5 things George Orwell understood

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5 things George Orwell understood

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Famed author implores us to be vigilant, and to keep the faiths of decency, tolerance and humanity

By Steve Wadhams, CBC News Posted: Apr 24, 2016 5:00 AM ET| Last Updated: Apr 24, 2016 5:00 AM ET

PHOTO: George Orwell at the BBC in 1941. The insights of his books and many other writings still resonate today. (Penguin Books India)

"Big Brother is watching you" is George Orwell's most famous line from his most famous book. But there's so much more to the man who gave us terms like "doublethink," "thoughtcrime" and "newspeak"; Orwell reminds us there's a connection between clarity of language and truth.

That's why he implores us to be vigilant, to be on guard for freedom, and to keep the faith: the triple faiths of decency, tolerance and humanity.

LISTEN: (Go to URL above)

■AUDIO | The Orwell Tapes, Part 1
■AUDIO | The Orwell Tapes, Part 2
■AUDIO | The Orwell Tapes, Part 3

I've long been fascinated by Orwell and, in the summer of 1983, when it was still possible to meet people who knew him — from his first days to his final hours — I spent two hectic months in England, Scotland and Spain recording 75 interviews.

I made a total of 50 hours' worth of recordings which, taken together, give a detailed and nuanced picture of a man who was one of the most influential writers of our time.

I included some — but by no means all — of this unique archive in George Orwell, a Radio Biography which aired on CBC Radio 1 on Jan. 1, 1984. Recently I went back into those original recordings, to bring out insights that had never been aired before, and created a new three-hour series for CBC Radio's Ideas called The Orwell Tapes.

Orwell died in 1950. But here are five reasons why he is still very much with us today:

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