Before we go any further, I realise that many of you must have been listening to this podcast thinking,

I really like this. I really like the sound of the New European, but I'm not quite sure I want to

spend loads of money to find out if I do like it. So I have got a proposal for you, a whole month

of the New European for one pound. If you like it, you can carry on paying five pounds a month.

That's a little more than a pound a week. But if you've been sitting there thinking I'd like to get

the New European, but I'm not sure I really want to spend the money, now's the time to go for it.

Just one pound and it's yours for a month. Go to the new European dotco.uk

forward slash two mats. This offer is the best you'll get anywhere and it's exclusive to two

Matt's podcast listeners. And you can cancel any time you like. So it's an unrepeatable offer to

dip your toe into a whole new world of

journalism. It's Matt. It's Matt. It's John. And this is never going to catch on as an introduction.

Well, it's our gift to you as one of the pioneering news agents and welcome John Soapult to the two

Matt. It's a great to have you with us on our Monday podcast and the occasion for the for this podcast is your brilliant new book

Strangeland which I have to say I read in two sittings and is absolutely terrific and is well we're going to talk about that

but we wanted really Matt and myself to to talk to you because of the sort of theme of the book

which is very much about coming back to the UK after eight years in the States as North America

editor for the BBC. I just wondered if I could kick off by saying it's obvious in the book that

when you and the title obviously hints at that and warn the hits that you found a lot of change in the UK.

And I wanted if you to, you almost felt like you were a foreign correspondent in your own country when you got back.

Well, look, the time-honoured book that the foreign correspondence, right,

and the two, Matt's, it's great to be with you on the podcast, is to write a book about,

you've gone to this funny country and you think you know it well, and it's always a bit different

...