Welcome to the Machine. Week 51: Brave New World

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We have a treat this week: My husband Bill read Brave New World shortly after I did, so today we discuss it together!

BNW presents a dystopian world that feels less like oppression and more like a perfectly engineered system. In this world, humans are no longer born but manufactured, sorted into castes, and conditioned for their roles. The goal is “community, identity, stability,” maintained through constant consumption, casual sex, and a drug called soma that keeps everyone comfortably numb.

When Bernard, an uneasy insider, brings John “the Savage” back from a reservation, the cracks begin to show. Raised on The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, John sees what others cannot: a world without family, love, or real freedom.

Huxley’s warns us about seduction. This is a society people don’t resist—because they’ve been trained not to want anything deeper. Which raises the real question: if everything works, what exactly have we lost?

LINK

Ted Gioia/The Honest Broker’s 12-Month Immersive Humanities Course (paywalled!)

My Amazon Book List (NOT an affiliate link)

CONNECT

The complete list of Crack the Book Episodes: https://cheryldrury.substack.com/p/crack-the-book-start-here?r=u3t2r

To read more of my writing, visit my Substack - https://www.cheryldrury.substack.com.

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LISTEN

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5GpySInw1e8IqNQvXow7Lv?si=9ebd5508daa245bd

Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crack-the-book/id1749793321

Captivate - https://crackthebook.captivate.fm