Night Waves - Orwell & Stoicism
Arts & Ideas
BBC
4.2 • 598 Ratings
🗓️ 27 November 2013
⏱️ 45 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
As Scotland and England consider the future of the United Kingdom, Philip Dodd discusses what Orwell and his version of Englishness might have to offer the debate, with Robert Colls, author of 'George Orwell: English Rebel', historian Selina Todd, and singer and author Pat Kane. As an exhibition of glasswork by contemporary British artists opens in London, Philip talks to two of the contributors Gavin Turk and Sue Webster about working in the medium. Philip is joined by Radio 3 New Generation Thinker Jules Evans who is one of the organisers of Stoic Week and by classicist Professor Edith Hall, and philosopher and journalist Mark Vernon to discuss the concept.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome back to the home of the oxymoron. Evil genius. He asked the newspaper to print his obituary early so he'd enjoy it. That's like hiding at your own funeral. Yeah, it's a big, great gig. I'm Russell Kane. Join me to weigh in on whether the biggest players in history are more evil or genius. Becoming that rich, I'd say that is some level of genius. It also helps |
| 0:21.2 | that it's a long time ago, right? It's like the podcast version of telling your kids the ice cream |
| 0:26.1 | van plays music when it's out of ice cream. Listen to evil genius on BBC sounds. This is a download from |
| 0:33.0 | the BBC. For more information and our terms of use, go to BBC.co.uk slash radio three. |
| 0:41.0 | On tonight's programme, fancy living like a stoic for a week? |
| 0:45.1 | Well, that's what a group of psychotherapists and academics propose we might do. |
| 0:50.1 | We'll meditate on the value of stoicism later. |
| 0:53.3 | And a new exhibition showcases what contemporary artists, |
| 0:57.3 | such as Sue Webster and Gavin Turk, can do with glass. |
| 1:01.8 | You might be surprised. |
| 1:03.6 | I was, and I talk with the artist later. |
| 1:06.8 | But first, George Orwell in Englishness, |
| 1:10.2 | the Portsmouth Naval Dock closes. Scotland's remains open, who will speak for England. |
| 1:15.9 | Well, almost everyone does nowadays, from the Archbishop of York to Ed Miliband. Whatever the outcome of next year's Scottish referendum, it's unlikely that arguments over Englishness, never mind Scottishness, |
| 1:28.9 | will disappear. It may be that this preoccupation with Englishness has led to an intensification |
| 1:34.9 | of our ongoing admiration for George Orwell. This year the estate instituted an Orwell |
| 1:41.1 | Day. There's the Orwell Prize for writing, of course, and for the first time, BBC |
| 1:45.8 | radio dramatised 1984 this year and devoted a season to his work, which, to put it mildly |
| 1:52.4 | is considerable, from shooting an elephant to animal farm and to the lion and the unicorn. A new |
| 1:58.1 | book argues that the idea of Englishness is indeed key if we want to |
| 2:02.3 | understand Orwell. I'm joined by its author of Robert Coles by the historian Selina Todd down |
| 2:07.6 | the line from Oxford and by the Scottish author and songwriter Pat Kane down the line from York |
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