1984 by George Orwell
2/24/20261 hr 30 min
Is 1984 the most influential novel of the 20th century? Jeff and Rebecca go back to the future to explore the landmark dystopian novel that gave us Big Brother, doublethink, the memory hole, and 2 + 2 = 5. They dig into Orwell’s vision of totalitarian power, the relationship between language and thought, asking not just why 1984 endures, but what it actually gets right (and wrong) about how control works.
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First 90 secondsJeff O'Neill· Host0:00
It's 1984 Day on Zero to Well Read, brought to you by thriftbooks.com. The standard edition right now for George Orwell's 1984 is the 75th anniversary edition. Has some really good supplementary material Rebecca even references in the show you're about to hear right now. Also wanna point your attention to a graphic novel version illustrated by Fido Nesti. I was flipping through it the other day. You can also find that on thriftbooks.com. Really visually striking, and the world of 1984 is so arresting and so visual and so memorable that it really does lend itself to an illustrated version. I'm not always a fan of these, you know, do what you want, but this one seems particularly cool. You can find that and a whole bunch of other editions of 1984, plus 19 million other titles, new, used, games, movies, whatever you want there on thriftbooks.com. Thanks to them for sponsoring this episode and this season of Zero to Well Read. All right, time to get into it. [upbeat music] Welcome to Zero to Well Read, a podcast about everything you need to know about the books you wish you'd read. I'm Jeff O'Neill.
Rebecca Schinsky· Host1:07
And I'm Rebecca Schinsky. Zip up your jumpsuits, set your clocks to 13, and dust off your doublethink skills, friends. Today, we are talking about George Orwell's dystopian classic, 1984. Before we get into the show, though, you can click the link in the show notes to sign up for our free newsletter, become a member to get early ad-free episodes and to unlock bonus content. That's patreon.com/zerotowellread.