Ben Henderson

speaker

215 appearances 4 recordings 4 series first heard Jun 2026 last heard 5 Jul

Ben Henderson’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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recordings per month · last 12 months

Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 4 in all, peaking in Jul 2026 with 2.

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You're Dead to Me · Why do British people love tea? (from Here For The History) · 19 Jun 2026 podcast

Well, they work terrible hours.

They have terrible diets.

And the thing is, if only they had something warm and sustaining to keep them going through those long hours.

I mean, I like the mentions of tea there feel nice and homely, but who has bread and butter on a sack of peas?

Obviously, that's an unconventional breakfast.

OK, so tea's being worked into the regime now, becoming part of the fabric of society.

So it's like the modern day or the 19th century energy drink.

People are using it not just for the taste, but very much as a stimulant to help people get through the day.

Outrageous.

And I was always a Dickens fan.

I can't believe he'd say that.

Although I have to say, you know, there are some pretty evil, you know, matcha drinkers and things like that.

Anyone who asks for one of those really obscure ones in the shishy coffee shops, you know.

I can sympathise with Dickens there.

Fascinating.

So I think this is really kind of at the heart of why Britain becomes so associated with tea, isn't it?

Because the Industrial Revolution happens earliest and fastest in Britain.

It utterly transformed our society more than any other.

And therefore tea, which is basically the sustaining juice that's been firing the Industrial Revolution, is naturally going to become part of our national identity.

And this era is also the era, you know, the Victorians, they're awash with moral panics and all that kind of stuff.

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