Trashfuture Bonus Content Feed (Bootleg): Recent Episodes
Trashfuture Bonus Content Feed (Bootleg)
It's the free one!We admit it: we went too early with the Eric Adams story a couple weeks ago… and circumstances have developed not necessarily to the Mayor’s advantage… so No Gods, No Mayors’ Mattie Lubchansky (and Riley Quinn and November Kelly) join the gang to discuss details of the unsealed indictment. Also, we discuss recent events in Lebanon and then read an article about a hyper-secure island for billionaires off the coast of Miami.
Thank you to the fan who commented that we should continue to explore Richard E. Grant's career. As such, we've watched the 1987 film WITHNAIL & I and.... enjoyed it? But it's very hard to escape the notion that 1987 Britain conjuring 1969 Britain looks indistinguishable from 2024 Britain in terms of vibes, aesthetics, degree of shitness, you name it. We hope you enjoy this!MILO ALERT Check out Milo’s UK Tour Here:https://miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows
No plot, just riffs, and it's friend of the show Aidan Jones joining Milo and Riley to discuss a number of things. But primarily Australian coffee and the natural wine fad that drives Riley up the wall, mostly because the wine tastes like a horse-barn by design? Or something?
It's the free one!Matt Bors and Ben Clarkson are back on the pod to talk about A.I. and right wing animation. Also, Neom influencers, Labour MP’s loving bribes, and Tucker Carlson’s come to Jesus moment that Zyns… are soy.You can buy Justice Warriors 2 here! https://membership.thenib.com/products/justice-warriors-jts73MILO ALERT Check out Milo’s UK Tour Here:https://miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows
Mattie joins a recently re-Miloed gang to discuss how voters on both sides of the Atlantic only want delivery, and don’t care about scandals - whether it’s all of Eric Adams’ friends getting their phones seized by the FBI, or jillionaires playing dress up with the Labour Front Bench (and the Observer article that blithely describes all the shenanigans the party undertook in the run up to 2019 to play said game of dress up).Want more Mayors with Mattie (and Nova and Riley)? Check out No Gods, No Mayors - a new podcast by us about Mayors and the Municipalities that love them. https://www.patreon.com/NoGodsNoMayorsMILO ALERT Check out Milo’s UK Tour Here:https://miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows
It's the free one!Bloomberg’s resident cryptocurrency anthropologist Zeke Faux rejoins the gang to discuss the VERY easy marriage of the Crypto and MAGA worlds, with a special focus on some of the freaks and weirdos who made it happen.Check out Zeke’s work here! https://zekefaux.com/
Seamus Malekafzali returns to the show to talk to us about a report into the BBC’s reporting by a law firm that alleges the organisation is not sympathetic enough to Israel… but don’t worry about the report being biased, they used ChatGPT! Also, we talk about Elon Musk’s blanketing South Memphis in methane gas, and look at executive misbehaviour at Neom (which, wouldn’t you know it, is a kind of French Foreign Legion for senior businesspeople who are unhireable anywhere else).
It's the free one!For this week’s free one, Riley, Hussein, and November discuss the recent Grenfell enquiry and the way in which it lays the blame across a comprehensive spectrum of British political elites—but also discuss who’s actually going to be held liable for it. And given the track record of recent British courts of enquiry, it seems zero is a safe bet.
For this week's (sadly belated) bonus, we speak with friend of the show Gareth Dennis about his ordeal at the hands of British railway consultants who definitely understand the legal system, but also about the ongoing safety concerns at Euston Station, and in the UK more generally. Have you ever taken a train from Euston? Did you also fear for your life? Then perhaps this episode will explain some things.Check out Railnatter on YouTube here!Pre-order Gareth's book here!
For this week's (sadly belated) bonus, we speak with friend of the show Gareth Dennis about his ordeal at the hands of British railway consultants who definitely understand the legal system, but also about the ongoing safety concerns at Euston Station, and in the UK more generally. Have you ever taken a train from Euston? Did you also fear for your life? Then perhaps this episode will explain some things.Check out Railnatter on YouTube here!Pre-order Gareth's book here!
It's the free one!404 Media’s Jason Koebler returns to discuss AI in the classroom, Balaji’s private island/supervillain lair, and the growing deluge of AI generated slop by US political campaigns. Not so much in the form of deepfakes or Midjourney memes on social media, but rather by making a larger tidal wave of more personalised spam. Also, we discuss a hot new startup that’s ruffling a lot of feathers on K Street in Washington using artificial intelligence, and (more importantly) artificial names.Check out 404 Media here! https://www.404media.co/If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfutureMILO ALERT Check out Milo’s UK Tour Here:https://miloedwards.co.uk/live-showsTrashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)
Riley, Nova, Milo, and Nate talk about the new civil rights struggle of our time: the plan to ban smoking in pub gardens. Then, a broader discussion of the miserablism of a PM whose approval rating is already at 23% only a couple short months into his government. Finally, we discuss an excellent article on the type of guy who becomes a middle manager in a private security guard company. It’s by Jasper Craven and is linked here: https://harpers.org/archive/2024/09/the-thin-purple-line-jasper-craven-private-security-guard/Check out Milo's tour dates here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows
It's the free one!We spoke with Nora and Rusteen from IATSE, who are on strike against the degradation of their careers by generative AI. But first, we speak about the purchase of Twitter (bad investment) and right-wing police abolition in the UK, in the form of a new company marketing how good they are at impersonating police officers.If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfutureTrashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)
The Bottlemen (RIP) ride again - Dan and Riley talk about all things Canada with Milo, to try and get some distance to explain a number of things, not least of which, “why is Canada like that.”
For this week's bonus, we've got the recorded version of last week's live show in Edinburgh, featuring a devotional to hooning, a visit from the AI-powered VTOL that kills you, and an encounter with a strange American former child star who wanted to name his libertarian business park in Puerto Rico, and we are not joking, 'Puertopia.' Until someone who'd studied Latin intervened. It's Riley, Milo, Hussein, and November live very very late at night at Monkey Barrel, recorded 14th August 2024.
It's the free one!For this week’s free one, Riley, Hussein, and November join Devon from Kill James Bond to discuss: Elon Musk’s gambit to put targets on the heads of specific judges in South America, plus a recent Britain-has-fallen travelogue by a decades-long conservative twink death sufferer from America. And, wouldn’t you know it, everything in England is woke and gay and also Muslim somehow.
It's all riffs and no theme, and this time it's featuring comedians Tom Ballard and Marjolein Robertson on the subject of: the Shetland Islands, Toronto nightlife, inviting spiders into your house, and an encounter with the Finnish Hells Angels.Check out Tom's show 'Good Point Well Made' at the Fringe here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/tom-ballard-good-point-well-madeCheck out Marjolein's show 'O' at the Fringe here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/marjolein-robertson-o
It's the free one! Brian Merchant (@bcmerchant) returns to discuss Elon Musk’s frantic UK civil war wishposting, and the role of his particular personality in encouraging right wing insurrection around the globe. Then, we move on to discuss Brian’s piece for Wired about what AI is already doing to the games industry—deskilling and displacing artists, and driving down quality. We end by asking: why on earth are we doomed to automate the arts?Check out Brian’s article for WIRED about AI in the games industry: https://www.wired.com/story/ai-is-already-taking-jobs-in-the-video-game-industry/And check out Brian’s newsletter here: https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/
For this week's bonus, it's Riley, Hussein, Nate, and November discussing the recent events in the UK and why just about every MP and journalist seems to be falling all over themselves to explain how some of the far-right attacks come from a place of 'legitimate concerns.' Okay? What are they, then?
It's the free one!Note: this episode was recorded on August 1, prior to far-right attacks that took place across the UK at the weekend.Science has done it all: it’s created Woke Algeria to oppress the Italians, it’s created a Labour party that can only concede to the right no matter what the issue, and it’s created the purest expression of Hussein dropping in with a joke that obliterates the entire cast with absolutely no warning. This is both a grim and fun episode given the current state of British politics, and we are both inspired by scenes of solidarity and horrified by the general state of things.
For this week’s bonus, we’re joined by friend of the show and astute tech commentator Ed Zitron to discuss the recent CrowdStrike update debacle, the resulting infinity blue screens, the fact that this doesn’t seem to have an impact on Wall Street’s assessments of these kinds of companies, and the Marc Andreessen / Nick Land handshake on the topic of banning…corporate risk management? For being ‘woke?’Check out Where’s Your Ed At here: https://www.wheresyoured.at/
It's the free one!Patrick Wyman rejoins the gang to discuss further historical parallels - this time, we’re looking at the history of calls for an “American Caesar” to sweep away the decrepit institutions of the late Republican period… but even a cursory scratch beneath the surface reveals that there’s less to be understood about this movement from its ostensible associations with the troubles of Ancient Rome, and more to be understood by its parallels with ANOTHER modern right wing political movement that likened itself to Ancient Rome. Oh you know the one we mean.Check out Tides of History here: https://wondery.com/shows/tides-of-history/
Riley and November read another book... the sequel to Peter Watt's Blindsight, Echopraxia! Contained herein: a discussion of god in the context of science fiction, the utility of thinking like a parasite and letting your limbic system steer the ship, and how to keep a book interesting when you've established that certain characters are forty standard deviations smarter than every baseline human and the reader.
For this week’s bonus, it’s Riley, Milo, Hussein, and November speaking with journalist Ethan Shone (@ejshone93), author of The Dark Arts newsletter, about the sheer volume of lobbyists in Parliament and their influence on UK politics. Safe to guess that it’s completely benign, and actually good?Check out Ethan’s work at OpenDemocracy here: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/author/ethan-shone/Check out The Dark Arts here: https://thedarkarts.substack.com/
We've heard that any political issue in the United Kingdom is 'just like The Thick of It' and as such we've sought to verify. By watching the 2000s BBC sitcom, or at least one episode of the show, and addressing what it says about British politics? To be honest, it definitely says a lot about Armando Iannucci and the liberal conception of the world. But also: swearing.
It's the free one!For this week’s free one, we discuss the weird shadowbanning fixation of miserable American conservatives like J.D. Vance and the fact that the entire line of argument stands on the shoulders of one particular giant: Gregg Steube. However, we also discuss the anti-trans Discord server of a particularly cruel and disturbing organisation, the Bayswater Support Group, which is the subject of a great story in the Bureau of Investigative Journalism—and the story’s authors, Sasha Baker (@sashabaker98) and Valeria Rocca, join us in the second half to discuss!Read the article here! https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2024-07-02/one-day-they-may-thank-us-for-that-abuse-inside-the-bayswater-support-group/KJB LIVE ALERT Kill James Bond are doing three nights at Conway Hall in Central London on 9th, 10th, and 11th August, and there’s also livestream tickets available if you can’t make it! Details are available here: https://www.killjamesbond.com/liveMILO ALERT Milo’s special ‘Voicemail’ is premiering on YouTube on July 10th - check it out here:https://youtu.be/x4oTP3M6ppo
For this week's bonus, we've got a Balthasar Speedboat recorded in Australia featuring comedian Freddie McManus, in which Riley determines his dream sponsor for the podcast is a wine grower that makes wine you can't buy, Milo tells the story of Russian cops' elaborate ambushes to bother people going to raves, and the group determines how to deploy an erotic edge to win a badminton match. The world is a beautiful place.NEW MERCH AVAILABLE! We’ve re-issued our ‘What If Your Robot Was Just a Guy?’ shirt with artwork by Rory Blank, and we have an all-new Britianology shirt entitled ‘The Falkland Islands: It’s All We’ve Got Left’ with artwork by Eleanor Osada. They’re both available to pre-order here! https://www.trashfuture.co.uk/storeEDINBURGH LIVE SHOW ALERT We're going to be live at Monkey Barrel comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe on August 14, and you can get tickets here: https://www.wegottickets.com/event/621432
It's the free one!It’s a chaos configuration while Riley is away on holiday, with this week’s free episode featuring Milo, Hussein, and November on the topic of… weirdly sexual Keir Starmer-related columns in British newspapers. And also an AI startup that’s apparently very prone to abuse, and a Tony Blair Institute conference that—you guessed it—demands ID cards for Britain. Plus some Euros-themed content that 100 percent aged well!If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfutureKJB LIVE ALERT Kill James Bond are doing three nights at Conway Hall in Central London on 9th, 10th, and 11th August, and there’s also livestream tickets available if you can’t make it! Details are available here: https://www.killjamesbond.com/liveNEW MERCH AVAILABLE! We’ve re-issued our ‘What If Your Robot Was Just a Guy?’ shirt with artwork by Rory Blank, and we have an all-new Britianology shirt entitled ‘The Falkland Islands: It’s All We’ve Got Left’ with artwork by Eleanor Osada. They’re both available to pre-order here!https://www.trashfuture.co.uk/store
We recorded a live show at Between the Bridges in London on May 29 with friend of the show Nish Kumar, who has been doomed to listen to us read terrible political books to him until the end of time. And in this instance we’re reading TEN YEARS TO SAVE THE WEST by former Prime Minister and bathrobe despoiler Liz Truss. You are not prepared for how deeply stupid this book is.NEW MERCH AVAILABLE! We’ve re-issued our ‘What If Your Robot Was Just a Guy?’ shirt with artwork by Rory Blank, and we have an all-new Britianology shirt entitled ‘The Falkland Islands: It’s All We’ve Got Left’ with artwork by Eleanor Osada. They’re both available to pre-order here! https://www.trashfuture.co.uk/storeEDINBURGH LIVE SHOW ALERT We're going to be live at Monkey Barrel comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe on August 14, and you can get tickets here: https://www.wegottickets.com/event/621432
As Labour takes a landslide victory on fewer votes than they received in 2019, we reflect on the concepts and articles that are time travelling here from 1997 and how the right is going to respond and rebuild. Also, we talk about universities, the state, and private capital combining to surveil students protesting for Gaza… which we can only assume will intensify!If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfutureNEW MERCH AVAILABLE! We’ve re-issued our ‘What If Your Robot Was Just a Guy?’ shirt with artwork by Rory Blank, and we have an all-new Britianology shirt entitled ‘The Falkland Islands: It’s All We’ve Got Left’ with artwork by Eleanor Osada. They’re both available to pre-order here! https://www.trashfuture.co.uk/storeMILO ALERT Milo’s special ‘Voicemail’ is premiering on YouTube on July 10th - check it out here:https://youtu.be/x4oTP3M6ppoEDINBURGH LIVE SHOW ALERT We're going to be live at Monkey Barrel comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe on August 14 (NOW SOLD OUT)Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)
For this week’s bonus, it’s Riley, Hussein, and November discussing: Masayoshi Son’s desire to create AI God (actual), Labour’s march towards total alienation of everyone in hopes of governing from the void, a bizarre profile of Keir Starmer in which he seems to suggest he has never read a book, and a very strange encounter with Reform UK’s argument that any negative press it receives is because of…crisis actors?EDINBURGH LIVE SHOW ALERT We're going to be live at Monkey Barrel comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe on August 14, and you can get tickets here: https://www.wegottickets.com/event/621432
It's the free one!It’s the free one for the week and we’re discussing Balaji Srinivasan, and the Network State freaks of the Bay Area, with extremely experienced California journalist Gil Duran (@gilduran76). However, we’re also discussing the indentured-servitude coding boot camp that got hemmed up by the CFPB, as well as a story where McDonald’s had to shelve its AI ordering assistance experiment after it went full chaos mode and started arbitrarily deciding that some customers wanted hundreds of dollars in nuggets, or a handful of butter packets when they ordered ice cream. This is definitely worth not having electricity.EDINBURGH LIVE SHOW ALERT We're going to be live at Monkey Barrel comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe on August 14, and you can get tickets here: https://www.wegottickets.com/event/621432
For this week's TF bonus, we're speaking with Welsh journalist Becca Wilks about the Welsh government's usage of automatic facial recognition, the privacy nightmare it creates, and their frankly bonkers justifications for why they want to use it everywhere. Don't worry, it won't cause any.....actually we're just getting an update that it's already being used to stifle protests?A note from Becca: "Myself and Devon are currently supporting Ahmed, a dad of four in Gaza, to raise money for the family’s living costs and eventual evacuation. We’re also trying to help Ahmed’s friend Rasha, who is a medical student in Egypt with her entire family trapped in Rafah. Both sets of families have been through absolutely harrowing ordeals, and every aspect of staying alive there at the moment is backbreaking work - fetching big containers of water over long distances in 35C heat, breaking up wood to try and get a fire going to cook, everything. Both families are raising money through GoFundMe."https://www.gofundme.com/f/a8jzz-help-me-and-my-family-get-out-of-the-gaza-striphttps://www.gofundme.com/f/htdcj-evacuating-my-family-from-gaza
We've unlocked our discussion of Master and Commander to the free tier, and we've unlocked the sequel, Post Captain, to the $5 tier... so check them out, and if you like them, you can check out the next instalment - HMS Surprise - now on the $10 tier!November and Riley read the first in Patrick O'Brian's Aubery-Maturin series, and what follows is just under an hour of November and Riley loudly loving the first novel in Patrick O'Brian's Aubery-Maturin series for its painterly writing, obsession with mundane-seeming detail, and disdain for swashbuckling tales of derring-do... among other things!
We've unlocked our discussion of Post Captain, the second in the Aubery Maturin series, to the $5 dollar tier, so you can check it out. If you like this, check out the next instalment - HMS Surprise - now on the $10 tier!November and Riley are back at it again, swashbuckling on the high seas. While talking about this book we both loved, we found ourselves talking about comic writing in books that aren't necessarily comedies, the tangled and often at odds state institutions of regency Britain, and why on earth you'd run an anarcho capitalist navy.
For this month's first Britainology, we've watched the season of the military-themed and emphatically strange UK reality TV show "Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins," featuring....Matt Hancock. It's exactly what you think it is.
It's the free one!For this week’s free one, we’ve Riley, Milo, and November discussing the Reform manifesto, which reads like a handful of Volk-centered social democracy policies with a lot of what you can only called overt fascism. Great to know that this will be “sensible politics” in about five years. We also read a paean to Nigel Farage’s f**kability. Of course it’s in the Spectator, but you are simply not prepared for it.If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfutureEDINBURGH LIVE SHOW ALERT We're going to be live at Monkey Barrel comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe on August 14, and you can get tickets here: https://www.wegottickets.com/event/621432
For this week's bonus, we're talking EU elections and weird European politics with Corner Späti's Ciarán Dold. Learn about Ursula Von Der Leyen's anti-wolf vendetta, Cypriot Mr. Beast somehow getting a parliamentary seat, the hypothetical return of François Hollande in a move they're calling Opposite Day PASOK, and Riley's conjecture about a maneuver known only as the Reverse Kennedy. It's a whole lot!Check out Corner Späti at their website, which has the best URL in history: https://www.operationglad.io
It's the free one!For this week’s free one, we’re talking about a Thiel-funded startup to invent future guns that is apparently run by a 9-year-old. We’re also talking about AI Steve, the strange but 100 percent not made up story of a guy who’s claiming he’ll make an AI chatbot and represent its views in parliament if elected. However, we’ve also got an interview segment where Riley speaks with Priyanka Raval of the Bristol Cable about the parliamentary seat in Bristol Central that might flip from Labour to Green. Is there a lesson we can learn from this? Is this replicable? Does Labour hate every one of its voters? The answer to at least one of these is ‘Yes.’Priyanka's interview starts at 34:39! Check out Priyanka’s work at the Bristol Cable here! https://thebristolcable.org/author/priyanka/ and become a supporter of the Bristol Cable here! https://thebristolcable.org/join/
For this week's bonus, we're joined by US politics observer Josh (@ettingermentum), who runs the Ettingermentum newsletter. We're talking Bidenism, Starmerism, Bidenism Without Biden, the UK now having two parties who refuse to govern, Third Way guys advising the Labour Party on how to be more right-wing, and much more.Check out Josh's newsletter here: https://www.ettingermentum.newsEDINBURGH LIVE SHOW ALERT We're going to be live at Monkey Barrel comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe on August 14, and you can get tickets here: https://www.wegottickets.com/event/621432
Josh (@Boshj) from The Worst of All Possible Worlds joins the gang to discuss the Humane AI Pin's latest new feature (gets really hot), Lars Windhorst's latest personal update ("I am not on the run"), and the return of Nigel Farage to frontline politics. Then, for our main discussion - a hot new company that intends to be the Netflix of AI, but that so far is only able to make different iterations of South Park.Check out The Worst of All Possible Worlds here! https://worstpossible.worldIf you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfuture EDINBURGH LIVE SHOW ALERT We're going to be live at Monkey Barrel comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe on August 14, and you can get tickets here: https://www.wegottickets.com/event/621432 MILO ALERT Buy Milo’s special ‘Voicemail’ here! https://pensight.com/x/miloedwards/digital-item-5a616491-a89c-4ed2-a257-0adc30eedd6dWEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)
We continue to follow the election with stony faced horror, as the decision is put to the country: “which group of sociopathic bigots do you want to be in charge of pushing the nuclear button, which they have promised to push”? Then, a reading from the Tony Blair Institute on their plan to circumvent the need for democracy by creating a new, digital England entirely under their control.EDINBURGH LIVE SHOW ALERT We're going to be live at Monkey Barrel comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe on August 14, and you can get tickets here: https://www.wegottickets.com/event/621432MILO ALERT Buy Milo’s special ‘Voicemail’ here! https://pensight.com/x/miloedwards/digital-item-5a616491-a89c-4ed2-a257-0adc30eedd6d
It's the free one!For this week’s free episode, we’re joined by returning guest and author Dan Davies, whose recent book “The Unaccountability Machine: Why Big Systems Make Terrible Decisions - and How The World Lost its Mind” inspired a discussion of bad AI getting used at the DWP, the post-1970s shareholder revolution, and an incident involving Dutch airport cargo handlers managing to somehow deliver a horrible fate to a box full of squirrels. We very much hope you enjoy.Check out Dan’s book here: https://profilebooks.com/work/the-unaccountability-machine/MILO ALERT Buy Milo’s special ‘Voicemail’ here! https://pensight.com/x/miloedwards/digital-item-5a616491-a89c-4ed2-a257-0adc30eedd6d
Jathan Sadowski of This Machine Kills podcast joins the gang to talk about the “new” generation of AI models announced by Google, OpenAI, Microsoft, and others - all of which seem to want to imitate the movie Her. The value proposition of this to a normal person is unclear.EDINBURGH LIVE SHOW ALERT We're going to be live at Monkey Barrel comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe on August 14, and you can get tickets here: https://www.wegottickets.com/event/621432
It's the free one!The cast joins guest Jason Koebler of 404 Media to discuss the recent downward spiral of Facebook, a platform currently being destroyed by AI and a total lack of content moderation that cannot admit the causes of its crisis because it, too, is dumping money into AI. And yet it is among the notionally most valuable companies on earth. But don’t worry—if you die, your account can be hacked and used to post spam bot comments on the worst art you’ve ever seen.Check out Jason’s work at 404 Media here: https://www.404media.co/author/jason-koebler/EDINBURGH LIVE SHOW ALERT We're going to be live at Monkey Barrel comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe on August 14, and you can get tickets here: https://www.wegottickets.com/event/621432
For this week's bonus, it's Riley, Milo, Hussein, and November discussing the recent news about ICC arrest warrants (and US/UK politicians statements about wanting to bomb the Netherlands as a result), but we're also discussing a very strange UK business claiming it's going to build a sort of British Neom in a Napoleonic-era fortress in Dover. That was also a borstal and a refugee deportation centre. You can't deny it's on-brand for this sceptered isle.EDINBURGH LIVE SHOW ALERT: We're going to be live at Monkey Barrel comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe on August 14, and you can get tickets here: https://www.wegottickets.com/event/621432
For this month's first Britainology, we examine an unambiguously good (and strange) British crime film: Jonathan Glazer's 2000 debut SEXY BEAST. Why is the film so atmospheric and detached? Why is Ben Kingsley so good at being an ultra-geezer? Is the plot saying definitively that Ian McShane had to let James Fox top him in order to learn about a bank vault? All this, and more.
It's the free one!Hesse from Seeking Derangements and Movie Mindset joins the gang to watch Scoop - the story behind the news night interview that blew up the Prince Andrew story and made him lose his job as the nation’s special little boy for upwards of eight months.LIVE SHOW ALERT See us live in London on May 29th with special guest Nish Kumar! Get tickets here: https://bigbellycomedy.club/event/trashfuture-presents-liz-truss-presents-ten-years-to-save-the-west-ft-nish-kumar/
Friend of the show and Financial Times journalist Rob Smith joins us to discuss Euro finance guys. Why are they so louche and strange? Why are they just sort of hanging around connecting people? Why is this entire episode a name alert? We also discuss Volocopter and Neom some more. It's an episode you don't want to miss.LIVE SHOW ALERT See us live in London on May 29th with special guest Nish Kumar! Get tickets here: https://bigbellycomedy.club/event/trashfuture-presents-liz-truss-presents-ten-years-to-save-the-west-ft-nish-kumar/
It's the free one!For this week’s free episode, it’s Riley, Milo, Hussein, and November discussing London local elections, the UK media’s reactions to pro-Palestine student protests in British universities, the huge backtracking on workers’ rights proposals from Starmer, and much more.LIVE SHOW ALERT See us live in London on May 29th with special guest Nish Kumar! Get tickets here: https://bigbellycomedy.club/event/trashfuture-presents-liz-truss-presents-ten-years-to-save-the-west-ft-nish-kumar/
The gang watched Lift, a movie where Kevin Hart plays a gentleman thief who lives in the Battersea Sky Pool building. Also, it contains the line: “I paid my $22m… I want my NFT.”
It's the free one!For this week’s free episode, it’s Riley, Hussein, and November with special guest and friend of the show Victoria Scott (@mikurubaeahina) in a discussion about Tesla’s recent earnings call, its recall of its non-warhead-equipped ramming missile / bad looking truck combination, and US car manufacturers hoovering up immense amounts of personal data to be used for… insurance? Law enforcement snitching? Formal identification of when your bisexual friend has the aux cord? It’s not looking good.LIVE SHOW ALERT See us live in London on May 29th with special guest Nish Kumar! Get tickets here: https://bigbellycomedy.club/event/trashfuture-presents-liz-truss-presents-ten-years-to-save-the-west-ft-nish-kumar/
We're joined by top tier friend of the show Gareth Dennis (@GarethDennis) of the Rail Natter YouTube channel to discuss 'Great British Railways,' the new Labour plan to 'renationalise' (sic) the trains while leaving all of the immense problems, rent-seeking middlemen, and supply chain issues in place. But also we cautiously venture north of the border to discuss recent attempts to create Sturgeonism Without Sturgeon Or Camper Vans. It's a whole lot!Check out Rail Natter here! https://www.youtube.com/c/GarethDennisTV
November and Riley have read another book - a piece of highly fictionalised reportage on the collapse of the Ethiopian Empire in 1974. It's a book about court politics, political theatre, and state (de)formation. Inevitably, our thoughts turn to our own crumbling polity at the end.(Technically, this is April's second LoR!)
It's the free one!For this week’s free episode, it’s Riley, Hussein, and November discussing some interesting UK politics news regarding a little-known political entity called the Labour Party and a little-known digital voting software platform they designed and adopted that’s now being investigated by a little-known group called the Metropolitan Police Cybercrime Unit. Oh well! We also talk about an AI wearable that tries to record your life, and hints from the Tony Blair Institute that Blair is desperate for a Starmer premiership… because he wants to introduce ID cards. Yes. He’s at it again.LIVE SHOW ALERT See us live in London on May 29th with special guest Nish Kumar! Get tickets here: https://bigbellycomedy.club/event/trashfuture-presents-liz-truss-presents-ten-years-to-save-the-west-ft-nish-kumar/
For this week's bonus, Riley, Hussein, and November discuss some recent UK news where one of Britain's most tendentious morons has been trying to claim that the Met Police are in cahoots with Hamas somehow and people are expected to take this seriously. We also discuss recent Tory and Labour talking points about replacing sick notes with apps and how apparently people on Statutory Sick Pay have had it too good for too long. This episode nearly broke November and also prompted her to call Hussein 'the South London Guy de Maupassant,' so you'll have to take the good with the bad.
Milo is in Australia and the time zone difference is killing us, but in his absence we convened Joe Kassabian and Francis Horton to discuss the American Midwest with Hussein. We cover the strange post-industrial wasteland of pretty much the entire region, the concept of Precious Moments ceramic figurines (Funko Pops for meemaws), and Hussein reads us a list of supposedly foundational Midwest Emo bands that we have 99% never heard of.
It's the free one!This week, Riley, Hussein, Nate, and November speak with friend of the show and returning guest Séamus Malekafzali (@Seamus_Malek) about recent developments in the airspace between Iran and Israel, plus a few tidbits about a Tory MP who simply loves getting blackmailed, a racist Spectator article that may have achieved an all-time TF shock record, and allegations that Warhammer has, in the words of Britain’s very reasonable press, ‘gone woke.’Check out Séamus’s newsletter here: https://www.seamus-malekafzali.com/
For this week’s bonus, we speak with returning guest and friend of the show Molly White (@molly0xFFF) about the recent upswing in crypto prices and their resultant dumb hype. But also: meme coin generators, Truth Social, another crypto party that blinded people, Baron Trump Harkonnen, and a Verge review of a supposed ‘smartphone killer’ that manages to suck so much that not even the hardest core of tech futurists can defend it. It’s a $700 lapel pin and it’s also… racist?Check out Molly’s (extremely good) newsletter here: https://www.citationneeded.news/
It's the free one!For this week’s free one, Riley, Hussein, and November are joined by Abigail Thorn and Devon from the Kill James Bond podcast to discuss the recent Cass Review into trans kids’ healthcare in the NHS. Well, call it a review, but it’s actually just top cover for conversion therapy and state-sponsored cruelty against all medical advice. We also discuss career weirdo Brian Rose’s decision to once again run for London Mayor, and examine some recent events in Palestine in which a thing happened involving some drones. It’s a heavy episode but it’s also… a fun one? Somehow?
...but I won't build 1.5 more!RIP NEOM. The gang looks back fondly on our favourite megaproject as the Line's official plans are scaled back from 170km to only 2.4km (or 1.5 miles) by 2030. Then, we look at the emerging political movement of Grey Pride, and the plans that Balaji Srinivasan, author of the Network State, has to rebuild San Francisco in his image, claiming: "What Elon did for Twitter, so too shall we do for San Francisco!"
Riley, November, and Hussein talk to returning guest Emiliano Mellino from TBIJ to discuss his recent investigation into abuses of the health and care worker visa by unethical bosses and other associated profiteers we've decided to replace most of our remaining health and care system with. Before that, we discuss the murder of several aid workers by the IDF, which has caused Liberals to stand and take notice that white people are also being killed. Also, we learn about Britain being the Second Most Powerful Country in the World.
Resident Eric Adams expert Mattie Lubchansky joins the gang to discuss Adams and his loyal retainers, his plans to use an AI system that doesn't work to fight a non existent subway cirme problem, and how he tried to win an argument he had on the radio by getting baptised in prison by Al Sharpton. Then, we talk about the other countries that own England's water supply going on strike until the fat cat public coughs up double their bills, and then an article where a certain Viscount remembers how Liz Truss is a lot like another politician some of us remember.
Recurring guest and firm favourite Patrick Wyman joins the gang to discuss the history of climate change - what adaptation has looked like for different societies that formed and deformed around changing climates. Including pre-Dynastic Egypt, the Indus Valley Civilisation, and the crises that plagued the ends of Rome and Feudalism, among others! But first, twenty minutes grousing about how strong fundamentals players with good coachability have become a rare thing in the Mesoamerican Ritual Ball Game.
Riley and November read Irmgard Keun's 1938 novel about living on the most genteel run possible in Europe. It's a book written from the perspective of a child refugee, and Riley and November think about how the world has remained the same and changed since then.
Justin and November from WTYP join the gang to discuss all things Boeing, and what happens to your empire when you accidentally apply your own ideology to the most important pillar of your blood soaked globe bestriding war machine? Also, we talk about the UK's ambitious plan to have flying taxis in the air by 2026, and a new Neom region that puts a certain Battersea sky pool in London to shame.
"I believe AI makes us more human," said Peter Deng of OpenAI at SXSW - which is just one of the responses that AI people have when people ask bizarre questions like "what does your product do," and "hey how did you get all that training data?" Technology writer Brian Merchant joins the gang to discuss this phenomenon, Amazon's foray into building a second generation human, and, of course, the AI app that aims to replace condoms.
