This is the second episode on Chapter 5: First Cell, First Love in The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Solzhenitsyn has incredible portraits of the incredible people he meets or hears about. In this episode, we meet an old revolutionary who still believes in something and we meet a Soviet engineer who spontaneously manages to recreate the bourgeois lifestyle.

This is the first episode on Chapter 5: First Cell, First Love in The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. When you are finally through the ringer and you get to your first cell, not the “box” you wait in after your arrest, but to be in a cell with fellow prisoners, you get spiritual reinforcements. Your soul begins … Continue reading Chapter 5: First Cell, First Love — Part 1

This is our third episode in our longer series on Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. We look at one of Winston’s dreams and what it reveals about his character. We also get an in-depth look at Doublethink and its usefulness for the Party’s control. Doublethink also has a strong element of satire behind it, somewhat resembling “Who’s on … Continue reading E61: 1984 Part 1, Chapter 3 – On Doublethink

This is the fourth episode on Chapter 4: The Bluecaps in The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. What kinds of people joined the Soviet secret police? In Solzhenitsyn, there is always a tension between people being good and people being evil, but some places just do not let in the good guys. This episode finishes the chapter.

This is our second episode in our longer series on Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. We look at how The Party manipulates family structure. We also take a swipe at Dystopia’s complete lack of space for reverence. We here at Food for Thought Police like to think of ourselves as at least somehow reverent, so take … Continue reading E60: 1984 Part 1, Chapter 2

This is the third episode on Chapter 4: The Bluecaps in The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. What kinds of people joined the Soviet secret police? In Solzhenitsyn, there is always a tension between people being good and people being evil, but some places just do not let in the good guys. In this episode, we get a … Continue reading Chapter 4: The Bluecaps — Part 3

This is the second episode on Chapter 4: The Bluecaps in The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. What kinds of people joined the Soviet secret police? In Solzhenitsyn, there is always a tension between people being good and people being evil, but some places just do not let in the good guys. In this chapter, Solzhenitsyn also … Continue reading Chapter 4: The Bluecaps — Part 2

This is our first episode in a long trek back through Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. This chapter introduces us to Winston, Julia, and O’Brien; the Thought Police; the paranoid atmosphere. This time, we will be taking a look at the satirical threads running throughNineteen Eighty-Four. We numbered this episode to line up with the track numbers … Continue reading E59: 1984 Part 1, Chapter 1

This is the first episode on Chapter 4: The Bluecaps in The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. What kinds of people joined the Soviet secret police? In Solzhenitsyn, there is always a tension between people being good and people being evil, but some places just do not let in the good guys.