Ep 3: Doublethink
How our novelists anticipated a post-truth society.
George Orwell鈥檚 1984 gave us a whole vocabulary to describe the techniques of modern tyranny: from Newspeak, to Doublethink, the Thought Police, and Big Brother, in many ways the language he created is Orwell鈥檚 biggest legacy.
In today鈥檚 world of half-truths and 鈥榓lternative facts鈥, Orwell's 1984 has never felt more relevant. The novel remains the book we turn to when facts are questioned, the truth is distorted and power is abused. Franz Kafka鈥檚 work plays a similar role: in February 2024, Russian human rights defender Oleg Orlov sat reading 鈥楾he Trial鈥 in a Moscow courtroom during his own trial.
Helen Lewis and Ian Hislop find out how and why our duo鈥檚 writing is still so potent today.
Guests:
Masha Karp, author of 鈥淕eorge Orwell and Russia鈥
Dorian Lynskey, author of 鈥淭he Ministry of Truth: A Biography of George Orwell's 1984鈥
Professor Carolin Duttlinger of Wadham College, Oxford
Steve Rosenberg, 大象传媒 Russia Editor.
Producer: Sarah Shebbeare