Riley, November, and Hussein provide an update on the Glasgow Wonka situation - which is that Billy Coull officially has a tummy ache because everyone in the world is mad at him just for creating the only good AI generated art ever. Then, we look at the re-emergence of The Chicken Suits in UK politics, and what it means for our realm of nothing but floating signifiers. Finally, we are joined by games journalist Lin Codgea to discuss Saudi Arabia's plan to become the world capital of e-sports and games development, while remaining pretty much officially hostile to LGBT people.
The eternal gadfly of British politics and reality TV returns to the centre stage yet again, and as such Milo and Hussein cobble together all their anecdotes and facts to explain George Galloway's whole deal to Nate. No guarantees that they succeed, but they try.
It's the free one!Please enjoy this recording of our recent live performance in London, in which we encounter the worst publishing company on the planet, plus a foray into British politics’ sudden discovery of racism existing. Note: this episode was planned for release in May, but we’ve decided to put it out right away instead. Also, we had some periodic mic issues that we’ve tried to edit around, but we apologise for any weird sounds beyond the normally expected amount of weird sounds. Hope you enjoy!
We speak with friend of the show and returning guest Dr Eleanor Janega about a recent tech newsletter that compared the advent of ChatGPT to the invention of the heavy plow. But we also had to discuss a startup making surveillance-tech vending machines that will aggressively misgender you, and more.
It's the free one!The gang catches up with QAA’s Annie Kelly to discuss the pilledness situation in Parliament, centrist radicalisation, and an MP who got so excited about being a soldier in the anti vax army he left his family.LIVE SHOW ALERT We still have tickets available for our live show in London on March 13! Get them here: https://backyardcomedyclub.co.uk/event/trashfuture-live-podcast/
The cast reads the tea leaves of British politics as it recoils from the return of the infamous hat man himself, George Galloway. We also discuss an AI music startup and some new updates on Jan Marselek, who is living in (sort of) disguise as an orthodox priest?
November and Riley read the first in Patrick O'Brian's Aubery-Maturin series, and what follows is just under an hour of November and Riley loudly loving the first novel in Patrick O'Brian's Aubery-Maturin series for its painterly writing, obsession with mundane-seeming detail, and disdain for swashbuckling tales of derring-do... among other things!
It's the free one!We all saw the story about the weird A.I.-generated Wonka-themed event in Glasgow. But we also think it’s a harbinger of other things to come re: the only things that make it endearing at all are the difficult-despite-it-all attempts to work with terrible material—attempts that humans have to make!—when the computer says to do something stupid. We also talk about Johnny Mercer’s strange quantum state of admitting to knowledge of but also refusing to disclose information about UK military war crimes in Afghanistan. Also we talk about November’s predictions for 2024: King dead; Saudi economic collapse.
Sorry that this episode is late!For this week's bonus, Riley, Milo, Hussein, and November gather to discuss some recent news: British media pretending to care about Islamophobia being said too loudly, Americans pretending to care about mental health if it means they can shame criticism of Israel, and Liz Truss pretending to have a future in American conservative politics. But also we discuss a hypothetical Batman movie where the Woker (Woke Joker) forces Batman to say slurs if he wants to save Gotham.
It's the free one!The little story of a London wine bar heir who decided to create a company that will scan your face constantly to see if you belong on a shoplifting database. And if you pop up, it’ll encourage Tesco employees to… annoy you? We’re not making this up.
Riley and November read Anthony Lowenstein's The Palestine Laboratory, a book all about how Israel uses Palestine to market the technology of repression and occupation. We conclude they're doing more or less the same thing as every other Western country, but 5% more brazen and cruel.
We're joined by friend of the show and repeat guest Ed Zitron (@edzitron) to discuss some recent AI 'products,' the total failure of another hyped tech business, a Turkish magician's journey through the world of scamming an entire biotech company, but—and this is very important—we finally talk about Bill Ackman and why he does that.Check out Ed's newsletter here: http://wheresyoured.atAnd check out Ed's show 'Better Offline'
It's the free one!For this week’s free episode, Riley, Milo, Hussein, and November join special guest Abigail Thorn (@PhilosophyTube) to discuss three disparate incidents in the UK that expose the relentless march of the War on Being Normal. That’s right—three incidents in British politics that show the implacably deranged tenor of anti-trans politics in Britain, a position fully accepted by both major parties and the entirety of the media. And yet its proponents are miserable and convinced there’s a grand conspiracy where every single organisation on earth that doesn’t share 100 percent of their views has been infiltrated by their enemies. This sounds weirdly familiar, but if you say that out loud then Rosie Duffield gets to call an airstrike on you (we don’t make the rules).
For this month's first Britainology, we're joined by music journalist and genre aficionado Dan Hancox, the author of 'Inner City Pressure: the Story of Grime.' But we're not talking about Grime today (that'll come later!)—rather, we're talking about a genre close to Milo's heart, the Essex-born-and-raised '90s/'00s subgenre Garage. Which Nate has absolutely no point of reference for whatsoever, despite being the exact right age to have been a fan...if only he were British.Get a copy of Inner City Pressure: here https://www.waterstones.com/book/inner-city-pressure/dan-hancox/9780008257163And check out Dan's podcast Cursed Objects here: https://cursedobjects.podbean.com
Nothing but riffs. Nothing but jokes. Noting but Riley revealing more about himself and everyone saying 'I'm confused' or 'oh, that makes sense.' And this one features friend of the show and repeat guest Alex Haddow as well.
It's the free one!In this special episode, we revisit an old startup from 2019 that’s still getting huge government contracts to provide a service we can only describe as ‘the ambulance driven by clowns that drops you off in the middle of the woods.’ This is not an exaggeration.
This week, Riley, Milo, and Alice join special guest (and beloved friend of the show) Paris Marx of the Tech Won’t Save Us podcast for a discussion about Apple Vision Pro. Yes, the ridiculous snowboarding goggles that let you see pop up ads everywhere, the next iteration of Google Glass (but worse, and weirder). Our message to you is: bully anyone wearing these things.Check out Tech Won’t Save Us here: https://www.techwontsave.us
It's the free one!This week, it’s an all-dessert episode hosted by Alice with Milo and Hussein. We discuss Peter Thiel and his acolytes’ plan to make the drugs Olympics in which you take as many performance enhancers as possible and turn into Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star. However, the real icing on the cake is a Telegraph article that claims Switzerland possesses an eternal martial spirit, but Britain is too woke to have conscription (and not racist enough). It’s an experience.
For this week's bonus, Riley, Milo, Hussein, and Alice discuss an offshore oil rig theme park that Saudi Arabia is building (it just sounds like an oil rig). We also discuss the recent ICJ proceedings, and examine the contradictions in what liberal democratic states say about international law when confronted with potentially having to apply it to their client states. In the words of Bryan Ferry, you can guess the rest.
It's the free one!This week, we’re talking about a terrible surveillance startup, an anti-DEI Ackman guy running to primary Joe Biden (he also sucks), and the recent news that the Israeli government is using what you might call Combat Tweetdeck to try to suppress or overwhelm all the negative attention it’s getting from… things that its own soldiers share on social media. Call it the ‘posting through it’ school of warfare.
SORRY FOR THE LATE BONUSRiley, Milo, Hussein, and Alice speak with Goldsmiths researcher Dan McQuillan, the author of 'Resisting AI: An Anti-fascist Approach to Artificial Intelligence' regarding the breathless optimism of politicians in the UK and elsewhere (particularly in Queensland, Australia) claiming they'll use AI to administer state benefits and services. Probably not a good idea!You can purchase Dan's book here: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/resisting-ai
UNLOCKED TO THE $5 TIER BECAUSE NATE IS EXHAUSTED RIGHT NOW AND THE BONUS IS LATEFor this month's second Britainology, Nate and Milo discuss Sacha Baron Cohen's 2000s comedy program Da Ali G Show, its appearances in America, the type of guy it's supposed to be making fun of, and what their American equivalent would be. Like Proust's madeleine, this discussion also prompted Nate's reminiscences about some guys at his high school who created a rap label in 1999 called Tight Yo Records.
It's the free one!For this week’s free episode, Riley, Milo, Hussein, and Nate discuss the recent news that ChatGPT has both dropped its official guidelines around working with weapons systems and also entered into a partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense. This is notionally to help reduce veteran suicide, but as Riley indicates, there are plenty of combat uses that are probably going to get integrated, even (or especially) if they’re bad. We also do a quick UK politics check (did you know populism is over in the UK?) and discuss a Spectator article yearning for a Tory government willing to change everything back to imperial units.
For this week's regular TF bonus, Riley, Milo, Hussein, and Alice discuss a startup from Brisbane, Australia that sees a way forward for video game voice actors: make AI do it, but worse. We also discuss a recent announcement that you can get NFTs inside your Mercedes for some reason.
Riley and Alice read yet another piece of South American literature in translation, this time it’s Benjamin Labatut’s fictionalised historical account about the unravelling of certainty that came with the discovery of quantum mechanics. Think “scientific horror.”
For this month's first Britainology, we bring on Hussein Kesvani—our special guest with whom we've never done another podcast—to discuss the recent UK Government ban on XL Bully dogs, British dog ownership culture in general, kissing your dog on the mouth, and much more. Please enjoy the attached images which are all the ones we discussed on the episode—Milo found them in the wild.
It's the free one!This week, we’ve got Riley, Milo, Hussein, and Alice discussing a bathroom-related AI startup, the impending election year in the UK, new Government policy facilitating the sell-off of all local council assets and properties, and a recent speech by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer KC about why we cannot actually solve any problems.
For this week's bonus, Justin Roczniak of the Well There's Your Problem podcast joins the assembled cast of Riley, Milo, Hussein, and Alice to discuss the formal and total shuttering of HyperLoop. Because it was never a real thing, but it sure did make a lot of annoying people and related billionaires claim we didn't need high-speed rail!(Editor's note: there were some serious issues with the audio files which were assembled into this episode, so if it sounds a little funny... that's why)
It's the free one!Alice and Riley talk with Seamus Malekafzali about Israel’s ever-expanding war with Palestine, and the ramifications on its neighbours near and far.If you want to read Seamus' work, check out his newsletter here: https://www.seamus-malekafzali.com/
Friend of the show Min joins Riley and Alice to discuss John Kennedy Toole's strange and only book, A Confederacy of Dunces.
It's all riffs and no theme. It's Tom and Demi joining us to discuss z-grade robot toys, counterfeit Spider-Man, reinterpreting Goatse for the modern age, and much more. We hope your enjoy.
It's the free one!This week’s episode is the first free one of 2024 and was recorded before the new year; it features Riley, Milo, and Alice discussing the UK government’s attempts to make schools officially practice cruelty to trans kids as a matter of policy. Also discussed: an AI startup that wants to automate the entirety of business from start to finish, and a separate segment where Riley and Dr Gareth Fearn discuss the state of planning and development the UK. Why is it so labyrinthine and difficult, and why does it serve the default UK line of ‘better things aren’t possible?’ All this and more, in this episode.
We revisit our old pal Bill Ackman, who was one of Wall Street's most notorious activist investors, to become the SPAC king, to finally settling into his new role as a billionaire culture warrior. Also, we discuss the suspension of a delightfully moronic Tory MP, and check out how Neom is finally building some stuff that's not just different shaped hotels.CHRISTMAS ANNOUNCEMENT: The TF team will be taking some time off, so instead of a free episode in the week of the 25th we will be unlocking a paid episode for free listeners and releasing a Q&A for paid listeners, and then normal service will resume the first week of Jan.
For this month's first Britainology, Nate and Milo discuss the now-timeless 2003 Richard Curtis film LOVE ACTUALLY, and what it says about Britain. Milo loves it, Nate's wife loves it, Nate is lukewarm on it but it did make him laugh, and Boris Johnson Voice makes an appearance.
For this week's bonus, it's full-court press of useless tech: reactionaries' trying and failing to turn Elon Musk's ultra gen X large language model transphobic; Wes Streeting getting dazzled by an app in Singapore, and a surveillance tech company riding the wave of teen vape interdiction and kicking people out of public housing. The name of the podcast isn't ironic.
The gang talks about the upward spiral of xenophobia that the UK's moderates think they can keep riding to stay in power - the Rwanda Bill, new immigration restrictions, and so on, before moving onto the new Online Safety Bill and its potential to create a kind of AI overmind of British goons. However, the rest of this episode needs only three words: Georgian Peter Griffin.
Paris Marx of Tech Won't Save Us joins the gang to delve into the past of Elon Musk to explain his present day fascinations and oddities. We all know about the Emerald Mine, but how many of us know about the staircase kicking, or the baffling chiropractic grandfather?
Alice, Milo, Nate and Hussein are once again LIVE at Between The Bridges, sadly without Riley because Nadine Dorries' book destroyed his gastrointestinal system. However, undeterred, Alice read the book and her stomach was made of stronger stuff. Milo was also able to simulate Riley using Chat GPT so it's almost like he's there...Please support Medical Aid for Palestinians here:https://www.map.org.uk/donate/donation-details/488?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAgqGrBhDtARIsAM5s0_layZu8hHVgz9qdTaoXyl7CIHZI2PxgiPMHzHbOLeH2WdwccZoOAl0aAlhLEALw_wcBYou can find Milo's 2024 tour dates here:http://miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows
The gang talks about a startup designed to replace teachers with AI enabled iPads, the AI company that's concerned with building god experiencing a religious schism, and then congratulate Evil Steven Root on his historic Argentine election win. Then, we look into the comfortable world of Chipping Norton and the new Foreign Secretary's leisure time.
Riley and Alice read an edited volume (by two time TF guest Owen Hatherley) about Victorian socialist thinker and designer, William Morris. A man with the gift of prophecy who was tragicomically obsessed with making England medieval again.
Tom joins Riley, Alice, and Hussein to talk about how not even the tattooing industry is safe from the whims of AI-enabled tech disrupters, with hilarious (but troubling) results. But first, we talk about the ongoing quest in the UK political-media ecosystem to performatively misunderstand what a "ceasefire" is, and then we review a whole new slate of Neom developments and ask: what will be erected in the desert when all this is said and done?Tom's (recently award winning) podcast about tattooing, Beneath The Skin, can be found here.
It's Dave Courtney in memoriam month on Britainology for November and as a result we have got two episodes for you, honouring the man himself by delving into the concept of the hard geezer. In this first of two episodes, Milo offers Nate a selection of Britain's all time hardest bastards for his delectation. Later in the month the boys will be consuming Danny Dyer's Deadliest Men.Are you in Barcelona? Come see Milo's stand-up on Friday 24 November!https://www.eventbrite.es/e/stand-up-comedy-in-english-milo-edwards-sentimental-tickets-739312823557
Cameron's back, he's done bothering hogs, and ready to lead the United Kingdom into foreign policy greatness, probably by getting us involved in more pyramid schemes. Also, we look at the coked up home counties uncles who all poured into London to stop Hamas from transgendering the cenotaph, and why Britain's institutionalised governing caste is either unable or unwilling to see them for what they are.
Josh Boerman from the Worst of All Possible Worlds joins the gang in studio to discuss the ongoing weird-ification of the Anglo American right, seen through the lens of a number of state-level elections in the US and the doubling down on anti-Palestinian solidarity in the UK. Additionally, we discuss a strange superyacht based charity and finish on a sternly worded letter to the National Department Store on its insufficiently bouyant Christmas advert.
Rishi Sunak gives a masterclass in real, genuine laughter while essentially having a post-politics job interview with Elon Musk for a crowd of AI longtermists... also, we discuss the sudden groundswell of "you can't protest for peace on ARMISTICE day!" that has swept Britain's commentariat and political classes.Medical Aid for Palestinians: www.map.org.ukSTREAM ALERT Check out our Twitch stream, which airs 9-11 pm UK time every Monday and Thursday, at the following link: https://www.twitch.tv/trashfuturepodcastWEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/MILO ALERT Check out Milo’s upcoming live shows here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-showsTrashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
The gang are joined by Zeke Faux (@zekefaux) to talk about his book "Number Go Up" and the Sam Bankman-Fried trial...STREAM ALERT Check out our Twitch stream, which airs 9-11 pm UK time every Monday and Thursday, at the following link: https://www.twitch.tv/trashfuturepodcastMILO ALERT Check out Milo’s upcoming live shows here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-showsWEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
Riley is away, so Alice, Milo, and Hussein run the asylum by themselves. They gave themselves all depression, found out why we’re all going to get turned into paper clips, and explored the mind palace of one Joseph R Biden in a special American reading.Medical Aid for Palestinians: www.map.org.uk
The gang discusses getting swole in a whole new, AI enabled way, Rachel Reeves' Wikipedia jaunts, and then TBIJ's Emiliano Mellino returns for the second half to discuss his ongoing investigation into abuse of the Temporary Agricultural Worker visa by farms and employment agencies.Emiliano's latest: https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2023-10-22/all-that-is-missing-is-a-whip-home-office-ignored-migrant-worker-abuses-on-farmsMedical Aid for Palestinians: www.map.org.uk
Dr. Robotnik has written a manifesto, and before you ask, yes - it cites Marinetti. We also look into the ongoing mass Labour Party revolt against Starmer and the front bench's support for Israel's attack on Gaza, which if you recall, Starmer backed full-throatedly to impress Nick Ferrari for two minutes.Medical Aid for Palestinians here: www.map.org.uk/
Our pal Oobah is back to talk about his new documentary on C4, "The Great Amazon Heist." Basically it consists of several elaborate ruses foisted on Amazon, exposing cracks in their edifice, and also the Coventry Amazon Black Site.Medical Aid for Palestinians: https://www.map.org.uk/
Alice and Riley read The Order of the Day, winner of the 2019 Prix Goncourt... because we love short novels in translation! It's an angry piece all about the dark joke at the heart of Europe's ruling classes on the eve of Anschluss.
At a country's darkest hour, a hero will emerge. Then he will die immediately of the novel coronavirus after going on holiday. Then his feckless idiot children will build a "controversial spa" in his name. It's the denouement of the Captain Tom saga. Also, we look into the domestic/UK dimension of Israel's attack on Gaza, and think about how the state and press will gleefully make one another even more dangerously deranged.Donate to Medical Aid for Palestinians here! https://www.map.org.uk/
Milo and Nate do a deep dive into the classic British satire series Brass Eye by Chris Morris, and specifically the episode that got it cancelled - “Paedogeddon”
We met with esteemed social and economic geographer Danny Dorling to talk about the forces causing Britain to be a failed state, and the inadequate response to those forces presented in the Labour party conference. More importantly, how phoney Khan Starmer will not form a new golden horde and take Uzbekistan and therefore the world.
We spoke with journalist and friend of the show Seamus Malekafzali about the events unfolding in Gaza, specifically concerned with the question of how things became so bad and the hubris of those made the situation worse while simultaneously losing control over it. Toward the end of the episode and after a jarring change in tone, we review some new editions to Neom and investigate Rachel Reeves' frankly odd manner.To read Seamus' excellent pieces on Gaza, check out https://www.seamus-malekafzali.com STREAM ALERT Check out our Twitch stream, which airs 9-11 pm UK time every Monday and Thursday, at the following link: https://www.twitch.tv/trashfuturepodcastWEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/MILO ALERT Check out Milo’s upcoming live shows here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-showsTrashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
Gareth Dennis from Rail Natter returns to the fold to discuss the debacle around the cancellation, uncancellation, rerouting, and re-rerouting of Britain's much maligned High Speed Two line. We posit that the purpose of the line itself is to generate consultation papers, and everyone would rather have just not put a spade in the ground.STREAM ALERT Check out our Twitch stream, which airs 9-11 pm UK time every Monday and Thursday, at the following link: https://www.twitch.tv/trashfuturepodcastWEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/MILO ALERT Check out Milo’s upcoming live shows here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-showsTrashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
The Tony Blair Institute for Global Regime Change has released their detailed plan of what an ID card for Britain would look like, how it would be implemented, and why... and it involves MI5, the DWP, and DEFRA getting access to your resting heart rate. Riley, Hussein, Alice, and Milo explore this as well as the totally unforeseen meltdown of GB News and the first days of the most internet poisoned Tory conference ever.STREAM ALERT Check out our Twitch stream, which airs 9-11 pm UK time every Monday and Thursday, at the following link: https://www.twitch.tv/trashfuturepodcastWEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/MILO ALERT Check out Milo’s upcoming live shows here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-showsTrashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
A company that claims to be able to read your mind for your boss? An article speculating as to which member of the Frankfurt School inspired HS2? News about Jan Marsalek? Riley, Hussein, and Milo explore them all!If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfutureSTREAM ALERT Check out our Twitch stream, which airs 9-11 pm UK time every Monday and Thursday, at the following link: https://www.twitch.tv/trashfuturepodcastWEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/MILO ALERT Check out Milo’s upcoming live shows here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-showsTrashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
Phoebe Roy and Luke Chilton join Riley and Milo to discuss, among other things, the "Personal Life" section of Vernon Kay's wikipedia page.STREAM ALERT Check out our Twitch stream, which airs 9-11 pm UK time every Monday and Thursday, at the following link: https://www.twitch.tv/trashfuturepodcastWEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/MILO ALERT Check out Milo’s upcoming live shows here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-showsTrashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism's very own Gareth Davies joins the gang to talk about a smooth businessman who decided to create generational wealth by transferring the entire budget for social and community services of Thurrock Council into his own bank account. And, of course, the one man who helped him by being too stupid to realise what was going on.STREAM ALERT Check out our Twitch stream, which airs 9-11 pm UK time every Monday and Thursday, at the following link: https://www.twitch.tv/trashfuturepodcastWEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/MILO ALERT Check out Milo’s upcoming live shows here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-showsTrashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
What happens when Venture Capitalists - a bunch of guys whose entire job is throwing money into companies they don't understand and expect to fail try and build a new city from scratch? What happens when those Venture Capitalists are building that city in order to win an online argument about zoning and land use? The answer (AI renderings, money spent, nothing built, no water issues planned for or considered) may not shock you! Bay Area tenant organiser Shanti Singh rejoins Riley, Hussein, and Alice, to explore what the hell is going on in Solano County.STREAM ALERT Check out our Twitch stream, which airs 9-11 pm UK time every Monday and Thursday, at the following link: https://www.twitch.tv/trashfuturepodcastWEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/MILO ALERT Check out Milo’s upcoming live shows here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-showsTrashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
Milo and Nate check back in with Michael Apted’s test subjects, now 35 - and one of them has gotten very interested in Bulgaria…
Riley, Alice, and Hussein look at the growth of no-fun Britain, "Spotify for Food," and an interview with Tony Blair in the FT where he applies for the job of Starmer's vizier. What does he want Starmer to do as a number one priority? ID Cards, of course!STREAM ALERT Check out our Twitch stream, which airs 9-11 pm UK time every Monday and Thursday, at the following link: https://www.twitch.tv/trashfuturepodcastWEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/MILO ALERT Check out Milo’s upcoming live shows here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-showsTrashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
Riley and Alice have opened another of Cristina Rivera Garza's novellas for a deep dive into the world of experimental fiction, borders, and - above all - the striated world of GENDER in a book that was hailed (by Alice) as "the best work of fiction about being trans written by a cis person." I know we said we would do George Saunders' "A Swim in the Pond in the Rain" next - but Riley has been on holiday, so that one is coming next! Promise! Super swear!
Riley, Alice, and Hussein review some of the developments in the wide world of British pet ownership, look at a startup that's reinventing a train but worse, and then read all about how Liz Truss thinks that getting rid of Boris Johnson was the wrong thing to do. Riley uncovers an awful hidden talent. STREAM ALERT Check out our Twitch stream, which airs 9-11 pm UK time every Monday and Thursday, at the following link: https://www.twitch.tv/trashfuturepodcast WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ MILO ALERT Check out Milo’s upcoming live shows here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
You've heard the expression "safe as houses"? Well, let me introduce you to a new expression: "safe as schools, hospitals, Universities, many large stores, the Ministry of Defence, and also houses," because Britain decided to inflict mafia construction on itself across most of its own built environment between 1950 and 1996. Why? Because it's Britain, of course! Justin and Rocz from Well There's Your Problem join us for the second time this Summer to get down into the engineering details of it all.STREAM ALERT Check out our Twitch stream, which airs 9-11 pm UK time every Monday and Thursday, at the following link: https://www.twitch.tv/trashfuturepodcastWEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/MILO ALERT Check out Milo’s upcoming live shows here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-showsTrashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
King Salman visited Neom so we take back everything bad we said about it. Also, we check in on our old friend Cooler Screens (they're going amazing, we assume). Then, a company whose "data engine" for improving AI output (including for the military) is just tens of thousands of task-workers in the global south. Finally, we review the 100000th proposal to fix Britain by reinstating National Service for youths.
It's the recently rediscovered 1990 single from Johannes Vonk and the Clogheads entitled 'Hot Tory' — the song that brought the band back to financial solvency after a soup-related crisis.This song was created by:Nate: composition, bass guitar, synthesizers, programming, mixing, backup vocals, a few lyricsMilo: drums, electric guitar, lead vocals, programming, mixing, lyricsCover concept by Keaton Leigh / final design by Nate and MiloIn case you're curious, we used the following instruments on this song:Roland Juno 6Behringer Model DBlack Corporation Ise-NinFender StratocasterFender TelecasterMusic Man StingrayMilo's childhood drum kitA LOT of iZotope Ozone 9The last-minute intervention of SSL E Channel and Waves Vocal Rider
It's the free one!We discuss some UK-centric news this week, with a brief return to an American startup we’ve previously covered that—in the hopes of destroying school bus drivers’ unions—created Uber for school buses and may have facilitated a mass abduction? Or the world’s largest school bus traffic jam? We also uncover some archival footage of a certain 1980s Dutch pop band that went through some hard times in the early ’90s.
For this week's bonus, it's an alternate configuration of Milo, Nate, and Alice discussing a startup to make every famous person into a PS3 polygon caricature to be licensed, news that Britain's rivers will become even more sewage-laden, and a Guardian article where a guy asks ChatGPT to invent new recipes that hopefully won't kill you. This is the radio segment about the Roland TB-303 that Nate mentions in the episode: https://soundcloud.com/aracityradio/lost-in-music-roland-tb303-day?si=858ddc45a481454fac1e229f831e4cb2
For this month's first Left on Read, Riley and Alice discuss the 1980 J.M. Coetzee novel "Waiting for the Barbarians," which may or may not be relevant to a) the free one this week and b) our current, uh, situation.
It's the free one! This week, the gang speaks with author and former U.S. Department of State consular officer Josef Burton about the tendency for liberal institutions to find themselves ordered to carry out illiberal practices—whether it’s Trump’s Muslim ban, the UK’s barge housing, or any other recent story in which we simply cannot believe that we’re obligated to do an immoral thing, for the state. We also talk about a recent news story regarding Russian air traffic safety, and a startup that shifts into dark mode when it can commercialise its ‘harmless’ product.
For this week’s bonus, we spoke with Tamara K. Nopper and Eve Zelickson from the Data and Society Research Institute. They’re the authors of “Wellness Capitalism: Employee Health, the Benefits Maze, and Worker Control.” Would it come as a surprise to you to learn that employee data and tech-driven ‘wellness solutions’ are increasingly offered as employee benefits in the US, in the sense that you can’t actually get psychotherapy on your insurance, but a chatbot can offer you cognitive behavioral therapy? Not a surprise at all? Well, we have just the conversation for you. Check out the primer here! https://datasociety.net/library/wellness-capitalism-employee-health-the-benefits-maze-and-worker-control/
It's the free one! For this week’s free one, we’re discussing a startup that will serve you ads in order for you to crash your car, revisiting some old scam-based friends who will either never suffer consequences or are already stuffed inside a barrel, and examining the state of British politics which creates a cross-party consensus for stuffing asylum seekers into a prison hulk (and patting itself on the back for being so humane). Check out the crowdfunder for the St Mungo’s strike here! https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/unitesmstrike
For this week's bonus, our friend Mattie Lubchansky joins us to discuss NYC mayor Eric Adams, a man who claims to have invented the concept of slowly boiling a frog--a man who cannot stop lying about everything, as well as being a paranoid cop. We hope that your haters become your waiters at the table of success. We hope so very much
It's the free one! For this week’s free episode, the cast of Riley, Milo, Hussein, and Alice speak with (now three-time!) guest Alex N. Press, the labour correspondent for Jacobin Magazine, about two of her recent stories. In one, a ‘flexible work’ app is assigning people gigs that lead them directly across a picket line. In another, studio executives in Hollywood are dreaming up ways to digitize an actor’s likeness and use them in AI-generated content, for free, forever. And in the face of Spencer Confidential not actually getting 11 billion downloads, we ask: is the Silicon Valley-ification of Hollywood just intent on destroying the concept of movies? Check out Alex’s articles here! https://jacobin.com/2023/07/southern-california-hotel-workers-strike-automated-management-unite-here https://jacobin.com/2023/07/hollywood-writers-actors-strike-studios-streaming
For this month's first Britainology, we speak with journalist Alan White (@aljwhite) of Politics Home about the strange and sordid history of Britain's tabloid press--how it never seems to change (culturally or otherwise), how it keeps getting away with things, how different its affect is from that of (equally omerta-driven) British television... and most importantly, how weird it is.
It's nothing but riffs. And Riley explaining Canadian bag milk again, this time to comedians Tom Ballard and Luka Muller. There's also a long digression about the Australian soap opera Neighbours, and how Australia can never truly rid itself of it because of the dogged, ferocious dedication of British Neighbours fans, in Britain. We hope... that you enjoy.
It's the free one! For this week’s free one, we’re joined by Patrick Wyman (@Patrick_Wyman) of the Tides of History and Pursuit of Dadliness podcasts to discuss the strange nature of Britain’s elites, how they vary from those of the United States (and of the Venetian Republic, for that matter), and why America is in many ways governed by big guys in polo shirts who own car dealerships and attended Arizona State. Check out Tides of History here! https://wondery.com/shows/tides-of-history/
For this week's bonus, the assembled gang of Riley, Hussein, Nate, and Alice speak with Molly White (@Molly0xFFF) about WorldCoin. And Orbs. We didn't set out to say the word 'orb' so often, but it's impossible to avoid when covering this topic. Which is: a group of crypto guys who are convinced that AI will become so advanced that it'll obviate every human's job, so the only way to manage it is to create a cryptocurrency for UBI distribution. And you sign up for the cryptocurrency by getting your iris scanned by an orb. This is 100 percent real. Check out all of Molly's work here! https://www.mollywhite.net/linktree/
It's the free one! We had a live show at Between the Bridges near Southbank Centre on a very rainy night, and we discussed a school bathroom realtime tracking app, a horrendous conference held by the Tony Blair Institute, and much more. The assembled cast of Riley, Milo, Nate, and Alice learned about topics such as Ketamine Keir Starmer, a punitive deployment of ferrets to chase out schoolchildren from toilets, the Leon Burgers to Government Policy pipeline, and a strange conception of the things you can do with barbeque sauce.
We went to the Spitting Image musical in the West End. It was worse than we'd ever imagined. It's the closest we've ever come to re-enacting the scary parts of Event Horizon. It's the least funny thing a human can create. And we did it all... for you.
A second piece of experimental Latin American fiction has struck the podcast (within a podcast), as Alice and Riley grapple with Cristina Rivera Garza's 2012 novella, The Taiga Syndrome. It combines elements of noir, fairy tale, and of course magical realism. We hope you enjoy!
On this week's bonus, we're joined by the entire cast of Well There's Your Problem to discuss some odd trends: residential office refits that are unliveable, the world's biggest cruise ship that helps make everything else unliveable, and a company making hyper-secure golf course fortress residences in Scotland for multimillionaires to live when everywhere else is unliveable. No slides on this one, but a lot of jokes!
For this month's first Britainology, we're learning about Wales--the history, the language, its relationship to the United Kingdom, the strange exploits of the one-man Welsh IRA--and in order to do so, we're joined by James Griffiths, the Hong Kong correspondent for the Toronto Globe and Mail, and also the author of "Speak Not: Empire, Identity, and the Politics of Language." Check out James's book here! https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/speak-not-9781786999665/
It's the free one! This week, friend of the show Juliet Jacques (@zinovievletter) joins Riley, Milo, Nate, and Alice to discuss her brain-destroying foray into ‘sensible disagreement’ politics podcasts in the UK, featuring guys with definitely no baggage such as George Osborne, Alistair Campbell, Rory Stewart, and more. We also discuss a startup that promises a revolution in being even more annoying. Check out Juliet’s work on her site here! https://julietjacques.com
A rare in-studio episode with Riley, Milo, Alice, and friend of the show Sophie from Mars, in which we discuss the anti-LGBTQ backlash that's making corporations decide that actually they were always completely homophobic. We also discuss orb-related news and a deeply strange AI-generated store that's paying for ads on Twitter Check out Sophie's videos here! https://www.youtube.com/c/sophiefrommars
It's the free one! We’re joined by friend of the show Gareth Dennis to discuss newly unveiled plans to close every ticket counter at every train station in England. Nothing else is going to be improved, of course, but we’ve envisioned some potential cost-cutting efficiencies: turning station guides into large human-sized braille dots, cutting the civil service down to just one guy that everyone gets mad at, and much more. Check out Rail Natter here! https://www.youtube.com/c/GarethDennisTV
We found a documentary about Neom and brought on Hesse from Seeking Derangements and Chapo Trap House's Movie Mindset podcast. It's a movie about a lot of architects with expensive eyewear making the world's wildest 3d renderings of buildings that will never, ever be built. Or will they?
