Liverpool and the unmaking of Britain
The Two Matts
Podmasters
4.4 • 523 Ratings
🗓️ 11 March 2025
⏱️ 68 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Matts speak with Sam Wetherell, author of the brilliant Liverpool And The Unmaking Of Britain. It’s not only a fascinating dive into the history of Liverpool, a city whose rise and fall impacted the whole world, but it’s also a prism through which we can try to understand our own complex times.
How did one man from North Carolina doom the entire Liverpool dock industry? How did a black pastor try to ignite the cause of Pan-Africanism from two knocked-together terrace houses? How did the Beatles go from being practically ignored by the city to being the centre of its renaissance? And what kind of politics do we need in an age of increasing obsolescence? All these questions are answered, and many more, in one of the most absorbing interviews the Matts have done. Enjoy!
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi there, this is Matt Kelly, the editor-in-chief of the New European newspaper and one half of the |
| 0:05.9 | two mats podcast. Just before we get into the podcast, I want to run past you a proposal. I know that many |
| 0:12.4 | of you are listening to this podcast, you've heard about the New European, but you're not quite sure |
| 0:16.3 | whether you want to jump in and subscribe. Well, I'm going to make it very easy for you. |
| 0:26.6 | An offer now for limited time, one pound for your first month, just one pound, then five pounds a month after, if you like it, you can cancel any time. |
| 0:31.0 | You will be supporting great independent journalism and you'll be supporting this podcast. |
| 0:35.9 | So if you like the podcast, you'll love the |
| 0:38.1 | new European, go to the new European.com.com.com.com, dot UK, forward slash two mats. That's the number |
| 0:44.9 | two, M-A-T-T-S. That's the new European.com.com.com.com. This is the best offer you'll get |
| 0:53.4 | anywhere. So act now. It won't be there forever. |
| 1:01.1 | Hello and happy Tuesday. Happy Tuesday, one and all. I hope you all having a great day. |
| 1:07.1 | We are delighted to be joined by Sam Wetherall, a historian from the University of York, |
| 1:12.4 | who has written the most entertaining, instructive, insightful book about Liverpool I've ever read. |
| 1:18.6 | But it's not just about Liverpool. |
| 1:20.4 | It's a global story told through the prison of Liverpool. |
| 1:24.6 | And the book is called Liverpool and the Unmaking of Britain. |
| 1:28.6 | Welcome, first of all. |
| 1:29.0 | Thank you. |
| 1:30.1 | Thank you for coming down. |
| 1:31.3 | You're based in York. I am based in York, yeah. |
| 1:32.3 | Thank you for coming down to speak to us about this. |
| 1:34.5 | I want to talk to – I don't want people to think this is just a book about Liverpool, because it's not. |
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