Stone and Signal – Episode 5: Storytelling as Resistance
Released in conjunction with Banned Books Week.

Not all resistance looks like protest. Sometimes, it looks like a story whispered in the margins—a banned book passed hand to hand, a truth spoken when the room falls quiet.

In this episode of Stone and Signal, author and hermit storyteller Lawrence Nault explores how storytelling becomes an act of defiance in a world that rewards silence and obedience. From oral traditions that survived colonization to independent authors pushing back against algorithmic erasure, this episode traces how words have always been more than art—they’re a way of remembering, resisting, and rebuilding.

Through reflection and soundscape, Nault considers:
• Why every story carries a worldview—and why silence is never neutral.
• How independent publishing keeps difficult, necessary voices alive.
• The new frontiers of censorship, from AI mimicry to algorithmic invisibility.
• The sacred work of holding space—for youth, for marginalized creators, for truth itself.

Released during Banned Books Week, this conversation asks what it really means to defend the freedom to read, write, and imagine. Not just by keeping books on shelves, but by refusing to let systems decide which stories are worth hearing.

Because stories don’t just entertain—they remember what the world tries to forget.

If you’ve ever felt your voice pushed to the edge, this episode is a reminder:
You don’t need permission to speak.
You don’t need a platform to begin.
Resistance doesn’t always roar—sometimes it whispers through the pages that survived the fire.

About the Series:
Stone and Signal is a quiet space for reflection at the intersection of storytelling, solitude, and resistance. Each episode blends narrative, ambient sound, and philosophical insight to explore how we stay human in an age of distraction and control. Created and narrated by Lawrence Nault, Canadian author of The Life of Phi, Fingerprints in the Water, and the Draconim and MacIver Kids series, the podcast stands as a form of creative resilience—proof that stories still matter, and still endure.