A new Radio 4 series uses England’s football history to explore national identity ahead of this summer’s World Cup.
Sixty Years of Hurt with David Baddiel forms part of Radio 4’s The History Podcast feed and will air weekly from 16 May at 10am on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.
The series looks at how the story of the England men’s team reflects wider social and cultural shifts, tracing themes including class, race, rivalry and national expectation over the past 60 years.
Across the series, David Baddiel speaks to contributors including Stephen Fry, James Graham, Maisie Adam, Pippa Grange, Stuart Pearce and David Seaman, alongside writers and commentators connected to the game.
The programme positions football as a way of examining how England sees itself, focusing on how national myths are shaped through the experiences of the team on and off the pitch.
David said: “In Sixty Years of Hurt, I’ll be exploring what Englishness might be, via the fragile complex history of this country’s relationship with its men’s football team.”
Dan Clarke, Commissioning Editor for BBC Radio 4, said the programme will offer “a thought-provoking, clever, deeply felt take on the history of English football”.
James Cook, Creative Director for BBC Studios Audio, added that the series uses football “as a lens to tell a much bigger story about who we are and how we see ourselves”.
The first episode coincides with build-up coverage to the World Cup, positioning the podcast as part of the wider editorial response to the tournament.
