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 no...
Aug 14, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Ep 695•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Get the whole thing on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/britainology-67-87494316 *STREAM ALERT* Che...
Aug 12, 2023•8 min•Ep 694•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Get the whole thing on Patreon here! https://www.patreon.com/posts/balthasar-milk-2-87451411 *STREAM ALERT* Check out our Twitch stream, whic...
Aug 10, 2023•11 min•Ep 693•Transcript available on Metacast 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/ If you want access to ou...
Aug 08, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep 692•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Aug 03, 2023•10 min•Ep 691•Transcript available on Metacast 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 b...
Jul 31, 2023•1 hr 20 min•Ep 690•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Get the full episode on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/86768274 *SCOTLAND ALERT* Get tickets to our live show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival on 4th August here! https://www.trashfuture.co.uk/event-details/trashfuture-live-at-the-edin...
Jul 29, 2023•10 min•Ep 689•Transcript available on Metacast Riley and Alice speak with Jordan and Greg from the Brigham Young Money podcast ( @BYMPodcast ) about the tech industry in Utah, its hand-in-glove relationship with both the state and the Mormon church, and the ways in which they’re trying to make Silicon Slope a real thing. We also discuss a startup that would have seemed far more at home in season one of TF, which none of us could have predicted or imagined. Support Brigham Young Money on Patreon here! https://www.patreon.com/brighamyoungmoney...
Jul 24, 2023•1 hr•Ep 688•Transcript available on Metacast 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! Listen to the whole episode on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/dund...
Jul 20, 2023•9 min•Ep 687•Transcript available on Metacast 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 If you want access to our Patreon bonus episo...
Jul 17, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep 686•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Get the whole episode on Patreon here! https://www.patreon.com/posts/86062748 *LIVE SHOW ALERT* W...
Jul 15, 2023•10 min•Ep 685•Transcript available on Metacast We’re joined by friend of the show Gareth Dennis ( @garethdennis ) 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 If you...
Jul 10, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep 684•Transcript available on Metacast 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? Get the whole episode on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/were-all-gonna-85649620 *LIVE SHOW ALERT* We're going to be recording a live podcast in London on July 26! Get tickets here: https://bigbellyc...
Jul 07, 2023•10 min•Ep 683•Transcript available on Metacast 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 t...
Jul 03, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep 682•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Get the whole episode on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/when-masayoshi-85251050 *LIVE SHOW ALERT* We're going to be recording a live podcast in London on July 26! Get tickets here: https://bigbellycomedy.club/event/trashfuture-live-in-london/ *STREA...
Jun 30, 2023•10 min•Ep 681•Transcript available on Metacast 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. If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https...
Jun 26, 2023•1 hr 21 min•Ep 680•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Get the whole episode on Patreon here! https://www.patreon.com/posts/britainology-63-85010160 *STREAM ALERT* Check out our Twitch stream, which airs 9...
Jun 25, 2023•11 min•Ep 679•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Get the whole episode on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/against-woke-tf-84930927...
Jun 23, 2023•10 min•Ep 678•Transcript available on Metacast 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. If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: http...
Jun 19, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Ep 677•Transcript available on Metacast Jathan and Ed from This Machine Kills ( @machinekillspod ) 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? Get the whole episode on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/dr-robotniks-84608248 *STREAM ALERT* Check out our Twitch stream, which airs 9-11 pm UK time every Monday and Thursday, at the f...
Jun 15, 2023•9 min•Ep 676•Transcript available on Metacast 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! And get the whole episode on Patreon here! *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/trashfutur...
Jun 14, 2023•10 min•Ep 675•Transcript available on Metacast We spend a while looking over the economic dimensions of - whatever you want to call it - Starmerism, Bidenism, Levelling Up - a version of neoliberalism that realised, very suddenly and entirely too late, that it does actually matter quite a bit if your economy produces certain things. What kind of world does this look like? Let’s explore the contours of Productivism/Permanent Wartime Neoliberalism together, and what it looks like when dedicated Neoliberals try to do something different (embarr...
Jun 12, 2023•1 hr 23 min•Ep 674•Transcript available on Metacast 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! Get the whole episode on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/viral-content-tf-84228148 *STREAM ALERT* Check out our Twitch stream, which airs 9-11 pm UK t...
Jun 08, 2023•9 min•Ep 673•Transcript available on Metacast 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. 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, whi...
Jun 05, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep 672•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Get the whole episode on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/his-majestys-tf-83848390 *STREAM ALERT* Check out our Twitch stream, which airs 9-11 pm...
Jun 01, 2023•9 min•Ep 671•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
May 29, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Ep 670•Transcript available on Metacast 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/ Get the full episode on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/83471133?pr=true *STREAM ALERT* Check out our Tw...
May 24, 2023•10 min•Ep 669•Transcript available on Metacast 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! If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://...
May 23, 2023•1 hr 20 min•Ep 668•Transcript available on Metacast 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 a new, stupid, and probably edible book by Britain's most famous bibliophage. Get the whole episode on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/church-of-colin-83205055 We still have tickets available for our show in Glasgow on May 21! Get them h...
May 19, 2023•8 min•Ep 667•Transcript available on Metacast 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/ If you'd like to contribute to an ongoing strike fund, Amardeep recommended this one! https://www.gofu...
May 16, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep 666•Transcript available on Metacast 
