Show Notes
George’s Train of Thought travels through the madness of 2020 to find light at the end of the tunnel - his audience. The success of this journey depends on your next move. You've heard George’s podcast, and now George wants to hear from you. He’s driven by the idea that Black culture could one day provide economic security for Black people worldwide. As a listener, you play a special part in this vision. George’s Train of Thought is departing from his new online platform, built for the Chapter 3 audience. Your seat has been reserved. Go to GTPCG.com Credits: Written by George the Poet Produced by Benbrick and George the Poet Mixing, recording and editing by Benbrick. With music from: J Hus - Repeat (feat. Koffee) Marc Five - It’s Go Stormzy - Crown All original music is written by Benbrick and recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra. We had the following guests: George’s nephews, Sandra Makumbi, Marc 5, Darshan Sanghrajka, Anne Whitehead, Benbrick. Thank you to: My team Sandra, Vidhu, and Birungi. The Common Ground team. Dylan Haskins and the team at BBC Sounds, BBC Concert Orchestra, JET magazine, AKA Dope, CNN, Podbible, NTV Uganda, David Lammy, Windrush Campaigner Anthony Brown, Florence Eshalomi, Jane Wing, Remel, Mo, Julie Adenuga, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Robert Bruce, John Boyega, Evan Rogers, Jade Alleyne, Anne Isger, Tom Kelly & Adam Miller. Archive: The quote from John Lennon on importance of Black Musicat 06:50 is taken from JET - A Johnson Publication. October 26, 1972, Vol XLIII, No. 5. We use various clips of people talking about George’s work between 08:18 and 08:40: Remel London (taken from George's Black Lives Still Matter YouTube show), Mo Gilligan and Julie Adenuga (from the GRM Awards), Krishnan Guru-Murthy (taken from Ways to Change The World podcast), AKA Dope introducing George, and Robert Bruce (from George’s MOBO Instagram Live). The two clips used between 09:38 and 09:59 on George’s headphones are taken from George's CNN interview, and Podbible episode #39. We used various clips over Stormzy’s Crown: the BBC News report on Feltham Young Offenders Institute (used at 15:09), NTV Uganda Report on the Presidential campaign (used at 15:19), the BBC News report “Thousands join anti-racism demonstrations across the UK” (used at 15:24). We also had various voices in this section - John Boyega (used at 15:35), David Lammy talking about the cruel and inhumane treatment of the Windrush Generation taken from Parliament TV (used at 16:20, and 16:46), Windrush Campaigner Anthony Brown on Sky News (used at 16:34), Florence Eshalomi on structural inequality taken from Channel 4 (used at 17:01), and The Guardian's 'Just the Beginning': Voices from the Black Lives Matter protest in London video (used at 17:11) Soundtrack: Benbrick - My Nephews 04:17 - 08:10 J Hus - Repeat (feat. Koffee) 08:13 - 10:42 Benbrick - The Secret to Survival 11:36 - 12:42 Marc Five - It’s Go 12:57 - 14:11 Stormzy - Crown 14:20 - 17:40 Benbrick - Train of Thought 20:49 - 24:44 Benbrick - The Secret to Survival 24:55 - 26:26 Have You Heard George’s Podcast? is a George the Poet Ltd. production for BBC Sounds. Commissioning Executive for BBC: Dylan Haskins
More from Have You Heard George's Podcast?
In Uganda’s capital city, a young cab driver forms an unlikely bond with a sex worker during the crippling lockdown of 2021. They are both forced to make tough decisions. Written by George the Poet Produced by Benbrick & George the Poet Original Music and Sound Design by Benbrick.
George responds to audience questions taken from Common Ground, the platform he co-created in Chapter 3. Listeners discuss everything from art to race using prompts from previous episodes, reaffirming the importance of the artist/audience relationship.
Shaken by the passing of his grandmother, George reflects on the post-colonial struggles of her generation. 1970s Jamaica provides an early case study of the weaponised debt that went on to re-colonise much of the global South. A look back on previous episodes illuminates patterns of exploitation and extraction across African/Western relations. This is the global context that frames the questionable role of the International Monetary Fund in the perpetuation of poverty. George is reminded by his grandmother’s legacy that fighting for justice is always an option.
When keeping it real goes…wrong? For a moment in the seventies, Jamaican democracy produced an ambitious plan to end inequality between countries. But when the island’s socialist leader, Michael Manley, flew too close to the sun, he got burnt. What was the New International Economic Order? Why did it rattle Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan so much? On this fast-paced tour of Jamaican history, George looks back at the rise and fall of the Third World’s biggest political project. Written by George the Poet Produced by Benbrick and George the Poet Original score composed by Benbrick and recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra
When is a breakup not a breakup? When your ex controls every aspect of your life. After walking through the freedom struggles of Ghana and the Congo in previous episodes, George turns his attention towards the “former” French colonies of West and Central Africa. What happens when freedom is gifted conditionally, not won through revolution? Is all independence created equal? Written by George the Poet Produced by Benbrick and George the Poet Original Score by Benbrick recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra Sound Design by Benbrick