It's the free one! This week, we speak with Bureau of Investigative Journalism reporter Emiliano Mellino about how changes to the UK’s migrant visa system for agricultural workers have created unbelievably exploitative conditions—often reported to be worse than in any other developed or developing country—and how the agency charged with enforcing the rules gets less money each year than the Home Office spends on pens and stationery. However, before we get to that, we also have to catch up with a Season One-style terrible startup, and discuss how a Shelley poem made a lot of Britain’s dumbest people furious. Check out Emiliano’s reporting here: https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/profile/emilianomellino Also, we discussed some organizations helping agricultural labourers in the UK. They are Workers’ Support Centre Scotland (https://workersupportcentre.org.uk) and Work Rights Centre (https://www.workrightscentre.org). The former is funded by the Scottish government, but the latter does accept donations if you want to help them out!
Softbank has shifted to offense mode, and Masayoshi Son has declared himself Priest King of humanity. Riley, Alice, and Hussein browse through our old friend's new outlook, and learn about Masayoshi Son's 24 hour ChatGPT invention habit.
It's the free one! With interest rates going to 5% in the U.K., Milo, Riley, and Alice wonder how making the money more expensive will solve Spanish droughts leading to reduced olive production (for example). Also, we bid a fond farewell to the newest residents of the challenger deep and read an article about the dangers of the fifteen minute city in the New Statesman for some reason.
Jack the Ripper - if he even existed - killed women in the sex trade. That’s common knowledge, and also wrong. The Five is a book about one of the worlds first serial killers, understood through the perspective of those women who were murdered.
For this month's first Britainology, we watched the 2004 UK gangster movie LAYER CAKE, featuring a much younger Daniel Craig, a very Essex'ed-up Sienna Miller, and a very unknown-at-the-time Tom Hardy. And it's a good movie! Which we enjoyed! And had a lot of fun talking about, especially as regards it being a snapshot of peak Blair years Britain.
For the last stop of our Regional Authenticity Tour, we performed live at Slay in Glasgow and completed our review of one of the worst books ever written. We also discuss a dismal-sounding 'what if your doctor was an app' startup, and hear a story about a deranged British aristocrat who brought our her ancestral machete to settle a crypto dispute. We simply had a blast, and we hope you enjoy hearing it.
It's the free one! Journalist and friend of the show Becca Wilks (@WilksBecca) joins the gang to discuss how the Welsh government’s plans on rent control have evolved (spoiler: they’ve been useless because the Welsh government loves a landlord), but first we have an update on the numerous political obituaries being written in the U.K. and a systematic review of Matt Hancock’s TikTok.
Jathan and Ed from This Machine Kills join the gang to discuss the long, terrible essay by Marc Andreesen about why AI will save the world. Part of his argument is that Marx was wrong because Elon Musk SELLS cars rather than hoarding them for himself. It's... well, it's something?
Author Yara Rodrigues Fowler joins Riley and Alice to talk about her book, There Are More Things. There Are More Things is a love story, a history, and an exploration of the radical possibilities of fiction. What does good, radical fiction look like? Find out here! Check out There Are More Things here!
We continued our Regional Authenticity Tour and stopped in the famous city of Manchester, where we recoiled in horror at a startup Riley found that claimed it was--and I'm saying this verbatim--'gamifying good humaning.' We then proceeded to recoil in embarrassment at the next chapter of Mister Book Eater's latest tome. Hope you enjoy!
It's the free one!Hussein, Alice, and Riley talk about a new startup that aims to replace us all with chatbots based on Socrates, Steve Jobs, and Jordan Peterson reading the news, then we discuss the wild world of AI scare-vertising and its impact on the world's most gullible government: the United Kingdom.
The entire cast of Riley, Milo, Hussein, Nate, and Alice continued our Regional Authenticity Tour with a stop in Leeds, where we discussed a startup offering what appears to be a hypothetical alternative to the labour theory of value...with loyalty points. We also discussed the second part of a new book by Britain's most storied bibliophage.
It's the free one! This week, Tom Walker (@tomwalkerisgood) joins Riley, Milo, and Alice to discuss some recent NEOM-related news—particularly, some comments from NEOM-affiliated architects at the Venice Biennale. But we’re also talking about a recent story in the FT where all financial journalists got scooped by a random news site in Antigua…owned by a pizza-enthusiast editor who is also an ambassador to three countries, a lawyer, a doctor, and an Instagram guy. The whole thing is an experience. Check out Tom’s Twitch stream here! https://www.twitch.tv/tomwalker If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfuture STREAM ALERT Check out our Twitch stream, which airs 9-11 pm UK time every Monday and Thursday, at the following link: https://www.twitch.tv/trashfuturepodcast WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ MILO ALERT Check out Milo’s upcoming live shows here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows and check out a recording of Milo’s special PINDOS available on YouTube here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRI7uwTPJtg ROME ALERT Milo and Phoebe have teamed up with friend of the show Patrick Wyman to finally put their classical education to good use and discuss every episode of season 1 of Rome. You can download the 12 episode series from Bandcamp here (1st episode is free): https://romepodcast.bandcamp.com/album/rome-season-1 Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
We've got Australian comedian Dan Muggleton on for an hour of pure riffs, no theme, but very Australian. And also Canadian, in the sense of Riley explaining bags of milk but only being able to compare their sizes to specific Italian deli sausages. We hope you like this.
For this month's first Britainology, Nate and Milo get expert advice from The Athletic's Joey D'Urso, a lifelong football fan and a source of extremely funny anecdotes about the nutters and eccentrics of the English Premier League. We learn about Gazza, Georgie Best, Vinnie Jones, and many more. Hope you enjoy!Check out Joey's work here! https://theathletic.com/author/joey-durso/
It's the free one!For this week’s free episode, Riley, Milo, Hussein, and Alice discuss the perennial US debt default threat, the recent Congressional hearings about regulating AI (No Steubes were involved, sadly), and the whale botherers at the National Conservative Conference being huge, alienating freaks that the British establishment demands you take seriously. Hope you enjoy!
For stop one of the Trashfuture Regional Authenticity Tour 2023, we had a live show at the Glee Club in Birmingham on May 14. We talk about a startup with a very confused ad voice in relation to its supposed value proposition, as well as a segment of Matthew Goodwin's new, stupid, and probably edible book.We still have tickets available for our show in Glasgow on May 21! Get them here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/trashfuture-live-in-glasgow-tickets-598863836857
It's the free one!Amardeep Singh Dhillon from the South London Bartenders Network joins the gang to talk about precarity, automation, and what’s next in hospitality, and how bartenders in London have been organising to fight back. Are you working in hospitality in London, and do you feel like you need a union? Get in touch with Amardeep!Check out SLBN's website here: https://southlondonbartenders.wordpress.com/
Fanshen: A Documentary of Revolution in a Chinese Village is a 1966 book by academic William Hinton, documenting the experience of one particularly poor Chinese village of early efforts at land reform. It is almost opaquely dense, and yet very illuminating.If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfutureLIVE SHOW ALERT We’re touring the Midlands, the North, and (one city in) Scotland in May! We’ll be in Birmingham on May 14, Leeds on May 15, Manchester on May 16, and Glasgow on May 21. Tickets are available here: https://www.trashfuture.co.uk/eventsSTREAM ALERT Check out our Twitch stream, which airs 9-11 pm UK time every Monday and Thursday, at the following link: https://www.twitch.tv/trashfuturepodcastWEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/MILO ALERT Check out Milo’s upcoming live shows here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-showsand check out a recording of Milo’s special PINDOS available on YouTube here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRI7uwTPJtgROME ALERT Milo and Phoebe have teamed up with friend of the show Patrick Wyman to finally put their classical education to good use and discuss every episode of season 1 of Rome. You can download the 12 episode series from Bandcamp here (1st episode is free): https://romepodcast.bandcamp.com/album/rome-season-1Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
Without the guidance of their fearless leader Riley, the gang - joined by Josh Boerman of The Worst of All Possible Worlds podcast - are swept up in a monarchist fervour.LIVE SHOW ALERT We’re touring the Midlands, the North, and (one city in) Scotland in May! We’ll be in Birmingham on May 14, Leeds on May 15, Manchester on May 16, and Glasgow on May 21. Tickets are available here: https://www.trashfuture.co.uk/eventsSTREAM ALERT Check out our Twitch stream, which airs 9-11 pm UK time every Monday and Thursday, at the following link: https://www.twitch.tv/trashfuturepodcastWEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/MILO ALERT Check out Milo’s upcoming live shows here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-showsand check out a recording of Milo’s special PINDOS available on YouTube here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRI7uwTPJtgROME ALERT Milo and Phoebe have teamed up with friend of the show Patrick Wyman to finally put their classical education to good use and discuss every episode of season 1 of Rome. You can download the 12 episode series from Bandcamp here (1st episode is free): https://romepodcast.bandcamp.com/album/rome-season-1Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
Nick Adams, writer on such shows as BoJack Horseman, New Girl, Tuca and Bertie (and others!), takes some time off the WGA picket lines to talk to us about writing as a profession, how studios have constantly sought to break up and undermine it, and the insane plan to replace Hollywood Writers with ChatGPT.All information, including information on strike funds, is here: https://www.wgacontract2023.org/strike-hubIf you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfutureLIVE SHOW ALERT We’re touring the Midlands, the North, and (one city in) Scotland in May! We’ll be in Birmingham on May 14, Leeds on May 15, Manchester on May 16, and Glasgow on May 21. Tickets are available here: https://www.trashfuture.co.uk/eventsSTREAM ALERT Check out our Twitch stream, which airs 9-11 pm UK time every Monday and Thursday, at the following link: https://www.twitch.tv/trashfuturepodcastWEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/MILO ALERT Check out Milo’s upcoming live shows here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-showsand check out a recording of Milo’s special PINDOS available on YouTube here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRI7uwTPJtgROME ALERT Milo and Phoebe have teamed up with friend of the show Patrick Wyman to finally put their classical education to good use and discuss every episode of season 1 of Rome. You can download the 12 episode series from Bandcamp here (1st episode is free): https://romepodcast.bandcamp.com/album/rome-season-1Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
Riley, Milo (now returned from holiday), Alice, and special guest David Banks (author of The City Authentic, out now on University of California Press) get into the relationship between real estate capital and the municipal deep state to answer the question: how the same twee aesthetic took over medium sized cities in the US, UK, Australia, and elsewhere, and why has BrewDog set itself up in the prison where they held Ned Kelly?If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfutureLIVE SHOW ALERT We’re touring the Midlands, the North, and (one city in) Scotland in May! We’ll be in Birmingham on May 14, Leeds on May 15, Manchester on May 16, and Glasgow on May 21. Tickets are available here: https://www.trashfuture.co.uk/eventsSTREAM ALERT Check out our Twitch stream, which airs 9-11 pm UK time every Monday and Thursday, at the following link: https://www.twitch.tv/trashfuturepodcastWEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/MILO ALERT Check out Milo’s upcoming live shows here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-showsand check out a recording of Milo’s special PINDOS available on YouTube here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRI7uwTPJtgROME ALERT Milo and Phoebe have teamed up with friend of the show Patrick Wyman to finally put their classical education to good use and discuss every episode of season 1 of Rome. You can download the 12 episode series from Bandcamp here (1st episode is free): https://romepodcast.bandcamp.com/album/rome-season-1Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
It's the free one!Riley, Hussein, and Nate look at the collision course between a rentier economy with a shrinking set of (allegedly) productive activities to support it… and realise the podcast has become de facto illegal in Brisbane for our consistent pro-hoon position, for which we make no apologies.
This week, we've brought on friend of the show Mattie Lubchansky to discuss a whole slew of New York content. We do a close read of a frankly bonkers speech that Mayor Eric Adams gave at a Nowruz celebration, examine the breathlessly optimistic press about NYPD robot dogs that fall over after taking a single step, and discuss reports that high-priced Manhattan commercial real estate is headed for a steep decline. But, could we at least convert the office towers to residences? Well, not for the living.Check out Mattie's book BOYS WEEKEND here! https://boysweekend.biz
It's the free one!This week, Riley, Milo, and Alice speak with friend of the show Molly White (@molly0xFFF) about a recent presentation from Andreesen Horowitz in which they predict… a much rosier 2023 for crypto, Web 3.0, and the various other VC money-sumps that will magically resolve their structural problems any day now.Check out Molly’s newsletter here! https://newsletter.mollywhite.net
Riley and Alice talk to Quinn Slobodian about his book, Crack Up Capitalism, which explores the creation of a thousand mini Hong Kongs around the world and the right wing nut jobs that love them.Check out Quinn's book here! https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/316685/crack-up-capitalism-by-slobodian-quinn/9780241460245
Mike and Jesse from YKS join the gang to watch The Catholic League's latest blockbuster documentary about The Woke Mind Virus taking over Disney and making it so perfectly normal senior citizens can't STAND to watch children's TV anymore. Also, we talk about the most fun a sitting President had since Trump met the football boys.Check out YKS here! https://www.patreon.com/yourkickstartersucks
We've fixed the issue that was causing glitching during playback!For this month's first Britainology, we've decided to invert the formula of our last show with Jackson Baly and Joel Zammit of Sanspants Radio: instead of Brits in Australia, we're now discussing Australians in Britain. And we cover everything from the celebrities--your Peter Andre, your Jason Donovan, your Nick Cave--to the strange cultural phenomena like the Aussie magnet of Clapham Common and the insensitively-named chain of Oz-themed bars. We very much hope you enjoy!Check out Sanspants Radio here! https://www.sanspantsradio.com
It's the free one!This week, Riley, Hussein, Alice, and Devon talk about the latest salvo in Britain’s war on children, especially gender non-conforming ones, in all facets of life—but especially in education and safeguarding. We also react to one of the dumbest AI-related startups yet.
We did a live show in Berlin on March 11 and we recorded it. We discuss our best friends from Wirecard, an electric VTOL taxi company that has, so far, only created a fake airport terminal in Coventry but cannot actually fly anywhere, and much more.
It's the free one!This week, Riley, Hussein, and Alice speak with author, activist, and friend of the show Cory Doctorow about the ongoing lawsuit against the Internet Archive—a campaign by the mega-conglomerate publishers of America which all hate free digital book lending—and why public libraries are squarely in their money-squeezing targets. We also talk about some great developments in some of the dumbest crypto / lending fraud cases, where it seems the brightest minds of the 30 Under 30 list forgot that prosecutors can subpoena your emails. We hope you enjoy!Check out Cory’s new book (and DRM-free audiobook project) here: www.redteamblues.com
Journalist Daniel Trilling rejoins Riley, Hussein, and Alice for an episode with a more serious tone, talking about London's Metropolitan Police and the various corruption scandals that have eaten away at the myth of "Policing by Consent." We conclude that even the liberal position on reforming the Met now includes some broad/loose definition of abolition, where huge numbers of police powers are removed.
It's the free one!We speak to computing researcher Dan McQuillan, author of the recent book “Resisting AI: An Anti-fascist Approach to Artificial Intelligence,” all about that open letter about how scary powerful AI is. Also, a startup that helps automate academic literature overproduction so not even the writers have to read it, and the TikTok hearings.Check out Dan’s book here! https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/resisting-ai
Alice and Riley are back and cracking the books. For the second Brane Zone this month, Riley read James C. Scott’s “Seeing Like a State,” (1998) and contend with a man contending with solving political problems at the end of history.
Update: the file glitch has been corrected!Matt Bors and Ben Clarkson, authors of the forthcoming Justice Warriors, join us for an episode all about British political cartoons, and the one time a telegraph cartoonist got too redpilled and then got fired. Also, we speculate about a Trump perp walk and check in on a million dollar bet made by the world’s postingest VC.Check out JUSTICE WARRIORS here! https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Justice-Warriors/Matt-Bors/9781952090226
It's the free one!Immigration and refugee issues specialist Zoe Gardner (@zoejardiniere) joins the gang to discuss Britain’s transformation from “quite a bit like Children of Men” to “just Children of Men literally.” We also talk about British columnist / politico Iraq War reflections, and a startup.
Milo and Riley are joined by Alex Kealy to discuss pure riffs. To include: the absolute worst-case scenario for trying to steal antique silverware from a National Trust home. Hope you enjoy!Check out Alex's work here: https://www.alexkealy.com
It's the free one!This week, we're joined by writer and Modern Money Network research director Nathan Tankus (@NathanTankus) to discuss the recent events with Silicon Valley Bank. Is the US Government going to insure all deposits? Have we nationalized a bank, but only in service of its creditors? Is this a re-run of 2008, but dumber? We discuss all this, and more, in the following episode.Check out Nathan’s site ‘Notes on the Crises' here: https://www.crisesnotes.com
For this month's first Britainology, it's a slight reversal of the script: we have before us a British cultural institution that Nate knows more about than Milo does. It is in fact the children's weekly comics paper / mischief compendium 'The Beano,' which Nate read avidly in the early 1990s and Milo has only a passing familiarity with.
We've reconvened the Book Club and present to you an episode in which Riley and Alice discuss what they've recently read. This inaugural episode of what we might call The Brane Zone (if we don't change our minds) revolves around Alice having read EASTERN APPROACHES, the memoir of Sir Fitzroy Maclean discussing his peripatetic and extremely Type of British Guy diplomatic/military career during the 1930s and 40s.
It's the (late) free one!This week, Riley, Hussein, and Alice join Annie and Julian from the QAnon Anonymous podcast to discuss the recent ecumenical freakout protests in Oxford on the topic of ‘15 Minute Cities.’ Annie was there interviewing participants—she managed to find the one person who was just there because of traffic concerns—and witnessed what appears to be a nascent reactionary resistance movement fighting in favor of climate change? Or something like it.
We look at a few trends in technology and pricing that are threatening to make all of our lives worse in the coming years, and also look at a startup (related), and some UK political silliness (not related). We are joined by Bryan Quinby (@murderxbryan), returning champion and host of the Guys podcast, to look at a few...Check out Bryan's show Guys here: https://t.co/OrJODjxfXH
We take an in depth look at a an article by Henry Kissinger, Eric Schmidt, and Daniel Huttenlocher about how AI is going to re-catholicise the entire world, and turn Patagonia vest nerds into a class of priests. We also turn to a stupid little startup before we get into the weighty stuff.
Former BoE economist and author Dan Davies joins us to talk about Central Bank Digital Currencies, programmable money, and the ongoing quest of central banks to hoard more power. Also, we unlock the details of Starmer’s pledge to make the U.K. the fastest growing economy in the G7 by luck or possibly magic, but without significant investment in state capacity building.
It's the free one!Terror has a new dimension. Alice, Riley, and returning guest, journalist Seamus Malekafzali (@Seamus_Malek) talk about the Saudi pivot to the third dimension. Also, Labour’s fabulous plans to fix criminal justice “by just using people from the town,” and Matt Hancock’s foray into NFT’s only about one year too late.Check out Seamus' Substack about Middle East politics: http://malekafzali.substack.comAnd also check out his Substack about obscure films: http://burntnitrate.substack.com
We've done it again. We've subjected Nish Kumar to a terrible political book. However, rather than being a UK politician's attempt at literary fiction, we've instead delved into Harry Cole and James Heale's ill-timed work 'Out of the Blue: The inside story of the unexpected rise and rapid fall of Liz Truss.' And we experienced it with about 300 of you, at Backyard Comedy in London on February 20, 2023. Hope you enjoy!
After an accidental break and a lost episode 3, Andrew and Riley are back with Episode 4! Alice from Trashfuture and Kill James Bond joins us for gangstalking construction workers, breakfast plans, Guy Ritchie defense and 2010's dismal understanding of viral posts.
It's the free one!Friend of the show Patrick Wyman (@Patrick_Wyman) joins the gang to talk about ancient state formation… and also a strange book written by a venture capitalist about how this entity called The Network (him and his friends) will replace God and the State as the Leviathan of 21st century society. It’s both History and Hegel with a head injury, folks!Check out Tides of History here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tides-of-history/id1257202425And check out Patrick’s book THE VERGE here: https://www.twelvebooks.com/titles/patrick-wyman/the-verge/9781538701171/
Friend of the show Dr Eleanor Janega (@GoingMedieval) joins the gang to discuss her new book, The Once and Future Sex, about misogyny through the ages, and how while the justifications change, the outcome is always the same. It is a depressingly relevant conversation to the ongoing campaign of stochastic terrorism carried out against transgender people and immigrants by the great and the good of the country.Buy Eleanor's book here! https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393867817
For this month's first Britainology, Nate and Milo watched the first installment of the Up series, the 1964 mini-documentary SEVEN UP! Filmed as a commentary on Britain's class system and unintentionally becoming a time lapse of the Baby Boomers, it's still an absolute gem of British Pathé Voice, and much more. We hope you enjoy.
It's the free one!Malcolm Harris (@bigmeaninternet), author of the forthcoming Palo Alto, joins the gang to talk about the history of capitalism, empire, America, California, Palo Alto, and the one very special University that may not have invented racism, but it sure did perfect it.Get PALO ALTO here: https://www.littlebrown.com/titles/malcolm-harris/palo-alto/9780316592031/
There's a rumor circulating that Liz Truss may be making a comeback. Well, she might think so--and she's written an article about it. We review this excellent piece of writing line-by-line, as well as addressing some coin-minting antipathy from a weird Canadian columnist that Riley found. We very much hope you enjoy.
It's the free one!We brought on friend of the show and extremely good cartoonist Mattie Lubchansky (@lubchansky) to discuss their new book BOYS WEEKEND. They wanted to register a website for the book at boysweekend.com, but it’s been parked on by a group of guys who’ve been having boys’ weekends since 2000. And posting about it on a very web 1.0 site. So, cleary we had to talk about it, as well as more AI-related news, and much more.Check out the actual site for BOYS WEEKEND here, and preorder a copy: www.boysweekend.biz
This week, we're speaking with Paris Marx (@parismarx) of the Tech Won't Save Us podcast about recent developments in AI--the grift moving from web 3.0 to artificial intelligence, the idea that anything is good enough so long as it automates people out of a job, and much more. Hope you enjoy!Check out Tech Won't Save Us here: https://techwontsave.us
It's the free one!This week, we speak with Joe Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) of the Bloomberg dot com Odd Lots podcast about minting the coin. But not just any coin: a strange loophole in a ’90s law designed to let the U.S. Mint produce collectors’ coins basically means that, if they wanted to, the director could order the Mint to issue a platinum coin of any denomination. Two dollars. Ten million dollars. One trillion dollars. But will the Democrats use this to completely undercut Republican debt ceiling brinkmanship? Probably not?Check out Odd Lots here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/odd-lots/id1056200096
Abi Thorn (@PhilosophyTube) joins Riley, Milo, and Alice for a mostly dessert episode today! (Hussein continues to recover from a wasting disease, and will be back soon). In the mean time we’ve got news, startups, more Elon nonsense, and then to top it off we try to elucidate “Starmerism” as a political theory, rather than just a media management strategy.
It's the free one!Activist and campaigner Beth Douglas joins the gang to discuss Scotland’s decision to make transing your gender a more dignified, simple experience, and concomitant decision by the U.K. government to retaliate by launching Trident on its own position.
For this month's first Britainology, Nate and Milo examine a BBC children's show that has been running since the 1950s, despite no one watching it. The show is called Blue Peter, it's extremely boring, it feels like it's been taken out of a different era, and yes, there are allegations of adultery and drug use (it's Britain after all!) Hope you enjoy.
This week’s bonus features writer and rail engineer Gareth Dennis (@GarethDennis), host of the Rail Natter YouTube show, discussing the current state of British trains. The Tories are ideologically opposed to state capacity, sure, that’s table stakes, but did you know that Labour also promise to not fix the unavoidable problems with the UK’s rail network? Shocking, we realise. Also, we discuss a mental health startup.Check out Rail Natter here! https://www.youtube.com/c/GarethDennisTVMILO ALERT Check out Milo’s upcoming live shows here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows
It’s the free one!(the desync error from the previous version has been corrected)For this week's free episode, the gang is back together to discuss recent developments involving Microsoft buying AI software. However, we're more enthralled with a story from a county council in Cheshire and a proposed real estate deal involving an Australian gentleman named Lex Greensill. Hope you enjoy!If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfutureWEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
It's the free one!For this week's free episode, the gang is back together to discuss recent developments involving Microsoft buying AI software. However, we're more enthralled with a story from a county council in Cheshire and a proposed real estate deal involving an Australian gentleman named Lex Greensill. Hope you enjoy!
For this week's bonus, the nearly-full cast of Riley, Milo, Hussein, and Alice speak with technology publicist and crypto sceptic Ed Zitron about the current state of the cryptocurrency market--of course it's a scam, everyone knows that, but just how much is it on the precipice? The answer will probably not shock you, but might unsettle you regardless. Hope you enjoy!Check out Ed's newsletter on Substack here: https://ez.substack.com
It’s the free one!The gang says goodbye to Matt Hancock MP, the fabulous app where we all met for the first time. Also, a real use for NFT's finally discovered. Mostly, though, we face up to a grim reality: the society of universal services that defined the postwar period has now fundamentally broken. Predictably, the worst people in the country are all scratching their heads and asking how it happened.If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfutureWEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
For this week's bonus, here's the live show we barely remember. It was our first show of the tour in Australia, we were jet lagged to the end of the earth, Milo was out sick with tummy trouble, and we were joined with special guest and friend of the show Aidan 'Taco' Jones to discuss... a spite cube. And a niche kind of Australian vehicle theft where you tell everyone exactly what you're about to do. This show took place at Good Chat in Brisbane on November 7, 2022. Hope you enjoy!
It’s the free one!Riley, Milo, and Alice ring in the new year by looking at the Economist’s rosy predictions in an alternate universe where Britain magically becomes fine due to the power of positive thinking and sharp dressing. We also look at some developments in Scotland, and Labour’s plan to give every homeowner control of Trident to deal with the rampant issue of young people loitering. Finally, we round off by looking at a new Yacht Neom DLC.If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfutureWEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
We're joined by friend of the show and comedian Tom Ballard. No theme, pure riffs, comedians talking, and also Riley divulging a story about trying to buy used streetwear and being robbed by a Redditor. Embarrassing stuff, folks!
It's the free one!Riley, Milo, and Alice festively discuss some Christmas presents granted by the news, including the arrest of the dread pirate Bankman Fried and Elon Musk posting himself into penury. Also, Dom Leusder joins Riley in the second half to talk about the concept of “polycrisis” that appears to now be inescapable, to attempt a more firm definition of a nebulous, but useful, concept.
All riffs, no theme, pure vibes, first dates with criminals on the run, you name it. We've brought on comedian Alex Haddow to chat with Riley and Milo in this week's bonus. Hope you enjoy!
It's the free one!This week’s free episode is all about William Rees Mogg and James Dale Davidson’s book “the sovereign individual,” which describes a wonderful world in which fifty rich men live in armoured citadels and everyone else scrapes a living off the land. Do not become addicted to water, my friends!If you want to learn more about Quinn Slobodian's work, check out his site here: https://www.quinnslobodian.com
Callum Cant from Autonomy and Fairwork joins the gang for Part 2 of AI Week, where we go in depth about what the fair introduction of AI to workplaces might look like. Fairwork is starting the research process to answer this question, and we’re looking at what they intend to achieve and what the answers may be. Here’s a hint: it starts with an “O” and rhymes with an “Blorganised Labour.”
It's the free one!The Verge’s James Vincent joins Alice and Riley (and Hussein shortly thereafter) to discuss language models - specifically ChatGPT, and how it fits into OpenAI and Microsoft’s plans. We ask - what is its “fluent bullshit” good enough to disrupt in a world that increasingly relies on paying people for bullshit jobs?Buy James’s book ‘Beyond Measure’ here!
In this month's first Britainology, we interview the UK's only good columnist about his new book 'The Good Drinker: How I Learned to Love Drinking Less.' The book is available here from Profile Books.However, rest assured that we talk about the book for about half of this interview, and the other half is a masterclass on process where we learn how Adrian comes up with columns such as 'I recently saw something in a petrol station toilet southbound on the M1 that I can never unsee.' Hope you enjoy!
This week, we’re speaking with Vicky Spratt (@Victoria_Spratt) of the I Paper about her new book Tenants: The People on the Frontline of Britain’s Housing Emergency. Why has Britain regressed so badly on housing conditions? Is anyone with any political power aiming to fix this? The answer will probably not surprise you.Preorder Vicky’s book here: https://profilebooks.com/work/tenants/
It's the free one!We review the current state of unreality in British politics, the supposed Musk war on Apple (not going well for Musk), a bit of Australian hooning reverie, and Hussein’s story about a grammar school bully making people drink water from a puddle to prove they’re not gay. It’s all coming together, folks!
This week, we're talking to Mike Isaac of the New York Times about Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter. And, let's be real, his desire to be loved, his insane right wing tendencies, the slow grinding of the platform into the ground, and the bizarre tech-libertarian freak thought undergirding all of the PayPal Mafia's conception of the world. This is part two of two!
It's the free one!This week, we're talking to Mike Isaac of the New York Times about Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter. And, let's be real, his desire to be loved, his insane right wing tendencies, the slow grinding of the platform into the ground, and the bizarre tech-libertarian freak thought undergirding all of the PayPal Mafia's conception of the world. This is part one of two!
This week’s episode is a recording of our live show at Comedy Republic in Melbourne, Australia on November 17 featuring comedian Naomi Higgins (@nomstrositi). We’ve found a particularly Australian real-estate startup that is making the world better by making it worse. You’ll love it!
This week’s bonus features the enormously knowledgeable Molly White (@molly0xFFF) explaining the Sam Bankman-Fried polycule, the collapse of crypto hub FTX, and so much more to Riley and Alice. We very much hope you enjoy this. Check out Molly’s blog Web3 Is Going Just Great here: https://web3isgoinggreat.com And check out her newsletter here: https://newsletter.mollywhite.net
It's the free one! For this week’s free episode, we present to you: a horse-racing NFT metaverse startup, founded in Australia, that is definitely going places. We recorded this episode with special guest Tom Ballard (@TomCBallard) live at Comedy Republic in Melbourne, Australia. We very much hope you enjoy!
Pure riffs, no plot: that's the Balthasar Speedboat promise. And for this week's bonus episode, we have comedians Naomi Higgins (@nomstrositi) and Emily Woods on the show. It's a pleasant sojourn into the deeply sexual world of the sport of curling--and much more! hope you enjoy.
It's the free one! Our friends Tom Walker and Demi Lardner are certified Neom-heads. They simply can't get enough of The Line. And as a result, we saved all the best Neom content we could in order to subject them to it at our live show at The Great Club in Marrickville, Sydney, Australia on November 10. We absolutely loved this show and hope you do, too. MILO ALERT Here are links to see Milo’s upcoming standup shows: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows AUSTRALIA ALERT We’re currently in Australia, and there are tickets available for shows in Canberra: https://au.patronbase.com/_StreetTheatre/Productions/TFLP/Performances BRITAINOLOGY ALERT We’ve added a live show in Melbourne on the 19th of November in which Nate and Milo will present Britainology! Get tickets here: https://tccinc.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/79853
This week, we've brought comedian Nish Kumar on for his regular torture treatment: being forced to hear the plot of a British politician's thriller novel. In this case, it's Ian Duncan Smith's 'The Devil's Tune' and it's easily the worst of any of these we've ever done. Hope you enjoy! AUSTRALIA ALERT We’re currently in Australia, and there are tickets available for the show in Canberra: https://au.patronbase.com/_StreetTheatre/Productions/TFLP/Performances BRITAINOLOGY ALERT We’ve added a live show in Melbourne on the 19th of November in which Nate and Milo will present Britainology! Get tickets here: https://tccinc.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/79853
It's the free one! This week, Riley, Milo, and Alice join Dr Jess Green (@greenprofgreen) to discuss the concept of carbon offsets and how they’re not the foolproof solution to climate change that every huge polluter who definitely wants to keep polluting seems to think they are! Or maybe they’re just pretending to think that! AUSTRALIA ALERT We’re currently in Australia, and there are tickets available for shows in Sydney: https://musicboozeco.oztix.com.au/outlet/event/3213de46-cef7-49c4-abcb-c9bdf4bcb61f and Canberra: https://au.patronbase.com/_StreetTheatre/Productions/TFLP/Performances BRITAINOLOGY ALERT We’ve added a live show in Melbourne on the 19th of November in which Nate and Milo will present Britainology! Get tickets here: https://tccinc.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/79853
For this month's first Britainology, Milo explains the heartwarming autumn tradition of burning effigies of Catholics. Well, sorta. It's our Guy Fawkes Night explainer episode, among many other tangents. Hope you enjoy! AUSTRALIA ALERT We are going to tour Australia in November, and there are tickets available for shows in Sydney: https://musicboozeco.oztix.com.au/outlet/event/3213de46-cef7-49c4-abcb-c9bdf4bcb61f and Canberra: https://au.patronbase.com/_StreetTheatre/Productions/TFLP/Performances BRITAINOLOGY ALERT We’ve added a live show in Melbourne on the 19th of November in which Nate and Milo will present Britainology! Get tickets here: https://tccinc.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/79853
Riley and Andrew are back for episode 2 of season 5 of Criminal Minds in season 2 of the The Boney Island Whitefish! Sean Patrick Flanery is here and he's having a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. He's on what turns out to be a very sympathetic rampage and only the FBI's finest squad of speculative profilers can wait for him to kill some more people and then conveniently show up where they were anyway!
