Podcast
Anglofuturism
Hosted by Tom Ough and Calum Drysdale · EN
29episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
017. Is Keir Starmer an Anglofuturist?
May 19, 2025Tap to summarizeA break from our regular schedule to bring you urgent news on the Chagos Islands and a sudden change for Britain’s immigration policy.We’re back with the regular podcast on May 28th when we’ll be talking to Alexander Fitzgerald, industrialist and Founder/CEO of Isembard. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anglofuturism.substack.com/subscribe
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012. Tom Jones: Automation is the solution to Britain's immigration addiction
Mar 19, 2025Tap to summarizeWe welcome Cllr Tom Jones to the KCIII. Tom serves as the Councillor for Scotton & Lower Wensleydale on North Yorkshire Council and is also an accomplished essayist.Cllr Jones joins Calum and Tom to discuss Anglofuturism, immigration reform, and how Britain can build a more productive, high-wage future:The origins and appeal of Anglofuturism as both an aesthetic and political movement responding to economic stagnation and declining living standards for young BritonsTom Jones' immigration paper "Selecting the Best" which argues Britain's reliance on mass immigration has created a low-wage, low-productivity economyHow "human quantitative easing"—importing cheap labor rather than investing in automation—has damaged British productivity and wagesThe car wash industry as a case study where cheap migrant labor replaced automated systems, creating exploitation and environmental problemsThe need to redirect state capacity toward strategic priorities like energy, manufacturing, and defence instead of dispersing resourcesHow greater automation and selective high-skill immigration could transform Britain into a high-wage economy capable of meaningful global influenceListen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Produced by Aeron Laffere. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anglofuturism.substack.com/subscribe
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009. Lawrence Newport: First we came for the dogs, now the NIMBYs and criminals
Jan 28, 2025Tap to summarizeToday we welcome Lawrence Newport, darling of the British progress movement and bane of vicious dogs.Lawrence discusses:- His successful campaign to ban XL Bully dogs after identifying their disproportionate role in fatal attacks and overcoming resistance from animal welfare organisations,- His Looking For Growth initiative to streamline infrastructure development through legislation that bypasses regulatory hurdles for nuclear power, electricity cables, and data centres,- His Crush Crime campaign focusing on career criminals, highlighting the need for longer sentences for repeat offenders and addressing the breakdown in policing that has made certain crimes effectively legal,Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.Timestamps(00:00:00) - Introduction(00:01:30) - ‘XL Bully’ Campaign(00:06:31) - Government Inertia(00:22:26) - Infrastructure Challenges(00:41:09) - Crime and Policing(00:52:26) - Crime Wave Causes(01:02:29) - Future Vision This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anglofuturism.substack.com/subscribe
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007. Rian Chad Whitton: Bring back the captains of industry
Nov 20, 2024Tap to summarizeRian Chad Whitton is a research analyst specialising in automation, industrial policy, and energy markets at Bismarck Analysis who writes on Substack under the name Doctor Syn and won the TXP Progress Prize for his essay on British energy policy.Rian discusses:How British industry declined from being the first Promethean nation to losing competitiveness due to loss of empire, high wages, and poor policy decisions like industrial deglomerationWhy manufacturing remains crucial for national security, productivity growth, and regional equality despite the push toward servicesHow Britain could revitalise industry through lower electricity costs, nuclear power expansion, and promoting large industrial conglomerates similar to South Korean chaebolsListen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Read the transcript.Timestamps(00:00:00) - Introduction(00:01:44) - British Industry History(00:06:50) - Current Industry Status(00:12:47) - R&D and Innovation(00:19:35) - Service Economy Debate(00:25:18) - Military and Manufacturing(00:32:23) - Industrial Policy Models(00:45:30) - Automation and Jobs(00:55:33) - Education and Skills(00:59:23) - Conclusion This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anglofuturism.substack.com/subscribe
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005. Aria Babu: A million artificial wombs
Oct 10, 2024Tap to summarizeAria Babu is a researcher who has turned her attention to falling birth rates and pronatalism, offering fresh perspectives on how technological innovations like artificial wombs might address demographic challenges facing developed nations. She is @Aria_Babu on X.Aria discusses:- Why falling birth rates threaten many developed nations (especially South Korea at 0.7 TFR) and how this creates demographic challenges with an aging population and diminishing workforce,- Cultural and economic factors behind declining birth rates, including intensive parenting norms, high childcare costs, changing gender roles, and the delay in family formation,- Potential solutions including artificial wombs (which could bypass pregnancy complications and help various groups have children), policy changes to support families, and shifts in cultural attitudes toward parenthood,Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Read the transcript.Timestamps(00:00:00) - Introduction(00:01:23) - Pronatalism Debate(00:04:28) - Global Birth Rates(00:09:31) - Cultural Influences(00:17:12) - Causes of Decline(00:32:04) - Solutions Discussion(00:53:21) - Artificial Wombs(01:06:29) - Future Speculations This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anglofuturism.substack.com/subscribe
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004. Sam Dumitriu: The land that stopped building
Sep 16, 2024Tap to summarizeThe Victorians carpeted Britain in rail, went on majestic sprees of housebuilding, pioneered underground rail and coal power stations, and built magnificent subterranean sewerage. Their ancestors cancelled most of HS2, haven't built a reservoir for thirty years, lets Nimbyism run amok, and can't even electrify all our trains, let alone swap them for maglev.How can we redress this generational embarrassment? Sam Dumitriu, of the think-tank Britain Remade, believes it's possible to revive the Victorian spirit and turn Britain back into a nation of doers. He joins us in the King Charles III Space Station to discuss his ideas.Grab your trowels – we're going building. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anglofuturism.substack.com/subscribe
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003. Samuel Hughes: Hobbiton, Númenor and the riddle of architectural aesthetics
Aug 13, 2024Tap to summarizeIt's widely felt that the British buildings and townscapes have, since the Second World War, become uglier and of lower quality.From their tasteful half-timbered space station, Tom and Calum ask Samuel Hughes, an academic and aestheticist, about the causes of those complaints. We discuss the inherent characteristics of architectural beauty, the divergence of taste between architecture students and the rest of us, and the future of the British built environment. Are natural materials making a comeback? What about robotically-crafted ornament? And with what level of ferocity should we crush the Nimbys?We also prevail on Samuel to tell us what Britain can learn from arresting built enviroments of fiction. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anglofuturism.substack.com/subscribe
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002. Peter Hague: Britain needs a super spaceport
Jun 11, 2024Tap to summarizeThe cost of getting mass into space is tumbling. The economic opportunities of being in space are multiplying. Where does this leave Britain?Alas, our country holds the ignominious record of being the only country to get rid of a vertical-launch space programme. But we're turning the situation around – and could take advantage of the changing circumstance by embarking on an exciting megaproject.Our second guest, Peter Hague, is a leading space blogger. His idea? Building a super spaceport – one that's big enough to accommodate Starship, which is SpaceX's gamechanging flagship. We discuss the practicalities of the super spaceport, and what its construction could do for Britain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anglofuturism.substack.com/subscribe
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001. Duncan McClements: Why Britain should build a new island in the North Sea
May 8, 2024Tap to summarizeIn this episode, we are visited in our thatched space station by a wunderkind economist who wants to turn a portion of the North Sea into a Wales-sized island. Duncan McClements is that economist, and you can find his blog, co-authored with Jason Hausenloy, below.https://modelthinking.substack.com/p/a-new-atlantisEditing by Calum Drysdale and Aeron Laffere. Our thanks to Cherie Chun for her help with the cover art. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anglofuturism.substack.com/subscribe
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