Is this the Brave New World?
Wednesday 5 December 2007 21:45-22:30 (Radio 3)
Matthew Sweet introduces a special edition of Night Waves' Landmarks monthly exploration of a classic work of culture, recorded in front of an audience as part of BBC Radio 3's Free Thinking festival of ideas in Liverpool.
Aldous Huxley's famous 1930s novel Brave New World foresaw a disturbing future society where unhappiness has been eliminated by technology. Set in London in 2540, it anticipates developments in reproductive technology and biological engineering that change society. Humanity is carefree, healthy and technologically advanced.
So now, 70 years later, have we finally surpassed Huxley's predictions? Matthew is joined in Liverpool by a roundtable of guests to argue over the book's continuing relevance.
