
PMP#211: Slow Horses and Predecessors
From Pretty Much Pop: A Culture Podcast by Mark Linsenmayer
December 10, 2025 · 50 min · Season 6 · Episode 211
About this episode
The episode discusses the British spy show 'Slow Horses' and its literary predecessors, focusing on realism and the human cost of espionage.
We discuss the British spy show based on the novels of Mick Herron, which are in turn firmly in a tradition of anti-007 books by John le Carré. Featuring Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al. The point is not to glamorize the spy service, but to use realism and black humor to stress the human cost and general boredom of this work along with the dysfunctional nature of the institutions involved. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop for only the tiniest per-month financial pledge, or you can sign up directly with Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark's podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel . Sponsors: Get 15% off an annual membership at MasterClass.com/PRETTY . Go to surfshark.com/pmp or use code pmp at checkout to get 4 extra monthsof Surfshark VPN.
People in this episode
Host: Mark
Topics covered
- British spy show
- anti-007 books
- realism
- black humor
- human cost
- dysfunctional institutions
Keywords
- Mick Herron
- John le Carré
- spy service
- boredom
Sponsors
MasterClass, Surfshark
Mentioned in this episode
Products: MasterClass, Surfshark VPN
Books & works: Slow Horses and Predecessors
More episodes of Pretty Much Pop: A Culture Podcast
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- PMP#219: Weir-ed Sci Fi: Hail Mary and The Martian · April 14, 2026 · 52 min
- PMP#218: All the “Scream”-ing · April 1, 2026 · 56 min
- PMP#217: Mel Brooks’ Old Comedy · March 18, 2026 · 57 min
- PMP#216: Oscars So Black? · March 5, 2026 · 60 min
- PMP#215: Hamnet Dramatizes Shakespeare · February 17, 2026 · 1h 5m
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