大象传媒

In the last few years, George Orwell鈥檚 writing and thinking have come to seem ever more timely. But they are also much misrepresented. As 大象传媒 Radio 4 marks the 70th anniversary of his early death, 大象传媒 documentary-maker Phil Tinline takes five words that resonate through Orwell鈥檚 work, and tests out what light they can shed on our problems today.

Early in Nineteen Eighty Four, Orwell makes clear that in Big Brother鈥檚 dictatorship, 鈥渢here were no longer any laws鈥� 鈥� because this is a regime which doesn鈥檛 distinguish between thought and deed, and where the only law is state power.

So we explore how useful are Orwell鈥檚 ideas about power in countries that still have the rule of law? And we hear from a Uyghur writer who spent months in a Chinese prison about his experience of law in the world鈥檚 most powerful authoritarian state.

Series contributors include: Abduweli Ayup, Nick Cohen, David Dwan, Joanne Smith Finley, Maurice Glasman, Joanna Kavenna, Robert Jay Lifton, Dorian Lynskey, James Millward, Ferdinand Mount, Jean Seaton, Timothy Snyder, Mihrigul Tursun

Presenter/ Producer: Phil Tinline