# Reading Orwell A podcast featuring chapter-by-chapter and topic-led commentaries on George Orwell’s novels & non-fiction. Aimed at school students & university undergraduates. Made by Dr Nathan Waddell, University of Birmingham, UK. Text versions of all episodes available at https://drnjwaddell.co.uk/reading-orwell. Page: Feed: --- ## [26. Orwell and Aldous Huxley](https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/readingorwell/episodes/26--Orwell-and-Aldous-Huxley-e3ej47f) _2026-02-03 · Nathan Waddell_ An account of Orwell's and Aldous Huxley's views of their most famous works, Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) and Brave New World (1932), concentrating on how each writer thought they'd outdone the other in imagining the future. [Listen](https://anchor.fm/s/1e9356d4/podcast/play/114970287/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-1-3%2F73a793ec-ebd7-d000-9c7e-ab8a2146e92f.mp3) ## [25. A conversation with Professor David Dwan, University of Oxford](https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/readingorwell/episodes/25--A-conversation-with-Professor-David-Dwan--University-of-Oxford-e2j7366) _2024-05-03 · Nathan Waddell_ A conversation with ⁠Professor David Dwan⁠ about Animal Farm (1945) and the annotated edition of it he produced in 2021 for the Oxford World's Classics series. [Listen](https://anchor.fm/s/1e9356d4/podcast/play/86264454/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2024-4-3%2Faec49dbc-a53a-a6da-1ecc-54c5be4e9c3b.mp3) ## [24. Thoughts on Nineteen Eighty-Four: Part III](https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/readingorwell/episodes/24--Thoughts-on-Nineteen-Eighty-Four-Part-III-e2btl55) _2023-11-14 · Nathan Waddell_ The third and final instalment of a 3-part mini-series looking at Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four in hour-long episodes, focusing on Part III of the book. [Listen](https://anchor.fm/s/1e9356d4/podcast/play/78615141/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2023-10-14%2F7c587ca8-4109-fe84-65dd-5407a1e24fd3.mp3) ## [23. Thoughts on Nineteen Eighty-Four: Part II](https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/readingorwell/episodes/23--Thoughts-on-Nineteen-Eighty-Four-Part-II-e2blmt3) _2023-11-08 · Nathan Waddell_ The second instalment of a 3-part mini-series looking at Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four in hour-long episodes, focusing on Part II of the book. [Listen](https://anchor.fm/s/1e9356d4/podcast/play/78354787/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2023-10-8%2F74aa6e2b-97a6-4703-72c7-e5c714db3c95.mp3) ## [22. Thoughts on Nineteen Eighty-Four: Part I](https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/readingorwell/episodes/22--Thoughts-on-Nineteen-Eighty-Four-Part-I-e2bhurg) _2023-11-06 · Nathan Waddell_ The first instalment of a 3-part mini-series looking at Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four in hour-long episodes, starting with Part I of the book. [Listen](https://anchor.fm/s/1e9356d4/podcast/play/78231856/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2023-10-6%2Fa6806b03-b368-529b-aef1-f2b3f9f58e09.mp3) ## [21. A conversation with Liam Knight, University of Birmingham](https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/readingorwell/episodes/21--A-conversation-with-Liam-Knight--University-of-Birmingham-e25irm2) _2023-06-11 · Nathan Waddell_ Today I talk to Liam Knight, a PhD student at the University of Birmingham working on a thesis addressing the question of 'endotextuality' in dystopian fiction. We talk about books within books and texts within texts, focusing on Orwell but with an eye on some other dystopian writers, including Margaret Atwood. In addition to his PhD research, Liam runs a brilliant GCSE revision resource,… [Listen](https://anchor.fm/s/1e9356d4/podcast/play/71969922/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2023-5-11%2Fd9a4ecb0-e13e-1333-3398-50370588e37e.mp3) ## [20. A conversation with Professor John Bowen, University of York](https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/readingorwell/episodes/20--A-conversation-with-Professor-John-Bowen--University-of-York-e1s4j5f) _2022-12-12 · Nathan Waddell_ A conversation with Professor John Bowen , about his recent experience of editing Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) for the Oxford World's Classics series. [Listen](https://anchor.fm/s/1e9356d4/podcast/play/62065263/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2022-11-12%2Fb3ecb5ec-fff0-db89-416a-3fca5732ab0b.mp3) ## [19. A conversation with Dr Lisa Mullen, University of Cambridge](https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/readingorwell/episodes/19--A-conversation-with-Dr-Lisa-Mullen--University-of-Cambridge-e174atl) _2021-09-09 · Nathan Waddell_ A conversation with Dr Lisa Mullen about Homage to Catalonia (1938) and the annotated edition of it she recently produced for the Oxford World's Classics series. [Listen](https://anchor.fm/s/1e9356d4/podcast/play/40036725/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2021-8-9%2F6774f538-5003-42c1-cda2-84230b4b5d69.mp3) ## [18. Love in Nineteen Eighty-Four](https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/readingorwell/episodes/18--Love-in-Nineteen-Eighty-Four-e10arno) _2021-05-05 · Nathan Waddell_ Is Nineteen Eighty-Four a love story? In this episode, we consider how love survives, to a degree, while also being twisted into new, disturbing forms in Orwell's imagined future of pain and terror. [Listen](https://anchor.fm/s/1e9356d4/podcast/play/32910520/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2021-4-5%2F4a6c5260-d578-2470-3211-a4d773b8ee39.m4a) ## [Get started with Turso (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/46YJSv8u2DuY) _2021-05-05 · **Sponsored**_ Create your Turso account to access the app. ## [17. Nostalgia, Misogyny, and the Future in Coming Up for Air](https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/readingorwell/episodes/17--Nostalgia--Misogyny--and-the-Future-in-Coming-Up-for-Air-ev8v2q) _2021-04-20 · Nathan Waddell_ George Orwell's 1939 novel, Coming Up for Air , combines a sceptical view of the nostalgic with dread about a looming future of pain and suffering. This episode looks at how these emphases are bound up with the first-person narration of George Bowling, whose disreputability and misogyny makes him a compromised 'voice' for the modern world. [Listen](https://anchor.fm/s/1e9356d4/podcast/play/31799834/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2021-3-20%2F177518027-44100-2-5e76b2a820b9.m4a)