Greg Jenner is joined by Prof Ebru Boyar and special guest Sue Perkins as they travel back 500 years to explore the Ottoman Empire. They take a look at the cultural richness and diversity of Istanbul through the ages, from law and order to what your sartorial choices said about you. Why was physical proximity to the throne vital for a son of a sultan and what surprising activity used to be enjoyed by the fearsome Ottoman Soldiers? They’ll even take you to a Grand Circumcision Festival! You’re Dead To Me is a production by The Athletic for BBC Radio 4. Research by Claudia Treacher and Genevieve Johnson-Smith Written and produced by Emma Nagouse and Greg Jenner Assistant Producer: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow Project Management: Siefe Miyo and Isla Matthews Audio Producer: Abi Paterson
My name's Joe Wilkinson and I've managed to force Patrick Bamford to come on a podcast with me and he's gonna slowly fall in love with me.
Do you go to the tip?
Believe it or not, yeah, I do.
Do you go to the supermarket?
No.
You know when all the shirts started getting tight on the players and they started selling them like that to the general public?
Yeah, yeah.
And everyone looked like sausages.
My mate's a footballer with me, Patrick Bamford and Joe Wilkinson.
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Hello and welcome to you're dead to me, the radio four comedy podcast that takes history seriously.
My name is Greg Jenner.
I'm a public historian, author and broadcaster.
And I'm the ex chief nerd on the BBC comedy show Horrible Histories.
And today we are living that city slicker life as we travel back over 500 years to learn about life in Ottoman Istanbul.
And to help me find my way around town, I'm joined by two very special guests in history corner.
She's a professor in ottoman and turkish history at Middle East Technical University in Turkey with expertise in diplomatic and social history.
She's written a ton of academic publications, including co authoring the book a Social History of Istanbul.
It's Professor Ebru Boyarsh.