The Trojan Horse Affair

By: Serial Productions & The New York Times
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  • Summary

  • A strange letter appears on a city councillor’s desk in Birmingham, England, laying out an elaborate plot by Islamic extremists to infiltrate the city’s schools. The plot has a code name: Operation Trojan Horse. The story soon explodes in the news and kicks off a national panic. By the time it all dies down, the government has launched multiple investigations, beefed up the country’s counterterrorism policy, revamped schools and banned people from education for the rest of their lives. To Hamza Syed, who is watching the scandal unfold in his city, the whole thing seemed … off. Because through all the official inquiries and heated speeches in Parliament, no one has ever bothered to answer a basic question: Who wrote the letter? And why? The night before Hamza is to start journalism school, he has a chance meeting in Birmingham with the reporter Brian Reed, the host of the hit podcast S-Town. Together they team up to investigate: Who wrote the Trojan Horse letter? They quickly discover that it’s a question people in power do not want them asking. From Serial Productions and The New York Times comes The Trojan Horse Affair: a mystery in eight parts. To get full access to this show, and to other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts. To find out about new shows from Serial Productions, and get a look behind the scenes, sign up for our newsletter at nytimes.com/serialnewsletter. Have a story pitch, a tip, or feedback on our shows? Email us at serialshows@nytimes.com
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Politics & Government Social Sciences
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Episodes
  • Trailer

    Trailer
    Jan 27 2022
    A mysterious letter detailing a supposed Islamist plot to take over schools shocked Britain in 2014. But who wrote it? From Serial Productions and The New York Times, “The Trojan Horse Affair,” an investigation that became bigger than we ever imagined. All eight parts are coming next Thursday, February 3rd. To get full access to this show, and to other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts. To find out about new shows from Serial Productions, and get a look behind the scenes, sign up for our newsletter at nytimes.com/serialnewsletter. Have a story pitch, a tip, or feedback on our shows? Email us at serialshows@nytimes.com
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    3 mins
  • Part 1: The Letter in the Brown Paper Envelope

    Part 1: The Letter in the Brown Paper Envelope
    Feb 3 2022
    A strange letter appears outlining a plot by Islamic extremists to infiltrate Birmingham schools. Hamza and Brian visit the supposed mastermind of the plot, and he tells them he did take over a bunch of schools – just not for the reasons in the letter.To get full access to this show, and to other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts. To find out about new shows from Serial Productions, and get a look behind the scenes, sign up for our newsletter at nytimes.com/serialnewsletter. Have a story pitch, a tip, or feedback on our shows? Email us at serialshows@nytimes.com
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    1 hr
  • Part 2: The Case of the Four Resignations

    Part 2: The Case of the Four Resignations
    Feb 3 2022
    Hamza and Brian think the source of the Trojan Horse letter might be hiding in plain sight. After learning about the petty personnel dispute that probably gave rise to the letter, they’re even more bewildered about how it ever could have been taken seriously. To get full access to this show, and to other Serial Productions and New York Times podcasts on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, subscribe at nytimes.com/podcasts. To find out about new shows from Serial Productions, and get a look behind the scenes, sign up for our newsletter at nytimes.com/serialnewsletter. Have a story pitch, a tip, or feedback on our shows? Email us at serialshows@nytimes.com
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    55 mins

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Profile Image for Anonymous User

brilliant!

I loved everything about this podcast..
the story the journos were justifiably chasing is outrageous but sadly just so familiar in every predominately white, Christian Country.
I loved the ‘odd couple’ pairing of the journos and their road trips
the editing was perfect.. I honestly felt I had gone along for the entire ride in person

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Profile Image for Rupe Singh

Journalist Integrity at its very worse.

Just finished listening to the whole podcast and it bled of such a biased and one sided reporting that I've seen. it is obvious that the presenters agreed on s narrative and spent two years trying to prove it. They openly discuss their bias and yet keep on protesting their narrative as the only truth.

The journalist integrity, if there was any has been thrown out with the bath water.

Sayed, one other presenters, comes across very aggressive, rude and angry. This story is very close to his heart and he was easy too involved in it to provide an independent investigation. He should have excluded himself from this podcast.

The select reporting is also obvious. There are key questions that are never asked to Tahir and others.

Finally, there is a significant lack of obvious disclosures from Sayed about his background with all the characters in the story and his interest of any of relationship with individuals.

Good story very poorly done.

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