Notes from a Small (Cold, Dark, Miserable) Island

✓

תביעה

Early July is a particularly poignant time for American expats, as it's when we celebrate kicking British ass by detonating explosives and eating copious amounts of whatever it is that ends up in a hot dog. So how can you recreate fun Fourth of July celebrations away from home? Fortunately yo‮…

We're currently in the thick of the World Super Cup of Soccerball and wow, has the 2026 tournament been a doozy. This week we're joined by Joey D'Urso - dedicated footie fan, political journalist and author of More Than A Shirt: How Football Shirts Explain Global Politics, Money and‮…

Fresh off our half‑term adventures, what better moment to dive into the delightful strangeness that is the British education system. Class might be out for summer back in the homeland, but here in London pupils will still be slogging away for weeks - dreaming of undercooked potatoes on pebbly beac‮…

Brits fiercely gatekeep their language, which they haughtily named "English" after some of their people, and Americanization is hated almost as much as the invasive gray squirrel. Or grey squirrel? Anyway, the process doesn't just go one way. The British are coming for your words an‮…

With the local elections coming up we're here to explain the UK's complicated political system, why it doesn't neatly map onto American politics and how to pronounce Plaid Cymru.  Plus all the hot and cold takes from the King's comedy tour of Washington. Mike recounts a bank ho‮…

What's more British than a proper British holiday resort with proper British people eating proper British food, somewhere far away from Britain? This week the hosts are joined by Matt's neighbour Max Geller, a Bostonian who explains how he found love on the campaign trail and how that ev‮…

Your hosts tackle the wide world of British sport, from football (soccer) to snooker (pool, but much, much more difficult).  Will we ever make a proper footie fan out of Matt. And what's the right way to appreciate "the beautiful game"? Mike argues that all the British sports are ba‮…

As the homeland goes to war once again, we pick over the state of the union and find it ... totally great, no problems, all good. Cheap eggs, too. Really though, your hosts Matt and Mike play a quick game of two truths and a lie, and provide an urgent update for those of you with more than one pas‮…

Today we're on a journey from Chicago to LA, via Indiana and New York, but as we know, all roads lead to ... Yorkshire. Actor, Windy City native and improv scene veteran Derek Miller tells us about winning money off of Green Day, finding love on the high seas, Tim Burton's strangely norm‮…