Mattie Lubchansky joins the gang to explore the future of art and AI. There was once a time when you could make a decent living as an illustrator, but a number of people have decided to get rid of that by using Computers. Hope you were okay with all the art that’s been made so far, because that’s all you’re getting! AUSTRALIA ALERT We are going to tour Australia in November, and there are tickets available for shows in Sydney: https://musicboozeco.oztix.com.au/outlet/event/3213de46-cef7-49c4-abcb-c9bdf4bcb61f and Canberra: https://au.patronbase.com/_StreetTheatre/Productions/TFLP/Performances BRITAINOLOGY ALERT We’ve added a live show in Melbourne on the 19th of November in which Nate and Milo will present Britainology! Get tickets here: https://tccinc.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/79853
It's the free one! The Srsly Wrong boys join Riley, Alice, and Hussein for a watch and review of Coinbase: A Founder’s Story - a movie where the ending title cards about crypto eating shit were definitely not hastily added moments before release. Watch the first episode of PAPA AND BOY on Youtube here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcilVLtY7zk AUSTRALIA ALERT Brisbane and Melbourne are sold out, but there are tickets available for shows in Sydney: https://musicboozeco.oztix.com.au/outlet/event/3213de46-cef7-49c4-abcb-c9bdf4bcb61f and Canberra: https://au.patronbase.com/_StreetTheatre/Productions/TFLP/Performances BRITAINOLOGY ALERT We’ve added a live show in Melbourne on the 19th of November in which Nate and Milo will present Britainology! Get tickets here: https://tccinc.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/79853
The gang (comprised of Riley, Milo, Nate, and Alice) looks back at the japes and jives of the final death throes of the U.K.’s ongoing political crisis, because surely this new guy will sort it out. Then, we look at a computer programme that’s facilitating a capital strike among US landlords. Here's the propublica piece we referenced in the episode: https://www.propublica.org/article/yieldstar-rent-increase-realpage-rent MILO ALERT Here are links to see Milo’s upcoming standup shows: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows AUSTRALIA ALERT We are going to tour Australia in November, and there are tickets available for shows in Sydney: https://musicboozeco.oztix.com.au/outlet/event/3213de46-cef7-49c4-abcb-c9bdf4bcb61f and Canberra: https://au.patronbase.com/_StreetTheatre/Productions/TFLP/Performances BRITAINOLOGY ALERT We’ve added a live show in Melbourne on the 19th of November in which Nate and Milo will present Britainology! Get tickets here: https://tccinc.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/79853
The Boney Island Boys are back! Boonta Vista's Andrew and Trashfuture's Riley have returned for season 2 of The Boney Island Whitefish, the only podcast to specialise in watching season 5 of America's most unhinged crime procedurals! Get ready for the return of Breakfast Update, Wild Speculation and more! We're very pleased to be back with season 5 of a whole new show, and we hope you enjoy it too! This first episode will be on our public feed, and if you enjoy it, subsequent episodes will be available on the Trashfuture subscriber feed: https://patreon.com/trashfuture LIVE AUSTRALIAN SHOWS COMING UP! - Trashfuture in Canberra with guest Andrew Law on November 15th, tickets available here: https://thestreet.org.au/shows/trashfuture-live-canberra… Trashfuture in Sydney with guests Demi Lardner and Tom Walker on November 10th, tickets available here: https://musicboozeco.oztix.com.au/outlet/event/3213de46-cef7-49c4-abcb-c9bdf4bcb61f
It's the free one! This week, Riley, Milo, and Alice speak with Mathew Lawrence (@dantonshead) of Common Wealth about the state of...things in Britain, the momentum outside of party politics, the opportunities of the situation, and the prospect of even more stupid austerity. Hope you enjoy! AUSTRALIA ALERT We are going to tour Australia in November, and there are tickets available for shows in Sydney: https://musicboozeco.oztix.com.au/outlet/event/3213de46-cef7-49c4-abcb-c9bdf4bcb61f and Canberra: https://au.patronbase.com/_StreetTheatre/Productions/TFLP/Performances BRITAINOLOGY ALERT We’ve added a live show in Melbourne on the 19th of November in which Nate and Milo will present Britainology! Get tickets here: https://tccinc.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/79853
We managed to get the entire cast of TF together on one stage for a discussion of a very strange anti-woke conservative banking app in the US. And a special tribute to the dog that killed Bin Laden. Hope you enjoy!
For this month's first Britianology, we bring on our TF cohost Alice to discuss one of British history's strangest men. That's right, we're discussing Lawrence of Arabia, T.E. Lawrence himself, or any of the multiple aliases with which he enlisted in the British military in order to get big strapping guys to beat him up. We enjoyed recording this and hope it's a fun listen.
It's the free one! Is it a good sign for an economy when you're getting recommended installment-plan purchases for cheap takeaway foods? Is it any wonder that Nick Clegg may have gotten wrapped up in a scandal involving putting OnlyFans creators on a kind of no-fly list? Is it going to come as a shock that Britain's conservative columnists think electrical blackouts will teach spoiled young people a lesson? All this and more, this week. LONDON LIVE SHOW ALERTWe're having a live show at Between the Bridges in Southbank on October 18. The show starts at 8 pm and tickets are available here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/trashfuture-live-podcast-southbank-special-tickets-424084848197 MILO ALERTHere are links to see Milo’s upcoming standup shows: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows AUSTRALIA ALERTWe are going to tour Australia in November, and there are tickets available for shows in Sydney: https://musicboozeco.oztix.com.au/outlet/event/3213de46-cef7-49c4-abcb-c9bdf4bcb61f and Brisbane https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/trashfuture-live-in-brisbane-additional-show-tickets-396915263237 and Canberra: https://au.patronbase.com/_StreetTheatre/Productions/TFLP/Performances BRITAINOLOGY ALERTWe’ve added a live show in Melbourne on the 19th of November in which Nate and Milo will present Britainology! Get tickets here: https://tccinc.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/79853
Anna Nicolau and Kaye Wiggins from the FT join the gang to discuss the rise and sort of fall of music as a securitised asset, and all the weirdness and guys you’d expect with that.
This week's bonus will be out on Friday, but in the meantime please enjoy this special bonus segment that Riley recorded! Riley sits down with the proprietors of radical cultural publication and media collective Techno Materialism to talk about - you guessed it - techno’s role in gentrifying European cities. Check out their article here! https://technomaterialism.com/2022/07/21/techno-gentrification-act-1/
It's the free one! Elon Musk is (maybe?) buying Twitter again, but more importantly, the conversations between him and a number of his doofus friends and associates have been disclosed. We look into the Mind of Musk, and speculate about his grand plans for the future of humanity via posting. We end on a charming article about McKinsey and the tobacco industry. If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfuture MILO ALERT Here are links to see Milo’s upcoming standup shows: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows AUSTRALIA ALERT We are going to tour Australia in November, and there are tickets available for shows in Sydney: https://musicboozeco.oztix.com.au/outlet/event/3213de46-cef7-49c4-abcb-c9bdf4bcb61f and Brisbane https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/trashfuture-live-in-brisbane-additional-show-tickets-396915263237 and Canberra: https://au.patronbase.com/_StreetTheatre/Productions/TFLP/Performances BRITAINOLOGY ALERT We’ve added a live show in Melbourne on the 19th of November in which Nate and Milo will present Britainology! Get tickets here: https://tccinc.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/79853 WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
Gary from Gary's Economics joins the gang to take a deep dive on the politics and economics of the budgetary disaster. Do you wonder about the mechanism by which these insane decisions make their way through to mortgages, pensions, and rents? Do you want to understand the core of Labour's weak response? Then look no further! Check out Gary's Economics on Twitter here: https://www.youtube.com/c/GarysEconomics
It's the free one! Cory Doctorow and Rebecca Giblin come on to discuss their new book “Chokepoint Capitalism,” which details how large companies have identified critical bottlenecks in the creative Labour process to suck the value and life out of them like vampires, and what can and has been done about it. Also, a startup! U.K. economic implosion to be discussed in this week’s bonus. Buy Rebecca and Cory's book here! https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/710957/chokepoint-capitalism-by-cory-doctorow-and-rebecca-giblin/
On this week's bonus episode of TF, Riley is joined by Milo, Hussein, and Nate, all of whom are captive in the United Kingdom at the moment as a nation fully crashes its car into a wall. We also discuss large corporations having NFT characters on their board as 'chief metaverse officer.' Tech companies were ahead of the curve when it comes to setting money on fire. MILO ALERT Here are links to see Milo’s upcoming standup shows: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows AUSTRALIA ALERT We are going to tour Australia in November, and there are tickets available for shows in Sydney: https://musicboozeco.oztix.com.au/outlet/event/3213de46-cef7-49c4-abcb-c9bdf4bcb61f and Brisbane https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/trashfuture-live-in-brisbane-additional-show-tickets-396915263237 and Canberra: https://au.patronbase.com/_StreetTheatre/Productions/TFLP/Performances
It's the free one! Patrick Wyman joins the gang to discuss social collapse and legitimacy throughout history, as we try to apply some of the lessons to certain societies that have been thrown into chaos recently. Not naming names, but let's say United K. Or no, that's too specific - how about U. Kingdom. MILO ALERT Here are links to see Milo’s upcoming standup shows: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows AUSTRALIA ALERT We are going to tour Australia in November, and there are tickets available for shows in Sydney: https://musicboozeco.oztix.com.au/outlet/event/3213de46-cef7-49c4-abcb-c9bdf4bcb61f and Brisbane https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/trashfuture-live-in-brisbane-additional-show-tickets-396915263237 and Canberra: https://au.patronbase.com/_StreetTheatre/Productions/TFLP/Performances
This week, Riley and Alice are joined by Cas Piancey of the Crypto Critics Corner podcast to discuss Tether, stablecoins, and the enormous scam quotient of the crypto sector. It's okay to be pessimists about it! Your eyes aren't lying to you! Check out Crypto Critics Corner here: https://cryptocriticscorner.com
Call it an act of reportage. Call it 'we simply couldn't refuse the opportunity.' We went down to the queue for Queen Elizabeth II's lying in state and interviewed people. We also recorded our observations. It was... an experience.
It's the free one! This week, Riley, Milo, Hussein, and Alice join special guest and friend of the show Jathan Sadowski (@jathansadowski) of the This Machine Kills podcast (@machinekillspod) to discuss microfinance. Despite the Nobel Prizes involved, it turns out it’s just app-connected loan sharking in many ways. We also discuss a mental health app that provides crowdsourced therapy. Is it licensed? Hey, that’s just a technicality.
This week, Riley, Milo, Hussein, and Alice join special guest Shanti Singh for her second-ever appearance on TF, to discuss recent recall campaigns and dark money activism funded through San Francisco's intensely authoritarian libertarian VC guys. However, before we can talk about that, we have to talk about a startup that wants to build sea pods, presumably so that you can pay rent to a sealord.
It's the free one! Riley, Hussein, and Alice ring in the reboot of the Carolingian Era in true TF style.
This week, it's Hussein, Nate, and Alice discussing the 1985 Terry Gilliam movie BRAZIL, why we feel obligated to watch it, why we think it really dislikes women, and why it somehow managed to nail one thing: the cops.
It's the free one! This week, Riley, Milo, Hussein, and Alice discuss the end of the Tory leadership campaign, its recent news item on the topic of abolishing the UK’s speed limit, Tesla owners in Norway threatening a hunger strike, the collapse of Klarna’s shaky fundamentals, an examination of why there are a hundred failing electric scooter companies, and much more. If you’re looking for a UK strike fund to donate to, here’s one we’ve supported: https://www.rmt.org.uk/about/national-dispute-fund/ If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfuture MILO ALERT Here are links to see Milo’s upcoming standup shows: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows AUSTRALIA ALERT We are going to tour Australia in November, and there are tickets available for shows in Sydney: https://musicboozeco.oztix.com.au/outlet/event/3213de46-cef7-49c4-abcb-c9bdf4bcb61f and Brisbane https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/trashfuture-live-in-brisbane-additional-show-tickets-396915263237 and Canberra: https://au.patronbase.com/_StreetTheatre/Productions/TFLP/Performances WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
Part 2 of our series on the deranged libertarian intentional community of Prospera, land of legal pick-n-mix that employs a man named Machiavelli Davis. Read Ian’s article here! https://restofworld.org/2021/honduran-islanders-push-back-libertarian-startup/
We bring on journalist Ian MacDougall to discuss the libertarian intentional-community of Prospera, a failing city-state in the Bay Islands of Honduras, where Thiel- and Andreessen-funded weirdos have tried to create a land where anyone can open a business with any law, from any jurisdiction, anywhere, adjudicated by some guys in Arizona. We’re not making this up. Read Ian’s article here! https://restofworld.org/2021/honduran-islanders-push-back-libertarian-startup/
Here is this week's slightly delayed bonus--it's a recording of our live show at Edinburgh Fringe recorded at TheSpace @45 late in the evening on August 26, 2022. We discuss a wearable tech for the mind and an insane Wattpad-style fanfic about Princess Diana published in... the Telegraph? Hope you enjoy!
It's the free one! This week, we’re discussing the new Adam Neumann (of WeWork shame) and Marc Andreessen housing startup (details are light). We also talk a bit about Tesla’s $15k DLC for your car, and a lot of riffs about homophobic truck owner memes in the United States. Hope you enjoy! AUSTRALIA ALERT Canberra tickets are now on sale! https://au.patronbase.com/_StreetTheatre/Productions/TFLP/Performances
For this month's first Britainology, Nate and Milo are joined by friend of the show and reference for the true heads Alex Kealy to discuss what it's like being a performer at the festival of indignities and landlords. We hope you enjoy!
It's the alternate chaos configuration of Hussein, Nate, and Alice discussing the UK's current drought, its privatised water infrastructure, the fact that no new capacity has been added since 1989... except for a special boy's special project in Beckton. We also read an article that claims blockchain can solve the world's water issues. We will always suffer for content.
This week it’s Milo, Hussein, Nate, and Alice, joined by special guest Mattie Lubchansky (@lubchansky), and we’re discussing the UK’s energy pricing woes. Which are solely related to privatisation. Which everyone can see coming and nobody is going to do anything about. We also discuss an app-connected water bottle that sometimes tells you to drink enough water to kill you if its sensors are off. There’s a special smart segment in this episode in which Riley speaks with Dr Craig Berry about the disasters of privatised pensions. If you enjoy this discussion, Craig’s book is available here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/pensions-imperilled-9780198782834?cc=gb⟨=en&
Pure riffs. Nothing but riffs. No preparation, no reading, no knowledge. We've got Tom Walker in the studio to talk about Kingston-upon-Thames and the idea of reshooting Psycho as a Carry On film. We've got it all. You will enjoy this.
It's the free one! There may be disruptions in the free-money-forever ecosystem of the tech industry, but that hasn’t stopped new ideas springing forth. For example: what if we made an AI chatbot but it had feelings? And we made it do spreadsheet-factory jobs? This is one of the propositions from a new startup we’ve uncovered called–and this is not a joke–Digital Souls. MILO ALERT Here are links to see Milo’s upcoming standup shows: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows AUSTRALIA ALERT We are going to tour Australia in November, and there are tickets available for shows in Sydney: https://musicboozeco.oztix.com.au/outlet/event/3213de46-cef7-49c4-abcb-c9bdf4bcb61f Melbourne https://tccinc.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/75729 and Brisbane https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/trashfuture-live-in-brisbane-additional-show-tickets-396915263237.
We revisit some old friends, such as Wirecard's Jan Marsalek and THG's Matt Moulding, and then continue to look at the implications of the increasingly large and powerful strike wave reverberating up and down Britain. We end with a another kooky startup that has some very funny numbers attached.
It's the free one! This week, we're talking the Metaverse, we're talking FB's valuation plummeting because iOS lets you improve your digital privacy by 1%, and we're talking the recent furore with drag queen story hours and how American fascists and British transphobes have been coalescing and continue to do so. AUSTRALIA ALERT We are going to tour Australia in November, and there are tickets available for shows in Melbourne https://tccinc.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/75729 and Brisbane https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/trashfuture-live-in-brisbane-tickets-389786119777). Canberra and Sydney links are coming soon!
This week, we've got friend of the show Tom Walker in from Australia to talk about Neom, our beautiful exemplar of a future city that will definitely get built. We also, however, have to talk about the Labour Party's current state. We hope you enjoy this
It's the free one! The Forde Report is out and has landed with all the impact of a feather in the febrile British media space. We discuss being right, what’s wrong, and what else. But first, we look at a new podcast that is teaching England’s prisoners about how to hustle a brand.
Sociologist of Toryness Phil Burton Cartledge (@philbc3) rejoins the gang to discuss the leadership election, and what the current state of the Conservative party means for democracy in the U.K. (Spoiler alert: the omens are not necessarily good).
It's the free one! Paris Marx from Tech Won’t Save Us joins Riley and Alice to discuss the Uber Files - a trove of documents confirming Uber was doing what we were alleging it was doing the whole time. But first, we review a fight between a practitioner of the Reddit style and a master of the Page Six style.
Gizmodo’s Shoshana Wodinsky joins the gang to discuss how the digital surveillance panopticon created to sell, among other things, AI generated t shirts, is also now a crucial tool in the states arsenal to prevent people from accessing abortions.
For this month's first Britainology, Milo subjected Nate to the early-2000s hit sketch comedy show 'Little Britain,' the brainchild of Matt Lucas and David Walliams. Has it aged well? No. But was it at least funny? Also no. Prepare your body for the literal worst bit of content we may have faced yet.
This week, we examine Tony Blair's bizarre Future of Britain Conference and its obvious hang-ups: austerity and--you guessed it--ID cards. The man simply will not quit. Hope you enjoy!
It's the free one! We continue to follow the incipient strike wave in Britain now spreading to other industries, and think about how the veil between ourselves and a more livaeble, dignified existence is once again at its thinnest. We also discuss Labour’s manifest inability to rise to the moment… and then we delve into the mountains of madness with an article about how Glastonbury should be replaced with a Ukrainian army recruitment centre. If you’re looking for a UK strike fund to donate to, here’s one we’ve supported: https://www.rmt.org.uk/about/national-dispute-fund/
Rebecca Wilks returns to the podcast to talk about Wales, the international arms trade, and creating the refugees you proclaim to welcome. Also, a reading from Neom and a startup!
It's the free one! Rail Natter's Gareth Dennis joins the gang to discuss the RMT's strike action. We look at what made striking necessary, what striking does for everyone (not just the strikers!), and - of course - we run down the Mick Lynch daytime TV hit list. Gareth mentions a strike fund in the episode, which you can access here: https://www.rmt.org.uk/about/national-dispute-fund/
This month we've spoken with friend of the show and knower of medieval history Dr Eleanor Janega (@GoingMedieval) on the topic of the British monarchy. Not just the current state of affairs (although we do get into that), but also the unbroken lineage all the way back to 1066. Why is it that we've simply put up with it for so long?
The gang talks to Ben Tarnoff about his book “Internet for the People,” which looks at the present miserable state of the internet “as public utility,” and how it can be made better. But first, we look at a startup back from the dead, think about the on-purpose recession that the global north is about to tip into and (thinking about other recessions), what we can expect, and how the IMF created political monsters it can no longer control. Buy Ben's book here! https://www.versobooks.com/books/3927-internet-for-the-people
It's the free one! This week, Riley, Milo, Nate, and Alice react to new developments from UK politics (it’s wedge week!) and the crypto world, where discussions are taking place to encourage central banks to help unwind stablecoins. What does that mean? Well, it means free money, more scamming, and no time spent on explaining the actual use case–there isn’t one. As mentioned in the show notes, there’s a fundraiser for the 9 people arrested during a recent Stop Deportations action in Uxbridge. Please contribute here if you can! https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-stop-deportations
This week, Riley, Milo, and Alice speak with FT reporter and author Dan McCrum (@FD) about his forthcoming book 'Money Men: A Hot Startup, a Billion Dollar Fraud, a Fight for the Truth.' It is of course about Wirecard, and it's got some amazing details that we simply lose our minds about as Dan recounts them. Hope you enjoy! Buy Dan's book here!
Riley is out this week, and in his stead we’ve convened a special episode of Trashfuture featuring Milo, Hussein, Nate, and Alice on the topic of a failing ‘AI’ startup called Nate. Yes, it’s called Nate. And it’s a pure, concentrated example of ‘what if your robot was just a guy.’ We draw heavily from Malique Morris’s article from The Information, and you should read it https://www.theinformation.com/articles/shaky-tech-and-cash-burning-giveaways-ai-shopping-startup-shows-excesses-of-funding-boom and also follow him on twitter at @luxeoflique If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfuture WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
In this special edition of Britainology, Nate and Milo traveled to BBC2 Studios to interview the man himself, Jeremy Vine, in order to discuss how he keeps a straight face when asked to arbitrate questions such as 'should a panel of mums decide all criminal punishment in the UK' and 'is your tea kettle as loud as your lawn mower (please bring the lawn mower into your kitchen for a comparison).' Hope you enjoy!
We're back with pure riffs and no topic, and we're joined by Joel, Joel, and Jackson from the popular Australian podcast Plumbing the Death Star. We recorded this back in March and now it's out. Please enjoy us rejoicing in the class system of car park sausages in Australia, the wonder of Bob Katter pointing a gun at a knife, and a story about a little boy who wanted a pet pig.
It's the free one! And it's out very early! This week, Riley, Hussein, Nate and Alice discuss the cost-of-living crisis in Britain as seen through trade periodicals for grocers and the growing sentiment among the police (yes! Even among the British police!) that shoplifting to survive shouldn’t be punished. We also discuss new developments in the endless hackathon purgatory of the crypto world, where they want to make everything you’ve ever done in your working life tied to your identity, on the blockchain.
Please enjoy this live recording of Riley, Milo, Hussein, and Nate performing at Bristol Transformed early last month. We discuss a new, twee advancement in bossware, plus a deep dive into some of the most bizarre and unspeakable details of the Platinum Jubilee.
It's the free one! The gang looks at the ossified politics of Britain, now unable to conceive of responding to a once-in-a-generation permanent energy crisis with anything more than a one-off payment and "good luck, you're gonna need it!" Then, we discuss a startup that looked at the spate of school shootings around the country and said, "it is with a heavy heart that we must profit from this."
This week, we're joined by auto journalist Victoria Scott (@mikurubaeahina) about new developments in automotive surveillance. As in: what if your car was the cops, recorded everything you ever did in the car, was accessible by the other cops via forensic devices, could be monitored without a warrant, and had no option for you to shut this off? Well, apparently that's 90% of cars made since 2008 already.
It's the free one! Paris Marx of Tech Won’t Save Us and the author of Road to Nowhere talks to us for PART ONE of our two-part series on driverless cars, which we have titled Automobile Conversation - and it is NOT legally affiliated with “Car Talk.”
We recorded a live Britainology in London earlier this month and brought on special guest Juliet Jacques (and regular guest Riley) to discuss British sex scandals past: the Profumo Affair, Keith Vaz, Derek Mackay, and--of course--David Cameron's pig liaisons. Hope you enjoy!
The gang delves into the realm of a movie being entirely funded by NFTs and filmed in the only place less real than NFTs (Neom.) Then, Riley speaks with Dominik Leusder from the Eurotrash podcast and LSE Ideas about how exactly energy got so wildly expensive.
The gang discusses the inevitable crypto crash, tether, and the charlatans who sold ordinary people down the river. We also review Britain’s strategy for dealing with its many overlapping crises including mental health. Then, we speak to journalist Heidi Swart, whose work for the MIT technology review is all about how the surveillance industry is slowly rebuilding apartheid in South Africa. Read Heidi's article here: https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/04/19/1049996/south-africa-ai-surveillance-digital-apartheid
We speak with Brett Scott about the "cashless economy," and how - under the guise of convenience - another public utility (the money system denominated by cash) is being privatised into what are essentially digital casino chips controlled by banks and payment acquirers. Preorder Cloudmoney here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/1118048/cloudmoney/9781847925879.html
We speak with Brett Scott about the "cashless economy," and how - under the guise of convenience - another public utility (the money system denominated by cash) is being privatised into what are essentially digital casino chips controlled by banks and payment acquirers. Preorder Cloudmoney here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/1118048/cloudmoney/9781847925879.html
It's the free one! Josh Boerman from The Worst of All Possible Worlds joins the entire gang to discuss the Christian Dominionist designs on American society through the lens of the "school choice" campaign led by, among others, West Michigan's very own Betsy DeVos. We look at parallels between similar movements here, and how they link to other demands made by the same people. The Worst of All Possible Worlds (@TWOAPW) is a weekly podcast of case studies in the pop culture of a dying empire. Co-hosts Josh (@boshj) and Brian (@spocks_brian) grew up evangelical in Michigan and New Mexico, while A.J. (@thefuzzymask) grew up Catholic in California. Together, we deconstruct how narrative and artistic choices in popular media reflect or subvert the ongoing reactionary project in contemporary America and the world at large. TWOAPW official website: https://www.worstpossible.world TWOAPW on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WorstOfAll Link to the article Josh wrote about Betsy DeVos for an an alumni literary journal: https://thepostcalvin.com/betsy-devos-wants-students-to-compete-for-academic-opportunity-and-thats-a-problem-heres-why/
It's another joyful discussion of the withering of the state, although we also talk about a startup electric bus company and rejoice in the tales of the Tory MP who 'accidentally' viewed porn in the chamber of the House of Commons. We very much hope you enjoy it.
It's the free one! This week, Riley, Milo, Hussein, and Alice join special guest Dan Boeckner (@DanBoeckner) of Wolf Parade, Operators, Arcade Fire, and the Bottlemen (@dabottlemen) podcast to discuss a terrifying app-based labour market violation from Canada, some interesting UK political developments, and another–yes, another–British centrist political movement full of veterans of all the other failed ones.
Last week, we had a 2018-throwback lineup of the TF cast for a live show in London featuring Riley, Milo, Hussein, and Nate. We've got it all: Ed Balls returning to politics, a succession of blockchain-related nonsense startups, and a tremendous column by a Telegraph writer who's furious at the concept of work from home because it makes people 'mediocre.' We think you will enjoy this.
It's the free one! This week, Riley, Milo, Hussein, and Alice discuss even more police-related ideas from UK politicians, a terrible startup from Australia, and the recent news that Netflix’s share price has collapsed due to–big if true–the fact that they don’t make any money. Hope you enjoy!
We welcome back friend of the show Wendy Liu (@dellsystem) to discuss what you might call a sociology of bizarre startup-centric ads all over San Francisco, but we also found a way to automate Keir Starmer via a text-generating AI, and... it's perhaps too accurate.
This week, we’re back with friend of the show and comic artist Mattie Lubchansky (@lubchansky) to discuss recent developments in New York related to the surveillance state being onerous and also non-functional in any advertised way (but still extremely harmful). We also talk about the antipolitics of the Rwanda deportation camps plan. It’s a whole lot to take in! Check out Mattie’s Patreon here, where you can get access to all of their art: https://www.patreon.com/Lubchansky
For this month's first Britainology, we're joined in studio by Juliet Jacques (@zinovievletter) to discuss the '90s phenomenon of Mr Blobby, the rotund pink robot who took Britain by storm, stayed relevant for 30 years, spawned a hit single, a number of failed theme parks, and the sheer bafflement of anyone not from this strange island.
Ken Klippenstein joins the gang to discuss the special Amazon app that doesn’t let you say “bathroom” or “Union” or “prison” that the company later claimed was some kind of April fools joke (?). But first, we look at the new energy “strategy” and a collective translatlantic failure to address the crises of our day. Also Riley saw another car.
It's the free one! We have discovered a plot to build a cryptocurrency paradise on a minor island in the nation of Vanuatu that happens to be loaded with coconut crabs. We have no idea if this is going to work out but we're sure it definitely has no structural issues that come to mind. We also read the article about 'woke men with beards' because it's a reminder that, after all, we live in Britain. SEE TRASHFUTURE LIVE ON 4/20 We're doing a make-up live show on 20 April in London now that we've recovered from covid (this time). Get tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/trashfuture-live-podcast-tickets-303412654417 MILO ALERT Milo has shows coming up in London and Brighton. Learn more here! https://miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows
This week, we've learned about a startup that can only be described as an Airbnb goon squad. We've also learned about the Chancellor of the Exchequer declaring that the UK is going to mint an NFT. But it's also a stablecoin? And it doesn't appear to be a jpg of the Queen smoking weed.
This week, we’re speaking with Molly White (@molly0xFFF) of Web 3 Is Going Great (@web3isgreat) about a recent NYT article that simply cannot stop trying to sell crypto, all the while claiming to scrutinise crypto. Hope you enjoy! If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfuture SEE TRASHFUTURE LIVE ON 4/20 We're doing a make-up live show on 20 April in London now that we've recovered from covid (this time). Get tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/trashfuture-live-podcast-tickets-303412654417 MILO ALERT Milo has shows coming up in London and Brighton. Learn more here! https://miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
Patrick Wyman, host of the wonderful Tides of History, returns to the podcast to talk about the development of the state and warfare over the last six hundred years. We also discuss yet another landlord-centric startup (sure seems to be a lot of them these days!)
A startup that makes the… strangest case for the metaverse we’ve yet heard. The British political establishment proposing a response to a crisis that won’t approach any of its causes or effects. A columnist proposes a negotiated settlement between Britain and reality that turns on gratitude to the royals. It’s TF!
Riley is joined by Birkbeck's Dr. Kojo Koram to discuss how Britain's colonial legal legacies - in the form of offshore, overseas, non-dom, etc. - make us the perfect place for the global rich to hide their ill gotten gains. Also, in the studio, Milo, Hussein, and Alice discuss another rent-instead-of-own startup, but with a creative twist. Buy Dr Koram's book here! https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Kojo-Koram/Uncommon-Wealth--Britain-and-the-Aftermath-of-Empire/25684562
This week, we’re talking about a mental-health startup that’s even worse than the man made horrors you thought were beyond your comprehension, some particularly spicy UK legal news, and a simple request for people to be honest about what they actually want, politically. Hope you enjoy! Support the Sheffield JustEat riders on strike! Their fund is here and really, really needs your donations: https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/sheffield-justeat-riders-are-going-on-strike-pay-rise-not-pay-cut If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfuture MILO ALERTMilo has shows coming up in Berlin, London and Brighton. Learn more here! https://linktr.ee/milo_edwards WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
For the first Britainology of March, Nate and Milo watch a terrible British sitcom from the 1970s that has, somehow, endured. That's right, we've been Frank Spencerpilled--we've watched Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, and we're still shaken from the 'what if Britain was in the Eastern Bloc' vision that it portrayed. Hope you enjoy!
We bring back friend of the show Quantian1 to discuss sanctions against Russia, how the global financial system can shut out a large economy (and how economic integration doesn't necessarily mean less chance of conflict), how the conflict will affect food prices, and our theory that, instead of sanctions, we should just do a Reverse Salisbury on Putin.
