TRASHFUTURE

A gleeful dissection of Trump’s post-midterm pivot from election defeat to an absurd White House ballroom project. The discussion explores its glass tube, missile-proof roof, underground military infrastructure, and possible future as a monumental tomb for authoritarian vanity. Along the way, political reactions, transphobia, Blue Texas, and Bandcamp Friday get their due.

Ben Fogel, a Brazil and Latin America political analyst, joins cartoonist and writer Mattie Lubchansky for a riotous tour of right-wing meme culture, ideological cringe, and culture-war distractions. They examine liberal Zionism’s contradictions, Haley Stevens’ political realignment, and why material problems outlast online trolling. Fogel then unpacks Brazil’s election, Bolsonaro’s corruption, voter suppression, disinformation, and democracy’s precarious defenses.

Josh Boerman, writer, podcaster, and co-host of Ill Conceived, joins a chaotic discussion of Margaritaville, British chain restaurants, and the conservative project to create 10,000 Stephen Millers. Topics include Miller’s hairline, MAGA’s fading energy, American Moment’s political pipeline, Rahim Kassam, and a fierce debate over whether Myst lets you kill someone.

Eva Galperin, cybersecurity director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, joins a sharp discussion of the web’s escalating vulnerability crisis. They explore how AI is making exploit discovery accessible to almost anyone, why outdated software and unpatchable devices keep the internet exposed, and why practical safeguards matter more than speculative AI apocalypse stories. Also: Brazil’s election, Marissa Mayer’s “AI wife,” and more.

AI-generated films, synthetic rappers, and digital celebrity doubles take center stage, from a rigid young Val Kilmer recreation to Greta Garbo selling ball bearings from beyond the grave. The conversation turns to relatives controlling dead stars’ likenesses, questionable performer contracts, and a future of endless franchise recasting. Also: a right-wing organization drops the mask, while Trump reframes Canadian annexation as casual fun.

Seamus Malekafzali, a journalist and Middle East correspondent, returns for a sharp discussion of Saudi Arabia’s military failures in Yemen and the Houthis’ possible closure of the Bab al-Mandab. They explore shifting regional power after October 7, the limits of US and Israeli airpower, Saudi image-laundering spectacles, and the global economic fallout of blocked shipping chokepoints.

The discussion ranges from Britain’s Victorian-flavored right wing and Reform candidates repeating racist slurs to the BBC’s planned documentary about J.K. Rowling. It examines Rowling’s political transformation, her forgotten stance on Scottish independence, her control over the Harry Potter narrative, and whether the BBC can confront her anti-trans activism. Character AI’s collapse also gets a look-in.

Musa Okwonga, British writer, poet, broadcaster, and football commentator, joins for a sharp tour through Manchester City’s Abu Dhabi ownership, sovereign wealth, and Britain’s decades of underinvestment. They explore football as geopolitical power, gentrification, local culture for sale, and how weak institutions leave cities vulnerable. Also: incriminating texts, influencer politics, and AI’s apocalyptic sales pitch.

A mysterious queue at Blank Street Coffee becomes an unlikely political investigation in Holborn. The discussion roams through Britain’s coffee-chain class system, the Greens’ fading momentum, Starmer’s departure, and a by-election that national media care about far more than many local residents. Expect shoe-leather journalism, electoral speculation, and increasingly elaborate caffeine-based metaphors.

Trump tries to make “superintelligence” official while tech CEOs sign a toothless AI pledge. The discussion turns to data centers, political spectacle, and AI’s feedback loop with power. Then a UK hospitality union organizer exposes private-equity pub takeovers, zero-hour contracts, algorithmic scheduling, anti-union surveillance, and the fight for safer, more secure work.