Alex, Emily, and John discuss George Orwell's landmark fable ANIMAL FARM (1945). 

Is the satirical allegorical novella funny? Does it secretly loathe the animals on the farm? What truth does it capture about life inside a totalitarian system?  

In addition to the fable, Alex, Emily, and John chat about Louis Menand's character study essay about George Orwell that appeared in the New Yorker  in 2003, entitled "Honest, Decent, Wrong." The last third of the pod touches on the negative influence of smart phones, digital photography vs. film photography, and Charlie Chaplin.