The Rest is History I went to see the ‘Odyssey’ film and felt at rather a disadvantage because I’ve never read it. So, why not rely on the expertise of Dominic Sandbrook and especially Tom Holland, who are both very familiar with it. In Episode 687 The Odyssey: Hero of the Trojan Horse (Part 1) and Episode 688 The Odyssey: Return of the King they go through the book- neither of them have seen the film at this stage- and it was great to hear this before watching the screen interpretation.
The Weekend Intelligence Shire Folk: Episode 1 Tommy’s Town (might be subscriber only).
For 15 years the British media dismissed Tommy Robinson as a far-right extremist. We kept him off our televisions, and out of our newspapers.Today his rallies attract tens of thousands of followers and he has the ear of the world’s richest man. Shire Folk is the story of how some of the most powerful people in America came to see Britain—and Islam—through the eyes of a fringe football hooligan.
This episode starts in Luton, the home town of ‘Tommy Robinson’ (in reality Stephen Yaxley-Lennon). Football hooliganism had occurred for years, but the drug trade was taken over by Pakistanis, leading to turf wars. Then the War on Terror resulted in a radical Islam getting a grip in football. In March 2009 the English Defence League held an anti-Muslim march (as distinct from anti-Islamist), and Stephen Yaxley-Lennon changed his name to Tommy Robinson (a football hooligan). In 2013 Robinson walked away from the English Defence League, only to re-emerge in 2025 where he led a march of 150,000 people. Now, he has Elon Musk in his corner.
Stuff Matters Bananas: Is it the End of our Favourite Fruit? Bananas are cheap and not seasonal and Britain’s favourite fruit. The UK and America import their bananas (unlike Australia, which grows its own and good on us) and the banana industry was the first vertically integrated food sector. The bananas imported into UK and US are genetically identical, and can be imported green and ripened consistently in warehouses. Bananas were exported world-wide by the United Fruit Company, which has a rather shady history in the Caribbean and South America after becoming involved in enterprises far from bananas, at times with CIA involvement. However, the banana industry was nearly wiped out in the 1950s with the spread of Panama Disease, and the Gros Michel variety was replaced by the Cavendish. However since the 2010’s the Cavendish is also threatened by a new outbreak of Panama Disease caused by the strain Tropical Race 4 (TR4). Different countries are taking varied approaches to this threat: genetic modification, growing bananas alongside spring onions or zapping the bananas. It’s a good example of the vulnerability of a food chain in such an internationally integrated system.
