Serial Productions and The New York Times Company will release a limited-series podcast Feb. 3 about a false conspiracy that Islamic extremists were plotting to take over local schools in Birmingham, England, that led to a national scandal beginning around 2014.
The podcast, titled The Trojan Horse Affair after the supposed plot called “Operation Trojan Horse” to infiltrate the British schools, will release all eight episodes Feb. 3. The series will be hosted by S-Town host and co-creator Brian Reed and Hamza Syed, a doctor who lived in Birmingham and later switched careers to become a journalist.
The series will focus on the true author of the letter, supposedly written by an Islamic extremist, that set off the scandal and led to a major crackdown on Muslim educators and increased counterterrorism measures implemented by the British government.
The Trojan Horse Affair is edited by Sarah Koenig, the host and co-creator of Serial, and produced by Reed, Syed, Rebecca Laks and the staff at Serial Productions and at the New York Times. Thomas Mellor wrote and performed the original score for the podcast.
“The Trojan Horse Affair is investigative reporting on a roller coaster. The story itself is rooted in the most traditional practices of ‘who knew what when,’ but each chapter in the tale is also like its own bizarre mystery novel,” Julie Snyder, the executive editor for Serial, said in a statement. “Each time you think you’ve arrived at an obvious answer, another mystery unfolds.”
