Tonight, we’re doing a different kind of Five Questions. At 4:15 p.m. Central, I’ll be joined live by Kim A. Snyder, the acclaimed director and producer of the powerful 2025 documentary The Librarians, which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Festival. The film explores the growing book banning crisis in American schools and the librarians who are fighting censorship. Among Snyder’s earlier documentaries is the provocative film Newtown, about the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Fun fact about the film: Kim’s executive producer was Sarah Jessica Parker. There are upcoming screenings—so far, it’s been in 150 theaters around the country, with more dates being added. If none of them are near you, PBS just announced the film’s broadcast premiere date on February 9, 2026. More information about the film can be found here.
Kim and I will discuss the film and what we can do to support our librarians, who stand for free thought and speech. It’s all part of how we keep the republic.
If you subscribe to Civil Discourse (including free subscribers), you’ll get a notice when we go live and be able to join. The Friday night Five Questions columns are usually just for paid subscribers, but as a little holiday gift and in recognition of how important it is for all of us to be aware of the cost of censorship, the one is available to our entire community.
You can watch the trailer for the film before the discussion here.
We’re in this together,
Joyce
Share