It's the free one! It’s the True Chaos Configuration of Milo, Hussein, and Alice, and we’re discussing the Festival of Brexit–a bizarre idea that seems to be at least competently executed, much to our surprise. However, it includes a techno festival called Tour de Moon with an intensely 2000s website that has to be seen to be believed. We also talk about sanctioning Abramovich, and much more. Support the Sheffield JustEat riders on strike! Their fund is here and really, really needs your donations: https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/sheffield-justeat-riders-are-going-on-strike-pay-rise-not-pay-cut
Dr. Riley Quinn (DPhil International Relations), Dr. Milo Edwards (PhD Russian Language), and Maj. Alice Caldwell-Kelly (OSINT specialist) introduce another “garden of forking paths” version of ourselves. We also discuss the bipartisan consensus that spiking energy prices (which have been spiking long before the war) are good and worth the Blitz spirit. Also, another article and Lebedev/Johnson hanging out pretending to be homeless to raise awareness.
It's the free one! Riley, Alice, and Milo look at the ongoing descent of the UK pundit class into embodying the global death drive, and take a look at a story of a certain kind of British Guy achieving apotheosis (spending £218 of Bolton Council's money meant for excluded children at the Spar in Praia du Luz in Portugal). In between, Riley talks to academic Thea Riofrancos about why "onshoring" mining is all the rage now that the world's security and energy orders have both been thrown into disarray. Read Thea’s article on mining here (paywalled): https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/02/07/renewable-energy-transition-critical-minerals-mining-onshoring-lithium-evs-climate-justice/
Riley, Milo, Abi, Alice, and Devon read a little book called The End Of The World Is Flat, a satire about the struggles of the “TERGs” against the “Flat Earth Movement.” Or, more accurately, Riley is the only person in the world to read a book again.
It's the free one! This week, friend of the show Abigail Thorn (@PhilosophyTube) joins us to discuss the EHRC’s turn towards belligerent transphobia. One might go so far as to say that they’ve violated Riley’s Law, but there’s an American dimension: British transphobia is beginning to appear in American legal statutes, cited approvingly. Seems bad! We also discuss an app to buy your way into government? And some admittedly out-of-date reactions to the Russian invasion of Ukraine (we recorded this on the day it started). If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfuture LIVE SHOW ALERT We will be doing a live show in London on Wednesday, March 2. Get your tickets here! https://www.designmynight.com/london/whats-on/comedy/trashfuture-live-pre-election-christmas-spectacular MILO ALERT Milo has a bunch of live shows this month in both London and Prague. Check them out here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-show WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
For this week's bonus, we discuss the UK ending all COVID testing, the NYT/Serial 'Trojan Horse Affair' podcast making British columnists lose their minds, an update on Roku's hilarious financial peril, and a long rumination on what would happen if Keir Starmer took Julia Fox on a date. We hope you enjoy.
It's the free one! This week, Nate and Hussein speak with Brian Reed and Hamza Syed of the Trojan Horse Affair podcast, an investigation into a hoax letter in Birmingham in 2014 that–despite being known to be false–kicked off an intensification of surveillance and mistreatment of British Muslims. And everyone knew it was fake at the time! It is the official position of Trashfuture that you listen to the Trojan Horse Affair, which is available here: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/podcasts/trojan-horse-affair.html Also, this episode was recorded before the Observer decided to make up imaginary vibes-based critiques of the show (it was recorded last week).
We speak with Q Anon Anonymous U.K. correspondent Annie Kelly about how, far from being fringe whackos, the lumpen petit bourgeois wingnuts that meet on telegram and gather outside Parliament are central to the right wing project. Also, we read Starmer’s baffling paean to NATO.
It's the free one! Gareth Dennis (@GarethDennis) of Rail Natter returns to our hallowed halls to talk about, among other things, the decision to put the capital’s transport network into “managed decline,” so we can enjoy the standards of infrastructure currently only available to exotic places like “Italy” or “Quebec.” Also, a Foxtons for the Metaverse. Check out Rail Natter here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzA-8fUrw2C5cRcP9gO5BwA
In this special extra segment, Nate interviews Sam Asumadu from Media Diversified (@WritersOfColour) about the phenomenon of Indeterminate Sentences for Public Protection (IPPs), a now-banned sentence that has resulted in thousands of British residents effectively receiving life sentences for acts as minor as stealing a mobile phone at age 17. Sam’s written an article on the topic for OpenDemocracy, which is available here: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/families-plea-over-barbaric-indefinite-prison-sentences-for-minor-crimes/ Check out Media Diversified’s Linktree here: https://linktr.ee/mediadiversified
This week, Nate and Milo are joined by Paul Ewart (@paulewart23) of the University of Sussex to discuss Margaret Thatcher and how she changed Britain (pretty much solely for the worse!) And guess what: none of those effects are felt today, in any way.
This week, Nate and Milo are joined by Paul Ewart (@paulewart23) of the University of Sussex to discuss Margaret Thatcher and how she changed Britain (pretty much solely for the worse!) And guess what: none of those effects are felt today, in any way.
We speak with technology critic Evgeny Morozov about the history of ideas like “Web 2,” “Web 3,” and who these ideas serve and how - and what a better web may look like. Check out Evgeny's 'The Syllabus' project here: https://www.the-syllabus.com
It's the free one! We speak with Phil Burton-Cartledge (@philbc) about his book, Falling Down, about the sociology of the U.K. Conservative party. How is it to be understood? What are its weaknesses? But first, we look into a number of chickens that appear to have come home to roost in the Labour Party. Riley Quinn: And also, of course, we talk about a ludicrous Web3 Project. Buy Phil’s book here! https://www.versobooks.com/books/3851-fal
This was released on the free feed as well Riley sits down for a discussion of the implications of the upcoming Health and Care Act for the NHS with Dr Allyson Pollock and Peter Roderick from Newcastle University, and tries to get to the heart of the question: what do we mean when we talk about “privatising the NHS.”
We review the further state of institutional rot in the U.K., where a lot of our most prominent dunces are feigning surprise that the met police, EHRC, etc., may simply have been rotten all along. Also, we review Ark’s Big Ideas Summit, which is essentially a kind of Autonomous Cars for Christ pamphlet.
It's the free one! We look at the shape of the (contracting) frontiers of politics and (expanding) frontiers cooked up in the minds of our most addled billionaires. Let Mark Zuckerberg make a skinwalker out of you, let Elon Musk put your brain into a tunnel, but try to work a little less and - as the British state always does - then "we got problems."
Our politics and economy has once again found itself hitting the bottom of a large hole - and their solution is to dig up! We revisit some troubling developments at our old friends Netflix, Peloton, and THG, then we read an article about sending in a hot British general to fix up Downing Street.
It's the free one! We’ve brought on Jonathan Bernhardt (@jonbernhardt) of Patch Notes podcast to discuss Microsoft’s recent acquisition of Activision Blizzard. We discuss Activision’s super-villain CEO, the dismal state of its business at present, and what ‘metaverse’ fixations mean for the future of gaming. We also discuss a terrible security-state startup and subject Jonathan to Britain. Enjoy! If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfuture If you’re in the UK and want to help Afghan refugees and internally displaced people, consider donating to Afghanaid: https://www.afghanaid.org.uk/ WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
We retvrn to tradition (we unwound by watching a recent-era Guy Ritchie movie). Geezer Hugh Grant, Eddie Marsan gets romantic with a pig, and everyone is really upset about… dealing weed? Journey with us into the mind of a confused old man, as we review THE GENTLEMEN.
It's the free one! We are joined by Alex Press (@alexnpress), of Jacobin and the Primer podcast, to do some more Amazonology. This time, we look at the specifics of how HR operates at this company, how its shittiness ends up hurting workers, and how Amazon is gearing up to export more of its working practices to others. But first, we wonder at why and how it was the parties that finally turned the British establishment against Boris Johnson. If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfuture If you’re in the UK and want to help Afghan refugees and internally displaced people, consider donating to Afghanaid: https://www.afghanaid.org.uk/ WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
Milo subjects Nate to yet another property-themed British TV show, except this one is about people buying derelict homes at auction and renovating them in order to (in most cases) rent them out at huge markup. We brought on Alice Caldwell-Kelly, who described this show as 'like a nature documentary about parasites,' and we have a delightful time.
(This was going to be the first free episode of 2022, but we decided to go with the Dome story instead. So, apologies for it being slightly out of date, but we hope you like it). In which the full cast of TF discusses the BBC bringing on Alan Dershowitz to discuss the Maxwell verdict, and recent fawning coverage of Liz Truss that wants so desperately to make her the next Thatcher. Also, yet another terrible start-up.
It's the free one! Jathan and Ed from TMK return to help us figure out exactly what “Web 3” is, and what people actually mean when they say “Web 3.” What we find when we look under the hood is a virtual series of colonia dignidads all layered on top of one another promising that only when we have interpreted Hayek correctly, will we find utopia.
In which we get into the specific zones of the Millennium Dome, their various corporate sponsors, and what they said about Britain c. 2000 and how New Labour saw its subjects' lives. We completely lost our minds doing this and we hope you enjoy.
It's the free one! This week, we have the full cast of TF together to review the history of the Millennium Dome, a New Labour attempt to create a modern exposition of Britain. It definitely became an exhibition of how weird the inner circle of Blair’s Labour was, but it’s largely regarded as a failure–and we learn about how it transformed a chunk of Greenwich from the Goop Zone into the Empty Luxury Flat Zone.
It's the free one! For the holiday week, Nate and Alice speak to author Jane Pek about her debut novel THE VERIFIERS, a detective story involving online dating, the ever-present algorithm, the tech economy, and Alice’s long-standing dream to read about a lesbian private investigator. This was a lot of fun for us to record, and if you enjoy it, please reach out! We’re happy to try and make this an ongoing series. NOTICE If you enjoy this episode then you should run, not walk, to pre-order THE VERIFIERS here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/671896/the-verifiers-by-jane-pek/
You had questions, we had answers. This is normally on the $10 tier but we ran out of bonus content after Milo and Riley were felled by The Plague. Hope you enjoy!
It's the free one! Former Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg now works for Facebook to the tune of eight figures. He has some opinions about Facebook’s policy decisions. As you can guess, they sound like thoughts from a man who’s been hit in the head really hard–which is why Riley, Milo, and Alice analyze a recent Meta appearance in which his Nintendo Wii-looking avatar complains about his headset a lot, among other things. We also talk about the recent byelection in North Shropshire. Hope you enjoy!
This week, in the midst of Riley and Milo being struck with covid, we recorded an all-remote episode to discuss some recent Britain news, with a special emphasis on recent leaked texts from Daniel Kawczynski MP in which he's begging for a Saudi consultancy role in order to pay private school fees. There are a lot of other points covered in this episode but this part really captures something ineffably British. Hope you enjoy!
It's the free one! This week, we speak with writer and friend of the show Trevor Strunk (@hegelbon) about recent developments in the smartest sector of our very real economy: the gaming/crypto convergence, in which powerful thinkers from Andreesen Horowitz have decided that the best way to develop jobs is to pay people in the developing world a pittance to do XP grinding on behalf of gamers in the developed world. Sounds great to us! We also address the British politics moment surrounding the 2020 Christmas party and why it's superseded coverage of the UK government's new bill that lets them strip citizenship of anyone they choose. Hope you enjoy! Also: run, do not walk, to purchase Trevor’s book STORY MODE here: http://www.prometheusbooks.com/books/9781633886803 If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfuture If you’re in the UK and want to help Afghan refugees and internally displaced people, consider donating to Afghanaid: https://www.afghanaid.org.uk/ WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
This might be one of the most inscrutably British things we've ever covered, and the fact is: Milo doesn't even know that much about it. So, to aid with understanding, we got Politics Home editor and cricket enthusiast Alan White (@aljwhite) to explain it to us. That doesn't necessarily mean Nate came away understanding it any more than before, but it was a fun discussion.
Amelia Horgan, author of Lost in Work and striking member of the UK’s higher education Union (UCU) talks about the decade of strikes in the sector, and why the demands are connected to a top level reimagining of what education can be. But first, we look at a few apparently unrelated goings on in Britain and peer into our scrying bowl to look at the outlines of this country’s political future. Buy Amelia's book here! https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745340913/lost-in-work/
It's the free one! Dan returns for another look at Spotify - in the last year have they paid artists more, or have they channeled excess profits into an investment in AI defence technology “for the defense of democracies” whatever that means. Also, a startup and a truly astounding article.
We spoke with The Athletic’s investigations writer Joey D’Urso (@josephmdurso) about the frenzied tie up between high risk, unregulated world of blockchain/crypto ventures. What is a “fan token,” why is Paul Pogba “the father of dragons,” and why does Manchester City need a “regional partner in decentralised finance” in the first place?
It's the free one! This week, we're joined by Becca Wilks (@WilksBecca) of The National Wales to discuss a confidence and supply arrangement between Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru, and how it relates to the history of Welsh Labour in general. Of course we also discuss a Wales-centric startup that plans to heat homes in the most annoying way possible. And yes, we also discuss The Peppa Pig Incident. Hope you enjoy! If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfuture If you’re in the UK and want to help Afghan refugees and internally displaced people, consider donating to Afghanaid: https://www.afghanaid.org.uk/ WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
Riley has decided to subject Nish Kumar to yet another piece of writing from the inner sanctum of the British media-politico citadel. It’s Robert Peston’s thriller, The Whistleblower!
It's the free one! Riley, Milo, and Alice are joined by our friend Séamus Malekafzali (@seamus_malek) for a Neom Status update. With the rollicking success of The Line leaving every industry the world over revolutionised forever, Saudi has added yet another dimension to the shape of innovation. But first, a reflection on the growth and role of vigilantism in the US and U.K., and a look at the dreams versus the reality of electric car producers who promise to change the world but still haven’t really made any… cars. Check out Séamus' Substack here: https://malekafzali.substack.com
This week, Nate and Milo discuss the phenomenon of remembrance poppies and the ways in which they've become a symptom of Britain's deeply unwell state. Solemn icons of the human cost of war? Hell no, slap that shit on a pizza and consume it, with honour.
It’s a chilled episode where Riley, Milo, and Alice talk about a fun startup, and then review a few bits of new information about old friends, as well as a truly cursed idiot banker that couldn’t keep himself out of trouble.
It's the free one! We speak to Phil Jones, author of Work Without the Worker, about microwork and how AI is fake, and most of it is just tiny tasks done by workers in the global south and dressed up as technology. We get deeper into how exactly how this practice developed, how its economics are rooted in overproduction, and how boosterish liberal institutions cheer-led the whole process. Get Phil's book here! https://www.versobooks.com/books/3869-work-without-the-worker
Rob and Dave of the Praxiscast join the gang to discuss a U.K. success story in making beer, but more importantly, in making extremely annoying publicity stunts. Also, we return to the New York Times which appears to be doing Client Journalism for the Bored Ape NFT people. Support Podcasting is Praxis on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/praxiscast and listen to their free feed here! https://praxiscast.podbean.com
we did it again, sorry. we dug up another long-lost single from the vault. Credits: Milo: lead vocals, electric guitar, drums Nate: keyboards, synth sequencing, bass guitar, backing vocals @jazzemu_: saxophone (c)1986, Johannes Vonk and the Clogheads
It's the free one! This week, Riley, Milo, Hussein, and Alice discuss The Hut Group--an attempt to make British Amazon with direct sales of health goods, financed with SoftBank capital--and its yoked fifty-something founder. We also discuss the Owen Paterson affair in all its cynical splendour. And, of course, there’s a new song. Hope you enjoy!
Facebook and Google haven't done anything new of note since 2007. It's just market capture and worse and worse services. However, Facebook is now Meta or something, and in this bonus episode Riley, Milo, and Alice seek to understand. Also we talk about hitting an ape with a hammer.
It's the free one! The gang talks to academic Maria Norris about Prevent, the government’s star counter terrorism policy now getting fast tracked through a softball review. We answer the question: “why do children regularly end up in counterterrorism databases for talking about Fortnite in school?” Check out Maria's podcast, Enemies of the People, here! https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/enemies-of-the-people/id1581679731
This is it. The end of the series. Some of the worst, twee-est, most Lib Dem writing you'll ever encounter. We watched it to the end, and we brought on Street Fight Radio's Bryan Quinby (who recommended this series in the first place!) to discuss, along with our special Y&Y correspondent, Devon. Hope you enjoy!
This is it. The end of the series. Some of the worst, twee-est, most Lib Dem writing you'll ever encounter. We watched it to the end, and we brought on Street Fight Radio's Bryan Quinby (who recommended this series in the first place!) to discuss, along with our special Y&Y correspondent, Devon. Hope you enjoy!
Now unlocked to the $5 tier! We've got Joe and Francis back to discuss the Midwest--a reverse Britainology, if you will--and we're discussing 24-hour diners, terrible fast food jobs, and the cultural weight of professional wrestling in the Rust Belt / Greater Midwest. Hope you enjoy!
It's the free one! This week, we have friend of the show, musician, and Bottlemen podcast cohost Dan Boeckner (@DanBoeckner) on to discuss the ascendant Ukrainian-Canadian politician and, uh, affiliate of some deeply frightening ideology, Chrystia Freeland. Do not under any circumstances Google ‘Chrystia Freeland grandfather!’ Anyway, we also learn about some crypto guys buying tungsten cubes and it causes us to dissociate from reality. Hope you enjoy!
The gang talks all things rail with with railway engineer and the host of Rail Natter, Gareth Dennis. We go back into the history of how Britain's railways "got like that," and how government plans to centralise and revitalise Great British Rail is just a coat of red white and blue paint over (you guessed it!) giving money to scammy start ups.
It's the free one! We had journalist Daniel Trilling on the podcast to discuss his research into The Home Office - how it became such a strange, cruel, dysfunctional department, and how it fits into the larger cruel absurdities of immigration policy in western countries. Also, we talk excitedly about Matt Hancock’s new appointment to the UN (…we got the bad news a couple days after recording). If you’re in the UK and want to help Afghan refugees and internally displaced people, consider donating to Afghanaid: https://www.afghanaid.org.uk/ MILO ALERT Milo Edwards comperes a stellar line-up of professional acts trying new material, headlined by Archie Henderson. See it on 26 October at 19:30, Sekforde Arms, London EC1R 0HA: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/smoke-comedy-featuring-archie-henderson-tickets-188961367537 And check out more Milo live dates here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
This week, Nate and Milo discuss the North-South divide of England with help from two friends of the show--and FT reporters--Rob Smith (@bondhack) and Kaye Wiggins (@kayewiggins). Rob is from Derby (technically not in the North, but presumed to be) and Kaye is from Southport (definitely in the North). We discuss their experiences in the South, the fact that Liverpool and Essex have so much in common, and a guide for international students in the UK that offers a doctrinal definition of Northern Monkeys vs Southern Fairies. Hope you enjoy! Rob and Kaye worked on a piece about financial misadventures in the North that you should check out: https://t.co/YaFREWTHbg?amp=1
Elon Musk has greenwashed an oil refinery! We speak with fintwit blogger ESGHound about just how this was possible. We also looked into the ongoing issues surrounding Tether. But first, we look at the greatest achievement in British Journalism, as Iain Duncan Smith writes that Britain wouldn't have worked from home during the Blitz.
It's the free one! Mark Zuckerberg is building the future of the internet, and the future of everything, and it’s basically a much more exploitative version of Habbo Hotel. Where we’re going, you won’t need eyes to see… it’s the Metaverse! And thankfully we've got Jathan Sadowski, friend of the show and cohost of the This Machine Kills Podcast, to explain it further.
Several months ago, Alice Caldwell-Kelly awoke from a literal fever dream covered in a sheen of sweat, with one name on her lips: JOHN TALIBAN. A man whose name is just, coincidentally, Taliban. A man who loves Ford cars. Maybe his name’s Hungarian, it’s impossible to know. And now, from that impossible dream, Alice and friend of the show Noah Suarez-Sikes have written a real pilot which we’ve table read for you—the loyal hog. Please enjoy this TF Special Presentation™ of JOHN TALIBAN. CAST LIST: John Taliban: @Devon_OnEarth (Devon) Erika Joiner: @AliceAvizandum (Alice Caldwell-Kelly) Ashleigh Belden: @PrhRoy (Phoebe Roy) Squib Jackson: @Milo_Edwards (Milo Edwards) Heppie Jackson: @GoingMedieval (Dr Eleanor Janega) Chent Mustang: @inthesedeserts (Nate Bethea) Carter: @notliamanders0n (Liam Anderson) Waiter / Charon: @who_shot_jgr (Justin Roczniak) Kennedy Cutout / Stage Directions: @noahpasaran (Noah Suarez-Sikes)
This week Riley, Milo, and Alice address a new startup that will--and we are not joking--allow your boss to hire call centre workers to ping you with smartphone notifications when you suffer a personal tragedy. And, of course, a lot more. We also revisit some old friends (Bill Gross, Softbank) and a plan for the Tories to send in old army men to "de-woke" the NHS.
It's the free one! This week, Riley, Milo, and Alice speak with Paris Marx (@parismarx) of the Tech Won’t Save Us podcast about Britain’s desire for a call-the-cops-on-your-neighbours hotline, a new tech development that uses (very reliable, surely) facial recognition to call the cops on you, and much more. If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfuture If you’re in the UK and want to help Afghan refugees and internally displaced people, consider donating to Afghanaid: https://www.afghanaid.org.uk/ MILO ALERT See it all, for the low price of £5, on October 12 at 8 pm at The Sekforde Arms (34 Sekforde Street London EC1R 0HA): https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/milo-edwards-voicemail-preview-tickets-181766928777 WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
Yet again, Riley read a piece of literature nobody else would touch, in order to inflict it on his friends. We read Starmer's Vichy France pamphlet "The Road Ahead" about how he's bounced back and he's a serious politician now, because he has written a 11,500 word essay of inadequate plans. If you’re in the UK and want to help Afghan refugees and internally displaced people, consider donating to Afghanaid: https://www.afghanaid.org.uk/ MILO ALERT See it all, for the low price of £5, on October 12 at 8 pm at The Sekforde Arms (34 Sekforde Street London EC1R 0HA): https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/milo-edwards-voicemail-preview-tickets-181766928777 WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
It's the (very early) free one! So you've decided to run down the functions of your society? What's left to get people up in the morning? We are joined by Abi Thorn and Mattie Lubchansky to talk about the political usefulness of transphobia. But first, we talk about how Britain engineered a gas crisis it is unwilling to escape from, and talk about a cool business.
We've found another terrible startup: a billion-dollar-valuation 'plastic recycling' venture that is too dangerous to actually work (but would absolve the oil industry of any need to change its business model). It operates via a concept called shugging. It also has yet again involved a promised factory in Ohio that will never exist. Prepare to get shugged. (Editor's note: this episode has some slightly throwback sounds because Hussein and Milo's mics were, uh, suboptimal. I have done my best!) MILO ALERT Smoke returns for another night of new material from pro-comics featuring Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Jordan Brookes. See it all, for the low price of £5, on September 28 at 8 pm at The Sekforde Arms (34 Sekforde Street London EC1R 0HA): https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/smoke-comedy-featuring-jordan-brookes-tickets-171869475227
It's the free one! Ciaran (@ciarandold) and Nick (@sternburgpapi) from Corner Spaeti (@cornerspaeti) join the gang to discuss the upcoming federal election in Germany, and then we go deep on Europe's most embarrassing party of nerds: "Volt!" If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfuture If you’re in the UK and want to help Afghan refugees and internally displaced people, consider donating to Afghanaid: https://www.afghanaid.org.uk/ WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ MILO ALERT Smoke returns for another night of new material from pro-comics featuring Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Jordan Brookes. See it all, for the low price of £5, on September 28 at 8 pm at The Sekforde Arms (34 Sekforde Street London EC1R 0HA): https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/smoke-comedy-featuring-jordan-brookes-tickets-171869475227 Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
The previous file issue has been fixed This month's $5 Britainology involves Milo forcing Nate to watch an incredibly awkward episode of I'm Alan Partridge and then helping him talk him off the ledge. We also explore how Partridge is not all that exaggerated a version of a British radio DJ, replete with some Richard Madeley and Jeremy Vine all-time classics.
This week, Milo, Nate, and Alice watched the 1995 Kathryn Bigelow film STRANGE DAYS, in which Ray Fiennes is a lovelorn memory-salesman hawking minidiscs that let you experience other people's consciousness. It's a bizarre document from the time in which its made, it's a film with cult status in certain quarters, and it posits the notion that to get over your problems, you need Angela Bassett to kick your ass. Hope you enjoy!
It's the free one! This week, we’ve got a real doozy for you: a bad startup, some Labour kremlinology, and an examination of supply chain shortages in the UK because our government are some of the dumbest people to ever breathe air. Did you know that when your taxes go up to fund privatization and pocket-stuffing, that’s actually communism? You heard it here first. If you’re in the UK and want to help Afghan refugees and internally displaced people, consider donating to Afghanaid: https://www.afghanaid.org.uk/
We're back. Yes, we did another live show at Vauxhall Comedy Club in London, and we discussed a startup that wants to make a mattress that can do DDOS attacks. We also read a Telegraph article about the decline of the West. It's Riley, Milo, Hussein, Nate, and special guest Phoebe Roy. You'll love it!
It's the free one! This week, we learn the story of the Diapers dot com billionaire who wants to build a utopian city in the desert based on the principles of Georgism. Does this sound like The Line? Well, it’s been compared to it by the same credulous weirdos who love that, too. Also, a startup! If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfuture If you’re in the UK and want to help Afghan refugees and internally displaced people, consider donating to Afghanaid: https://www.afghanaid.org.uk/ WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
Bill Corbett (@BillCorbett) of Rifftrax and MST3K joins the gang to discuss a strange film - the documentary made by failed London mayoral candidate and three time piss drinker, Brian Rose. It's all about how Ayahuasca can motivate you to save the world with the perfect conference of youtubers.
We spoke with OnlyFans creator Carta Monir (@CartaMonir) about the platform's decision (and subsequent reversal) regarding explicit content, and the American Evangelical Right's "not so long" march through the institutions of culture. But first, a startup! TF LIVE SHOW ALERT We have a live show in London on September 1! Patrons have a discount so check the posts if you are a subscriber! https://www.trashfuture.co.uk/event-details/trashfuture-live-at-vauxhall-comedy-club-1-9-21
Now unlocked to the $5 tier! This week, Alice joins Nate and Milo to discuss the British reality TV show 'Grand Designs,' in which insane people decide to sacrifice it all to build the house of their dreams. Does it sometimes go okay? Sure. But most of the time, it's a slow-motion wreck with dyspeptic commentary from what we might describe as architecture Jeremy Clarkson. Enjoy!
Our friend @idahobones joins the gang for a discussion of how tech-inflected insurance companies dream of a heavily surveillance life for all, and also to revisit an old friend of the show, Softbank’s very own Lemonade! Prepare yourself for the revelation.
It's the free one! Alice and Riley speak with returning guest, journalist Arron Merat (@a_merat), reflecting on twenty years of cruelty and institutional failure on the part of the British state and its bloody imperial adventure in Afghanistan. We look deeper into the domestic pressures, economic and psychological, that made this all happen, and look at some of the attempts to actively forget what we have been doing. MILO ALERT see Milo perform in London on 24th August: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/milo-edwards-voicemail-preview-tickets-167077291677 TF LIVE SHOW ALERT We have a live show in London on September 1! Patrons have a discount so check the posts if you are a subscriber! https://www.trashfuture.co.uk/event-details/trashfuture-live-at-vauxhall-comedy-club-1-9-21
This week we explore the phenomenon of 2000s Indie Rock (and the endless succession of bands that seemed to go nowhere) with two long-suffering veterans of the scene: Fred Macpherson (of the bands Spector, Les Incompétents, and and Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man) and music journalist Oscar Rickett. It's a lot of bad memories but it wouldn't be Britainology if we didn't dredge them up!
It's time for episode 5 of the series we're un-affectionately calling Lib Dem Children of Men. That's right, it's Russell T Davies' populism dystopia 'Years & Years,' and we've brought on Devon from Da Youtube Zone and the Kill James Bond podcast to discuss.
It's the free one! This week, Nate, Milo, Alice, and Hussein speak with journalist Alex Yablon (@alexyablon) about a US program in 2020 where the Federal Reserve leant money to municipalities--and the possibility of cutting out market-based austerity, if we want it. We also check in on Lordstown Motors and read a deeply insane ‘philosophy’ piece about why we should welcome a meteor. Sign up to Alex’s newsletter on Ghost here! https://alex-yablon.ghost.io If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfuture Please consider donating to charities helping Palestinian people here: https://www.islamic-relief.org.uk/palestine-emergency-appeal/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3oja5NbR8AIVSOmyCh2LdQ9rEAAYAiAAEgKM9PD_BwE and here: https://www.grassrootsalquds.net/ WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
This week, we've brought on Noah Suarez-Sikes (@noahpasaran) from the DSA Los Angeles-Hollywood Labor group. We discuss unionisation drives in Hollywood, why capital concentration is making films worse, the conditions for non-star workers in the US film industry, and an app that's going to redefine your biological age. It is a good time!
It's the free one! This week, Riley, Milo, Alice, and Hussein join special guest Alex Press (@alexnpress) of Jacobin magazine and the Primer podcast (@primerpod) about the Stratford Orb, another union-busting app, and the news that the Amazon union election has to do a re-run (and the Teamsters are getting involved!). You will enjoy this.
We brought on Dan Boeckner, musician from the bands Wolf Parade and Operators, podcaster with Riley from the show Bottlemen, to discuss a 1977 spy thriller called 'Cumbernauld HIT' set in Cumbernauld, Scotland. Except it was funded by the local council to promote Cumbernauld, using the film as a promo for the New Town and all its drab concrete labyrinth glory. Here is the spirit of Labourism, a new model community where society is building a new man who, crucially, does not jack off. Watch the film here if you dare! https://youtu.be/9w1Um8fd7Jc MILO ALERTSee Milo live in London next week -- get tickets here! https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/smoke-comedy-featuring-alex-kealy-and-radu-isac-tickets-165422331647
A great happening has come to London. A marker of power has arisen. Fell deeds awake as we enter the era of the Mound. Also, James Meadway (@meadwaj) returns to discuss the fading of the neoliberal paradigm and it’s replacement with something different and worse.
This is perhaps something of a combination of Britainology and a regular TF episode in which we've brought on Matt Edwards, Milo's (much) older brother, who worked as a foreign exchange trader in London brokerages in the 1990s. We learn about the geezer-rific work environment of a bunch of guys yelling into a phone about numbers, some of the antics they got up to, what's changed since, and--perhaps on a more serious note--Matt's personal experience with what happened in Greece post-2008, a country he's worked in extensively. We very much hope you enjoy this.
This week, we're speaking with Dwight Rhinosoros (@rhinosoros) of the Eat the Rich podcast (@eattherichpod) about the Bezos/Branson 'space race,' all the fawning coverage surrounding it, and an app that wants to give you helpful reminders at work. You will enjoy this.
We chatted to two riders with the German grocery delivery app Gorillas all about their unionisation drive, and their boss’s strange obsession with fire magic. Also, Maureen Dowd is a tech writer now and she’s been buffaloed by Silicon Valley’s resident “dad CEO” Dara Khosrowshahi
We sat down with Jason Prado from the Drivers Cooperative in New York City to talk about how rideshare drivers are taking matters into their own hands in the fight against Uber, and have created a competing worker owned platform. But first, we have a ludicrous startup and a few fun news items to cover (including yet another supposedly "driverless" car, where it turned out to be just a guy in there). Support the the Driver's Co-op here! https://wefunder.com/driverscoop
This week, Riley, Milo, and Alice join special guest Owen Hatherley (@owenhatherley) of Tribune Magazine to discuss Barratt Homes: what is the deal with new-build housing in the UK? Why is it of such uniformly bad quality? And why has this become pretty much the only real new construction of homes in this country? Also in this episode: another re-discovered song from Johannes Vonk and the Clogheads. Owen’s new collection Clean Living Under Difficult Circumstances: Finding a Home in the Ruins of Modernism is available from Verso Books here: https://www.versobooks.com/books/3789-clean-living-under-difficult-circumstances
Did you know that the City of London, the small mini-enclave that dates back to Roman times, is a separate state entity that predates the United Kingdom by hundreds of years? And that its special status makes it basically immune to disclosure rules and financial oversight? Well, sort of. Riley steps in to explain The Land of the Weird Bollards and much more.
Did you know that the City of London, the small mini-enclave that dates back to Roman times, is a separate state entity that predates the United Kingdom by hundreds of years? And that its special status makes it basically immune to disclosure rules and financial oversight? Well, sort of. Riley steps in to explain The Land of the Weird Bollards and much more.
All riffs, no plot, no prior planning, and a long digression about a dog with a huge dick. It's Balthasar Speedboat yet again, this time featuring Riley, Milo, Olga, and friend of the show Nish Kumar. You will enjoy it! And you will learn a lot about Canadian malls.
