Anon and I

In episode eight of “Anon and I”, I am joined by Theodoric to discuss the Netherlands, in which he explains his theory that Holland is Europe’s most futuristic country: any trend that emerges there will appear in your country a decade later.Listen to learn: why some Dutchmen refuse to speak Dutch; about microfactionalism in Dutch politics; who is the black Eva Vlaardingerbroek; why every Dutch politician is secretly planning to escape; why the system cannot reform itself; how to pray in Gothic. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anglology.substack.com

In episode seven, I am joined by CJ, one of the most enlightening commentators on the realities facing British local government. Listen to learn how to get a council house; why trying to create Affordable housing makes housing unaffordable; How claimants are shopping between local authorities; Why politicians can’t grasp second-order effects; And why your council is doomed.CJ’s article on the funding of social housing can be found here This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anglology.substack.com

In episode six, I am joined by “Jew and a Half Men” on the day of a terror attack that left three dead at a synagogue in Manchester. In the first half of the podcast, my guest tries to describe what life is like in Israel beyond the frame of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and he does his best to explain domestic politics and the iron grip of Netenyahu. In the second half, we talk about the life of Jews in Britain, and how Jewish self-perception has changed since 2023. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anglology.substack.com

Episode five takes a new format: rather than interview an “anon”, I interview a man who usually writes under his own name, anonymously.In this conversation, an anonymous Hong Konger talks about about their city, their nation, and their search for identity. Listen to find out what makes Hong Kong distinctive; how nationalism awakens in the human heart; the difference between mainlanders and Hongkongers; about linguistic beautification; and how to insult a mainlander in CantoneseAlmost everyone I asked for feedback told me that there should be intro/outro music: so enjoy some public domain Tchaikovsky. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anglology.substack.com

In the fourth episode of “Anon and I”, I speak to Iraqi Zoomer “Zoso”. We discuss youth culture in Iraq; the national economy; whether Iraqis are nostalgic for Saddam Hussein, and how they see themselves; gender politics, conspiracy theories and the bloody death of a psychiatrist; Kurdistan in the Western imagination and reality; the Iraqi space programme; America’s last advantage in geopolitics; whether anyone does anything other than watch TikTok; what it is like to be a schoolboy in Baghdad; Zoso’s dramatic involvement in anti-government protests; and how it feels to shoot and be shot at. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anglology.substack.com

In episode three, I am joined by Arctotherium, who gives a dissident history of immigration to the United States. Listen to learn who Americans thought of as “American”; why Americans tolerate Trump’s cryptoscams; the potential and problems of Farage’s Reform Party.You can read more of Arctotherium’s work here This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anglology.substack.com

In the second episode of “Anon and I”, I am joined by Concrete Horizon to recap the entire history of the World Wide Web in under one hour. Listen to find out why forums died—what a WebRing is—how not to get doxxed—who is behind the worst website on the internet.To correct my guest on one small point, an archive of the BBS system does exist and can be found at www.textfiles.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anglology.substack.com

This is episode one of a podcast series I hope to run under the provisional title “Anon and I”. I will be interviewing different anonymous posters, mostly from Twitter. Please excuse any production issues in these early episodes while I work out how to actually record and edit a podcast.Mr S.T.A.R. is an anonymous China scholar who can be found on Substack here, and on Twitter here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anglology.substack.com