#521 - Subversive Regional, Call Roger Bannister and All At Sea in a Brandscape
3/10/20261 hr 1 min
John Robins feels enormous. His Christmas Day, Ryder Cup and Tax Deadline Day have all come at once. That’s right, a new supermarket has opened near his house, and he’s primed and ready to make content that no one else would dream of making. Strap in for some gonzo journalism; it’s Fear and Loathing in Rural Bucks.
Supermarket excitement aside, we tackle the big questions: Did Elizabeth I wish she’d had meal deals? Did she resent not having a fridge, or Tetris, or yoghurt? What would Henry VIII have made of an air fryer?
Plus, Elis’s Welshness gets him in hypothetical hot water.
Get in touch via the world’s most reliable medium: email. It’s elisandjohn@bbc.co.uk.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsElis James· Host0:00
[upbeat music] On Wednesday, I awoke to my wife, Izzy, who appeared even more thoughtful than usual. I asked her what was wrong, and I received the following reply: "I dreamt you cheated on me last night." [gasps] Rubbing sleep out of my eyes, I began to reassure her, of course, but I could see that she was desperate to tell me more details. "After you told me, I was very upset, Ellis, but I could only think of one thing to say. I shouted at you in the kitchen, 'Just answer me one question. This woman, is she Welsh?'" [laughing] When you replied that she was- Oh. "I screamed, 'Then you've got to live your dream!'" [laughing] This has rocked us as a family because I now realize that regardless of age, background, looks or relationship status, Izzy sees all Welsh women as a threat.
Speaker 11:13
Mm.
Elis James· Host1:14
So it got me thinking, I haven't had a Welsh girlfriend for over twenty years. I haven't had a Welsh-speaking girlfriend for a quarter of a century. How would me living my dream have impacted on world culture? I, of course, would be Brenin Prydein Cymru, the king of Welsh podcasts, and my sterling work on