Announcing Behavioral Scientist’s 2025 Summer Book Club
I am excited to invite you to our 2025 Summer Book Club. We’ll read George Orwell’s 1984—a classic novel about a future society overcome by a totalitarian regime and the citizens trying to break free.
1984 needs no introduction. You’ve heard of Big Brother and the Thought Police, Newspeak and doublethink. You’ve seen people claim that this or that is “Orwellian” or “straight out of 1984.” And perhaps you’ve come across The Party’s chilling and memorable slogan: “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”
The book—with its dueling themes of freedom versus control, privacy versus surveillance, self-expression versus conformity, truth versus propaganda—has remained in the cultural zeitgeist since it was published more than 75 years ago.
Today, as these themes rear their heads in our headlines with increasing urgency, it seems like the ideal time to investigate the book for ourselves.
This summer, we invite you to read 1984 with us. Together we’ll ask: What’s Orwellian and what’s not? Why was Orwell compelled to write about themes of individual freedom versus totalitarian tyranny during his time? And what lessons does the novel hold for us today? What does 1984 reveal about how we, individually and collectively, might behave in a totalitarian system? Was 1984 a warning? Or a prophecy?
Find out with us this summer by joining the book club. We’ll supplement our reading with conversations with leading social and behavioral scientists, historians, authors, and more. We’ll also host group discussions and publish bonus content throughout the summer. (All of which are designed to fit within your summer schedule. For full details on how the book club will work, head here.)
Join Behavioral Scientist's Summer Book Club by becoming a paid Supporter or purchasing a ticket. For more information on how to join, click here. The financial support from your subscription and tickets helps power our work as an independent, nonprofit magazine.
We look forward to reading and exploring 1984 with you this summer.
If you have any questions, please email us at editor@behavioralscientist.org.
