Brave New World Ch. 17.2: The Right to Be Unhappy | Banned Books Podcast
John and Mustapha Mond go head-to-head over the weirdest argument of all, whether a “perfect” life is worth the price of your soul, your freedom, and your right to feel anything real. Along the way we detour through King Lear, religion, pleasant vices, and the phrase “Christianity without tears,” which is either brilliant… or horrifying… or both.
Banned Camp is a comedy podcast where we read banned books chapter by chapter, we don't read ahead, so you're discovering the story with us.
Things To Listen For:
- Robot speed-running King Lear, including “Gonad and Reagan” (unfortunate, iconic)
- The “atheists aren’t sacrificing goats” rant, and why basic decency doesn’t require God
- The line that basically explains the entire Brave New World project: “Christianity without tears”
- Mosquitoes as character development (and why John thinks “nothing costs enough”)
- VPS, the monthly, chemically scheduled rage session, because even utopias need to vent
- John’s big closing swing: claiming the right to be unhappy, plus… syphilis and cancer (buddy, relax)
Why was Brave New World banned?
This chapter puts a spotlight on religion, sexuality, pleasure, drugs, and the idea that the state can engineer morality by controlling pain, desire, and belief. It’s basically a handbook for why censors hate books, it makes people ask “wait… who gets to decide what a good life is?”
If this is your first episode, you’re fine starting here. Our fact-checking Robot catches you up fast, then we read the next chapter (spoilers).
Banworthy to Bingeworthy
Here’s the binge-worthy listen we featured at the end of the episode:
- Rachel Maddow Presents: Burn Order — A gripping investigation into the U.S. military being deployed on American streets, whole communities targeted, and the attempts to bury the evidence when accountability finally shows up. Heavy, urgent, and painfully relevant, the kind of story that makes “it can’t happen here” feel like a bad joke.
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Disclaimer
Banned Camp features readings and discussions of banned books for the purpose of criticism, commentary, education, and entertainment, in accordance with fair use guidelines.
The material used from the book Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is shared under these principles, with the intent of provoking thought and discussion about literature, censorship, and societal issues. The original work remains fully owned by its copyright holders, and we strongly encourage listeners to purchase a copy to experience the book in its entirety.
This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected to Aldous Huxley, their estate, or the publishers of Brave New World. Any monetization of the podcast is separate from the copyrighted material discussed.
Topics Covered:
Brave New World, Aldous Huxley, Chapter 17, John, Mustapha Mond, Robot, King Lear, Edmund, Edgar, Cordelia, Goneril, Regan, Othello, Desdemona, soma, VPS (Violent Passion Surrogate), religion, free will, human dignity, suffering vs comfort, banned books, banned books podcast, book banning, censorship, literary analysis, comedy podcast
