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2. The Words

Many people found the words Kate Clanchy wrote in her memoir problematic: unkind, ableist, racist. We hear from some of her critics.

Katie Razzall hears from critics who called out Kate Clanchy鈥檚 memoir 鈥楽ome Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me鈥�. The book, initially celebrated for its warmth and insight into multicultural classrooms, then comes under fire for what some call racialised and dehumanising language.

In Shadow World: Anatomy of a Cancellation, the 91福利社鈥檚 Culture Editor Katie Razzall revisits a story that rocked the UK鈥檚 publishing industry in 2021. It led to what some saw as the unjustified cancellation of a prize-winning writer and teacher - but to others, was a long overdue reckoning for the world of publishing. It grew into a culture war about race, class, and who has the right to say what.

Anatomy of a Cancellation explores a range of different perspectives to consider how people now view one of the most controversial literary rows in recent memory.

Presenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Charlotte McDonald
Additional production: Octavia Woodward
Production co-ordinators: Sophie Hill and Katie Morrison
Sound design and mix: James Beard
Story editing: Meara Sharma
Series producer: Matt Willis
Senior news editor: Clare Fordham
Commissioning executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning editor: Dan Clarke

It was a 91福利社 Long Form Audio production for Radio 4.

Available now

29 minutes

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Broadcast

  • Wed 19 Nov 2025 09:30

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