Episodes
| Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Repeated | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ep 1: Battle Of The Adjectives | 20240608 | 20240708 (R4) | George Orwell and Franz Kafka became two of the most influential writers of the 20th century and their ideas still resonate powerfully today. In the first episode of Orwell vs Kafka, Ian Hislop and Helen Lewis explore the two adjectives that have arisen from the writing of both men. But what exactly do we mean by Orwellian or Kafkaesque? Professor Carolin Duttlinger of Wadham College, Oxford and Orwell Biographer DJ Taylor are on hand to wrestle with definitions, while Ian and Helen also hear from New Yorker cartoonist Evan Lian, who made fun of people who use the terms endlessly. They also find a vivid illustration of the very particular dystopias conjured up by both Orwell and Kafka in the form of the Post Office horizon scandal, hearing from Alan Bates about his experience of striving against injustice in a system that seemed stacked against him. Producer: Tom Alban Orwellian vs Kafkaesque. Ian Hislop and Helen Lewis celebrate the ideas and impact of Franz Kafka and George Orwell What exactly do we mean by Orwellian and Kafkaesque? | |
| Ep 1: Battle Of The Adjectives, Electioncast: How Did Sunak's D-day Blunder Happen? | 20240608 | George Orwell and Franz Kafka became two of the most influential writers of the 20th century and their ideas still resonate powerfully today. In the first episode of Orwell vs Kafka, Ian Hislop and Helen Lewis explore the two adjectives that have arisen from the writing of both men. But what exactly do we mean by Orwellian or Kafkaesque? Professor Carolin Duttlinger of Wadham College, Oxford and Orwell Biographer DJ Taylor are on hand to wrestle with definitions, while Ian and Helen also hear from New Yorker cartoonist Evan Lian, who made fun of people who use the terms endlessly. They also find a vivid illustration of the very particular dystopias conjured up by both Orwell and Kafka in the form of the Post Office horizon scandal, hearing from Alan Bates about his experience of striving against injustice in a system that seemed stacked against him. Producer: Tom Alban Orwellian vs Kafkaesque Ian Hislop and Helen Lewis celebrate the ideas and impact of Franz Kafka and George Orwell The PMs misstep threatens to overshadow the whole election campaign. Electioncast: How SUPER is a Supermajority? What exactly do we mean by Orwellian and Kafkaesque? Electioncast Results: What's in Labour's In Tray? | ||
| Ep 2: Telescreens | 20240608 | 20240715 (R4) | Helen Lewis and Ian Hislop refine their focus in this second episode of Orwell Vs Kafka to examine what the warnings and insights in the novel's of both men tell us about Surveillance and the human response to it. We're often told that as a nation we're subject to more camera surveillance than most, and Helen speaks to Gavin Saul of Verrimus, a Newcastle based company specialising in technical surveillance counter measures, to measure the truth of that. He describes the extent of modern surveillance and the acceptance of it through what he refers to as normalcy bias, the shrugged shoulder reaction to the reality of smart phone dependence. Helen and Ian are also joined by Silkie Carlo of Big Brother Watch, an organisation that took it's name from Orwell's dystopian vision of a people permanently under surveillance. She talks about the extent to which Orwell's warning was prescient, as was Kafka's awareness that surveillance often becomes internalised, with the subjects effectively policing themselves. And they lighten the tone somewhat in a conversation with Anna Nolan, the runner up on the first UK TV production of Big Brother House. Anna recalls what it felt like to be under surveillance for the sake of entertainment, and why there was an inevitable air of religiosity about accepting the presence of an all-seeing eye, something that hovers in the background of both Kafka and Orwell's writing. Producer: Tom Alban Big Brother Is Watching You Ian Hislop and Helen Lewis celebrate the ideas and impact of Franz Kafka and George Orwell Orwell, Kafka and the reality of surveillance. | |
| Ep 4: Uneasy Dreams | 20240609 | 20240729 (R4) | “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect. ? - Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka, 1915. In this episode Helen Lewis and Ian Hislop talk anxiety and alienation. From Gregor Samsa being transformed into a giant insect, to shouting at a telescreen in 1984's Two Minutes Hate - Ian and Helen discover why these anxiety ridden images still connect with readers today. Guests: Dr Karolina Watroba of All Souls College, Oxford Dr Nathan Waddell of the University of Birmingham Wolfgang Hantel-Quitmann, Professor of Clinical and Family Psychology. Producer: Sarah Shebbeare Gigantic Insects and Two Minutes Hate. Ian Hislop and Helen Lewis celebrate the ideas and impact of Franz Kafka and George Orwell Kafka and Orwell on alienation, isolation and anxiety. | |
