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

We talk to NYT tech reporter Mike Isaac about the ongoing Greg Steube-fication of every major tech CEO in the US. Also, Rachel Reeves has depression, DOGE makes some cost cutting recommendations at the DEA, and Peter Thiel learns Greek. Get access to more Trashfuture episodes each week on our Patreon! *MILO ALERT* Check out Milo’s UK Tour here: https://miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

We check in on old friend Volocopter, a company we assume is going from strength to strength as the official air taxi partner of Neom! Where a later reading indicates that eight year olds are driving trucks. Also, the UK is in economic crisis again, and we don’t even have the fun of a bathrobe soiling-prime minister. Get the whole episode on Patreon! *MILO ALERT* Check out Milo’s UK Tour here: https://miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

Must we live in a world where everyone decides we want AI-generated friends to make AI-generated stories (which are fake), or AI-enabled kitchen appliances? When you actually dig into this stuff, it turns out everyone knows it sucks and we hate it. Today’s guest is friend of the show Jason Koebler of 404 Media, who has done the legwork to examine just how stupid it is. Plus, we talk about Elon Musk’s new fixation on the UK, and that strangely sexual, AI-generated video of anthropomorphic animal cops that [Neil Kinnock voice] the Labour Party published? Check out Jason’s work at 404 Media here! Get access to more Trashfuture episodes each week on our Patreon! *POPES/LAGOON SHIRTS STILL AVAILABLE!* We've got some extras of our recent shirts that can be purchased online and will ship immediately! Get them here: https://trashfuture.co.uk/collections/all *MILO ALERT* Check out Milo’s UK Tour here: https://miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

For our first TF episode of 2025 (recorded in 2025, that is), we're talking about recent events in the United States, plus Elon Musk's decision to weigh in on British politics and its downstream effects: ruining Keir Starmer's toboggan ride, among other things. We very much hope you enjoy. Get the full episode on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/119250867 *POPES/LAGOON SHIRTS STILL AVAILABLE!* We've got some extras of our recent shirts that can be purchased online and will ship immediately! Get them here: https://trashfuture.co.uk/collections/all *MILO ALERT* Check out Milo’s UK Tour here: https://miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

This episode was originally published as a Patreon-only bonus episode on October 11, and we've unlocked it to ensure that there's holiday content available!   We are joined by Hesse Deni (@ZeroSuitCamus) of the Seeking Derangements and Movie Mindset podcasts to discuss A VERY ROYAL SCANDAL, another installment of British TV movies dramatizing the Prince Andrew Newsnight interview…but this time with an inexplicable voice. No, literally, what is going on with the way they’ve depicted Emily Maitlis’ voice? It’s a baffling assembly. Check out Seeking Derangements here!  Check out Movie Mindset here!  Get access to more Trashfuture bonuses like this one each week on our Patreon! *POPES/LAGOON SHIRTS STILL AVAILABLE!* We've got some extras of our recent shirts that can be purchased online and will ship immediately! Get them here: https://trashfuture.co.uk/collections/all *MILO ALERT* Check out Milo’s UK Tour here: https://miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

Our last free episode of 2024 involves Riley, Milo, and November watching the Rock in a terrible Christmas film entitled RED ONE. It’s a film in which Christmas is saved by the surveillance state, jacked Santa trains in the gym to do room-clearing and be an operator, and so much more. This is our present to you: we have suffered. Get access to more Trashfuture episodes each week on our Patreon!   *POPES/LAGOON SHIRTS STILL AVAILABLE!* We've got some extras of our recent shirts that can be purchased online and will ship immediately! Get them here: https://trashfuture.co.uk/collections/all *MILO ALERT* Check out Milo’s UK Tour here: https://miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

For this week’s bonus, we’re talking about the Starmer / McSweeney government getting outflanked on the left by frothing reactionaries because of their steadfast devotion to water companies being in private hands, and bad. We’re also talking about an amazing recent article about the mad boy king septuagenarian pub magnate who loves closing his pubs permanently as punishment for the slightest infraction. He’s real, and he’s (obviously) British. Get the whole episode on Patreon here! https://www.patreon.com/posts/118378673 *POPES/LAGOON SHIRTS STILL AVAILABLE!* We've got some extras of our recent shirts that can be purchased online and will ship immediately! Get them here: https://trashfuture.co.uk/collections/all *MILO ALERT* Check out Milo’s UK Tour here: https://miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

We’ve brought on friend of the show Josh Boerman from The Worst of All Possible Worlds to discuss recent drone/UFO “sightings” in the US, the AI filmmaking industry (which sucks), the AI games industry (even worse), and recent revelations that a certain Royal has been getting in trouble yet again—but not for the reasons you’d think! Check out the Worst of All Possible Worlds here!   Get access to more Trashfuture episodes each week on our Patreon!   *POPES/LAGOON SHIRTS STILL AVAILABLE!* We've got some extras of our recent shirts that can be purchased online and will ship immediately! Get them here: https://trashfuture.co.uk/collections/all *MILO ALERT* Check out Milo’s UK Tour here: https://miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

