PMP#211: Slow Horses and Predecessors

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

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