It's the free one! This week, it’s Riley, Milo, Alice, and Nate discussing a startup that will make it even easier for you to not own a home, the dreaded ‘football situation’ in England, the UK government’s plans to end all COVID distancing measures, and a dicey situation in the US state of Maine involving self-declared MILFs.
This week, we're discussing a few things: weird academy schools in Britain that want to do performative draconian discipline, a startup that is, uh, child-centric, and much more. We are pleased to welcome Devon from Kill James Bond and Da Youtube Zone to give us their perspective as a former teacher, and pharaoh-tier riffs.
It's the free one! This week, we're discussing Secret Cinema's plan to crowfund investor capital, the fact that Secret Cinema did a performance in Kabul in 2011, a Tory Lord being criticised for corruption (shocker), our pre-election take on Batley & Spen, and much more. Riley is on a fancy holiday so this episode is a gathering of Milo, Hussein, Nate, and Alice. Hope you enjoy!
This week, we've rounded up our favorite historians and subjected them to yet another absolutely terrible movie--this time it's Ridley Scott's 'Robin Hood,' a nearly 150-minute long film that sucks. Who could not say they loved a long digression into the Magna Carta's origins or a sequence we can only call Medieval Saving Private Ryan? You will enjoy this.
It's the free one! This week, we’ve got Jesse Farrar and Mike Hale of the Your Kickstarter Sucks podcast to discuss Kickstarter as a business, the weird and deeply unethical stuff that crowdfunding platforms get away with, and much more. However, we would be remiss if we didn’t also include recent British news--particularly of the horny type.
Okay, okay, maybe you've heard the term 'posh' or 'posho' when referring to fancy British people. You're aware that this country has a reputation for its class system. But what does it actually mean? To answer this question, we brought in TF founding cohost and knower of fancy tendencies Charlie Palmer to discuss. It's all here: getting ripped at 11 am on Dubonnet, wearing a straw hat every day at school, absurd nicknames, gibberish words for everyday items, and the profound sorrow of clinging to the cultural artefacts of feudalism.
A lot going on here! We review the recent by-election in Amersham and Chesham, the upcoming election in Batley and Spen (both of which have yielded brain god predictions from Britain's press), review an ode to Zoom by normal shaped head haver and VC elder statesman Marc Andreesen, and speak with the FT's Jamie Powell about what appears to be yet another politically connected weird fraud company. Jamie's interview is abbreviated for time concerns, but we'll post the whole thing on here tomorrow!
It's the free one! It was inevitable that we would talk about the recent NY Times article about ‘the end of the millennial lifestyle subsidy,’ as if it was a surprise that endless money was keeping rideshare apps’ prices artificially low in order to bankrupt their competition. We also discuss the Labour Party’s supposed roadmap to success or whatever. You will enjoy this!
This week, Milo makes Nate watch the episode of Top Gear from 2006 where they go on a road trip from Miami to New Orleans. It's pure British boomer dad concentrated into its essence, and the viewing achieved the intended effect -- Nate got mad as hell. Hope you enjoy!
The series has finally come to an end. Apparently the populists will ruin anything, to include when a far-left government gets elected (too much populism!) We've finished the Lib Dem wet dream series Years & Years, and we are joined by Devon (of Da Youtube Zone and the Kill James Bond podcast) to discuss.
It's the free one! We speak with comedian Josie Long (@josielong) about a recent article in the Atlantic about whether or not Boris Johnson is Britain’s Trump. It’s a terrible article by a guy who knows nothing about Britain, but we wanted to get down to the individual details of why it’s just so infuriating. So, enjoy this episode where we’re in a good mental space. We also talk about a startup that, despite its name, has nothing to do with coffee. Please consider donating to charities helping Palestinian people here: https://www.islamic-relief.org.uk/palestine-emergency-appeal/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3oja5NbR8AIVSOmyCh2LdQ9rEAAYAiAAEgKM9PD_BwE and here: https://www.grassrootsalquds.net/
Financial journalist Alex Scaggs returns to talk about why the American treat based economy has strained around the edges. In short - as a result of decades of a sclerotic and implacable elite unable to get beyond their ideological commitments to shareholders, the US and UK are experiencing sky high prices, shortages of crucial goods, catastrophic misallocation of resources. But first, we talk about a "Synthetic Biology" company that's got some fun ideas about The New Flesh.
It's the free one! This week we have a packed studio featuring Riley, Milo, Hussein, Alice, and friend of the show Juliet Jacques (@zinovievletter) to discuss her new book Variations. However, we also discuss trouble in SoftBank world, a BBC article about how humans will evolve into two bifurcated species of Virgin and Chad, and--hence the title--a recent brain-melt Quillette article about how apparently anime and Magic: the Gathering make you trans. PRE-ORDER JULIET’S BOOK You can get it here: https://www.influxpress.com/variations Please consider donating to charities helping Palestinian people here: https://www.islamic-relief.org.uk/palestine-emergency-appeal/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3oja5NbR8AIVSOmyCh2LdQ9rEAAYAiAAEgKM9PD_BwE and here: https://www.grassrootsalquds.net/
This week, we're discussing Years & Years again. We simply couldn't cram two episodes into this round because there was so much going on--we want to get rid of our arms and legs, or replace our eyes with the light spectrum somehow--and so we gave this Lib Dem dystopian vision the attention it deserves. You may recognise Devon's voice from Da YouTube Zone and the Kill James Bond podcast, because they're back on to make it even spicier.
It's the free one! Comedian Tom Walker joins the gang to discuss how blockchain has finally disrupted dating! Then, we look at the demons pouring cryptocurrency poison into the ears of regulators in the US and U.K., a SoftBank insurance unicorn’s underwriting technology that isn’t, and we cap it off with a reading. If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfuture Please consider donating to charities helping Palestinian people here: https://www.islamic-relief.org.uk/palestine-emergency-appeal/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3oja5NbR8AIVSOmyCh2LdQ9rEAAYAiAAEgKM9PD_BwE and here: https://www.grassrootsalquds.net/ If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfuture WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
This week, Milo, Riley, and Alice explore the recent interventions of Tony Blair and Peter Mandelson into UK political discourse about 'what needs to happen in order for Labour to win.' We also make the mistake of thinking this is the free one, until the very end of the episode where we realize it's the bonus one. Sorry about that! We are, as ever, powerful thinkers.
Now unlocked to the $5 tier! We greatly appreciated the suggestion from twitter user @underscoreJoeyB about an episode centered on dogging--the British phenomenon of meeting in the woods for anonymous sex. We brought on Kent's finest podcaster and our cohost Hussein Kesvani to discuss it, and to prepare for it we watched a horrific Channel 4 documentary from 2013 called 'Dogging Tales.' It's a whole hell of a lot!
This is the free episode for the week This week, it’s the super chaos configuration of Milo, Hussein, and Nate discussing a recent story in the Times about how a local, locked Facebook group influenced an election in Greater Manchester by basically posting nonstop about how the Labour candidate was running a grooming gang. We also talk about terrible UK local news, how to read the temperature of the nation from Facebook comments, and much more.
We did it again. No theme, just riffs, with lots of Riley's fanciest desires explained and ruthlessly dunked on. Please enjoy this Balthasar Speedboat featuring friends of the show Pierre Novellie and Alex Kealy.
It's the free one!!! This week we're joined by Aron Keller (@aronkeller) of the anti-occupation advocacy group Na'amod to discuss the recent events in Gaza and the communications strategies (particularly the deranged ones) of the Israeli government. We also discuss Dave Cameron's released Greensill texts and assess why he's basically one of those retired Italian construction workers who hangs out at building sites giving unsolicited advice. Please consider donating to charities helping Palestinian people here: https://www.islamic-relief.org.uk/palestine-emergency-appeal/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3oja5NbR8AIVSOmyCh2LdQ9rEAAYAiAAEgKM9PD_BwE and here: https://www.grassrootsalquds.net/ Join and support Na'amod here: https://naamod.org.uk/ MILO ALERT Check out Milo’s live stand-up show (to be streamed over Zoom!) on May 30th here: gignify.co/miloedwardspindos If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfuture WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
During World War II and the early Cold War there were a group of English intelligence operatives who spied for the Soviet Union. All of them basically walked around with huge neon signs attached to them that said 'I am a spy for the Soviet Union,' but due to the diamond-hard class solidarity of Britain's establishment, everyone forced themselves to not notice this. We brought on Alice to discuss the Cambridge Spies and we hope you enjoy it.
Labour MP Jon Cruddas has written the best approximation of what can be considered “Starmerism’s offer to British workers.” While some elements - eg a job guarantee - are better than nothing (but even then, run their own risk of rebuilding a modern workhouse depending on the shape of the policy), even at best, their desirability and strategy for achieving them are based on a vision of the economy that nobody under 70 would recognise as realistic. So come on an annoying journey through Blue Labour nostalgia for proper jobs, when the bin men were hard. MILO ALERT Check out Milo’s live stand-up show (to be streamed over Zoom!) on May 30th here: gignify.co/miloedwardspindos
(This is 'The Free One', posted early for our beloved patrons) Ed and Jathan from This Machine Kills (@machinekillspod) are back to discuss another titan of the tech industry. Amazon's annual leader to shareholders has been released, and in it they advance a sort of inverse labour theory of value (who can be surprised!), with hilarious results. It's scale is now approaching a level that is hard to comprehend, so come with us across the event horizon. But first, we discuss Labour's performance in the elections and the leadership's steadfast ability to not learn anything. MILO ALERT Check out Milo’s live stand-up show (to be streamed over Zoom!) on May 30th here: gignify.co/miloedwardspindos
What if Black Mirror did This Is Us? What if your kid wanted to upload themselves to their dang phone? What if a Lib Dem wrote one of the worst TV dramas to ever exist? All of this, and more, in the TF review of Years and Years (episodes 1 and 2). We hope it doesn't count as a spoiler alert to say it is bad.
May 6th will mark regional local elections in the UK, to include the London mayoral election. Considering that 4 of the 5 of us are based in London, this does in fact affect us. However, all polling indicates that Sadiq Khan will win again on a platform of More Cops and handing all decisions to property developers, with the remaining candidates all basically wanting More Cops. Sian Berry? Bad. Laurence Fox? Don't make me laugh. Shaun Bailey? Joke. Brian Rose? Okay, he's extremely bad also, but that man is a verifiable content machine. So, we decided on a platform of 'vote if you want to do but don't really expect much either way' and then decided to talk about Brian Rose's completely bonkers life force. Hope you enjoy! If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfuture We support the London Renters Union, which helps people defeat their slumlords and avoid eviction. If you want to support them as well, you can here: https://londonrentersunion.org/donate Here's a central location to donate to bail funds across the US to help people held under America's utterly inhumane system: https://bailproject.org/?form=donate WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
This was supposed to be a hard-hitting episode with an interview about Russia and leftism in Russian politics, but we had a classic TF season 1 moment when the recording failed. So, here's what we were able to salvage from the episode, with a great review of the recent UK op-ed about feeding yourself slop to trigger the woke left. We love this island, we love the times we live in, and we (unironically) love you.
Now unlocked to the $5 tier! This week, Milo subjects Nate to the 2015 Tom Hardy film LEGEND and a wider discussion about the Krays. Why do British people still gravitate towards their story? Find out in this episode.
This week, we're joined by author and podcaster Musa Okwonga (@Okwonga) to discuss the aborted attempt to create a European Super League of football, a deep dive into why football clubs have such abysmal finances, why there are so many Russian gangsters "investing" in the beautiful game, and much more.
Andrew and Riley are joined by Dan Boeckner of Operators and The Bottlemen for the second episode of our series about the lasting cultural impact of September 11. We discuss Dan's recollection of the day, the impact that 9/11 had on the playlists of radio stations across the country, artists censoring their own songs, misguided musical output, and the only musician we can think of to create a lasting, prescient response in the form of a memorable concept album.
This week, we've brought on Nish Kumar to once again listen to a horrible 'taut, sexy, political thriller' by a former MP -- this time one by Vince Cable. It sucks really bad but Riley, Milo, Hussein, and Alice had a great time and Nish suffered the English curse yet again.
We've been very happy that you, the fans, have enjoyed Britainology so much. In an attempt to bridge the gap between our two cultures, Nate has brought on two fellow Midwesterners (Francis Horton from Hell of a Way, a native of St. Louis, Missouri; Joe Kassabian from Lions Led by Donkeys, a native of Detroit, Michigan) to flip the script on Milo. Now it's the good-natured Midwestern oafs in the driver's seat, and we explain the name of the region itself, why ICP had such appeal to our generation, and why literally everyone has a driving-while-intoxicated story involving being thrown out of someone's house.
This week, we're speaking with IPPR researcher and friend of the show Laurie Laybourn-Langton (@Laurie_L_L) about his new book 'Planet on Fire: A Manifesto for the Age of Environmental Breakdown' (co-authored with Matthew Lawrence). We also talk about a deeply stupid SPAC that JD Vance is hawking, and some other stuff about the whole climate thing. Yes, the guy who runs the SPAC is named Jeff W. Ubben. You can buy Laurie's book here (it debuts on April 20): https://www.versobooks.com/books/3702-planet-on-fire
Contrary to popular belief, we were not the people who broke the story about Lex Greensill and supply chain finance -- we just fell in love with it because it was the perfect intersection of all our interests (tech bullshit, obvious fraud, Australians, guys). However, someone who has been on this story since its inception is Financial Times journalist Rob Smith (@BondHack), and he's on the show today to review what's happened in this big ol' mess-er-idoo. SHIRTS ARE STILL AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDERhttps://www.trashfuture.co.uk/shop
Contrary to popular belief, we were not the people who broke the story about Lex Greensill and supply chain finance -- we just fell in love with it because it was the perfect intersection of all our interests (tech bullshit, obvious fraud, Australians, guys). However, someone who has been on this story since its inception is Financial Times journalist Rob Smith (@BondHack), and he's on the show today to review what's happened in this big ol' mess-er-idoo. SHIRTS ARE STILL AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDERhttps://www.trashfuture.co.uk/shop
“We’re bringing the jobs back!” has long been the rallying cry of the right, but what kinds of businesses are actually coming back to places like Lordstown, Ohio? We are joined by Bryan Quinby (@murderxbryan) of Street Fight Radio to do a deep dive on Lordstown Motors - a “too good to be true” electric car manufacturer that has set up shop in the town of the same name. It’s all well and good when rich people take money off one another, but what about the workers who believe their lives are getting back on track? The primary source for this episode was this report published by short seller Hindenburg Research, which also similarly exposed Nikola. https://hindenburgresearch.com/lordstown/
You asked for it, you got it, and now you get to hear an episode of Balthasar primarily concerned with a 2010s-era nightclub in Toronto whose primary selling point was its luxurious women's toilets. Enjoy!
We sat down with Leslie Kern (@LellyK)--feminist geographer, academic, and author of Feminist City: Claiming Space in a Man-Made World--to discuss what it means that "a feminist city is a police free city," in the wake of a slew of misogynistic, racist, and otherwise generally brutal actions attributed to London's finest. First, though, we take a look with some satisfaction at Deliveroo's shoddy IPO performance. If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfuture We support the London Renters Union, which helps people defeat their slumlords and avoid eviction. If you want to support them as well, you can here: https://londonrentersunion.org/donate Here's a central location to donate to bail funds across the US to help people held under America's utterly inhumane system: https://bailproject.org/?form=donate WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
Get grußpilled with Corner Späti's Nick Babkitis and the BBC's own Dr Xand van Tulleken on the topic of the EU's vaccine disaster, what the hell is going on in Germany, why Russians don't want the Sputnik vaccine, and what happens if an injection makes a German guy British. Hope you enjoy!
(This is this week's free episode -- we've listened to your requests and are now hosting the free episodes on here as well) This week, we’re joined by Sam Knight of the District Sentinel (@TheDCSentinel) to discuss a U.S. Supreme Court case that may make it even harder for union organizers to meet with farm labourers in the US. With the exceptionally rational and normal composition of the Court, chances are good that this could make things even worse. We also discuss Prince Harry becoming the chief engagement officer at a mental health startup in the US, because why wouldn’t he. If you want to read Sam’s article, it’s available here: https://truthout.org/articles/supreme-court-case-on-farmworker-protections-could-end-up-harming-all-regulation/ If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfuture We support the London Renters Union, which helps people defeat their slumlords and avoid eviction. If you want to support them as well, you can here: https://londonrentersunion.org/donate Here's a central location to donate to bail funds across the US to help people held under America's utterly inhumane system: https://bailproject.org/?form=donate WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)
This week, Nate and Milo address the important issue: why is there a culture of getting on it and getting completely blasted out of your mind? What is a big night out? What is the sesh? What is the deal with those guys in the picture? To help our investigation, we brought on nightlife expert and journalist Tom Usher (@Tom_Usher_) to discuss.
We've finally taken the time to discuss NFTs, and in so doing we brought on two working artists -- musician Dan Boeckner and cartoonist Matt Lubchansky -- to discuss the new liberation that comes from putting your art on the blockchain. Zero negative side effects here! Nothing to worry about.
Journalist Vincent Bevins (@vinncent) joins the gang to discuss the unravelling of Brazil's Lava Jato corruption investigation, the seismic impact of Lula's re-emergence as a political contender on Bolsonarismo, and some idiotic responses to same. Also, Britain's long love affair with statues and nukes heats up once again. Just FYI: this is this week's free episode -- moving forward, all free episodes will now appear on the Patreon feed as well
This week, we've brought on Aaron Thorpe (@thotteusstevens) of the Trillbillies and A Time of Monsters podcasts, to discuss the British royal family and the recent Oprah interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. What is the deal with this institution? Why do British people simply accept this? Get it all explained here.
We finally got around to the thing that everyone told us to do: review Guy Ritchie's King Arthur movie, a film in which the early medieval legend is rendered as a tale of East London geezers. To verify its accuracy, we brought on friends of the show Eleanor Janega and Patrick Wyman. Are you not entertained?
This is incredibly stupid, but Milo and I had a blast making this song and we wanted you all to have access to the file if you wanted to download it. Thank you all for being patrons -- hope you enjoy it. -Nate
We're joined by Ed Ongweso Jr of This Machine Kills Podcast to discuss the Fight for $15, the efforts to unionise Amazon facilities in Bessemer, Alabama, the Biden Administration making publicly pro-union statements while appointing the architects of Proposition 22 to advisory roles, and much more.
Why is it that this island in the North Atlantic has such shit buildings? What is the reason for slapping gravel on buildings and calling it an aesthetic? Why did Britain sell off most of it social housing and make it functionally impossible to replace it? All this, and more, explored on yet another Britainology -- this one featuring architecture critic India Block (@indiablock)
There's this mysterious land called Terra Australis where the government has taken a slightly different approach to the US and UK, and as a result they have relatively normal life right now. It's the height of summer and they're enjoying their lives, and we managed to get friends of the show Tom Walker and Aidan 'Taco' Jones to discuss a variety of things with us. All riffs, no real point, some laughs (hopefully!)
It's time once again for Britainology, and this week Milo and Nate are joined by Phoebe Roy (who you have have heard on Masters of Our Domain and 10,000 Posts) to discuss British 9/11. Do we mean 7/7? The 2011 riots? No, we mean the death of the Queen of Our Hearts, Princess Diana Spencer, in August 1997. Never has a nation freaked out more, and we provide the key to understanding it all.
We've got Shanti Singh--housing activist, writer, and former Bernie campaign staffer--on to talk about the state of California -- why is it portrayed as such a far-left state, why is it actually so neoliberal, and what happens when its deranged tech lords decide to run for office?
This week, a nearly complete cast of Riley, Milo, Nate, and Alice speak with Jessica Eaton, a fine art photographer working in Montreal. Why is it that the art world is basically a billionaire tax dodge? Why do certain hedge funds seem to have so much weight in fine art purchases, even if the works are never shown? What the hell is going on? Learn more by listening to this episode. You can see Jessica's work via the galleries listed on her website here: https://www.jessicaeaton.com
We brought on twitter finance geniuses Quantian1 and Neoliberal Dad to discuss the Gamestop short squeeze, the Robinhood app, and all the ways in which the line is now officially divorced. Hope you enjoy!
Good lord, the Gen Xers of Britain are a special bunch. And man, do they love to reminisce in the YouTube comments. To discuss this phenomenon, and the culture surrounding it, we brought on TF techno expert Riley--as well as George, the creator of the UKRaveComments twitter account--to discuss.
Yes, it's a little bit late. It's late because Nate and Milo got exposed to covid right before Christmas and couldn't record while waiting on test results. But we have in fact discussed Jim Davidson's terrible bawdy Cinderella pantomime from 1995, entitled 'Sinderella', and discussed the concept of pantos in general. Hope you enjoy!
We've brought on friend of the show and multiple returning champion Séamus Malekafzali to discuss Saudi Arabia's deranged new city -- Neom -- and the specific detail that they're going to make a perfectly linear city called The Line. Do you know what its name is in Arabic? It's ذا لاين. Which is literally tha laaeen. Normal country, normal project!
This week's bonus features Riley, Milo, Nate, and Alice on the topic of, well, this stupid island. And a frozen treats startup, and the economy as dictated by the line, and much more. Sorry for the delay on this!
This is it. The last straw. The final bone. Andrew and Riley are here one last time for the final episode of season 5 of Bones. No other season of the show exists as far as we know. Join us as the writers of Bones basically give up one last time and send Bones to Indonesia, send Booth to Afghanistan and send Angela and Hodgins to fuck in ZZ Top's car. Thank you for joining us on this strange and perplexing journey into mid 2000s post-9/11 network television.
As a follow-up to our coverage of the recent events in Washington, we decided to speak with Annie Kelly of the QAnonAnonymous podcast (@AnnieKNK). What is the Q overlap with these protesters? What do they do now, seeing as the day of The Storm has come and gone? Find out by listening.
Have you heard of a book called 'Nudge'? have you heard of 'nudge theory'? Well, we've dug into and -- believe it or not -- it's so deeply stupid that we had to make sure to discuss it on here as part of our Intelligence series with Chapo Trap House's Felix Biederman. Hope you enjoy!
Enjoy our holiday roundup featuring Riley, Milo, Hussein, and Alice -- with special guest (and YouTube Zone star) Devon. Producer's note: because this was recorded super-remotely there are some times when people sound a bit weird. Sorry about that!
On this festive Britainology we are joined by Alice to discuss the 1982 Falklands War. Why has it permanently lodged in the psyche of the Boomers? Why do people care about these rocks in the middle of the South Atlantic? Why did a British task force commander decide to explode himself in order to dislodge a machine gun position? You will be able to learn all of this and more by listening.
We did a deep dive into the ways in which being a Tory donor means you'll get massive, no-bid contracts for government services -- even if you massively fail at providing them over and over again! To help us understand, we brought on investigative journalist and friend of the show Henry Dyer to discuss.
Riley had to move! Andrew has children! Many things caused the delays in this penultimate episode of the Boney Island Whitefish, but trust us: it was so boring as to be undiscussable. So instead, Andrew and Riley have a pleasant conversation looking back on the show and some elements of our own lives. (This episode of our show isn't sucky, but the episode of Bones sure was!)
We've decided to revisit two of our favorite subjects from the past year: OYO, the hotel app that destroys hotels; and Lex Greensill's one weird trick to collapse the global economy. You will enjoy hearing Riley, Milo, and Alice's takes on this.
As an added bonus this week, please enjoy a pilot episode of a series that we didn't have time to make -- a show featuring Milo, comedian Michael Fry, and special guest Oobah Butler.
We talked so much about the Netflix-produced Mark Wahlberg Boston Cop film SPENSER CONFIDENTIAL. What a great punchline! What an absurd concept to declare that 85 million people had watched it. Anyway, we realised that we had to actually view the film in order to complete the cycle, so we brought on Olga Koch to review it with Riley, Milo, and Alice. Hope you enjoy!
As a continuation of our free episode this week, we brought on Jathan Sadowski (@jathansadowski) and Ed Ongweso Jr (@bigblackjacobin) from This Machine Kills Podcast to discuss the famously sane and healthy workplace culture of Netflix with Riley, Milo, and Alice. Guess what? It's bad. And it's probably coming to your workplace sooner rather than later.
How to explain this? Tom Watson--yes, THAT Tom Watson--has written a 'taut, political thriller' about what if Labour and the Tories came together to make sure NHS patient data was sold to pharmaceutical companies in an ethical way. It's deeply boring in a manner that reflects its author, but it's also something else: an experience. Riley read the whole book and forced Nish Kumar to listen to it along with Milo, Hussein, and Alice. Hope you enjoy!
We're at it again. Nate and Milo have reviewed the 1968 film CARRY ON UP THE KHYBER for yet another Britainology, and this one is a real laser-focused look at this absurd island. Why is it so horny? Why is everything a double entendre? Is this really the nation that once ruled the waves? You be the judge -- hope you enjoy!
Quaid... start the podcast and save Mars... Justin, Liam, and our very own Alice of Well There’s Your Problem Podcast (on Youtube!) are here to discuss Elon Musk's ludicrous plan to put humanity on spaceships with pizza restaurants in them and ship them off to Mars to live in large greenhouses for reasons of... well... Mars. Where else in the solar system are you going to live? Anyway, like most big stupid tech things - it's a fun story to distract you while SpaceX becomes a (sigh) privatiser of public goods through government contracting. Plus ca change.
It's a spooky, scary Halloween special that Riley and Andrew accidentally recorded pretty close to Halloween! Bones and the gang from the Jeffersonian Medico Institute for Sexual Harassment investigate the mysterious death of a real witch, where they briefly consider whether actual magic may play a part? Plus, a safety feature on the 2009 Toyota Prius leads to an unexpected jailhouse romance in The B Plot.
It's been a while, but we've brought it back: our non-stop comedy riff series returns with Riley, Milo, and special guests Glenn Moore and Pierre Novellie. Riley posits the argument that 'The History Boys' is the actual true 20th century British artistic work. We also discuss airport novels and whole lot more. Sorry for the delay!
It's time to investigate the death of God! Also, there's a Breakfast Update bookended with Dinner Updates. And after all that, we find out that Agent Booth truly loves "rock and roll". But how will the team from the Jeffersonian-Medico Institute for Sexual Harassment solve this mystery with only 42 minutes to spare?
Riley did the unthinkable. The unimaginable. He read Matt Forde's terrible book 'Politically Homeless' for us and described it to an all star cast of Riley, Alice, and special guests Bryn and Chris from the Beep Beep Lettuce podcast (@weedpod). You will love it, but not as much as Matt Forde loves Tony Blair.
Twitch streamer LivPosting returns to talk about her experiences in the job market, and how she almost got a job with a Zoomer-only consulting firm making millions of dollars from teaching Raytheon executives how to say "yeet." Also, is a phone box in rural Winchester the new world epicentre of the BLM movement? According to one brain poisoned conservative columnist, it is! Local hi-jinx abound.
We brought on Riley to discuss a phenomenon as eternally British as bad weather itself: the legend. Who are British legends? What makes them act this way? How do you create a taxonomy of figures to distinguish between the Essex Geezer, the Entrepreneurial Legend, the High Street Hard Man, and Tim Westwood? Well, we gave it our best go.
It's time for a Breakfast and Dinner update, followed by Condom Chat, the death of the buffet restaurant, embarrassing memories and - eventually - an underwater episode of Bones.
We did it again. We found an extremely criminal "tech" company -- this time, a notional Tesla competitor that makes trucks. One catch: they don't work! However, to involve the incredible financial chicanery that went into it, we brought on friend of the show Quantian1 (@quantian1) to discuss it with Riley, Milo, Hussein, and Alice.
This week, we're talking Dilbert and Scott Adams. Why? Well, for some reason all five of us liked Dilbert as a kid. Also, it just so happens that friend of the show Aisling McCrea (@ambientGillian) just published an article in Current Affairs about Dilbert's strange appeal. So, let's talk about it. Let's talk about Scott Adams' promise that he can make you no-touch cum. Let's dilb out. Read Aisling's article here! https://www.currentaffairs.org/2020/10/the-adams-principle/
This week we bring back historian, podcaster, and certified big guy Patrick Wyman (@Patrick_Wyman) to discuss the terrible 2013 Michael Bay film Pain & Gain. What can we learn about America's descent into fascism from this film? As it turns out, a hell of a lot. Check out Patrick's writing on Discontents here: https://discontents.substack.com
Take a trip back to the heady days of the Noughties as Andrew and Riley cover Naked News, Johnny Knoxville, the 2000 Sydney Paralympics scandal, the Grandma's Boy extended universe, Coors commercial - and even an episode of Bones.
Aw crikey! Australian comedian and Twitch streamer Tom Walker (@tomwalkerisgood) joins the gang to learn all about Gross Family Values. Specifically, how if you’re Bill Gross, one of the world’s most famous bond investors, you’ll react to your acrimonious divorce in 2015 by writing a series of stranger and stranger investment outlooks that focus mainly on how much you hate your imbecilic do-nothing son.
It's the 100th episode of Bones! You know what that means! Something fun? No! It means abandoning the fun parts of the show for a joyless slog of a flashback episode! LEARN the origins of Booth's carefree spirit! GASP as Bones gets fired in her first day on the FBI job! SCREAM at an extravagant Dinner Update!
We're back again to explain the eccentricities and fault lines of this truly normal island. This week, Milo and Nate discuss the 1970s in Britain, why everything went downhill, why the decade radicalised the Boomers, and why the TV from that era is.... not good. Hope you enjoy!
Bones making people independently wealthy with her book profits! Gratuitous Toyota product placement! Breakfast update! Pretty much forgetting to put a murder in there until the end! It's all in another episode of season 5 of Bones with Andrew and Riley.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country run by and for landlords. However, the coronavirus crisis has created a problem: if people congregate en masse in offices and places of business, the disease spreads and people die! However, mitigating this requires people to not be in offices or grim city centre restaurants. So, what is the British commentator class saying about it? Die for Pret. That's right folks, you need to die for Pret.
The boys are joined by comedian Tom Walker to discover the mystery behind a Satanic murder! The answer lies deep in the heart of Coptown, on the corner of Spooky Boulevard...
Have you heard the story about right-wingers who decide to build their own social media, crowdfunding, or even ridesharing sites? We're talking Gab, Hatreon, and the like. Why do they all fail? Why are they so poorly assembled? And why does this keep happening? The True Chaos Configuration of Riley, Milo, and Alice attempt to decipher this riddle for our times.
Here it is: the song you have all requested. The sound of the summer. The perfect musical accompaniment for standing on the honk. [breaking out of irony mode for a second] I can't express in words how much I appreciate the positive reception that this has gotten. Milo and I put in some absurdly long hours working on this, mostly because--like anyone else on planet earth who isn't a piece of garbage--we haven't exactly had a great time these past few months and it's been nice to find some sort of an outlet for it. Thank you all so much. -Nate
This week's bonus features Milo and Nate on another Britainology, this time with Kent guy Hussein, to discuss the Home Counties and how the deeply cursed world of London suburbia has created an identity of Britishness that you've probably encountered, even if you didn't recognise it. Hope you enjoy!
Get ready to have your assumptions challenged as Bones presents you with the straightest gays and the whitest POCs that 2009 has ever encountered! Booth has a little brother, and their relationship is stupid! This is the humpday of episodes!
This week we've got Juliet Jacques (@zinovievletter) on to discuss the most cursed relationship in liberal Britain: awful right-wing lib Labour MP Rosie Duffield and her ex-boyfriend, the inscrutable Guardian columnist Adrian Chiles. It's one for the ages, a star-crossed romance, and since this is Britain you can rest assured that transphobia is involved. Hope you enjoy it!
Chest passes! Carefully aimed jump shots! Ball control without hot-dogging! That's right, Chapo Trap House's Will Menaker joins Andrew and Riley for an all-showrunner display of podcasting fundamentals. This week the brave technicians at the Jeffersonian-Medico Institute for Sexual Harassment are forced to investigate the cause of death of a very mysterious and influential historical figure! Deep respect for the boots of the American empire is sure to follow. We also spring a gotcha Breakfast Update on Will and plan our future endeavours running a Airbnb Blockbuster so that we can lecture teens about Michael Mann films. Enjoy!
