In 2014, a letter emerged detailing an elaborate plot by Islamic extremists to infiltrate schools in Birmingham, England. It became known as The Trojan Horse Affair. When journalism student Hamza Syed met podcaster Brian Reed, he told him about the scandal and the unexplored question of the author’s true motives. They teamed up to investigate where the ham-fisted letter came from in the first place - and if there was no extremist plot, what was the writer actually hoping to achieve?

From Serial Productions and The New York Times comes “The Trojan Horse Affair.” We follow Hamza and Brian’s frustrating journey to explore whether the letter was more about a labor dispute than an extremist conspiracy - and would proving its mundane origins upend the official narrative used as a pretext for a lasting, hardline government response?

FOR OUR SPOILER-FREE REVEIWS OF "THE TROJAN HORSE AFFAIR" GO TO THE 42:00 MINUTE MARK.

In Crime of the Week: thrown to the wolves.

For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.

Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.