Orwellian Orwellian

What did George Orwell, the spartan, no-nonsense socialist, make of the world’s most famous (and most egomaniacal) surrealist? Can we really separate the art from the artist? Does morality have anything to do with art? What does this eighty-year-old essay tell us about the modern culture of celebrity and social media? Listen to find out!

Join us as we dust the dead bluebottle flies off the merchandise and throw open the doors of Booklover’s Corner, the shop where George Orwell worked part-time for about two years. We chat about weird customers, money and books and literary pretentions. We apologise for the quality of the sound; blame the G&T.

Join us as we discuss the 1943 essay in which Orwell brings together politics, pleasure, utopias and talking horses. You heard. 

Join us as we discuss the essay that cemented George Orwell’s reputation as the godfather of cultural studies. Were these simple tales of japes and horseplay at boarding schools a form of innocent nostalgic escapism, or something more sinister? Listen and judge for yourself.

Join us as we discuss one of George Orwell’s earliest and most famous essays. Is it really about capital punishment? Which view of colonialism is correct, the socialist or the nationalist? Did any of this really happen? Does that even matter? Listen to find out.

Join us as we discuss the morality of bombing civilians during wartime. Was Orwell right in his opinion, or was he just making excuses in order to justify the dirty work that the Allies needed to do to defeat fascism? We also talk about Orwell’s view of advertising and the way it affects society. Are we all becoming walking adverts?