An unlikely duo chases down the origins of a mysterious letter that caused a national scandal.
The Trojan
Horse Affair
A strange letter appears on a city councilor’s desk in Birmingham, England, laying out an elaborate plot by Islamic extremists to infiltrate the city’s schools. The plot has a code name: Operation Trojan Horse. The story soon explodes in the news and kicks off a national panic. By the time it all dies down, the government has launched multiple investigations, beefed up the country’s counterterrorism policy, revamped schools and banned people from education for the rest of their lives.
To Hamza Syed, who is watching the scandal unfold in his city, the whole thing seemed … off. Because through all the official inquiries and heated speeches in Parliament, no one has ever bothered to answer a basic question: Who wrote the letter? And why? The night before Hamza is to start journalism school, he has a chance meeting in Birmingham with the reporter Brian Reed, the host of the hit podcast S-Town. Together they team up to investigate: Who wrote the Trojan Horse letter? They quickly discover that it’s a question people in power do not want them asking.
From Serial Productions and The New York Times comes The Trojan Horse Affair: a mystery in eight parts.
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Published Feb. 3, 2022
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Brian Reed is the host and co-creator of the podcast S-Town, a production of Serial and This American Life, which won a Peabody Award for being “a pioneering classic of the form.”
Hamza Syed, a doctor turned reporter, joined Serial Productions in 2018 to report The Trojan Horse Affair.
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Serial Productions are the makers of the hit podcasts Serial, S-Town, Nice White Parents and The Improvement Association. Serial Productions joined The Times in 2020 to make more groundbreaking longform podcasts.
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Tune in, and tell us what you think at trojanhorse@nytimes.com.
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Trailer
Listen to “The Trojan Horse Affair” Trailer
A mysterious letter shocked Britain in 2014, alleging an Islamist plot to take over one city’s general schools. But who wrote it? From Serial Productions and The New York Times, “The Trojan Horse Affair,” an investigation that became bigger than we ever imagined. All eight parts are coming next Thursday.
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Part 1
The Letter in the Brown Paper Envelope
A strange letter appears outlining a plot by Islamic extremists to infiltrate Birmingham schools. Hamza and Brian visit the supposed mastermind of the plot, and he tells them he did take over a bunch of schools — just not for the reasons in the letter.
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Part 2
The Case of the Four Resignations
Hamza and Brian think the source of the Trojan Horse letter might be hiding in plain sight. After learning about the petty personnel dispute that probably gave rise to the letter, they’re even more bewildered about how it ever could have been taken seriously.
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Part 3
Sir Albert and the Missing “H”
In a state of surprise, Hamza and Brian leave a meeting with the man the Trojan Horse letter was first sent to. And they learn about an internal investigation report that local officials have kept hidden, but which they think could contain a bombshell.
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Part 4
The Meeting and the Mole
A series of frustrating interviews with Birmingham politicians leaves Brian and Hamza wondering if crucial information about the Trojan Horse letter was kept from officials in London. Then one rainy Friday afternoon, Brian hears back from a government source who wants to meet right away.
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Part 5
A Study in Scarlett
Read correction: Feb. 10, 2022
Hamza and Brian learn that the Trojan Horse letter wasn’t the only unsigned letter alleging an extremist operation was afoot in Birmingham. An interview with a couple who lodged complaints against their school starts out cordially, but six hours later, the atmosphere is so tense that not even an offer of tea can smooth things over. And Hamza stops pretending he’s not angry about what he’s hearing.
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Part 6
Cucumbers and Cooker Bombs
Hamza takes a long, hard look at what the government found when it investigated more than 20 majority-Muslim schools in Birmingham. And our two reporters have a confrontation — with each other.
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Part 7
The Detail of the Deputies
Birmingham authorities struggle to explain why they disavowed their own findings about the Trojan Horse plot. But when Brian and Hamza make a discovery deep inside some court documents, everything suddenly makes sense.
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Part 8
An Appointment in Perth
A man banned from working in education in the aftermath of the Trojan Horse letter inspires Brian and Hamza to track down one last witness with him — in Australia. And all three travelers find their faith tested.
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About the Hosts
Brian Reed is the host and co-creator of the podcast S-Town, a production of Serial and This American Life, which won a Peabody Award for being “a pioneering classic of the form.” Brian was also a senior producer at This American Life, where he edited, produced, and reported some of the program’s most ambitious stories. He has received the Dart Award for Reporting on Trauma, the Overseas Press Club Award, an Education Writers Association Award, and two Peabodies. 
Hamza Syed joined Serial Productions in 2018 to report The Trojan Horse Affair. Hamza earned a master’s degree in investigative journalism from De Montfort University in Leicester, England, in 2019, where he was awarded the Channel 4 Prize for Investigative Journalism. Before becoming a reporter, Hamza was a medical doctor.
About the Music
- Thomas Mellor is a composer and producer based in Walsall, England, best known for his work on productions by some of the UK’s top Grime artists earning him 2 BPI certified awards and has landed music in hit TV shows such as ‘POWER’ and ‘Top Boy’ on Netflix. In recent years, Thomas has also composed music for advertisements and has dedicated more time towards finding work composing for TV and Film.
- Matt McGinley is a New York based musician, known for his work with the band Gym Class Heroes and as a contributing music producer for This American Life. Matt has composed music for many Serial Productions shows, including Serial podcast, S-Town, and Nice White Parents.
Further Reading From The Times
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Who Gets to be British in 2022?
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Seven Takeaways From ‘The Trojan Horse Affair’
More from Serial Productions
Additional Credits
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- Executive Producers
- Brian Reed and Hamza Syed
- Producer
- Rebecca Laks
- Editor
- Sarah Koenig
- Additional Editing
- Ira Glass and by our Contributing Editor, Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
- Fact Checking and Research
- Marika Cronnolly and Ben Phelan
- Original Scoring and additional music
- Thomas Mellor and Matt McGinley
- Sound design, mixing and additional music
- Steven Jackson and Phil Dmochowski
- Operations Team
- Alena Cerro and Elizabeth Davis-Moorer
- Executive Editor
- Julie Snyder
- Managing Editor
- Neil Drumming
- Supervising Producer
- Ndeye Thioubou
- Executive Assistant
- Alberto De Leon
- Digital Design and Development
- Peter Rentz and John-Michael Murphy
- Director of Audio
- Paula Szuchman
- Assistant Managing Editor
- Sam Dolnick
- Special Thanks
- Jordan Cohen, Katie Fuchs, Jonathan Heawood, Susan Wessling, Clifford Levy, Dana Green, Al-Amyn Sumar, Martin Soames, Simone Procas, Jeffrey Miranda, Jon McNally, Julia Simon, Lauren Jackson, Renan Borelli, Tara Godvin, Eslah Attar, Peter Rentz, John-Michael Murphy, Lindsay Fischler, Kathryn Roach, Megan Shepherd, Aleksa Brown, Sam Posner, Matthew Lewkowicz, Kelly Doe, Jason Fujikuni, Hanah Ho, Anisha Muni, Nina Lassam, Matthew Lloyd-Thomas, Stephanie Preiss, Taylor Gandossy, Morgan Jones, Krystal Plomatos, Cassie Howley, Frances Swanson, Seth Lind, Matt Tierney, Stowe Nelson, Christopher Swetala, Julie Whitaker