Orwell's Colonial Roots and Influence

In this episode of the Chuck ToddCast, filmmaker Raoul Peck joins Chuck to discuss his powerful new documentary Orwell: 2+2=5 — an exploration of truth, propaganda, and power in the age of Trump. Peck, whose work often examines systems of control and colonialism, draws from Orwell’s life and letters to reveal how 1984 was never just a warning about the future — it was a reflection of the present. He and Chuck unpack how doublespeak, “alternative facts,” and the rewriting of history have crept into modern democracies, from the U.S. to Russia, and what Orwell’s insights reveal about the fragility of truth today.

Peck also reflects on his own Haitian roots and how the legacy of colonialism still shapes global politics, from America’s interference in Haiti to its uneasy role as an arbiter of democracy abroad. The conversation turns to the media’s complicity in enabling authoritarian narratives, the dangers of AI-driven misinformation, and why reclaiming truth — and teaching future generations to defend it — may be the defining struggle of our time.

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Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Raoul Peck joins the Chuck ToddCast

01:30 How did you end up directing Orwell 2+2=5?

03:30 Coming from Haiti, you have a real understanding of abuse of power

05:00 Working with legendary documentarian Alex Gibney on the project

06:30 Would the film have been released if Kamala Harris had one?

08:00 Americans are becoming familiar with “doublespeak” under Trump

09:00 The contradiction of leading democracies being colonial

09:45 Orwell grew up in India, saw colonialism firsthand

11:00 Orwell joined Imperial Police Force in Burma

12:15 Orwell’s letters revealed his inspiration and thought process

13:15 Orwell struggled to finish 1984 while very sick

14:15 Using historical media to create the documentary, no re-enactments

16:45 Why not tell this story in a movie? Does 1984 need to be re-made?

18:00 1984 was only a portion of the story

19:00 Orwell was writing about the present and warning about the future

20:45 US story starting with lies about the Iraq War using propaganda

22:15 Americans think authoritarianism only comes from “the other side”

23:00 Language sets the stage for the erosion of democracy

23:45 Authoritarians seek to remake and revise history

24:45 Russian citizens have basically given up on truth, don’t believe anything

25:30 Trump’s use of “alternative facts” is incredibly Orwellian

26:30 Trump accuses any negative coverage of being “fake news”

27:15 U.S. government purging certain words from their websites

29:15 Authoritarian takeovers can move very quickly

30:00 Journalism and discourse are controlled by a few tech companies

30:45 Trouble distributing the documentary in the current political climate?

32:15 Documentary breaking records…. But what does that say?

33:45 Too many people are tuning out during Trump’s second term

34:15 People take democracy and their freedoms for granted

35:30 Mike Pence saved democracy… temporarily

36:30 AI generated videos will make people questions everything

37:30 Most of the press is captive to a few billionaires

38:30 The technology isn’t the problem, lack of regulation is

40:00 Humans will want interpersonal contact in AI era

42:00 There is no such thing as neutrality in politics

43:30 Beating authoritarianism will take a generation in America

45:15 Why have Haiti and the Dominican Republic gone so differently?

47:00 The slave rebellion caused the U.S. to treat Haiti as a pariah

48:30 Haiti suffered from “cannon diplomacy” from colonial powers

49:15 The U.S. meddling in Haiti has always caused problems

51:30 U.S. has always asserted control in the western hemisphere

53:00 Next project is doc about assasination of Haiti’s president

54:00 Using AI as a tool in creating films?

56:00 Government has performed almost no oversight of AI

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