Brave New World | Ch. 4.3 – Compost, Cabarets, and Contraceptive Belts

In this episode of Banned Camp, Jennifer and Dan read Chapter 4.3 of Brave New World, where death is recycled into phosphorus, Soma turns nightlife into bliss, and hypnopaedia makes even contraceptive drills sound normal. Jennifer predicts the society disposes of “defective” people like factory rejects, Dan riffs on compost burials and egg shells at funerals, and together they wonder if Lenina is more shallow than they’d hoped. The Westminster Abbey Cabaret turns into a haze of sexophones, Soma, and bottled emotions, while Robot fact-checks the real-world history of Soma with his usual dry disdain.

Things To Listen For:

• The crematorium’s phosphorus recovery — recycling humans into fertilizer.
• Jennifer predicting that “duds” might be killed off in this society.
• Dan’s funeral fantasy involving compost and egg shells.
• Lenina calling lower castes “nasty little gammas and deltas.”
• Henry Foster briefly slipping into something like empathy before shrugging it off.
• The Westminster Abbey Cabaret: sexophones, color organs, and Soma blues.
• Dan explaining “blottoed” the Wisconsin way.

Banworthy to Bingeworthy

Need more to listen to? Check out Good News For Lefties — a hopeful, progressive take on politics that pairs nicely with dystopian book talk.

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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. To ensure the best listening experience, some sections may be lightly abridged for clarity and pacing. However, we always stay true to the author’s intent and encourage listeners to purchase the book in full.

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 here to experience the book in its entirety.

This podcast is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected to Aldous Huxley, his 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, Lenina, Henry Foster, Bernard Marx, crematorium, phosphorus recovery, Soma, Westminster Abbey Cabaret, hypnopaedia, contraception, caste system, banned books