Ah, sorry - no. Can you copy it here, please?

It’s clumsy at best; at worst…

Argh, we all feel it! Thanks for listening - always so appreciated!

Out now!

Whether Cartmel would have gone and spoiled it all by saying something stupid like “The Other”…that would have been a bad idea, for sure. Chibbers goes studs up and…yeah…

We are appreciative of Cartmel’s ambition - less so the execution (tho the stories you mention are indeed fun!). The key thing is those McCoy stories show some ankle but never fully commit. Those who want full masterplan can join the dots; those who like the hints to remain hints (hi!) aren’t jaded.

(Another must-read review, @eruditorumpress.com - thanks!)

I also bumped against the “both sides” risk inherent in the structure…but in terms of RTD/Dawson getting *this* - a savage satire on Eurovision, corporate whitewashing, etc. - on BBC 1 just before Eurovision itself is pretty brave, bite-the-hand-that-feeds stuff.

It was undoubtedly the intent, I believe. The Interstellar Song Contest is targeted by Kid because the corporation sponsored it; the Eurovision Song Contest has been sponsored by the same Israeli company since 2019.

We do actually discuss whether AI/LLM exploitation of authors was in Inua Ellams’ mind as part of the thinking behind ‘The Story & the Engine’ in our latest @illexplainlater.bsky.social episode! Listen now! illexplainlater.com