age of Anthony Comstock.

It sheds light on how a 19th century U.S. Postal Service agent funded by the Young Men’s Christian Association created obscenity restrictions so sweeping that medical textbooks were seized and destroyed for displaying anatomical diagrams.

Rawles also shares some favorites from what she’s been reading and listening to since our 2023 year-end pop culture picks episode. If you have favorite reads so far in 2024, send your recommendations to [email protected] with a brief description, and we may choose to highlight them on our social media.

Mentioned in the episode:

BOOKS

• The Three Dahlias, A Very Lively Murder and Seven Lively Suspects by Katy Watson
• The Appeal and The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett
• Buried in the Sky: The Extraordinary Story of the Sherpa Climbers on K2’s Deadliest Day by Peter Zuckerman and Amanda Padoan
• Scurvy: How a Surgeon, a Mariner, and a Gentlemen Solved the Greatest Medical Mystery of the Age of Sail by Stephen J. Bown

PODCASTS

• Cocaine & Rhinestones
• Beyond the Breakers
• Reformed Rakes
• Talk Justice

Want to listen on the go? The Modern Law Library is available on several podcast listening services. Subscribe and never miss an episode. Apple | Spotify | Google Play
// In This Podcast: Related topics: Government | Health Law | Legislation & Lobbying | Legal History | ABA Journal Podcast | The Modern Law Library | Abortion You might also like:

• Chemerinsky: SCOTUS term reveals deeply divided justices frustrated with one another
• 'Storm clouds loom ahead' after Supreme Court dismisses abortion dispute, Justice Jackson says
• Supreme Court would allow emergency abortions in Idaho, Bloomberg reports
• Law students support free speech but want LSAT and bar exams gone, new survey says
• Justice Thomas questions associational standing; would his view end diversity challenges?

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