About this episode

The episode explores the cultural significance of the England Men's Football team and its impact on English identity through history.

'Sixty Years of Hurt with David Baddiel' explores the meaning of England and Englishness through the history of the England Men’s Football team. This is a social and cultural history as much as a sporting one, examining the story England tells about itself and how it's changed, via the medium of the international game. “Football is singularly the most important cultural institution in the country for defining Englishness” says Historian David Goldblatt, as the series begins looking at the most famous moment in English football – the world cup win in 1966. Comedian, writer and football fan, David Baddiel, sees how the victory adorned swinging London, and yet the characters in the team spoke to a very different kind of England. David also travels back to the very origins of the game in England (discovering that Henry VIII had a pair of football boots), checks in with Elis James for a view from Wales, and muses on the meaning of national anthems. The series delves deep into how national myths are both forged and reflected in the fate of eleven young men with three lions on their shirts. It takes in the view from England’s sporting rivals, from Wales to Argentina, and asks what light…

People in this episode

Host: David Baddiel

Topics covered

• English football history
• cultural identity
• national myths
• sporting rivalries
• social history
• football culture

Keywords

• England
• football
• David Baddiel
• cultural history
• 1966 World Cup
• national anthems
• sporting rivals
• Englishness

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BBC Radio 4

Places: England, Wales, Argentina

More episodes of The History Podcast

• Sixty Years of Hurt: 3. England v Hooligans · May 30, 2026 · 28 min
• Sixty Years of Hurt: 2. England v Mavericks · May 23, 2026 · 28 min

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