Margaret Atwood joined Dua Lipa on the latest episode of the British pop star’s podcast, Service95 Book Club, to dissect the themes and plot points of The Handmaid’s Tale.
It was a “pinch-me moment” for Lipa, who first read Atwood’s influential and enduring novel when she was 15.
The Handmaid’s Tale was published 40 years ago, and as the conversation between the singer and author reveals, still remains relevant today.
In the introduction Lipa describes the book as a “thriller, a classic work of feminist fiction and perhaps, most importantly, a warning against authoritarian rule for every new generation of readers.”
WATCH | Dua Lipa and Margaret Atwood in conversation:
The Handmaid’s Tale, which has most recently been adapted into a successful television series, tells the story of a totalitarian pseudo-United States, where women have been stripped of their rights.
“I couldn’t imagine at 15 years old that there was any danger of that becoming a reality, whereas now re-reading it at 30 years old in today’s climate, it’s quite terrifying,” Lipa said.
Throughout the episode, Atwood speaks about the time period she wrote the book in: the Cold War was ongoing, the Berlin Wall separated East and West Germany (where Atwood was living at the time), and Ronald Reagan’s presidency ushered in “a push back against 1970s feminism.”
In response to Lipa’s questioning about the audience reaction to the book, Atwood replied: “The Canadians asked nervously when the book came out, ‘Could it happen here?’ And I said, ‘Less likely, we’re a two-language country, it’s harder to get us to all line up in one direction.’ And anyway I needed a place in my novel for people to escape to.”
In the U.S. there were two reactions: “‘Oh that would never happen here, [we’re the] world’s leading democracy,’ and on the other hand, ‘How long have we got?’”
They also discuss Atwood’s new memoir, Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts, which further outlines the political and social climate in which Atwood wrote The Handmaid’s Tale: “the rise of the religious right as a political force, women belonged in the home, their proper role was just that…the three Cs: children, cooking and church.”
In 2022, Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that established American women’s constitutional right to abortion, was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. Former prime minister Justin Trudeau called the ruling “horrific” and said “no government, politician or man” should force a woman to carry out a pregnancy.
The episode also dives into the influence of science fiction writers whom Atwood read growing up — like H.G. Wells, Ray Bradbury and George Orwell — as well as the Salem Witch Trials, and Atwood’s lasting legacy.
Lipa has interviewed Patti Smith, Khaled Hosseini, Ocean Vuong, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and many more authors since launching her book club podcast, which is one arm of her Service95 lifestyle website.
She previously had a podcast with BBC Sounds called Dua Lipa: At Your Service, where she interviewed all kinds of cultural influencers including Dan Levy, Charli XCX, Megan thee Stallion and Elton John.
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