This week's we look at a famous phrase from George Orwell’s novel 1984. Banned at various times for being too left-wing and too right-wing, it critiqued and shaped much of the political discourse of the 20th century, and has found a fresh, unsettling meaning in the new reality of hyper-surveillance and big data algorithms.

The odds were stacked against our guest Ray Studevent from day one. Born to a White, heroin-addicted mother and a Black, violently alcoholic father, his childhood in Washington, D.C., was a chaotic mix of substance abuse, death and neglect. Ray is a Pulitzer Prize nominated Author of Black Sheep,  an unforgettable story of his struggles as a mixed-race boy as he learns to fight the ghosts of his past to find trust and love. His childhood in Washington gives him a front row seat to the metaphor, 'Big Brother is watching you.'