# What lies beneath ... What i’m trying to do here, Jeremy, is understand you. - How did a lager lout teenager who twice fell short on his A-levels, ascend to the pinnacle of power in academia? We've looked at your schooling, Vietnam, but not your parents - the[ *itinerant childhood*](https://www.statnews.com/2016/05/06/jeremy-farrar-wellcome-trust/)*.* [As you say:](https://www.statnews.com/2016/05/06/jeremy-farrar-wellcome-trust/) *Inevitably it has a big influence, I think, on the way you see things and your approach to the world.* In turn, *your approach to the world* has had a big influence *on* the world - so let’s reverse engineer that. Born in Singapore,1961, the[ usual media intro](https://www.statnews.com/2016/05/06/jeremy-farrar-wellcome-trust/) is: *His father was an English teacher .. who moved his family often. The family lived in Yemen, Egypt, Cyprus, New Zealand (6-months - hated it), and Libya, ****among other countries****. Farrar, the youngest of six, came along after Yemen and Egypt. *(my brackets) At the NIH lecture, you list the countries of your childhood as: *Singapore, Malaysia, Aden in Yemen, Cyprus, New Zealand, and Libya (7 years).* That’s since you were born. The last of six children. It's an interesting array of countries - for an English teacher. I’ve gotta ask the obvious question: **Was Dad a spy?** There are other explanations, which we’ll explore, but it'd make sense if he was - your affiliation with the world of *underlying forces* from a formative age - your obsession with global politics ... Next question would be: **Are you a spy?** The question after that would be: **Does Wellcome function as a spy organization?** Last question: **Which side are you on exactly? Totalitarianism or Freedom?** Final Last question: **What even is the politics of your average spy organization?**