About this episode

This episode discusses the relevance and literary merits of George Orwell's 1984 in the context of contemporary political discourse.

"Orwellian" is a critical term in our current political discourse. The phrase is often invoked in connection with the novel 1984, written by George Orwell and published in 1949. On this episode of the Touro Law Review Podcast, Associate Dean Rodger Citron and Professor Allison Caffarone discuss what it's like to read 1984 in 2025. They discuss the novel's literary merits as well as its political insights. Interestingly, neither is particularly enamored of 1984, though they agree that the novel continues to be relevant more than 75 years after it was published and 40 years after 1984.

People in this episode

Host: Rodger Citron

Guest: Allison Caffarone

Topics covered

• literature
• politics
• relevance of 1984
• Orwellian discourse
• reading in 2025

Keywords

• 1984
• George Orwell
• political discourse
• literary analysis
• relevance
• Orwellian

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: 1984

More episodes of Touro Law Review Podcast

• The Major Questions Doctrine, the Tariffs Case, and the Civil Service: A Conversation with Professor Peter M. Shane · April 21, 2026 · 1h 5m
• All Hail Hanna: Berk v. Choy and Choosing Between Federal and State Law · February 2, 2026 · 54 min
• The President's Removal Power: A Discussion with Professor Ilan Wurman · January 14, 2026 · 56 min
• Congress, the President, and Tariffs: Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump at the Supreme Court · October 28, 2025 · 50 min
• Law in Literature: The Case of Hollow Spaces · October 10, 2025 · 47 min
• Drawing the Lines: Gerrymandering and Election Law · September 18, 2025 · 43 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Touro Law Review Podcast podcast page.