A reflective, morally attentive wander through a week of television shaped by memory, technology, and the pressures of modern life — written and curated by Pat Harrington, with music by Tim Bragg.

This week’s Culture Vulture podcast traces an uncanny pattern running through the schedules, where dystopian futures sit beside social‑realist heartbreak, and questions of identity, truth, and reinvention echo across films and documentaries. From Minority Report and The Capture to Boys from the Blackstuff, Blade Runner 2049, and a rich spread of late‑night cinema, Pat Harrington guides you through the stories that speak to who we are and who we’re becoming. With original music by Tim Bragg, it’s a thoughtful, atmospheric companion to the week’s viewing.

Read the script here and the full edition here

This week on Culture Vulture, Ryan dives into a TV and film lineup shaped by empire, reckoning, and the private costs of public life. From the ruins of Vesuvius to the fallout of modern politics, from tender kitchen romances to the spectacle of myth‑making, the week’s programmes ask a simple question: what stories survive us, and why?

We explore:• Rome as lived infrastructure — Mary Beard and Alice Roberts tracing power through roads, aqueducts, and ash.• The Tony Blair Story — a three‑part political autopsy on trust, certainty, and consequence.• The Taste of Things — cinema where cooking becomes a language of devotion.• Myth & violence — Bonnie and Clyde, Zulu Legend, Cape Fear and the stories we glamorise.• Institutional failure & testimony — from undercover policing to hospital histories.

Picks of the week: – The Tony Blair Story (for political biography lovers)– The Taste of Things (for slow‑cinema romantics)– Bonnie and Clyde (for late‑night mythmaking)

Want the full written breakdown by Pat Harrington, including all programme times?👉 Read it here: https://countercultureuk.com/2026/02/13/counter-culture-14th-20th-february-2026/

In this week’s Culture Vulture podcast, Pat Harrington curates a journey through film and television that probes the edges of human systems — moral, environmental, and emotional. Whether it’s the forensic calm of Alice Roberts in Ancient Rome by Train, the sonic boom of Concorde: The Race for Supersonic, or the eerie fatalism of Herzog’s Nosferatu, each selection invites reflection on what we inherit and how we respond. With streaming picks that range from environmental fury to stylish noir, it’s a week that balances spectacle with substance.
📖 Read the full written edition here
https://countercultureuk.com/2026/02/06/culture-vulture-7-13-february-2026/