Why Orwell's '1984' is having a moment in 2025

The WNBA just wrapped its most-watched season in history, with soaring team valuations and unprecedented public interest. But the league is preparing for possible labor tension as players push for greater revenue sharing and ask who really benefits from its success. Audie turns to CNN contributor and host of Naked Sports, Cari Champion, to talk about what the next era of the WNBA could look like: the economics of the game and how a new competitor could redefine ownership, competition, and opportunity for female athletes.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Film director Raoul Peck grew up in Haiti and the Congo, and is no stranger to authoritarianism. So it was an easy “yes” when he was offered access to author George Orwell’s entire body of work, from the original manuscript of “1984” to letters and journals. The result is “Orwell: 2+2=5,” a documentary about how a man named Eric Arthur Blair became the timeless face of truth. Peck talks to Audie about his take on Orwell’s legacy and what it still has to teach us.   --  This episode was Produced by Madeleine Thompson and Lori Galarreta Senior Producer: Matt Martinez  Technical Director: Dan Dzula   Executive Producer:  Steve Lickteig  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week The Assignment presents the first episode of CNN’s powerful narrative series, Tortured Justice with Omar Jimenez. It’s the story of systemic torture carried out by the Chicago police department over many years starting in the 1980s. The series focuses on James Gibson, who was wrongly convicted and tortured, Andrew Wilson, whose guilt for killing two police officers has not been questioned even as people learned of his torture, and Jon Burge, a police commander who oversaw torture.  Subscribe to the podcast to hear all the episodes. And read more about how Omar reported the story.   --  Producers: Graelyn Brashear, Madeleine Thompson, Emily Williams, Kyra Dahring, Sofia Sanchez, and Lauren Kim    Editor: Lacy Roberts   Technical director: Dan Dzula    Executive producer of CNN Podcasts: Steve Lickteig    Production help from: Jake Sorgen, Joe DeCeault, David Guggenheim, Jessica Pupovac  Special thanks to: Ferlon Webster, Jr. and Ed Kelly  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel returned to TV after being suspended for his comments on Charlie Kirk's assassination. It was the latest sign of political pressure shaping the media landscape into something that may have been unrecognizable a decade ago. So how did we get here, and where are we headed? Axios media correspondent and CNN contributor Sara Fischer talks about the forces at play and how they’re influencing everything from talk shows to social media algorithms.  This episode was Produced by Lori Galarreta and Madeleine Thompson Senior Producer: Matt Martinez  Technical Director: Dan Dzula   Executive Producer:  Steve Lickteig  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Charlie Kirk’s assassination may be part of a larger “political realignment” in America, that’s according to Rachel Kleinfeld, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a leading scholar on political violence. She explains what it is, why it's violent, how it could get worse, and possible paths out. This episode was Produced by Lori Galarreta and Jesse Remedios Senior Producer: Matt Martinez  Technical Director: Dan Dzula   Executive Producer:  Steve Lickteig  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Social media doesn’t just decide what you see — it shapes how you speak. Audie talks to linguist, author and educational influencer, Adam Aleksic to explore how the way we communicate is mutating in the age of TikTok, Trump, and ChatGPT.  Adam’s book is called, “Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language.”  --  This episode was Produced by Lori Galarreta  Senior Producer: Matt Martinez  Technical Director: Dan Dzula   Executive Producer:  Steve Lickteig  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of the biggest shows of the summer was Netflix’s “Hunting Wives,” a raunchy, soapy thriller about gun-toting Texas housewives. It’s the latest hit in a growing wave of so-called “red state entertainment” finding audiences everywhere. Audie calls up comedian and longtime television producer Larry Wilmore to find out what’s driving Hollywood’s pronounced shift away from the hard lean into wokeness we saw just a few years ago. Is this a lasting change, or just another spin of the wheel in studios’ chase for the next big thing? --  This episode was Produced by Jesse Remedios  Senior Producer: Matt Martinez  Technical Director: Dan Dzula   Executive Producer:  Steve Lickteig  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s been 20 years since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. But for many, the storm is not just a memory, it’s an inheritance. At Be Loud Studios, an after-school program that helps young people tell their stories through radio, educator Alex Owens created Born After the Storm a podcast where local teens reflect on Katrina’s legacy. Audie sits down with high school senior Amari Walton, one of the storytellers, and Alex, who leads the program, to hear how the storm’s impact lives on through those who never lived it.  --  This episode was Produced by Lori Galarreta  Senior Producer: Matt Martinez  Technical Director: Dan Dzula   Executive Producer:  Steve Lickteig  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dating apps are reporting record breaking numbers. Yet surveys show people across generations and sexualities are partnering less, having less sex, and are feeling increasingly pessimistic about the state of American romance. So what’s going on? Audie sits down with Faith Hill – staff writer at The Atlantic, who closely covers ‘The Slow, Quiet Demise of American Romance’ – for a breakdown of the uniquely modern challenges and consequences of searching for love on your phone.   --  This episode was Produced by Jesse Remedios and Lauren Kim.   Senior Producers: Matt Martinez and Dan Bloom Technical Director: Dan Dzula   Executive Producer:  Steve Lickteig  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Audie talks with artist and organizer Kennedy McDaniel about how she, and others in her generation -- Gen Z -- are finding connection and power offline through an old school medium: zines.  This episode was Produced by Lori Galarreta.   Senior Producer: Matt Martinez Technical Director: Dan Dzula   Executive Producer:  Steve Lickteig  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices