TRASHFUTURE

Why is the line detached from the material reality of so many people? Why is the line divorced? Why are there so many zombie companies, and why does it seem like the financial movers and shakers are fine with government stimulus to basically non-functional entities? Well, to answer big important finance questions, we have Barrons journalist Alexandra Scaggs (@alexandrascaggs) to investigate, alongside Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum). 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://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/

So, what was MIT’s Media Lab actually researching with all that Epstein money? And why is it a Venn diagram of all the worst things in America in the last 40 years? Fronted by a neocon who helped the Contras and the Iraq War, headed by a bitchin’ surfer rave enthusiast tech idiot, and full of people inventing cursed SkyMall products. This week, Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Hussein (@AliceAvizandum) discuss this and so much more. Part 2 of this series will be coming out this week on Patreon. Sign up for it here and get access to our Discord server: https://www.patreon.com/trashfuture 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

Why is it that British dads all want to go to war? Why is it that, despite having grown up during a period of unparalleled peace and stability, people over 50 want to relive Dunkirk and embrace the Blitz Spirit? Maybe because they’re all deeply bored and lazy people. To discuss this (and much more), we’ve brought on Francis Horton (@ArmyStrang), cohost of What a Hell of a Way to Die (with our own Nate (@inthesedeserts)). Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum) also discuss the Amazon being on fire and a terrible, terrible NY Post article about monogamy. You will love it. If you want to listen to more of Francis and Nate, check out What a Hell of a Way to Die here: https://soundcloud.com/hellofawaytodie If you like this show, sign up to the Patreon and get a second free episode each week! You’ll also get access to our Discord server, where good opinions abound. https://www.patreon.com/trashfuture *LIVE SHOW ALERT* 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) 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

Move over Deloitte Pride Float - there’s a new brand of liberalism in town! Ahmed al-Sharaa, erstwhile leader of HTS, now promoting Syria as a global investment destination, sits down with his old sporting rival David Petraeus. What’s six years of imprisonment between friends? Also, we talk about the recognition of Palestine and who “gets” to be a state, the circular financing driving useless AI valuations to new highs, and Starmer’s “fightback” against Farage. Get the whole episode on Patreon here! MILO ALERT Check out Milo’s tour dates here: Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist) https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/liveshows

Brian Merchant, of Blood in the Machine, joins us to talk about his new series, AI Took My Job. It includes stories from not just artists and translators, but tech workers, healthcare workers, and even suicide counsellors. But before that, we decide that in the bleakness of the day we could all use a moment of TF season one whimsy, and talk about a fridge with ads on it. Remember that? Get more TF episodes each week by subscribing to our Patreon here! TF Merch is still available here! *MILO ALERT* Check out Milo’s tour dates here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/liveshows Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

The world’s most regular man takes the stand in his own defence and proceeds to… utterly waste the court’s time arguing about pronouns. Also, we talk about the ongoing collapse of civil liberties on both sides of the Atlantic, and consider what it means when the leaders of both major parties in the UK simply seem to not want their jobs very much. Get the whole episode on Patreon here! *MILO ALERT* Check out Milo’s tour dates here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/liveshows Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

A wasting disease has struck TF! The survivors, Riley and Hussein, are joined by Mattie Lubchansky who is bravely subbing in for the fallen, to discuss Trump’s state visit to the UK, the ongoing right wing cancellation march that’s spreading around the world, and then a whimsical new AI device whose main feature is that it hates you. Then, Riley talks to the Public Interest Law Centre’s Paul Heron, who is currently pursuing two Palestinian solidarity cases through the UK legal system, about how to use the law for good. Support the Public Interest Law Centre here! Check out Mattie’s book ‘Simplicity’ here! Get more TF episodes each week by subscribing to our Patreon here! *MILO ALERT* Check out Milo’s tour dates here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/liveshows Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)          

We booked this recording with June from Kill the Computer and Ill Conceived to talk about something else, and were then overtaken by events like three times. We talk about the Epstein Book, political violence, the likely Partygating of Keir Starmer… but otherwise I guess it was kind of a slow news week. Get the whole episode on Patreon here.  *MILO ALERT* Check out Milo’s tour dates here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/liveshows Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

Jake and Jacob from Screen Rot join us to talk about the two men who post videos of themselves saying “bosh,” and why everyone in Britain (and elsewhere?) seems keen to project their politics onto these men. Get more TF episodes each week by subscribing to our Patreon here! TF Merch is still available here! *MILO ALERT* Check out Milo’s tour dates here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/liveshows Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

Ed Zitron returns to talk about the AI bubble, market concentration, and popular backlash. We also look ahead at what would happen when the AI bubble begins to pop. Check out Ed's work here! Get the whole episode on Patreon here! MILO ALERT: Check out Milo's upcoming live shows here! MERCH ALERT TF Merch is still available here! Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

We talk about a pair of startups that aim to replace the entirety of human interiority using a pair of glasses and a smartphone. Also, we discuss the Labour frontbench’s ever escalating flag habit, and the concerns for what this means at a time of rising threat towards refugees. Get more TF episodes each week by subscribing to our Patreon here! TF Merch is still available here! Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

Trump’s touching the money! Nathan Tankus, the Fed whisperer, returns to talk about the political economy of dying empire, specifically as it relates to some of its more important (if somewhat… evil…) institutions. Also, we talk about the ongoing assault on the mental health of vulnerable people by chatbots. Check out Nathan's writing here! Get the whole episode on Patreon here! TF Merch is still available here! Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

Mattie from No Gods No Mayors subs in for Nova, and we talk about what it’s like when politicians lead from the left versus right… and we discuss Eric Adams, the bag of chips, and the city’s partnership with the Citizen App. Finally, we look at the updated prospects for Trojena to host the 2029 Asian winter games and come up with some creative engineering solutions. Buy Mattie's book here! Get more TF episodes each week by subscribing to our Patreon here! Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

Auto journalist Victoria Scott joins us to discuss a question that’s been on Riley’s mind for a while… why is the American auto industry “like that”? Also, we discuss a hot new company called Minnect that we’re all excited to jump ship for right away. Get the whole episode on Patreon here! TF Merch is still available here! Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

Luke Savage drops by to talk to Riley and Nova about the KKKanadian Government’s efforts to stymie industrial action by Air KKKanada flight attendants, and how it’s emblematic of his broader lurch to the right, which we also discuss. We end by discussing everyone in Britain’s new favourite holiday… Flag Day! Get more TF episodes each week by subscribing to our Patreon here! TF Merch is still available here! Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

Riley's away this week, so Nova is in charge of the bonus and welcomes Kill James Bond's very own Devon to the show to discuss - among other things - continued rulings from the EHRC making it more difficult to be trans in the United Kingdom... and then the phenomenon of people getting into relationships with ChatGPT. Check it out on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/posts/136623378?pr=true

It’s all true - the nans were planning up to forty Nine-Elevens. We talk about the wave of (largely) pensioner arrests this weekend and what it means for civil liberties, the homelessness minister doing a landlord whoopsie, and then we read an article about what it’s like to be gentrified out of your neighbourhood as a 0.1%er. Get more TF episodes each week by subscribing to our Patreon here! TF Shirts in four different designs are now available in the store! Check them out here. Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

Due to illness and absence we have convened an unusual cast configuration of Riley, Hussein, and Nate, in which we discuss recent allegations that the Reform UK party is "woke" because they're not transphobic enough somehow. We also discuss a Bloomberg article about the right-wing sealed biosphere that produced one of the DOGE tweens. Sorry this is late: we've gone woke! Also November was sick and a lot of stuff has been up in the air. We love you all. Get the whole episode on Patreon here! Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

We do a full rundown of the reactions to the online safety bill across the political spectrum, belatedly discuss the Epstein revelations, and learn about a new Guy who has decided to become the Duke of Bedford. Plus, never trust a man with a tube amplifier. Get more TF episodes each week by subscribing to our Patreon here! Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

You remember what FDR said: a car in every garage, a chicken in every pot, and approximately forty drones equipped with less lethal armaments in every school. We go deep on Mithril Defence, a company intending, finally, to deliver on the third part of this promise. Also, Josh week continues, as Josh from the Worst of All Possible Worlds joins us in Nate's place. Full episode available on Patreon! (https://www.patreon.com/posts/135555982?pr=true)