In this episode, we speak with Nathan Waddell, a Professor in Twentieth Century Literature in the English Literature Department at the University of Birmingham.We chat with Nathan about how he first came to researching utopianism and how he came to teach and write about dystopias. We ask him about what interests him about dystopias, which brings us to a discussion of 'elegance'. Our discussion eventually changes focus to George Orwell and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), a text which Nathan is incredibly familiar with. We talk about how it might be considered 'ground zero' for the dystopian tradition, before thinking about the myths which surround Orwell's classic work.You can find out more about Nathan and his work here: https://drnjwaddell.co.uk/ You can find his 'Reading Orwell' podcast here (as well as on all good podcasting platforms): https://drnjwaddell.co.uk/reading-orwellYou can find Nathan's inaugural lecture here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF_cqY0IVuYAnd last, you can find out more about A Bright Cold Day: The Wonder of George Orwell, Nathan's upcoming trade book, here: https://oneworld-publications.com/work/a-bright-cold-day/If you enjoyed this episode, please let us know! You can follow and rate the podcast, leave us a comment, or email us on ⁠⁠[email protected]

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