Middle East correspondent Séamus Malekafzali returns to discuss Syria - a retrospective on Ba’athism, Assad, and for the first time after decades of moral panic about Islam… moderate jihadism is back, baby! Also - Ehud Barak’s camera company, and finally cutting the budget of the DfE. Check out Séamus' work here! https://www.seamus-malekafzali.com/ Get the whole episode on Patreon here! *POPES/LAGOON SHIRTS STILL AVAILABLE!* We've got some extras of our recent shirts that can be purchased online and will ship immediately! Get them here: https://trashfuture.co.uk/collections/all *MILO ALERT* Check out Milo’s UK Tour here: https://miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

Starmer, in a bout of what some people are calling “Extreme Popularity,” is relaunching his government after only a few months, despite winning basically a historic majority. He’s turning to the tried and tested policies, the old favourites - running government like a business, cutting the budget, and of course… a cop in every house. Also, we look at two Thiel Companies (Sauron and Orchid), and an exercise in public speaking gone wrong courtesy of our friends at 404 media. Get access to more Trashfuture episodes each week on our Patreon! *POPES/LAGOON SHIRTS STILL AVAILABLE!* We've got some extras of our recent shirts that can be purchased online and will ship immediately! Get them here: https://trashfuture.co.uk/collections/all *MILO ALERT* Check out Milo’s UK Tour here: https://miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

For this month's first Britainology we've brought on comedian Sam Lake to discuss the impossibly influential UK cultural phenomenon of THE X-FACTOR. Sam Lake is an Edinburgh-based comedian from Cornwall. He has recently had a critically-acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe show ‘Esmeralda’ and hosts a weekly podcast called “I’ve Had a Rosé, Let's Talk About Feelings" which you can check out here! Get the full episode on Patreon here! POPES/LAGOON SHIRTS STILL AVAILABLE! We've got some extras of our recent shirts that can be purchased online and will ship immediately! Get them here, and for Patrons remember that TFHOG69 gets you £5 off a shirt, and TFHOG420 gets you £10 off the bundle price! https://trashfuture.co.uk/collections/all MILO ALERT Check out Milo’s UK Tour here: https://miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows

Luke Savage (@LukewSavage) joins the gang to talk all things Canada, and the drubbing the feckless Justin “Northern Gavin” Trudeau is anticipating from the one and only “Maple DeSantis,” Pierre Poilievre. Plus, we pay our solemn respects to (former) UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson, the newest victim of America’s gun violence epidemic. Check out the book Luke co-authored here! Check out Michael and Us here! And get the whole episode on Patreon here! MILO ALERT Check out Milo’s UK Tour here: https://miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

We bring ill tidings… a man with the physiognomy of Humpty Dumpty, except with billions of dollars and a grudge against Wokeness, has brought news of innocent venture capitalists being de-banked for the mere crime of committing securities fraud! That’s right, Marc Andreessen is finally free to say the word even louder than before, and he joins fellow Web 1.0 robber barons in coalescing around Trump part 2. To discuss this, we’re joined by friend of the show Brian Merchant (@bcmerchant), who has a new podcast with fellow friend of the show Paris Marx called System Crash that you should check out! Get access to more Trashfuture episodes each week on our Patreon! *MILO ALERT* Check out Milo’s UK Tour here: https://miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

This week, it's Riley, Milo, and November discussing the eternal phenomenon of the infinity tax-break Jeremy Clarkson-type farmer, the "farmer protests," and the fact that no one seems willing to understand that, as far as British politics is concerned, half-measure liberal concessions to right-wing populism just wind up making the full-bore version happen instead. Weird how this,, keeps happening, Get the whole episode on Patreon here! *MILO ALERT* Check out Milo’s UK Tour here: https://miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

We performed live at Between the Bridges in London on Sunday, 24th November 2024. Storm Bert was raging. November’s train got canceled due to it being wet. The wind itself took issue with our venue. But we convened before a crowd, joined by ultimate friend of the show Devon from the Kill James Bond podcast, to discuss Boris Johnson’s new tell-all memoir. It is… a lot. Get access to more Trashfuture episodes each week on our Patreon! *MILO ALERT* Check out Milo’s UK Tour here: https://miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

For this month's first Britainology, we've decided to watch a sunny, optimistic film from 1984 called THREADS. You may have heard of it—it's a slice-of-life kitchen sink drama set in Sheffield, except a nuclear war breaks out between the US and the Soviet Union, resulting in a total and complete apocalypse. It is... harrowing to say the least, but we tried to find something interesting to say about it.   Check out more from Jamie here! Get the whole episode on Patreon here! MILO ALERT Check out Milo’s UK Tour here: https://miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows TRASHFUTURE LIVE SHOW ALERT We will be live in London at Between the Bridges on Sunday, November 24! Get tickets here. Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

It's the cast of Glue Factory doing an episode of all riffs, no theme, and a deeply felt exploration of the faltering annoying Turkish restaurant chain in London, plus the cast compares their neurodivergence test scores like character stats, Riley recounts sneaking a DVD box set of Nip/Tuck to French immersion camp, and more... Get the full episode on Patreon here! *MILO ALERT* Check out Milo’s UK Tour here: https://miloedwards.co.uk/live-shows *TRASHFUTURE LIVE SHOW ALERT* We will be live in London at Between the Bridges on Sunday, November 24! Get tickets here. Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)