Manchester is home to some of the biggest sports brands on the planet. In this episode, Chris, Dean and Yakub argue the city is also the birthplace of modern football as we understand it. We tell the story of the city's economic boom and the grinding factory conditions which saw the working population turn to sport for recreation and escape. We'll talk about how the city played a key role in pivotal decisions about the early game as well as introducing some of the game’s first superstars, including coal miner turned football hero Billy Meredith.

Special thanks: Manchester BIPC; Image: Hardman Creative; Our podcast music was provided by The Podcast Host and Alitu: The Podcast Maker app.

Welcome to Victorian Manchester, where the streets throb with violence and teenage gangs are waging war. The Scuttler gangs pose a menace unlike any England has seen before. Groups calling themselves the Bengal Tigers and Meadow Lads prowl the cobbled streets, marked by their distinctive clothes and vicious weapons, including brutal brass belts. Battling for status, territory and bonded together by crushing poverty, the gangs of lads and lasses fight pitched battles of such intensity that the authorities fear the violence will spill into open warfare. In this episode, Dean, Chris and Yakub talk about the rise and fall of the Scuttlers, their fascination with fashion (including why they put butter in their hair), how the 19th century phenomenon sparked the birth of sports and social clubs (including Manchester City FC and Salford Lads Club) and the cult youth movement’s possible inspiration for Anthony Burgess' dystopian A Clockwork Orange.

Special thanks: Manchester BIPC Music; Image: Hardman Creative; Our podcast music was provided by The Podcast Host and Alitu: The Podcast Maker app.

As Britain’s official executioner, Albert Pierrepoint hanged notorious murders, spies and war criminals. But he also lived a seemingly ordinary life as a grocery man and pub landlord in Greater Manchester, balancing his work behind the bar with grim professional duties as a Home Office hangman. As his fame grew, so too did doubts about the death penalty and Pierrepoint becomes unwillingly tangled in some of Britain’s most controversial and notorious criminal cases. Chris, Dean and Yakub discuss the peculiar double life and legacy of this enigmatic public figure.

Content: this episode contains descriptions of executions, which, while avoiding too much detail, some listeners may find uncomfortable.

Special thanks: Manchester BIPC. Image: Hardman Creative. Our podcast music was provided by The Podcast Host and Alitu: The Podcast Maker app.