Paul English Live - 011526, From Digital IDs to Middle‑earth: Culture, Courage, and Community

Live on January 15, 2026, we wrangled some early tech gremlins, then dove into a wide-ranging evening with Eric von Essex. We reacted to the UK government’s latest shift on digital ID plans and a fiery exchange from the Welsh Senedd, before switching gears into literature, film and the power of culture. I shared what rereading Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings did to my head and heart—especially the often-overlooked chapter The Scouring of the Shire—and why deep reading can reset a mind overloaded by news doomscrolling. We recited A. E. Housman and Wilfred Owen, talked Hitchcock (Psycho, North by Northwest) and William Wyler (The Best Years of Our Lives), and praised Peter Jackson’s They Shall Not Grow Old and his WWI collection at Omaka. We also traded notes on comedy that actually makes you laugh (Bob Mortimer on Would I Lie to You?, classic radio like Round the Horne), and sketched practical next steps for bottom‑up rebuilding: local food and health hubs, a community music desk, and spotlighting independent artists (including a lovely cut from folk duo Winter Wilson). If you like lively banter that moves from policy to poetry to practical action—with a few belly laughs in between—this one’s for you.Euro Folk Radio: https://eurofolkradio.com/Global Voice Radio Network: https://www.globalvoiceradio.net/Radio Soapbox (links hub): https://linktr.ee/radiosoapboxRumble (show simulcast platform): https://rumble.com/YouTube (show simulcast platform): https://www.youtube.com/Welsh Senedd Plenary record (Jan 13, 2026): https://record.senedd.wales/Plenary/15724Jane Hutt MS – official biography (GOV.WALES): https://www.gov.wales/jane-hutt-msThey Shall Not Grow Old (2018) – Apple TV / Warner Bros.: https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/they-shall-not-grow-old/umc.cmc.k58ojvk07q1xrktjt80ppcpdOmaka Aviation Heritage Centre (Sir Peter Jackson’s WWI collection): https://www.omaka.org.nz/experiencesThe Best Years of Our Lives (1946) – Official Miramax page: https://www.miramax.com/movie/the-best-years-of-our-lives-1946/Psycho (1960) – Universal Pictures official page: https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/psycho-1960North by Northwest (1959) – Studio licensing info: https://www.swank.com/movie-events/details/16715-north-by-northwestA Shropshire Lad, XL (“Into my heart an air that kills”) – Academy of American Poets: https://poets.org/anthology/liked-poems-4Wilfred Owen – “Dulce et Decorum Est” (text): https://poets.org/poem/dulce-et-decorum-estThe Lord of the Rings (series) – Penguin Random House: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/LOR/the-lord-of-the-rings/Winter Wilson – official site: https://winterwilson.com/Would I Lie to You? (BBC panel show background): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Would_I_Lie_to_YouRound the Horne (classic BBC radio comedy): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round_the_HorneGeorge Galloway – official site: https://www.georgegalloway.com/