Nineteen Eighty-Four: Dominic Sandbrook on Big Brother, Surveillance, and Fear (The Book Club)
About this episode
Why is 1984 as relevant today as when it was published? Who is Big Brother, and why is he so powerful? What was George Orwell's intention when creating the world of 1984, and what does it tell us about politics today? Alastair Campbell is joined by Dominic Sandbrook to delve into the fascinating story behind the writing of 1984, the world it was born of, and the novel itself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Listen to this episode in English to learn English
Podcast episodes are one of the highest-density ways to absorb English at native pace. Nineteen Eighty-Four: Dominic Sandbrook on Big Brother, Surveillance, and Fear (The Book Club) from The Rest Is Politics gives you natural dialogue, unscripted speech, and vocabulary that actually appears in real conversations.
In the Hinto app, every word in the transcript is tappable. Tap an unknown word, see the translation in your language instantly, and keep listening without breaking flow.
Episodes to Learn English
- 571. Rory and Alastair Challenge Ed Miliband on Israel-Palestine Sep 15, 2026
- "Our Generation Was Lied To": Two Gen Z MPs on Fixing Politics Sep 10, 2026
- 570. Why Trump Acts Like a Russian Asset and Miliband’s West Bank Sanctions Sep 9, 2026
- 569. Farage’s Foreign Funding Scandal and Germany’s Far-Right Breakthrough Sep 8, 2026
- Becoming Burnham: The Manchester Arena Call, Westminster Plotting, and Keir vs Andy Sep 3, 2026
- 568. MAGA's Plan to Make Britain Look Broken and Iceland's 'Brexit' Moment Sep 2, 2026
- 567. Who Really Benefits from AI and Will Data Centres Decide the Midterms? Sep 1, 2026
- Becoming Burnham: People Pleasing, The Shadow Years and Losing to Jeremy Corbyn Aug 27, 2026
- 566. Carney vs. Trump and Alastair’s Advice for Burnham’s First PMQs Aug 26, 2026
- 565. Zelenskyy’s Corruption Problem and Is History Repeating Itself in Germany? Aug 25, 2026
- Becoming Burnham: Thatcher, Hillsborough, and the Anger that Shaped Him | Part 1 Aug 20, 2026
- 564. Burnham’s Media Machine and West Bank Settler Impunity Aug 19, 2026
- 563. Britain’s Afghanistan Shame and the Jason Arday Tragedy Aug 18, 2026
- Will Climate Action Go Backwards Under Burnham? Aug 13, 2026
- 562. The Right’s War With Itself and Burnham’s Prisons Challenge Aug 12, 2026
- 561. How Trump’s Chaos Keeps Splintering the World Order Aug 11, 2026
- The Truth About Climate Migration – It's More Complicated Than You Think Aug 6, 2026
- 560. Trump's Hamas Disarmament 'Deal' and Europe's FIFA Boycott Aug 5, 2026
- 559. Who Really Benefits from the Ceuta Migration Crisis? Aug 4, 2026
- Data Centres vs. Drinking Water: What Matters To Us Most? Jul 30, 2026
- 558. The 'Cockroach' Uprising and Should We Stop Data Centres? Jul 29, 2026
- 557. Can Burnham Deliver Britain's Biggest Change in Generations? Jul 28, 2026
- Britain's Ticking Time Bomb: The Food Security Crisis Jul 23, 2026
- 556. The US-China AI Arms Race and Badenoch vs. Rory’s Centrism Jul 22, 2026
- 555. Burnham’s Cabinet Purge and the Rough Sleeping Pledge Jul 21, 2026
- The Secret Security Threat The Government Don’t Want Us To Know Jul 16, 2026
- 554. Burnham’s Worldview, Trump's Ceasefire Collapse, and Advising Count Binface Jul 15, 2026
- 553. Farage in Meltdown and The Killing of Ann Widdecombe Jul 14, 2026
- 552. Trump's Red Card Saga and Germany's Far-Right Machine Jul 8, 2026
- 551. Will Farage’s Trumpian Resignation Stunt Backfire? Jul 7, 2026