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Connections
Connections

Book bans, policy change, and where we go next

By Evan Dawson,
Megan Mack, Julie Williams
Published June 2, 2025 at 3:57 PM EDT
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Mari Tuschiya
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WXXI News
(foreground) Justin Murphy and Noelle Evans, (background) Henry "Cody" Miller and Tamara Wall on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Monday, June 2, 2025
A smiling man with short dark hair wearing a blue button-down shirt and a grey blazer. He is holding a pair of eyeglasses. The word "Connections" appears on the left side of the photo in vertical letters.
WXXI News

Over the past several decades, progressives and conservatives have sought to ban books for very different reasons.

In recent years, conservatives are more actively trying to get books pulled from libraries. The ten most challenged books from 2024 were all targeted from the political right.

The local organization Our Local History is hosting a community forum about children's freedom to read. They explore challenged books and book bans on "Connections."

Our guests:

Connections
Evan Dawson
Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.
See stories by Evan Dawson
Megan Mack
Megan Mack is the executive producer of "Connections with Evan Dawson" and live/televised engagement programming.
See stories by Megan Mack
Julie Williams
Julie Williams is an associate producer for "Connections with Evan Dawson" and is also the office administrator for radio, news and technology and operations. She started at WXXI in 2019 and has been working on Connections since 2022.
See stories by Julie Williams