This is the follow up to this week's free episode, which is available here: https://trashfuturepodcast.podbean.com/e/a-cheeky-coup-with-the-lads-feat-joe-kassabian/ Why did a steely-eyed SAS veteran Etonian weirdo team up with Margaret Thatcher's son to try and launch a coup in Equatorial Guinea in 2004? Mostly because they were bored. In this episode we discuss the consequences of a dumb plot that was foiled by an errant bird and the Zimbabwean customs office. Here's a central location to donate to bail funds across the US to help people held under America's utterly inhumane system: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/the-bail-project If you want one of our fine new shirts, designed by Matt Lubchansky, then e-mail trashfuturepodcast [at] gmail [dot] com. £15 for patrons, £20 for non-patrons, plus shipping. WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind GYDS dot com). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/
This week, we're in the Super Chaos Configuration: Riley is gone but you have the rest of the cast. Milo, Hussein, Nate, and Alice review the 1995 Robert Longo film JOHNNY MNEMONIC, an adaptation of a William Gibson story that, uh, did not achieve its goals. And yet it's also weirdly accurate in some ways: posting destroys your brain, there's a global pandemic, corporations rule with an iron fist. And yet somehow we haven't yet encountered a cybernetic hacker junkie dolphin. If only. We make reference to the Fetischpro video from YouTube, which you can see here -- it is definitely not work safe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbgJck9kUGc Here's a central location to donate to bail funds across the US to help people held under America's utterly inhumane system: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/the-bail-project If you want one of our fine new shirts, designed by Matt Lubchansky, then e-mail trashfuturepodcast [at] gmail [dot] com. £15 for patrons, £20 for non-patrons, plus shipping. WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind GYDS dot com). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/
Riley and Andrew are joined by Boonta Vista's resident alien expert as we travel to Roswell for a very paranormal Bones! It is a real alien? No! But imagine if it was! Pretty cool, right? Alien race war! Inaccurate map reading! The worst sentence construction in the galaxy! All this and more!
This week, Nate and Milo are discussing the 2005 film Green Street Hooligans, in which an American played by Elijah Wood goes to Britain and gets inducted into a football firm, learning a lot about himself along the way. Is it a good movie? No. But does it accurately portray football hooliganism? Also no.
Sorry for the delayed release on this. During the recording we were convinced that we'd lost the entire Josie segment, so we recorded a second half that's almost the same length. As such, this is a long one, but I think you'll enjoy. It involves the elitism of the art world, Josie Long's commentary on the way in which the entire world is gatekept by the rich, and the second segment features a guy calling his billionaire friend for advice about the state of the world. The advice, as you might expect, is normal as hell. Here's a central location to donate to bail funds across the US to help people held under America's utterly inhumane system: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/the-bail-project If you want one of our fine new shirts, designed by Matt Lubchansky, then e-mail trashfuturepodcast [at] gmail [dot] com. £15 for patrons, £20 for non-patrons, plus shipping. WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind GYDS dot com). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/
It's Christmas in the Bonesverse and Santa's wearing a bomb vest! Riley and Andrew are joined by Trashfuture's very own Alice to get a Breakfast Update and examine 2009's economic mess that can only be fixed when leftists agree to stop criticising capitalism on their pirate radio station.
Flora Gill and Amber Rudd have a mother-daughter podcast. Does it suck? Yes. But it's also awkward and painful in a way that will make you see through time and enter the Hell Dimension. We made Riley, Milo, Alice, and Olga listen to it. You won't believe what happened next! Here's a central location to donate to bail funds across the US to help people held under America's utterly inhumane system: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/the-bail-project If you want one of our fine new shirts, designed by Matt Lubchansky, then e-mail trashfuturepodcast [at] gmail [dot] com. £15 for patrons, £20 for non-patrons, plus shipping. WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind GYDS dot com). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/
We're saddened to inform you that there is no potential supernatural murderer posited in this episode. But we're very happy to inform you that at least 30% of this episode is promotional material for the premiere of the 3D Summer blockbuster James Cameron's Avatar! We also have an update on Bagelgate, a letter from a listener and our earliest instance of Wild Speculation yet!
Welcome to the inaugural episode of Britainology, in which Milo makes Nate watch something terminally British and then explains it. This week, we're watching a documentary about self-described celebrity gangster Dave Courtney, a crime doorman who thinks he runs Britain. If you want to watch the original documentary, it's available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqARxpCpZU4 Our theme song for this series is from the 'Visit to Primrose Hill Extended Version' of the 1993 Blur song 'For Tomorrow,' which Nate picked because it was formative in teaching him various aspects of London geography and it's premium old millennial / young gen xer nostalgia bait. You can listen to it on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/track/3mvdN3a4p4SaOnpUBGWan2?si=B8IQ7g1PSfGqFw_P1dSY9Q
Was it a good idea? Probably not. But we've assembled the Balthasar Speedboat cast of Riley, Milo, Olga, and Pierre for a friendly conversation with chaos demon and influencer Caroline Calloway...who Milo knows from school...and you know what? Just listen to the episode to hear him get eviscerated for his acne and an awkward attempt at a kiss. You'll love it! Or you'll hate it.
Riley and Andrew are back to discuss the collapse of late-2000s network television during the rise of streaming, the provincial local media of Australia and the UK, competing bagel franchises, horny grandpas in fetish clubs and spontaneous human combustion. All in a day's work for the internet's only podcast about season 5 of American crime procedural comedy-drama television series Bones.
We're back with now 3-time guest Olly Thorn (@philosophytube) to discuss some recent scandals: the Jenrick building scandal, the scandal of weird British porn mags, and the scandal of a terrible "discussion app" that seems to think it's a debatable point that Paul McCartney is in fact still alive. Hope you enjoy! Here's a central location to donate to bail funds across the US to help people held under America's utterly inhumane system: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/the-bail-project If you want one of our fine new shirts, designed by Matt Lubchansky, then e-mail trashfuturepodcast [at] gmail [dot] com. £15 for patrons, £20 for non-patrons, plus shipping. WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind GYDS dot com). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/
Here we are again, doing a second bonus episode for the week because we realise the profound demands for content. This episode features Riley, Milo, Alice, Hussein, and Connor Southard (@ConnorSouthard), writer and host of the Podside Picnic podcast. We discuss the 1976 sci-fi dystopia film LOGAN'S RUN, among other things. Hope you enjoy! You can listen to Podside Picnic here: https://www.patreon.com/PodsidePicnic
Little green men? Gold coins? Rainbows? What could this all mean? If you're the writers of season 5 of Bones, almost nothing! Stephen Fry is here playing Stephen Fry as we're treated to "Midget Wrestling," red herrings and a bad case of Coma-Gun.
It's O'Neill versus O'Neill... versus O'Neill versus O'Neill versus O'Neill versus O'Neill. It's a six-way Brendan O'Neill battle moderated by the only man who could possibly moderate a clash of intellectual titans like this: Brendan O'Neill. It may sound like @inthesedeserts, @raaleh, @Hkesvani, @AliceAvizandum, @milo_edwards, @rocknrolga, and our friend Phoebe Roy (@10kpostspod), but we must insist it is all Brendan O'Neill. They are debating the motion: THB the chattering classes of this once great nation are at it again.
Riley and Andrew have swum gently upstream to once again bring you an episode of the Boney Island Whitefish. What if this murder victim was a DARPA-created hybrid human-avian killing machine? They almost definitely aren't, but imagine if they were! These are the important things that the writers of this episode of Bones want you to very briefly consider, before forgetting about that plotline. Will Angela break her volcel commitment? Does workplace exposure to sulphites change the shape of your skull? Will the murderer have a motive that isn't revealed in the last 2 minutes of the show? Find out the answers in this week's Boney Island Whitefish!
We've brought historian Patrick Wyman (@patrick_wyman) back on to discuss more of the Roman Empire collapse similarities with our current moment. We hope you enjoy this, as it's a chance for some deep cut Rome references that we cannot ever pass up.
Our friends Chris and Bryn from the podcast Beep Beep Lettuce join us to watch a selection of show on Quibi. Suggested talking points include the Golden Arm, Our Friend the Sex Doll, and other outgrowths of the capitalist Dadaism reified in Quibi. Listen to us all become mentally unwell.
This week's (belated, sorry!) bonus is a Balthasar Speedboat comedy special featuring Riley, Milo, Olga, and Pierre Novellie. Enjoy a discussion of the wide varieties of being horny online, how Riley spends his Christmas in Britain, and why a famous holiday songwriter also releases nude calendars for elderly women. It's a forensic examination of horniness. Hope you enjoy!
@raaleh and @IllyBocean return for another mystery! Did an ancient mummy stab someone? Is the never-ending stream of cop propaganda meant to put you at ease with the panopticon? Spooky!
In the logical follow-up to our previous episode about 'smart cities,' we've brought on author and researcher Jathan Sadowski (@jathansadowski) to discuss what happened with Google's plan for self-adjusting sidewalks and cities with sideways elevators. You'll love it! If you want to read more from Jathan, check out his book 'TOO SMART: How Digital Capitalism is Extracting Data, Controlling Our Lives, and Taking Over the World' from MIT Press here: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/too-smart
Riley and Andrew are joined by Sean from Take A Look Around to recap episode 4 of season 5 of Bones. We're going to learn a lot more about David Boreanaz, 2009-style racism, serial killer children and fake Middle-Eastern accents.
Andrew and Riley return for another episode of the number crime series about bones starring a woman named "Bones": Bones. Today we're learning about the origins of Michael B. Jordan's Hollywood career, the necessity of Pope hats and how to drain a parasitic cyst. We are not learning how to finish a script.
We talked to Robyn Vinter of the Overtake about Culture War - what actually is it, what purpose does it serve, and why won't it end? The answer is "spite," but how we get there is more interesting. We also read an article by one of our favourite journalists on why his mission to Own The Libs may result in him losing a foot to diabetes, which is kind of like WWII when you think about it. If you want one of our fine new shirts, designed by Matt Lubchansky, then e-mail trashfuturepodcast [at] gmail [dot] com. £15 for patrons, £20 for non-patrons, plus shipping. WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind GYDS dot com). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/
BoontaVista's Andrew (@IllyBocean) and our very own Riley (@raaleh) are back for episode 2 of the fifth season of Bones for @BoneyIslandPod, in which network television is brave enough to ask the question "what if James Bond was real and also very bad at being a spy but it was hard to solve his murder because your bad case of Coma Brain makes you forget how plumbing works?"
There's a ticking time bomb in the economy. No, a DIFFERENT ticking time bomb. This week, Riley, Milo, Hussein, and Alice discuss the balance-sheet chicanery of a mysterious Australian plane enthusiast that is slowly but surely imploding every SoftBank investment vehicle. We would normally say it's a laugh riot, but this one... maybe not so much.
Hey! This patron-exclusive Boonta Vista/Trashfuture collaboration is the first episode of an extremely specific podcast-within-a-podcast in which Andrew and Riley recap episodes of season 5 of the American crime procedural comedy-drama Bones. In this episode we explain the origins of Bones, why season 5 of Bones is worth examination, and the season premiere which includes Psychic Cyndi Lauper, Poopie Suits, brain surgery-induced coma hallucinations, underwater cults, fake diseases, clowns and much more.
This week we're talking tech monopolies and the ways in which Gates and Bezos used public research to become this century's dumber Carnegie and Vanderbilt. Listen to Riley, Milo, and Alice discuss it with Rob Larson (@IronicProfessor), and rejoice in the knowledge that everything you've ever done with a PC was planned out by dudes in rocking chairs for some reason. Check out Rob's Book Capitalism vs. Freedom: the Toll Road to Serfdom, out from Zer0 Books. Get it here: https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/zer0-books/our-books/capitalism-freedom If you want one of our fine new shirts, designed by Matt Lubchansky, then e-mail trashfuturepodcast [at] gmail [dot] com. £15 for patrons, £20 for non-patrons, plus shipping. WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind GYDS dot com). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/
Riley, Alice, Milo, and Chapo Trap House's Felix Biederman have once again sat down and cracked open a book of brain literature. This time we read through British brain god Dr. Matt Ridley's The Rational Optimist (2010), and it left us all a lot happier as we explored a truly beautiful mind. It's a balm for the soul. Check it out!
Riley's Commie Book Club is (sort of) back... but a little different. Instead of talking about a book, Riley is joined by some old friends and new to talk about nightlife - what is nightlife, why is it important, and what are the economic and social factors that threaten the continued existence of "nightlife" as something valuable? Or maybe the four of us are on the wrong end of 25 and assuming it's all bad now. Also, this was recorded before the end of the world - so many of the pressures facing nightlife have uhhh changed, but they aren't going anywhere! Anyway, maybe this is hauntology now. We'll be doing a normal "Riley reads a book episode" again soon, though!
Look, you know we couldn't let some simpering right-wing columnists refer to the body of Boris Johnson as coterminous with the state itself and not bring on our sage of all things medieval, Dr Eleanor Janega (@goingmedieval). We talk all about this, all about the societal changes after the Black Plague, and a dumb startup that is basically a less-fun Omegle. If you want one of our fine new shirts, designed by Matt Lubchansky, then e-mail trashfuturepodcast [at] gmail [dot] com. £15 for patrons, £20 for non-patrons, plus shipping. WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind GYDS.com). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/
Look, a lot of stupid things have happened in Britain this week, but we're dedicated to giving you content. This week's bonus features us discussing the current state of affairs as applies to the covid-19 pandemic, our prime minister nearly dying of it, and much more. Special thanks to Josie Long for being on this one. Enjoy!
This week's bonus features friend of the show and 3-time guest Wendy Liu (@dellsystem) on the topic of covid-19, her new book 'Abolish Silicon Valley,' why big tech can't save us from this virus, and much more. You will, as they say, love it. Buy Wendy's book here! https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/622177/abolish-silicon-valley-by-wendy-liu/ If you want one of our fine new shirts, designed by Matt Lubchansky, then e-mail trashfuturepodcast [at] gmail [dot] com. £15 for patrons, £20 for non-patrons, plus shipping. WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind GYDS.com). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/
We did it again. Joined once more by Séamus Malekafzali (@seamus_malek), we reviewed a terrible Hollywood take on America's imperial reach. Another CIA movie. Another movie about empire, except this time it's about a horny congressman who manages to give Al Qaeda a billion dollars. Yep, it's the 2007 Tom Hanks romp CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR, written by Aaron fucking Sorkin. Please enjoy. If you want one of our fine new shirts, designed by Matt Lubchansky, then e-mail trashfuturepodcast [at] gmail [dot] com. £15 for patrons, £20 for non-patrons, plus shipping.
The return of our beloved pure comedy format, recorded back when the world was normal, to help get you through the lockdown blues. Riley and Milo are joined by friends of the show and comedians Glenn Moore and Pierre Novellie. We start with LA Noire and end up talking about perhaps the worst movie ever made by a famous advertising pitchman - the inAPPropriate Movie. We've also got new t-shirts available! So email trashfuturepodcast [at] gmail [dot] com to order one! £15 for Patreon subscribers. Check out the new design here.
Please enjoy this live episode of Trashfuture, recorded on March 6 the 2020 Bristol Transformed festival. You’ll hear Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), and Nate (@inthesedeserts) join special guest Angie Speaks (@speaksangie) to discuss an app that retroactively places products in existing films -- who hasn’t wanted to get ads for Casper Mattresses when watching 1970s noir films -- and a long story about a man who wants to remake Bishop Auckland in his own, uh, slightly vampiric image.
Riley's found some deeply, deeply horny British political writing, and in an attempt to shatter the psychic resolve of our friends down under, he's brought on Andrew Law (@illybocean) of the Boonta Vista podcast. This is also the 10th official TF episode as it features founding cohosts Charlie Palmer and Olga Koch. Hope you enjoy!
Yes, we did it. We brought on Nish Kumar (@mrnishkumar) to suffer through the rest of Jacob Rees-Mogg's terrible book. You will love this episode and absolutely hate this abomination of a text. LONDON LIVE SHOW ALERT We’ll be playing at Vauxhall Comedy on Wednesday, March 11 at 7.30 pm! Tickets are £12, and you can get them here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/trashfuture-live-tickets-91817874735
This week, we're talking about the recent Irish elections. We could do the usual thing and make it up as we go along, but we'd rather speak to an expert -- so we brought on Ciaran Dold (@CiaranDold) of the Corner Späti podcast to break it down for us. Check out Corner Späti here: https://cornerspaeti.simplecast.com/ WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind GYDS.com). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ COME SEE MILOIf you want to catch Milo’s stand-up on tour, get tickets here: https://linktr.ee/miloontour BRISTOL LIVE SHOW ALERT Come see us perform at Bristol Transformed 2020 -- we’ll be performing on the night of Friday, March 6 (with more details to come later). Get tickets here: https://www.headfirstbristol.co.uk/#date=2020-03-06&event_id=58254 LONDON LIVE SHOW ALERT We’ll be playing at Vauxhall Comedy on Wednesday, March 11 at 7.30 pm! Tickets are £12, and you can get them here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/trashfuture-live-tickets-91817874735
You've all heard the various encomiums about Roger fucking Scruton, the absurdly racist idiot philosopher who was terrified of the female orgasm and was somehow welcomed in every echelon of the British state for decades. Well, we've brought on an academic philosopher and friend of the show Nathan Oseroff-Spicer (@nathanoseroff) to break down Scruton's work in detail. And guess what? It's... interesting. WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind GYDS.com). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ COME SEE MILOIf you want to catch Milo’s stand-up on tour, get tickets here: https://linktr.ee/miloontour BRISTOL LIVE SHOW ALERT Come see us perform at Bristol Transformed 2020 -- we’ll be performing on the night of Friday, March 6 (with more details to come later). Get tickets here: https://www.headfirstbristol.co.uk/#date=2020-03-06&event_id=58254 LONDON LIVE SHOW ALERT We’ll be playing at Vauxhall Comedy on Wednesday, March 11 at 7.30 pm! Tickets are £12, and you can get them here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/trashfuture-live-tickets-91817874735
This week's bonus features a skeleton crew of Riley, Alice, and Hussein on a few topics that deeply moved us. Well, one at least: it sounds like SoftBank's Vision Fund is going to get a lot less weird, which means less content for us. But we can still reflect on the good times! WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind GYDS.com). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ COME SEE MILOIf you want to catch Milo’s stand-up on tour, get tickets here: https://linktr.ee/miloontour BRISTOL LIVE SHOW ALERT Come see us perform at Bristol Transformed 2020 -- we’ll be performing on the night of Friday, March 6 (with more details to come later). Get tickets here: https://www.headfirstbristol.co.uk/#date=2020-03-06&event_id=58254 LONDON LIVE SHOW ALERT We’ll be playing at Vauxhall Comedy on Wednesday, March 11 at 7.30 pm! Tickets are £12, and you can get them here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/trashfuture-live-tickets-91817874735
Did you hear about the app that wants to 3D model your face to make sure you're a girl? It's called Giggle and we do not approve of it. In this episode Riley, Hussein, Alice, and artist Matt Lubchansky (@lubchansky) also discuss Mayor Pete, the US democratic primary, and much more. We thought about calling this episode 'ISIS for Girls' but Alice got to choose the title after she completely evaporated Riley's brain by reading test copy from Pete Buttigieg's website. Don't worry -- we recorded it all. If you want to support Matt's cartooning, sign up at The Nib and receive the incredible content that they produce! Get that here: https://membership.thenib.com
This week, we're talking Jacob Rees-Mogg's history: his book 'The Victorians' might be the single worst collection of words that Riley's ever subjected himself to (so far), and we've brought on friend of the show Nish Kumar (@mrnishkumar) to discuss it. You might even call it a 'Horrible History,' but that would be anti-British drivel!
It's the (belated) January edition of Riley's Commie Book Club! Riley spoke with author, academic, and labour activist Callum Cant on his book Riding for Deliveroo: Resistance in the New Economy. We get into algorithmic management, the insipid patronising internal PR of tech companies, what it's really like to ride for Deliveroo, and the new forms of solidarity emerging from precarious work. Buy Callum's book! Here's a link: https://housmans.com/product/riding-for-deliveroo/ WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind GYDS.com). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ COME SEE MILOIf you want to catch Milo’s stand-up on tour, get tickets here: https://linktr.ee/miloontour LAST TICKETS ALERT As this is posted, there are only six tickers remaining for our live show debate on the topic of Elon Musk's status as 21st century Willy Wonka. It's 6th Feb 7.30pm at Hen & Chickens Theatre (109 St Paul’s Road, London N1 2NA) -- tickets are £12.25 and you can get them here: https://www.unrestrictedview.co.uk/trashfuture-live-the-comedy-debate/ If you can't make it in, then tune in online, at twitch.tv/trashfuturepodcast 9 Likes
Katie Halper (@kthalps) of The Katie Halper show and Rolling Stone's Useful Idiots Podcast joins Milo, Riley, and Alice to discuss a terrible start up, and then give us a "Who's Who" of the also-ran's who are fighting it out to lose to our boy Bernie Sanders in the United States. WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind GYDS.com). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ COME SEE MILOIf you want to catch Milo’s stand-up on tour, get tickets here: https://linktr.ee/miloontour LIVE SHOW ALERT We'll be hosting a live show debate on the topic of Elon Musk's status as 21st century Willy Wonka. It's 6th Feb 7.30pm at Hen & Chickens Theatre (109 St Paul’s Road, London N1 2NA) -- tickets are £12.25 and you can get them here: https://www.unrestrictedview.co.uk/trashfuture-live-the-comedy-debate/
This week's bonus episode features Riley, Milo, Alice, and special guest Olly Thorn (@PhilosophyTube). We're talking the royal family, Davos, epistemological lacunae, and so much more. Remember AdBusters? Remember Occupy? So much of it makes an appearance in this delightful bonus content. WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind GYDS.com). If you need web design help, reach out to him here: https://www.tomallen.media/ COME SEE MILOIf you want to catch Milo’s stand-up on tour, get tickets here: https://linktr.ee/miloontour LIVE SHOW ALERT We'll be hosting a live show debate on the topic of Elon Musk's status as 21st century Willy Wonka. It's 6th Feb 7.30pm at Hen & Chickens Theatre (109 St Paul’s Road, London N1 2NA) -- tickets are £12.25 and you can get them here: https://www.unrestrictedview.co.uk/trashfuture-live-the-comedy-debate/
And on the pedestal, these words appear: 'bung a bob for Big Ben to bong for Brexit.' This accursed phrase has melted our brains, and you get to hear it happen in real time on this episode. It's a mass gathering of Riley, Milo, Nate, Alice, Olga, and special guest Soweto Kinch (@sowetokinch), and things get weird. We hope you'll love this episode as much as we hate being alive after reading the material that went in to it. Check out Soweto's most recent album, 'The Black Peril', here: https://www.musicglue.com/soweto-kinch/products/the-black-peril Check out Olga's tour here: https://www.rocknrolga.com Also please check out Milo's tour dates, to include Saturday, 18 January in London: https://linktr.ee/miloontour
It's the chaos configuration of Riley, Milo, and Alice on this week's bonus episode (Nate and Hussein were busy being boring lames). We're talking about the assassination of Qassem Soleimani and the tragic hilariousness of America's constant self-sabotage when it tries to do imperialism. Guess what: it's not good, folks!
It’s our first episode of 2020 and we’ve got a real treat for all of you subscribers. We’ve brought on Theo Pengelly (@AynRandy) of Boonta Vista (@boontavista) to discuss Andrew Lillico’s demented plan to terraform Mars. That is not a typo. Hope you enjoy! COME SEE MILOIf you want to catch Milo’s stand-up on tour, get tickets here: https://linktr.ee/miloontour
This week, we’re reviewing a startup called WhiteHat, digesting a terrible Giles Coren wankfest about Oxford admissions, and—most importantly—speaking to friend of the show and biology teacher Devon (@Devon_OnEarth) about the state-mandated ‘British Values’ education. Spoiler alert: it’s inchoate and weird!
Look, maybe we just needed a break. Maybe there's nothing particularly good to talk about politically in this moment of elected dictatorship. However, we can talk about trash culture and the cult of super-smart drones, and as such we've reviewed the 2008 Ridley Scott film 'Body of Lies,' which is bad. Why does Leo DiCaprio dress like a podcaster? Why are there basically zero Arab actors in major roles in this film? Why is Russell Crowe such a weird Foghorn Leghorn ass guy? Listen to hear our takes on this, and much more.
This week, we speak to David Adler of DiEM25 about what Remain and Revolt would actually mean -- and why the EU's labyrinthine politics is intentionally boring. We also discuss some great pre-election post-mortem columns, a thing that makes sense. You'll love it!
This week's bonus episode features us discussing the Tory manifesto with John Duncan (@Johntheduncan) on the topic of neoliberalism, the neoliberal weaponisation of rights, and the absurd Tory manifesto. Hope you enjoy! John's YouTube channel is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g2Ku4i7l6A&feature=youtu.be Do some canvassing Momentum (@peoplesmomentum) has a great resource that lets you sign up to canvassing events in marginal seats close to you. Access it here: https://www.mycampaignmap.com The only way we can win is by meeting voters face-to-face, so let's make it happen. LIVE SHOW ALERT Come see us live on December 3 at Vauxhall Comedy with special guest Rob Delaney! The address is: 6 South Lambeth Place, London, SW8 1SP, and the show starts at 8:30 pm, doors at 7:00 PM. Tickets are available here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/trashfuture-live-pre-election-christmas-spectacular-tickets-82622465017?fbclid=IwAR0qE8wwGZAYXWLRiQ_f2yO9urbKS1d-0dUuyE-mWAq6DoGQwAGuNRa_IYw
[Sorry for the late release!] This week, Riley, Milo, Alice, and Nate speak with famed detective Loki Nash (@lokinash06) about his experience being the go-to consultant on BBC radio for what is and is not shitposting. We also discuss a Lib Dem PPC who got sacked for being racist in the early 2010s, the recent Prince Andrew interview, and much more. Hope you enjoy!
This week's bonus features three-peat guest India Block (@indiablock) on the topic of Bolivian coups, Tory housing pledges that got zero new houses built, and beyond-parody op-eds defending landlords. We love it and so will you. ELECTION STUFF: Register to vote You can do this here — it’s fast! https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote Do some canvassing Momentum (@peoplesmomentum) has a great resource that lets you sign up to canvassing events in marginal seats close to you. Access it here: https://www.mycampaignmap.com We cannot stress enough how much voting and canvassing matters. BERLIN LISTENERS: Milo is bringing his award-winning Fringe show 'Pindos' to Cafe Nr10 in Mitte THIS SATURDAY and has not sold enough tickets - so why not come down, check it out and catch a trashboi in the flesh? Tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/milos-edwards-pindos-tickets-78549332167?aff=ebdssbeac
You wake up. You turn on your computer to do Fiverr jobs until breakfast. You go to your job. Your contract is secure for another two weeks. You buy lunch for a tenner because you can't go on. You come home, exhausted. It's time for your next job. And you have to pay seven kinds of bills. You've become a burned out husk of a person. But now there's an exciting new venture capital backed startup called Pattern that wants to change all that with luxury cookware somehow. Riley, Milo, Alice, and special guest Nathalie Olah go deep on this strange new theory of change, and why maybe more start ups aren't the answer? Register to vote! https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote Get campaigning! https://www.mycampaignmap.com/ We cannot stress enough how much this matters.
This week's bonus features author and economist James Meadway on his fourth TF appearance, and we're talking about the right-wing thing tanks that make British public life so unbearable. Did you know that everything is fine because people today have 100 percent more wifi access than the Royals did 300 years ago? Learn about this, and more, by listening.
It's that time again! Riley's Commie Book Club is back a brief hiatus. This month, we're discussing Stafford Beer's lecture series "Designing Freedom." Beer, one of the principal architects of Cybersyn, the information network that served as the nerve centre for Allende's Chile, spent his life thinking of ways that people could organise to solve common problems in ways that do not create pointless hierarchies between them. Check it out! I reference an episode of the podcast 99% Invisible here, and I promise I would link it. So! That episode: here.
This week’s episode features the full cast of Riley, Milo, Hussein, Nate, and Alice on the topic of three distinctly horrible things: a startup that promises to create its own Chuck E. Cheese tokens instead of paying its workers; Amazon killing people in its fulfillment centres and deciding that actually, this is fine; and the truly most yer da thing in existence, a ‘satirical’ Brexit disco album that’s truly on the outer limits of bad. You’ll love it!
This week, we've done a deep dive into the work of the king of the airport books: Malcolm Gladwell. Riley, Milo, and Alice join Felix Biederman (@ByYourLogic) of Chapo Trap House (@chapotraphouse) to discuss the horror and the banality of the truest of thinkers. Hope you enjoy!
Our review of Boris Johnson's terrible novel 72 VIRGINS continues — this time featuring Riley, Milo, Alice, and returning guest Aidan 'Taco' Jones. The story continues to get worse, because the current Prime Minister of the UK wrote racist fanfic for bitter British dads. Brace yourself for the horror!
This week's bonus features Riley, Milo, and Alice speaking with Ben McLeay (@thomas_violence) of the Boonta Vista podcast. We discuss a horrible startup called Stockwell (you'll love this one) and a Spectator article with the most profound Brexit manager-calling energy. We almost entitled this episode ACCENTFUTURE because, as you can imagine, it got weird.
That's right, folks! It's the promised second episode in which we discuss the highlights of IT Media Lab's cursed SkyMall.
This week, Riley, Nate, and Alice speak with Justin Roczniak (@donoteat1), the creator of the YouTube channel DoNotEat and an all-round fan of socialism and urban planning. We talk about a Google-designed hell-district that a lot of morons want to build in Toronto, plus a Telegraph Tory impression of what shopping will look like in 2030. You'll love it. You'll love every second.
We speak with Will Davies, reader in Economics at Goldsmith's University and author of the book Nervous States. We discuss mental health and capitalism, why everyone's crazy, and the Cool Kids Centrist Philosopher AC Grayling getting pissed on twitter and going beast on his stationary bike.
We all have Epstein Brain, or at least Riley, Milo, and Alice do. But first, this episode covers our reflections on London and which bits of it suck, a review of the Duke of Westminster's app that lets council tenants decide how they want to get kicked out, then finally we realise everyone's favourite prince couldn't possibly be involved in Epstein shit! He said so!
It's another lovely week in the British summer of, uh, impending fascism? On this week’s bonus, Riley, Hussein, and Alice are in discussion with writer and journalist Kieran Yates (@kieran_yates) on the topic of terrible internships, terrible models of home ownership, and much more. Did you know that Hussein has Trashfuture on his CV? Maybe everyone should put it on their CV, even the listeners. You’ll love it, folks!
We took Trashfuture on the road, opening up the start of of the Birmingham Transformed festival. The cast was Riley, Hussein, Nate, and returning guest Soweto Kinch. We talked about a high-tech eugenics platform and a news site that might as well be the QAnon Onion. You'll love it as much as we did, friends. COME SEE MILO If you're in Edinburgh for the Fringe, come see our boy perform his show: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/pindos LIVE SHOW ALERTGuess who’s going to play live at The World Transformed in Brighton this September? That’s right, your favourite podcast lads. Buy a ticket here: http://theworldtransformed.org
We did it. We drove from London to Edinburgh with all our equipment in tow, climbed a fucking medieval staircase in a downpour, got soaked to the damn bones, and then played a (sold out!!!!) show at the Edinburgh Fringe. We only had a 50 minute time slot, so this was a short one. Thank you so much to all the fans who came out in the garbage weather to see it. COME SEE MILO If you're in Edinburgh for the Fringe, come see our boy perform his show -- it's at 2 pm every day until 26 August: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/pindos
It's a special episode featuring only the loveliest of accents. This week's bonus features Milo with guests Aidan 'Taco' Jones, Dan Muggleton, and Pope Lonergan. It's a bunch of comedians telling some damn jokes -- about Australia, about fancy words, about rugby -- and so much more. Hope you enjoy!
