George & Luke survey three dystopian cities; the glass perfection of Yvegny Zamyatin’s ‘We’, the consumer World State of Aldous Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’, and the shattered ruin of George Orwell’s ‘1984’. Competing visions of technological progress gone awry, and the real-world ideas that inspired them.

We read:

Music:

An exploration of Horace Walpole’s mid 18th c. Gothic fantasy villa at Strawberry Hill, purple cushions and all. Contains readings from his highly indigestible novel ‘The Castle of Otranto’, intermittent bursts of tuneless medieval music, and George singing. Be warned.

Find out how to visit the house yourself at www.strawberryhillhouse.org.uk

Music includes:

Look at images of the house on our Google+ page:

The first episode of a new podcast!

Luke and George read Hermann Muthesius's early 20th c. epic 'The English House'.

Learn about the English, their famed love of nature, damp, draughty buildings and burnt meat. Discover how these strange proclivities shape the homes they build and inhabit. With digressions on inglenooks, William Morris, and how to become 'safe for the drawing room'.

The edition we read was this one:

Music:

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