Aldous Huxley interviewed by Mike Wallace : 1958 (Full)

Aldous Huxley shares his visions and fears for this brave new world.

[jtetrfs]

This interview was, of course, conducted back in a time when people still spoke in complete, coherent sentences.

[timbimjim]

Remarkable that we must listen to an interview from 1958 to understand what's happening in 2021.

[nontologicalbeing]

Hard to believe that slow, deep, nuanced conversations like this were once normally broadcast on tv

[cinderbeserk]

"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." Absolutely brilliant.

[nightowl]

Observe how Mile Wallace, a journalist, is filmed from behind and not the focus of the interview. What a contrast to the talking heads and news "commentators" (more performers than journalists) today. In current times the interviewer is the celebrity/personality focused upon, rather than the expert being interviewed.

[crustycobs]

As you watch this Google is tracking your viewing history, creating a profile about you, targeting
you with ads, keeping track of your location, storing your comments for analysis. Huxley was right.

[BIFFY]

This is quite odd but last year as a kind of experiment I lived homeless for 4 months while still working full time. Joined a 24h gym for showers, clothes washed at laundrettes and kept things i needed in my car. Saved a ton of money avoiding london rent prices and I noticed in myself that because i wasnt watching tv anymore and was rarely using computers that brands and stuff generally lost its power over me. I didnt lust after gadgets or cars anymore. I just saw it all as 'things' that i clearly didnt need. It totally lost its power over me and i hadnt even realised that it did have a power over me in the first place!

[rns]

Thank you so much for posting this extremely important interview. Astonishing how prescient Huxley and Orwell were.

[wewerekings]

This aged exceptionally well. Absolutely brilliant.

[zriterescritor]

Alan Watts on Huxley:
"He was such a magnificent conversationalist that once, while I was having lunch with him in a San Francisco restaurant, all those at the adjoining tables fell silent to listen to him."

[vegasjim]

Huxley nails it. If you didn't know this is 1958 you would think he's talking about today.

[JohnnyF]

Fascinating interview. What most people in our society don't realise is that global corporate and political power relies on us all feeling inadequate and unhappy with ourselves. This is why wealth gaps are so useful to large companies. Advertising is their reminder to us that we're either not good enough or don't have enough to be fulfilled. It creates envy and longing, neither of which feed the sense of self positively.

[Flyanb]

When was the last time you heard an intelligent conversation like this for this kind of time on American network TV?

[Goldpenny]

"Medical science has made such tremendous progress that there is hardly a healthy human left."
Aldous Huxley

[johnvaughan]

Incredible foresightful mind - "imagine television promoting the same message hour after hour, day after day".

[MarcusHardyDJDirtyOne]

We live in so many dystopian nightmares all at once. Men like Huxley were way ahead of the curve.

[Nithael_]

“You’re being persuaded below the level of choice and reason”. Spot on.

[Vashti]

People are so utterly confused at this point, that they don't even know they're already living in this "brave new world".

[Anathema]

"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." -Alduous Huxley

[richprimo]

This guy's supposed to be so brilliant when it's OBVIOUS that he jumped into a time machine, traveled to 2022 to observe the U.S., and then traveled back to his own time. You're not fooling me, Dr. Huxley.