The Preposterous Files

The Preposterous Files
BBC Radio 4
23 Sept 2007 -

]Episode 1 - Tardis (23 Sept 2007)
Certain files held in the National Archive are preposterously large, why?

Julian Putkowski distills certain files down, discovering how civil servants make the policies that govern our lives.

At the same time Sherlock Holmes used a gang of boys to gather and disseminate information the Metropolitan Police began working on the high tech version. But what was the real purpose behind the humble Police Box?

Episode 2 - Death By Beer (30 Sept 2007)
Files from the National Archive reveal preposterous acts both grand and petty. Julian Putkowski distills them down.

Question- How many pints of beer a day does it take to kill a woman living in Manchester in 1900? Answer- 1.5.

Professor Hugh Pennington is shocked by the scale of death caused by accidental contamination. There are many similarities between how the authorities dealt with the disaster then and his own experience in modern poisonings.

Episode 3 - The Falmouth Dolphin[/b] (07 Oct 2007)
Files from the National Archive reveal preposterous acts both grand and petty. Julian Putkowski distills them down.

When HM Customs and Excise want to transfer Falmouth's steam launch to a more important port the locals raise a stink. Canny civil servants think they have fobbed them off with an inferior boat until the sailors play the ultimate trump card.

Reader: Crawford Logan

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The Preposterous Files S01E01.mp3

The Preposterous Files S01E02.mp3

The Preposterous Files S01E03.mp3

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Replies

  • Episode 4 - Asylum Seeker or Scrounger? (14 Oct 2007)
    Files from the National Archive reveal preposterous acts both grand and petty. Julian Putkowski distills them down.

    Klimowicz was just another Polish stowaway seeking political asylum in London in 1954. The Home Office got ready to boot him out. Then the Prime Minister, Churchill, got involved. His solution? Send in the destroyers. With Shami Chakrabarti

    Reader: Crawford Logan

    Episode 5 - The Wrong Button? (21 Oct 2007)
    Files from the National Archive reveal preposterous acts: grand, petty and tragic. Julian Putkowski distills them down.

    It's not a good idea to retract the undercarriage of a bomber when it is standing still on the runway fully loaded with 6 X 1000lb bombs. What, if anything, was Flying Officer Kenyon thinking?

    Readers: Crawford Logan and George Gillespie

    Producer: Matt Thompson
    A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4

    --- Audio Information ---
    Audio Codec: MPEG-1 Layer 3
    Audio Sample Rate: 44100 Hz
    Audio BitRate Type: CBR
    Audio Channels 2
    Audio Bitrate(kbps): 128

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    The Preposterous Files S01E04.mp3

    The Preposterous Files S01E05.mp3

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