Hey there!

Why SideStreets?

I came to London as a graduate student over forty years ago, and was overjoyed to be surrounded by what I was studying. I have been exploring with students ever since. I am about to retire from teaching, so this podcast is an excuse to continue exploring, and a chance to share my discoveries with a different, wider audience.

Where we will go.

We have called the podcast SideStreets as a kind of warning. This will not be a narrative history of London, nor will it focus on widely known locations, people, or events.

Instead, we wander down the alleys of London’s history and geography, taking listeners to places that they haven’t encountered before. We hope those places will be interesting in themselves; but we also hope they will reveal patterns and features of London’s history and geography that might be otherwise obscure.