In this episode, Bex and Bob delve into the 80-year legacy of Thomas the Tank Engine, noting how the series has evolved from traumatic plotlines like Henry being bricked in a tunnel to modern updates involving global characters and the name change of the Fat Controller to Sir Topham Hatt. The conversation explores how children's literature handles societal shifts and technology, comparing the "historical" feel of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five with the modern, authentic voices in works by Malorie Blackman and Angie Thomas. The episode concludes with a creative reimagining of the Island of Sodor as gritty adult fiction, brainstorming Kafkaesque and capitalist critiques where the goal of being a "really useful engine" serves as a dark metaphor for societal exhaustion.

Books Mentioned:

1. The Eight Mountains  ...