| Ep 5: But I'm Not Guilty! | 20240609 | 20240805 (R4) | 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 “Playing Kafka ? video game. Producer: Sarah Shebbeare Kafka and Orwell on powerlessness. Ian Hislop and Helen Lewis celebrate the ideas and impact of Franz Kafka and George Orwell How our writers foresaw the powerlessness many of us feel today. | |
| Ep 6: Afterlife | 20240609 | 20240812 (R4) | Having explored the impact George Orwell and Franz Kafka have had on the language we use, the psychological anxieties we experience and the dystopian frustrations that seem rife in 2024, Ian Hislop and Helen Lewis turn their attention to the future. Will the stories created by two writers from fading 20th century European Empires continue to resonate across the globe, and how potent is that resonance beyond the west. Helen speaks to the Booker winning author Shehan Karunatilaka about his experience of both men's work and his own dystopian afterlife novel 'The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida'. They're also joined in the studio by Professor Laura Beers, author of Orwell's Ghosts and Professor Carolin Duttlinger of Wadham College, Oxford. But they begin the programme with some priceless recollections from the BBC archive from listeners who had seen the first TV adaptation of Orwell's novel in December 1954, a programme that counted amongst its audience the then monarch Queen Elizabeth I. And then there was the typically British reaction to the dark foreboding of political satire and angst - an episode of the Goons Show which went out a month later called '1985'. Producer: Tom Alban The last in the series in which Ian Hislop and Helen Lewis celebrate Orwell and Kafka. Ian Hislop and Helen Lewis celebrate the ideas and impact of Franz Kafka and George Orwell Ian Hislop and Helen Lewis conclude their series celebrating the prescience and relevance of the writing of Franz Kafka and George Orwell, concentrating on the present and future. | |
| 01 | Battle Of The Adjectives | 20240608 | 20240708 (R4) | George Orwell and Franz Kafka became two of the most influential writers of the 20th century and their ideas still resonate powerfully today. In the first episode of Orwell vs Kafka, Ian Hislop and Helen Lewis explore the two adjectives that have arisen from the writing of both men. But what exactly do we mean by Orwellian or Kafkaesque? Professor Carolin Duttlinger of Wadham College, Oxford and Orwell Biographer DJ Taylor are on hand to wrestle with definitions, while Ian and Helen also hear from New Yorker cartoonist Evan Lian, who made fun of people who use the terms endlessly. They also find a vivid illustration of the very particular dystopias conjured up by both Orwell and Kafka in the form of the Post Office horizon scandal, hearing from Alan Bates about his experience of striving against injustice in a system that seemed stacked against him. Producer: Tom Alban Orwellian vs Kafkaesque What exactly do we mean by Orwellian and Kafkaesque? Ian Hislop and Helen Lewis celebrate the ideas and impact of Franz Kafka and George Orwell |
| 02 | Telescreens | 20240608 | 20240715 (R4) | Helen Lewis and Ian Hislop refine their focus in this second episode of Orwell Vs Kafka to examine what the warnings and insights in the novel's of both men tell us about Surveillance and the human response to it. We're often told that as a nation we're subject to more camera surveillance than most, and Helen speaks to Gavin Saul of Verrimus, a Newcastle based company specialising in technical surveillance counter measures, to measure the truth of that. He describes the extent of modern surveillance and the acceptance of it through what he refers to as normalcy bias, the shrugged shoulder reaction to the reality of smart phone dependence. Helen and Ian are also joined by Silkie Carlo of Big Brother Watch, an organisation that took it's name from Orwell's dystopian vision of a people permanently under surveillance. She talks about the extent to which Orwell's warning was prescient, as was Kafka's awareness that surveillance often becomes internalised, with the subjects effectively policing themselves. And they lighten the tone somewhat in a conversation with Anna Nolan, the runner up on the first UK TV production of Big Brother House. Anna recalls what it felt like to be under surveillance for the sake of entertainment, and why there was an inevitable air of religiosity about accepting the presence of an all-seeing eye, something that hovers in the background of both Kafka and Orwell's writing. Producer: Tom Alban Big Brother is Watching You Orwell, Kafka and the Reality of Surveillance. Ian Hislop and Helen Lewis celebrate the ideas and impact of Franz Kafka and George Orwell |
