Ep 5: But I鈥檓 Not Guilty!
How our writers foresaw the powerlessness many of us feel today.
With his nightmare visions of miscarriages of justice and petty authorities in his novel 'The Trial' Franz Kafka foresaw the powerlessness and frustration many of us feel in the face of faceless corporations and bureaucracies today. George Orwell's '1984' depicts a society where citizens are conditioned, monitored and made to live in eternal fear without protest.
In this episode of Orwell vs Kafka, Helen Lewis and Ian Hislop look at powerlessness - and why both our writers were obsessed with it.
Guests:
DJ Taylor, George Orwell biographer
Dr Karolina Watroba of All Souls College, Oxford
Professor Robert Douglas-Fairhurst of Magdalen College, Oxford
With thanks to Charles Games, makers of the 鈥淧laying Kafka鈥� video game.
Producer: Sarah Shebbeare
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Broadcasts
- Sun 9 Jun 2024 16:00麻豆社 Radio 4 FM
- Mon 5 Aug 2024 09:00麻豆社 Radio 4
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Orwell and Kafka 鈥� Two iconic dystopian writers explored
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