30. Now we are one

This week marks our birthday: Skylines is a whole year old. To mark this momentous occasion, I decided to invite two people who've been key to the success of Skylines back, to talk about whatever weird stuff they wanted to. First up, one time co-host Barbara Speed is back, to tell us about her long-time obsession with Greggs. Yes, the “popular high street bakery chain”. No, really, that's what we're talk about. I mean, we talk a bit about what the success of the chain tells us about the British High Street, but for the most part, we're just talking about Greggs, and why Barbara is obsessed with it. Then, a man without whom we wouldn't be here at all – our erstwhile producer, Roifield Brown, who was responsible for giving me the push I needed to start a podcast in the first place – pops by to tell us about his own obsession. In his case, it's the failings and future of his home town, England's second city, Birmingham. (I wrote a lot about Birmingham, and the wider West Midlands, in this series last year.) Thanks to Barbara, Roifield, and to all the other people who've deigned to come and talk nonsense into a microphone with us over the last year. And, y'know, thanks for listening, to it, too. Skylines is the podcast from the New Statesman's cities site, CityMetric. It's hosted by Jonn Elledge and Stephanie Boland. Skylines is supported by 100 Resilient Cities. Pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation, 100RC is dedicated to helping cities around the world become more resilient to the physical, social and economic challenges that are a growing part of the 21st century.