There's a reason why words like "Orwellian" and "thoughtcrime" have stuck in the public consciousness for more than 65 years, and that reason is George Orwell's 1984.
A denser, more complex read than Orwell's also-famous Animal Farm, 1984 is a story about systemic government oppression and the dark side of humanity. We lighten up the proceedings a bit with ... Show More
Today
Ep 730 - An American Marriage, by Tayari Jones
<p>What starts as a dismaying story about a wrongful conviction turns into a deep meditation on loyalty, marriage, and independence. Given the subject matter, you might expect a mystery or a courtroom drama. Instead, Jones offers up a moving account of a couple just trying to fin ... Show More
1h 11m
Nov 22
Sit Me Baby One More Time Ep 05 - Dawn and the Impossible Three (The Baby-Sitters Club #5)
<p>Our newest BSC member, Dawn, has a lot to juggle in her debut as a series protagonist. Her mom is dating Mary-Anne's dad. She's low-key feuding with Kristy, the BSC President. And she's been hired by a mother of three who just does NOT have her life together. What a trial by f ... Show More
54m 11s
Nov 17
Ep 729 - I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Harpman
<p>A story about a young woman trapped in an underground prison with 39 other women <em>sounds</em> like it could be a stone cold bummer, and it isn’t <em>not</em> that. But this translated French novel from 1995 also hits some affirming, human notes, and it’s those aspects of it ... Show More
1h 13m
Jul 2020
1984 Explained | George Orwell
<p>George Orwell depicts what a world could possibly look like under an authoritarian regime in his dystopian novel 1984, coining neologisms such as Big Brother, Thoughtcrime and Doublethink. </p>
<p>Published in 1949, it remains highly influential in popular cu ... Show More
11m 12s
Aug 2016
03 – How To Run An Efficient Dystopia – Taylorism and Science Fiction Cities
George & Luke survey three dystopian cities; the glass perfection of Yvegny Zamyatin’s ‘We’, the consumer World State of Aldous Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’, and the shattered ruin of George Orwell’s ‘1984’. Competing visions of technological progress gone awry, and the real-world ... Show More
1h 34m
Mar 2023
Michael and Us: My Orwell Left or Right
<p>George Orwell's popularity is at a new high in the post-Trump era, and he's been claimed by both the left and right. We discuss NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR (1984), Michael Radford's feature-film adaptation of Orwell's most famous novel, and try to rescue a self-described socialist fr ... Show More
48m 31s