You wanted to hear more Quillette close-reads, so here it is. We discuss the most bootlicking of all pro-Amazon pieces to ever appear, plus a bizarre 2006 op-ed about shoes from Rafael Behr. Our special guest Juliet Jacques (@zinovievletter) helps us break down just how brain-melt it all is. You'll love it, folks—you'll absolutely love it. COME SEE MILOIf you're in Edinburgh for the Fringe, come see our boy perform his show: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/pindos LIVE SHOW ALERT We’ll be performing at the Birmingham Transformed festival on 8th August. Details to come in the next few weeks. If you’re in the West Midlands, come down to Brum for a night of delightful soup jokes. Get tickets here! https://ti.to/birmingham-transformed/birmingham-transformed-2019 OTHER LIVE SHOW ALERT Come see Trashfuture live at the Edinburgh Fringe! We’ll perform on August 10th at 21.30. The venue is Venue 277, PQA Venues @Riddle's Court, Edinburgh EH1 2PG. Tickets are £11.50 and there are a ton of discounts available. Get them here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/trashfuture-live-at-the-fringe SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTGuess who’s going to play live at The World Transformed in Brighton this September? That’s right, your favourite podcast lads. Buy a ticket here: http://theworldtransformed.org
It's Commie Book Club's new home! This month, Riley changes gears a little bit from the theoretical to discuss one of his favourite works of Science Fiction, Blindsight by Peter Watts. It's a hard-sci fi first contact novel that is so hard it has citations. Only very minor spoilers contained herein - you are encouraged to read it! Find it on Watts' website, where he posted it free on his website after a dispute with his publisher. Different format options available at the top https://rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm
Did you know that Riley's hometown newspaper is run by horse people? Did you know that there's a Code Pink-style group that stalks people who work at the Seattle Zoo's elephant enclosure? Did you know that Fiverr wants to drive down your wages but also want to make you feel empowered? Did you know that the Telegraph has found a way to get mad about black people in Bond films? Yes. It's all true. Enjoy this bonus episode with freelance writer and editor Nathan Ma (@nthnashma), and rejoice in the smartness of this world. LIVE SHOW ALERT We’ll be performing at the Birmingham Transformed festival on 8th August. Details to come in the next few weeks. If you’re in the West Midlands, come down to Brum for a night of delightful soup jokes. Get tickets here! https://ti.to/birmingham-transformed/birmingham-transformed-2019 OTHER LIVE SHOW ALERT Come see Trashfuture live at the Edinburgh Fringe! We’ll perform on August 10th at 21.30. The venue is Venue 277, PQA Venues @Riddle's Court, Edinburgh EH1 2PG. Tickets are £11.50 and there are a ton of discounts available. Get them here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/trashfuture-live-at-the-fringe SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT Guess who’s going to play live at The World Transformed in Brighton this September? That’s right, your favourite podcast lads. Buy a ticket here: http://theworldtransformed.org If you want to buy one of our recent special-edition phone-cops shirt, shoot us an email at trashfuturepodcast[at]gmail[dot]com and we can post it to you. (£20 for non-patrons, £15 for patrons)
Riley's cousin lives in London and got the absolute worst tinder-date breakup message. It was so bad, so painfully long-form and weird, that we had to convene a session of Balthasar Speedboat to discuss it. So, we brought on Riley, Milo, Olga, Alex Kealy, and Rajiv Karia (@RajivAKaria). Hope you enjoy it! If not, we're breaking up with you (in over 1000 words).
Tony Blair, what a guy! Am I right, folks? He can't stop whining about how we need fewer houses and more apps. He can't stop pointing a finger at the Labour party and saying that it was better when we were pro-privatisation and pro-bombing. And now, of course, his institute has a great plan -- a policy paper full of nothing but management consultant speak -- with one sole defined policy goal: national ID cards. Yes, he still wants them. Enjoy this dang podcast! LIVE SHOW ALERT We’ll be performing at the Birmingham Transformed festival on 8th August. Details to come in the next few weeks. If you’re in the West Midlands, come down to Brum for a night of delightful soup jokes. Get tickets here! https://ti.to/birmingham-transformed/birmingham-transformed-2019 OTHER LIVE SHOW ALERT Come see Trashfuture live at the Edinburgh Fringe! We’ll perform on August 10th at 21.30. The venue is Venue 277, PQA Venues @Riddle's Court, Edinburgh EH1 2PG. Tickets are £11.50 and there are a ton of discounts available. Get them here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/trashfuture-live-at-the-fringe SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTGuess who’s going to play live at The World Transformed in Brighton this September? That’s right, your favourite podcast lads. Buy a ticket here: http://theworldtransformed.org
We did it. We played another show outside of London—this time at Wolfson College in Cambridge—and we made sure to prep only the best. Did you know Boris Johnson wrote a horny, frustrated novel about terrorism called '72 Virgins'? Well, we read the damn book so you didn't have to. Enjoy!
It’s that time again! This month Riley is reading Benedict Anderson’s graduate seminar standby Imagined Communities. The “nation” is a concept much beloved of reactionaries and dismissed by Marxists as mere ideology. But it has serious psychological power nevertheless. Anderson’s book asks what is a “nation,” where did it come from, and how has the concept been used and misused over time? Riley then applies Anderson’s rubric to understanding the swell of white nationalism that has erupted in the West since the end of the Cold War. WATCH THIS SPACE We’ll be performing at the Birmingham Transformed festival on 8th August. Details to come in the next few weeks. If you’re in the West Midlands, come down to Brum for a night of delightful soup jokes. LIVE SHOW ALERT Come see Trashfuture live at the Edinburgh Fringe! We’ll perform on August 10th at 21.30. The venue is Venue 277, PQA Venues @Riddle's Court, Edinburgh EH1 2PG. Tickets are £11.50 and there are a ton of discounts available. Get them here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/trashfuture-live-at-the-fringe If you want to buy one of our recent special-edition phone-cops shirt, shoot us an email at trashfuturepodcast[at]gmail[dot]com and we can post it to you. (£20 for non-patrons, £15 for patrons) Do you want a mug to hold your soup? Perhaps you want one with the Trashfuture logo, which is available here: https://teespring.com/what-if-phone-cops#pid=659&cid=102968&sid=front
The UK can't get enough of border forces. We want to fund them in our own country and in other countries, even when those countries want visa-free regional travel. We love making everyone a cop, and we're joined this week by Zoe Gardner (@ZoeJardiniere) from Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (@JCWI_UK) to discuss this. However, we also have a terrible startup to review, and a great (by which we mean insane) article about why National Service would be a good thing. It's bad, folks! WATCH THIS SPACE We’ll be performing at the Birmingham Transformed festival on 8th August. Details to come in the next few weeks. If you’re in the West Midlands, come down to Brum for a night of delightful soup jokes. LIVE SHOW ALERT Come see Trashfuture live at the Edinburgh Fringe! We’ll perform on August 10th at 21.30. The venue is Venue 277, PQA Venues @Riddle's Court, Edinburgh EH1 2PG. Tickets are £11.50 and there are a ton of discounts available. Get them here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/trashfuture-live-at-the-fringe COMEDY KLAXON Come to Milo’s regular comedy night on July 3rd at The Sekforde (34 Sekforde Street London EC1R 0HA), This show also starts at 8 pm and features Milo and also TF favourites Pierre Novellie and Aidan Taco Jones. Tickets are £5 at this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/smoke-comedy-featuring-maria-shehata-and-pierre-novellie-tickets-63482792742 T-SHIRTS If you want to buy one of our recent special-edition phone-cops shirt, shoot us an email at trashfuturepodcast[at]gmail[dot]com with your size and address and we can post it to you. It's discounted to £15 + shipping for patrons!
This week, we're talking Logic Guys with Aisling McCrea (@ambientGillian), the author of a great Outline piece about debate and a canny observer of terrible Mind-Boomers online. Why is Andrew Doyle so angry and unfunny? Why does Stephen Crowder always ambush college students with his dumb garbage? All this and more is yours. LIVE SHOW ALERT On June 15, we’ll perform at Wolfson College Bar (Wolfson College, Cambridge CB3 9BB) in Cambridge. The show starts at 8:30 pm, so be there and be ready to hear about Gundams. Tickets are £8 for students and £10 for general admission: https://www.tickettext.co.uk/trashfuture-podcast/trashfuture-live-in-cambridge-15062019/ COMEDY KLAXON: Come to Milo’s regular comedy night on June 13 at The Sekforde (34 Sekforde Street London EC1R 0HA), This show also starts at 8 pm and features Milo himself and Ben Pope, with previews of their Edinburgh shows. Tickets are free—sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/edinburgh-previews-ben-pope-and-milo-edwards-tickets-63000380835 If you want to buy one of our recent special-edition phone-cops shirt, shoot us an email at trashfuturepodcast[at]gmail[dot]com and we can post it to you. (£20 for non-patrons, £15 for patrons)
Metro UK is doing a feature on how the future will be (good? bad?), and in our search to answer that question, we've brought on their deputy editor Alex Hudson ( @alexhuds ) to discuss it. In the future, your boss will watch your irises constantly to see if you're looking at GettingYourDickSucked.com instead of doing your job. It's not looking rosy! LIVE SHOW ALERT On June 15, we’ll perform at Wolfson College Bar (Wolfson College, Cambridge CB3 9BB) in Cambridge. The show starts at 8:30 pm, so be there and be ready to hear about Gundams. Tickets are £8 for students and £10 for general admission: https://www.tickettext.co.uk/trashfuture-podcast/trashfuture-live-in-cambridge-15062019/
America desperately wants to go to war with Iran, so much that it's willing to engineer some extremely fake circumstances under which it can claim to be the victim of aggression. Why is that? Well, according to Bret Stephens, it's because they hate Ben Franklin, or something. To discuss this, we bring on Sina Rahmani, host of the The East is a Podcast, and ask him why the US can't seem to stop broadcasting its war horniness. LIVE SHOW ALERT We’ll be performing TONIGHT AT 7:30 PM at the Star of Kings in Kings Cross (126 York Way, Kings Cross, London N1 0AX). Get your tickets here and return to the podcasting basement! https://www.tickettext.co.uk/trashfuture-podcast/trashfuture-live-30052019/ ADDITIONAL LIVE SHOW ALERT On June 15, we’ll perform at Wolfson College Bar (Wolfson College, Cambridge CB3 9BB) in Cambridge. The show starts at 8:30 pm, so be there and be ready to hear about Gundams. Tickets are £8 for students and £10 for general admission: https://www.tickettext.co.uk/trashfuture-podcast/trashfuture-live-in-cambridge-15062019/ COMEDY KLAXON: Come to Milo’s regular comedy night on June 5 at The Sekforde (34 Sekforde Street London EC1R 0HA), This show also starts at 8 pm and features Alfie Brown and Mark Watson. Tickets are £5—sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/smoke-comedy-featuring-alfie-brown-tickets-61860825394
Did you know that, despite renting space in basically every building in the world, WeWork incinerates money and cannot ever turn a profit? Did you know that there's an IoT-connected chastity belt that locks your dick to your phone? So much and more is here for you to discover -- and on this episode, you'll hear from the full gang of Riley, Milo, Hussein, Nate, and Alice. LIVE SHOW ALERT We’ll be performing once again at the Star of Kings in Kings Cross (126 York Way, Kings Cross, London N1 0AX) on Thursday, May 30 at 7:30 pm. Get your tickets here and return to the podcasting basement! https://www.tickettext.co.uk/trashfuture-podcast/trashfuture-live-30052019/ ADDITIONAL LIVE SHOW ALERT On June 15, we’ll perform at Wolfson College Bar (Wolfson College, Cambridge CB3 9BB) in Cambridge. The show starts at 8:30 pm, so be there and be ready to hear about Gundams. Tickets are £8 for students and £10 for general admission: https://www.tickettext.co.uk/trashfuture-podcast/trashfuture-live-in-cambridge-15062019/ Also: you can commodify your dissent with a t-shirt from http://www.lilcomrade.com/, and what’s more, it’s mandatory if you want to be taken seriously. Do you want a mug to hold your soup? Perhaps you want one with the Trashfuture logo, which is available here: https://teespring.com/what-if-phone-cops#pid=659&cid=102968&sid=front
Another instalment of Riley's Commie Book Club delivered to you, our delightful and beloved patrons. This month, Riley decided to take it in a bit of a different direction, and talk about an under-discussed field of study, Marxism and the Philosophy of Science. How should we think about knowledge, what is knowable, and how these questions are related to history and power? To get to these questions, he reads from Helena Sheehan's Marxism and the Philosophy of Science: A Critical History. The focus of the book is on charting Marxist approaches to the philosophy of science from Engels to the mid 20th century, and while this is interesting, Riley focuses more on the underlying concepts. He absolutely encourages you to look into the book and the actual history it tells, though! It's linked here: https://www.versobooks.com/books/2565-marxism-and-the-philosophy-of-science Also, check out our live show in London on May 30th: https://www.tickettext.co.uk/trashfuture-podcast/trashfuture-live-30052019/
Everyone knows YouTube: the place where you can watch Peppa Pig get beheaded, watch crocodiles turn into chickens, learn about why earth is flat, and so much more. However, YouTube as a cultural phenomenon has created an entire new generation of public figures — a bunch of damn celebrities — and this week Hussein, Milo, and Nate speak with author Chris Stokel-Walker (@stokel) about his new book "YouTubers: How YouTube shook up TV and created a new generation of stars." You can buy the book here: https://www.canburypress.com/store/p28/-YouTubers-book-by-Chris-Stokel-Walker.html Also, this episode features a preview of a crossover feature on Nate's podcast What a Hell of a Way to Die: Riley and Nate discuss Warhammer 40k and why it has such cachet among weird internet reactionaries. Get it on SoundCloud here: https://soundcloud.com/hellofawaytodie/demon-guitar-solo-trumpism-feat-riley-quinn
It was a special kind of Sunday morning in London, and the whole gang gathered to record yet another episode of our comedy special Balthasar Speedboat. This round features Riley, Milo, Nate, Olga, Alex Kealy, and Pierre Novellie--and covers important topics like: what if the Hubble telescope saw God's pussy? What happens when the bullied becomes the bully? What is a samovar? And why is it that kids always find something to rip on you about? Hope you enjoy.
This week, Riley, Milo, and Hussein speak with writer Karen Geier (@karengeier) about Butt-mentum—the sudden ubiquity of Pete Buttigieg—as well as other topics to include the Extinction Rebellion protests and an insane denunciation of Heathrow Airport by a man writing for Conservative Woman. It's good, folks. Please vote for us at this year's British Podcast Awards, and make us the toast of the dumbest possible award show on the planet: https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/vote LIVE SHOW ALERT We’ll be performing once again at the Star of Kings in Kings Cross (126 York Way, Kings Cross, London N1 0AX) on Thursday, May 30 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are £10—get them here and return to the podcasting basement! https://www.tickettext.co.uk/trashfuture-podcast/trashfuture-live-30052019/ COMEDY KLAXON: Come to Milo’s regular comedy night on May 8 at The Sekforde (34 Sekforde Street London EC1R 0HA), This show also starts at 8 pm and features Radu Isac and Phileo Huff. Tickets are £5—sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/smoke-comedy-featuring-radu-isac-and-phileo-huff-tickets-60314057971
This week, we speak to jazz saxophonist and MC Soweto Kinch (@sowetokinch) about big tech's attempts to steal creative idea-generation concepts and apply them to high-stress startup culture. We also talk about certified genius Roger Scruton, and Milo brings back his south-of-south-of-Louisiana accent. You will enjoy this. LIVE SHOW ALERT We’ll be performing once again at the Star of Kings in Kings Cross (126 York Way, Kings Cross, London N1 0AX) on Thursday, May 30 at 7:30 pm. Get your tickets here and return to the podcasting basement! https://www.tickettext.co.uk/trashfuture-podcast/trashfuture-live-30052019/ COMEDY KLAXON: On April 18 at The Sekforde (34 Sekforde Street London EC1R 0HA), Milo will perform a preview of his Edinburgh show. The show starts at 8 pm. Get your (free) tickets here and come out! https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/smoke-comedy-presents-milo-edwards-pindos-wip-tickets-60015467880 And if you can’t make that show, come to Milo’s regular comedy night on April 24, also at the Sekforde. This show also starts at 8 pm and features Mickey Overman among many others, to include TF’s own Charlie Palmer. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/smoke-comedy-featuring-micky-overman-tickets-59543070928?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
This is it, folks. The first live recording with our mobile space station, the first outside-London show, and the first leftist UK politics supergroup podcast featuring Dalia Gebrial of Novara Media and Jack Frayne-Reid of Reel Politik Podcast. Recorded live at Hamilton House, Stokes Croft, Bristol on April 5, 2019, it's a show about the things that matter: brain scanning helmets that write musical symphonies, Bristol's slave-trade past, its devotion to one particular slave-trading city father, and the local Illuminati that worship him like a god.
Americans love the Big Bang Theory, even if they think they're above it (when we watched an episode in studio, Nate couldn't keep himself from laughing). But why is it so oblivious to the horrors of true nerd culture? Because as special guest Eleanor Penny (@eleanorkpenny) points out, there's already an insanely misogynist show lurking under its adorkable exterior. In addition, we also discuss Suella Braverman MP's recent use of the term 'Cultural Marxism,' and its origins in Nazi ideology. If you want to attend Eleanor's debate at the Cambridge Literary Festival, you can get tickets here: http://www.cambridgeliteraryfestival.com/whatson/new-statesman-debate/ LIVE SHOW ALERT We'll be performing live at Bristol Transformed on Friday, April 5th at 8 pm. The venue is Hamilton House 3A, 80 Stokes Croft, Bristol BS1 3QY. https://www.facebook.com/events/814946762200366/ View the Facebook event page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/814946762200366/ COMEDY KLAXON: On April 10 at The Sekforde (34 Sekforde Street London EC1R 0HA), two of the most profoundly funny voices in British comedy (and members of the Balthasar Speedboat cast), Pierre Novellie and Alex Kealy, will perform at Smoke Comedy. The show starts at 8 pm; tickets are £5 and can be purchased here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/smoke-comedy-featuring-pierre-novellie-and-alex-kealy-tickets-58849486398?aff=erelexpmlt
Amazing how Titania McGrath, a fictional account that owns Millennials by making dad jokes, is the talk of the London Media. It's almost like the account is run by two middle-aged Tories whose friends all RT them out of a sense of obligation. This week, Riley, Milo, and Nate speak with Novara Media's Dalia Gebrial ( @daliagebrial ) about the Titania McGrath 'phenomenon,' and why it speaks to the deeply conservative cornerstones of horniness and hurt feelings. COMEDY KLAXON: On April 10 at The Sekforde (34 Sekforde Street London EC1R 0HA), two of the most profoundly funny voices in British comedy (and members of the Balthasar Speedboat cast), Pierre Novellie and Alex Kealy, will perform at Smoke Comedy. The show starts at 8 pm; tickets are £5 and can be purchased here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/smoke-comedy-featuring-pierre-novellie-and-alex-kealy-tickets-58849486398?aff=erelexpmlt
It’s that time again: Riley sat down with a book, and now you have to hear him talk about it for an hour or so. This month, Riley read K-Punk, out now on Repeater Books. K-Punk collects the previously unpublished writing of British left cultural, political, and social critic Mark Fisher, who explored realism and imagination, future and memory, and the freedom to imagine better worlds.
We're back in the saddle for yet another edition of Balthasar Speedboat. This episode features Riley, Milo, Nate, Alex Kealy, Olga Koch, and Pierre Novellie -- and covers the usual spectrum of topics (but mostly Michael Jackson). Did you know Riley apparently sheds hair as a defensive mechanism? Did you know that Richard Nixon was convinced that gays brought down the Roman Empire? All this can be yours, and more.
We did it. We got Jonn Elledge @JonnElledge and Alice Caldwell-Kelly ( @AliceAvizandum) on the same podcast to discuss the UK's housing shortage, dorm-style accommodations being packaged as 'solutions,' some polycule chat, and a new VC-backed attempt to undercut Transport for London (and steal your data). This is a good one folks, hope you enjoy it. COMEDY KLAXON: On March 13 at 8pm, Milo will host another Smoke Comedy at the Sekforde (34 Sekforde Street London EC1R 0HA). This show costs £5 and will feature all new material from Tania Edwards, Chloe Petts, Dimitri Bakanov, and Raph Wakefield. Get tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/smoke-comedy-with-tania-edwards-tickets-56285827425
When was the last time you looked at Bill Gates, a man who had bangs well into his forties, and said, 'He's got the solution to our problems'? Well, as it just so happens, there are clearly enough Bill-lievers to necessitate an annual philanthropy fanzine, which we managed to get a hold of. Recorded live at the Star of Kings, this episode features friend of the show and founding member Charlie Palmer, a strung-together sound system, the errant noises of Nate crouching behind the DJ booth to eat a burger, and much more. Thank you so much to all the real heads who came out to see us live! COMEDY KLAXON: On March 13 at 8pm, Milo will host another Smoke Comedy at the Sekforde (34 Sekforde Street London EC1R 0HA). This show costs £5 and will feature all new material from Tania Edwards, Chloe Petts, Dimitri Bakanov, and Raph Wakefield. Get tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/smoke-comedy-with-tania-edwards-tickets-56285827425
Riley and Milo sit down with Will Stronge, director of Autonomy and one of the principal authors of the four day work week report (linked here) that’s been generating so much interest lately. Sing it loud and sing it proud: work sucks!
Does it surprise anyone that the Tories would decide that the issue of EU citizens in the UK could be solved with an app? And does it surprise anyone that that app doesn't work? In this week's bonus episode, comedian Victor Patrascan — recently of Romania — joins the Trashfuture crew to discuss the Samsung-only immigration policy. We also discuss a very dumb article about Vene-freaking-zuela. This episode features a TF first: reporting segments that Hussein and Nate conducted —featuring Maria Llorente from the EU citizens' advocacy group The 3 Million, and with Chicago-based app developer Ryan Jones — because guess what, folks? We've invented the news. LIVE SHOW ALERT We have an upcoming live show -- with comedian Josie Long -- in London on February 21st at the Star of Kings (126 York Way, Kings Cross, London N1 0AX) starting at 7.30 pm. You can buy tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/trashfuture-live-ft-josie-long-tickets-54546538164 COMEDY KLAXON On 27th February at 8 pm, Elf Lyons and a number of other comics will perform at Smoke Comedy at the Sekforde (34 Sekforde Street London EC1R 0HA). Tickets are £5, and you can get them here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/smoke-comedy-with-elf-lyons-tickets-55825778406 Also: you can commodify your dissent with a t-shirt from http://www.lilcomrade.com/, and what’s more, it’s mandatory if you want to be taken seriously. Do you want a mug to hold your soup? Perhaps you want one with the Trashfuture logo, which is available here: https://teespring.com/what-if-phone-cops#pid=659&cid=102968&sid=front
It's that time again! Riley read a book, drank some wine, and is ready to talk about it to you fine people. This month, we're looking at State of Insecurity by Isabell Lorey, available now on Verso. It's all about precariousness and how neoliberalism has turned us into our own disciplinarians. Check out the book here: https://www.versobooks.com/books/1737-state-of-insecurity LIVE SHOW ALERT We have an upcoming live show -- with comedian Josie Long -- in London on February 21st at the Star of Kings (126 York Way, Kings Cross, London N1 0AX) starting at 7.30 pm. You can buy tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/trashfuture-live-ft-josie-long-tickets-54546538164 COMEDY KLAXON COMEDY KLAXON On 13th February at 8 pm, Josie Long and a number of other comics will perform at Smoke Comedy at the Sekforde (34 Sekforde Street London EC1R 0HA). Tickets are £5, and you can get them here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/smoke-comedy-feat-josie-long-tickets-55036156626 Also: you can commodify your dissent with a t-shirt from http://www.lilcomrade.com/, and what’s more, it’s mandatory if you want to be taken seriously. Do you want a mug to hold your soup? Perhaps you want one with the Trashfuture logo, which is available here: https://teespring.com/what-if-phone-cops#pid=659&cid=102968&sid=front
It was admittedly a shock to all of us that any of you liked our previous Balthasar Speedboat show. However, you did, and as such we've decided to revisit it with a new episode. You can hear Riley, Milo, Olga, Alex Kealy, and Charlie Palmer for a near hour of riffs. Did you know the British had a song in World War II dedicated to Hitler's balls? Did you know that's actually body shaming? All this and more, on Balthasar Speedboat.
On this week's bonus episode, we're taking you to a brain expansion dimension that you've never visited before. Riley, Hussein, Milo, and Alice join special guest George Eaton, deputy editor at the New Statesman for a discussion of the HBO / Channel 4 feature film 'Brexit' starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Dominic Cummings. Sure, it's bad, but is that really so surprising? We delve into it with the keen insights that you've come to expect from us. LIVE SHOW ALERT We have an upcoming live show -- with comedian Josie Long -- in London on February 21st at the Star of Kings (126 York Way, Kings Cross, London N1 0AX) starting at 7.30 pm. You can buy tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/trashfuture-live-ft-josie-long-tickets-54546538164 COMEDY KLAXON On 13th February at 8 pm, Josie Long and a number of other comics will perform at Smoke Comedy at the Sekforde (34 Sekforde Street London EC1R 0HA). Tickets are £5, and you can get them here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/smoke-comedy-feat-josie-long-tickets-55036156626 Also: you can commodify your dissent with a t-shirt from http://www.lilcomrade.com/, and frankly, you must.
In this week's bonus, Riley's Commie Book Club is a bit different. This time, Riley speaks with scholar and author Peter Fleming — you might recognize the name from a previous episode discussing his book 'The Death of Homo Economicus' — and this time they cover the subject of Peter's new book, 'The Worst Is Yet to Come: A Post-Capitalist Survival Guide.' Peter Fleming is a professor at the University of London and the University of Technology, Sydney. He is the author of several books, including The Mythology of Work (2015) and The Death of Homo Economicus (2017). His writing has appeared in the Guardian and Financial Times. Peter stayed up late in Australia in order to have a lively discussion with your delightful host, and we're greatly appreciative of him. You should buy Peter's book, and you can do so here: https://repeaterbooks.com/product/the-worst-is-yet-to-come-a-post-capitalist-survival-guide/
Real heads will appreciate this one: we've assembled the full Trashfuture roster, featuring Riley, Milo, Charlie Palmer, Hussein, and Nate, and we're discussing a great (read: bad) startup that wants to give your employees helpful nudges. We also talk Netflix's acquiescing to Saudi censorship, a terrible column that tries to defend UK rail fare hikes, and so much more. LIVE SHOW ALERT We have an upcoming live show — with comedian Josie Long — in London on February 21st at the Star of Kings (126 York Way, Kings Cross, London N1 0AX) starting at 7.30 pm. You can buy tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/trashfuture-live-ft-josie-long-tickets-54546538164
In this week's bonus episode, Nate interviews writer and extreme Trashfuture Tolerator Edie Miller (@multiplebears) about her recent article in the Outline, in which she asks a crucial question: why is UK media so transphobic? Their discussion covers the strangeness of the TERF argument, the weird way in which it has more currency among liberals in the UK than in the US, and much more. You can read Edie's article here: https://theoutline.com/post/6536/british-feminists-media-transphobic?zd=1&zi=utvxehpk Also, make sure you buy a t-shirt from Lil' Comrade: https://www.lilcomrade.com/
So, this episode was a long time coming. Riley, Milo, and Aidan 'Taco' Jones recorded this during Edinburgh Fringe, but it's been on the back-burner for a while. Now that we're in the beloved dead space between Christmas and the New Year, we saw fit to release it. Regale yourself with a conversation in which Riley explains why you should care about politics. If you're blessed with holidays from work, hope they're good. And if not, well, neither does our producer.
This week's bonus is the first installment of something we've been wanting to do for a while: a Q&A episode. However, before we could get there, we had to read our beloved boy Toby Young's insane holiday column about his 'vertiginous' 'defenestration' from public life. We did our best to answer your questions with a minimum of Yu Gi Oh references. Well, a relative minimum. You can commodify your dissent with a t-shirt from http://www.lilcomrade.com/, and what’s more, it’s mandatory if you want to be taken seriously.
For this week's particularly festive bonus, Riley reviews the academic paper 'The End of the Transition Paradigm' by Thomas Carothers. Riley discusses international relations as a discipline, his takes on some core assumptions of the genre, how it's influenced modern politics in the general Atlantic region, and much more. You can read the article in its entirety here: https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/sites/default/files/Carothers-13-1.pdf and then tell Riley why, actually, he's wrong.
This week's bonus episode of Trashfuture is actually a pilot of sorts -- it's a comedy show we've assembled featuring an ensemble cast of Milo, Riley, Olga Koch (@rocknrolga), Pierre Novellie ( @pierrenovellie), Alex Kealy (@alexkealy), and a few bits from Nate as well. It's a show about how to feel the snow in a sensual way, assigned names for criminals, Dilbert-esque porn banter, Adam Sandler's comedic oeuvre, and Nate discussing a repressed memory about a German magazine he read as a kid that depicted a very silly dog. If you enjoy this, please let us know! We're on the fence about whether or not to do another one... which makes you our partners in podcasting.
On this week's bonus, Riley, Milo, Hussein, and Nate discuss Steve Bannon's recent profile in the Guardian, an insane protest letter written by British landlords in opposition to the anti-homelessness nonprofit Shelter, and a terrible startup that wants to despatch fleets of pizza vans that cook your pizza on the go (badly, of course). Don’t forget that you can commodify your dissent with a t-shirt from http://www.lilcomrade.com/. Get whichever slogan you want, but get the damn shirts!
On this week's bonus, Riley, Milo, Hussein, and Nate speak with art historian Elise Bell (@eliseybell) about her Tabloid Art History ( @TabloidArtHist ) account and why it takes serious effort to stop any creative work from getting commodified (a think we at Trashfuture know too well)... We had a blast recording this and hope that you enjoy it, too. COMEDY KLAXON Come see Milo host a night of free stand-up at the Sekforde in London on 21st November at 8 pm: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/smoke-comedy-featuring-pierre-novellie-tickets-52410874336 Speaking of commodification, make sure to commodify your dissent with a t-shirt from http://www.lilcomrade.com/.
Elon Musk gifted us analytics like Prometheus gifting fire, and as such we've determined that about 40 percent of our audience is American. So, Americans (and others) -- do you want to know about the British royal family? Well, now you can, in detail, as Riley, Milo, Hussein, and Ned Donovan (@Ned_Donovan) discuss the history of Britain's terrible ruling family. This is a good episode to listen to while your valet is relocating your bed to your friends' house.
This is a recording of our recent live show at the Sekforde in London. Thank you so much to the fans who attended — we were stunned by the response and incredibly grateful for your support. When we get Hussein back from the frozen waste of Upstate New York (early next year), we'll put on another show. Special thanks to Woke George Eaton for clarifying some details about how you get an author picture at a media publication.
This is of course something of a new content type: on this week's bonus episode, Riley, Milo, Nate, and Olga (@rocknrolga) join Adam Rensch (@nachdermas) — host of the Stop/Rewind podcast — to discuss a film that burrowed itself into the American liberal worldview like a hideous, parasitical worm. That film? Idiocracy, the 2006 Mike Judge comedy that frankly sucks, but more on an ethical level than you might expect. Have you ever wanted to do Death of the Author on a shitty movie? You'd better have! You can check out Adam's podcast here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/stop-rewind/id1434852449 Also, don't forget that our live show at the Sekforde in London is coming up very soon! Purchase tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/trashfuture-live-halloween-spooktacular-tickets-51361920888
This week's bonus is Riley's Commie Book Club, reviewing Chantal Mouffe's "For a Left Populism. Why are we constantly told that the status quo — i.e. neoliberal market economics — is the natural order? Why does the centre hate socialism more than fascism? Why is it a bad thing that socialism might leave the absolute wealthiest on the planet worse off than they are in our current gilded age? And why do they want to live in orbiting space stations? Listen to this episode to answer all these questions, and more.
We've just completed party conference season, and to wrap up the important events in all of them (or at least the ones we care about), the Trash lads brought on Simon Childs (@simonchilds13), home affairs editor for Vice UK. You'll get to hear all about the Tory party conference (and its app malfunction), the UKIP conference in which Full Sharia was proposed and -- of course -- this year's Labour conference. Buy a damn shirt from Lil' Comrade and commodify your dissent: https://www.lilcomrade.com
On this week's bonus episode, we're joined by Jack Frayne-Reid (@frayne_jack) from the Reel Politik Podcast to discuss Chris Leslie's recent sad letter to the Guardian. We cover Labour's lack of broad-churchiness and there variety of ways in which the Blairite faction has become politically irrelevant (save for the pages of every stupid newspaper in Britain).
Welcome to this week's bonus episode from Riley. You've been promised this for ages and now you're getting it: a discussion on techno as praxis. But, it's not as lame as that might sound, because Riley speaks with musician and producer Aloiso Wilmoth ( @HE_VALENCIA) about the history of techno, its DIY ethos, its Midwest American roots, and how's it's been repackaged and sold as EDM. You can find Aloiso's music on SoundCloud here: https://soundcloud.com/he_valencian There's a little bit of warble on the recording! We've done our best to clean it up as much as possible, but you may still notice it periodically.
On this week's bonus episode, Riley, Milo, and Nate sit down with former Jeremy Corbyn spokesman and extremely cool friend of the show Matt Zarb-Cousin (@mattzarb) to discuss the New European, 'a magazine for the 48 per cent.' As you might not be surprised to discover, it's actually the slightly more genteel version of those people with bitmoji avatars and 13 different hashtags in their name who always, always reply to Brexit tweets. Make sure to listen to the end for some excellent, excellent singing on the part of the lads, who learned from this episode to drink a lot less when recording. Thank you so much for your support of our show! We're really excited about all the new premium content that we're planning to bring out, and we couldn't do this without you.
In our first-ever Patreon subscriber bonus, you get to hear Riley's Commie Book Club review of yet another publication. Feel free to leave a comment here if there's a book you want our avid reader (and hairy son) to review in the future.