Soviet space program omitted reports of failure or trouble". Out of fear of admitting any defeat, reports of cosmonauts' missions leaned towards an exaggerated positive spin rather than factual substance. "The USSR was famously described by Winston Churchill as 'a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma' and nothing signified this more than the search for the truth behind its space program during the Cold War. Although the Space Race was literally played out above our heads, it was often obscured by a figurative 'space curtain' that took much effort to see through" says Dominic Phelan in the book "Cold War Space
The Riddle of the Sphinx (Inside No. 9) mini-tutorial for cryptic crosswords. Shearsmith, meanwhile, had never attempted a cryptic crossword before working on the episode, but has subsequently started completing them. Nonetheless, Pemberton acknowledged that not everyone enjoys crosswords, hence "I always hated cryptic crosswords. Why can't people just say what they mean instead of trying to trick you all the time?" from Shearsmith's Tyler. In an interview with Connor, published after "The Riddle of the Sphinx" had aired, Pemberton explored the ways in which writing for "Inside No. 9" was like writing for a cryptic crossword; in both cases, misdirection is key and utterly arbitrary choices or