| 03 | Doublethink | 20240608 | 20240722 (R4) | George Orwell's 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's biggest legacy. In today's world of half-truths and ‘alternative facts', Orwell has never felt more relevant. 1984 remains the book we turn to when facts are questioned and power is abused. The novel was a bestseller in Russia in 2022. Franz Kafka's work plays a similar role: in February 2024, Russian human rights defender Oleg Orlov sat reading ‘The Trial' in a Moscow courtroom during his own trial. Helen Lewis and Ian Hislop find out how and why our duo's writing is still so potent, decades on. Guests: Masha Karp, author of “George Orwell and Russia ? Dorian Lynskey, author of “The Ministry of Truth: A Biography of George Orwell's 1984 ? Professor Carolin Duttlinger of Wadham College, Oxford Producer: Sarah Shebbeare Kafka and Orwell's 'Alternative Facts How our novelists anticipated a post-truth society In today's world of half-truths and ‘alternative facts', 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's work plays a similar role: in February 2024, Russian human rights defender Oleg Orlov sat reading ‘The Trial' in a Moscow courtroom during his own trial. Helen Lewis and Ian Hislop find out how and why our duo's writing is still so potent today. Steve Rosenberg, BBC Russia Editor. Kafka and Orwell's post-truth worlds. Ian Hislop and Helen Lewis celebrate the ideas and impact of Franz Kafka and George Orwell George Orwell's 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's biggest legacy. In today's world of half-truths and ‘alternative facts', 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's work plays a similar role: in February 2024, Russian human rights defender Oleg Orlov sat reading ‘The Trial' in a Moscow courtroom during his own trial. Helen Lewis and Ian Hislop find out how and why our duo's writing is still so potent today. Guests: Masha Karp, author of “George Orwell and Russia ? Dorian Lynskey, author of “The Ministry of Truth: A Biography of George Orwell's 1984 ? Professor Carolin Duttlinger of Wadham College, Oxford Steve Rosenberg, BBC Russia Editor. Producer: Sarah Shebbeare Kafka and Orwell's post-truth worlds. Ian Hislop and Helen Lewis celebrate the ideas and impact of Franz Kafka and George Orwell How our novelists anticipated a post-truth society. |
| 04 | Uneasy Dreams | 20240609 | 20240729 (R4) | “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect. ? - Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka, 1915. In this episode Helen Lewis and Ian Hislop talk anxiety and alienation. From Gregor Samsa being transformed into a giant insect, to shouting at a telescreen in 1984's Two Minutes Hate - Ian and Helen discover why these anxiety ridden images still connect with readers today. Guests: Dr Karolina Watroba of All Souls College, Oxford Dr Nathan Waddell of the University of Birmingham Wolfgang Hantel-Quitmann, Professor of Clinical and Family Psychology. Producer: Sarah Shebbeare Gigantic Insects and Two Minutes Hate. Ian Hislop and Helen Lewis celebrate the ideas and impact of Franz Kafka and George Orwell Kafka and Orwell on alienation, isolation and anxiety. “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect. ? - Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka, 1915. Buckle up: in this episode Helen Lewis and Ian Hislop are talking anxiety and alienation. From being transformed into a giant insect, to shouting at a telescreen in 1984's Two Minutes Hate - Ian and Helen discover why these anxiety ridden images still connect with readers today. |
| 05 | But I'm Not Guilty! | 20240609 | 20240805 (R4) | 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. Orwell's '1984' depicts a society where citizens are conditioned, monitored and made to live in eternal fear without protest. Opponents are brainwashed into submission. In this episode, 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 “Playing Kafka ? video game. Producer: Sarah Shebbeare Kafka and Orwell on powerlessness 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. Ian Hislop and Helen Lewis celebrate the ideas and impact of Franz Kafka and George Orwell |
| 06 | Afterlife | 20240609 | 20240812 (R4) | Having explored the impact George Orwell and Franz Kafka have had on the language we use, the psychological anxieties we experience and the dystopian frustrations that seem rife in 2024, Ian Hislop and Helen Lewis turn their attention to the future. Will the stories created by two writers from fading 20th century European Empires continue to resonate across the globe, and how potent is that resonance beyond the west. Helen speaks to the Booker winning author Shehan Karunatilaka about his experience of both men's work and his own dystopian afterlife novel 'The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida'. They're also joined in the studio by Professor Laura Beers, author of Orwell's Ghosts and Professor Carolin Duttlinger of Wadham College, Oxford. But they begin the programme with some priceless recollections from the BBC archive from listeners who had seen the first TV adaptation of Orwell's novel in December 1954, a programme that counted amongst its audience the then monarch Queen Elizabeth I. And then there was the typically British reaction to the dark foreboding of political satire and angst - an episode of the Goons Show which went out a month later called '1985'. Producer: Tom Alban The last in the series in which Ian Hislop and Helen Lewis celebrate Orwell and Kafka. Ian Hislop and Helen Lewis celebrate the ideas and impact of Franz Kafka and George Orwell Ian Hislop and Helen Lewis conclude their series celebrating the prescience and relevance of the writing of Franz Kafka and George Orwell, concentrating on the present and future. |