TRASHFUTURE – PREVIEW No Child WEF'd Behind feat. Dan Boeckner

Date: January 23, 2026
Guests: Dan Boeckner
Hosts: Riley (@raaleh), Hussein (@HKesvani), Milo (@milo_edwards), Nate (@inthesedeserts), Alice (@postoctobrist)

Episode Overview

This TRASHFUTURE episode dives deep into the psychic trauma of late capitalism, the current state of Western politics, and especially the self-congratulatory delusions of global elites as seen at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The discussion takes aim at Anglo-American imperial politics, the function of "spite" as political motivation, and the ridiculous narratives driving security discourse in the UK and Canada. Dan Boeckner joins the crew for a cross-Atlantic perspective, with the conversation ultimately poking fun at Canadian military planning scenarios involving a hypothetical U.S. invasion.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Fascism, Aesthetics, and The WEF at Davos

• Walter Benjamin's idea of fascism as "the addition of the aesthetics to politics" is referenced to explain how gatherings like Davos are about manufacturing a "feel good" narrative for elites (00:00).
• WEF is presented as a place for the powerful to rationalize atrocities and sustain "liberal triumphalism," while excusing or ignoring the suffering their policies create (00:09).

"Davos... is a place where you go to rationalize the horrors and fabricate what's sort of going on." – Host (00:09)

2. Spite as Political Motivation

• The conversation turns to contemporary North American politics, arguing that recent years have seen spite become the main driver – winning is simply about "owning" the other side (01:48).
• This spite underpins policies in places like Minneapolis and Gaza, where the suffering inflicted isn't really about the victims, but about aggravating their opponents at home (01:48).

"Gaza is just owning the enemy. You know, not even, not even Gazans, just people at home. The same with Minneapolis." – Dan Boeckner (01:53)

3. Manufacturing Ignorance and the Role of the Media

• Historically, liberal Western states preferred strategies of avoidance or rationalization to confront uncomfortable realities, often dehumanizing victims to avoid public reckoning (02:33).
• The Trump era (and its successors) are forcing power brokers to confront the world's horrors more directly, which leaves politicians like the UK Prime Minister and his media allies adrift and reactive (03:44).
• The British media's default positioning is described as "negatively polarized" – defined largely by contrarianism to whatever left-ish causes might muster (04:43).

"If a bunch of well meaning sandal wearing hippies think we shouldn't be close to the US, then what we should be doing is close to the US because it's all negatively polarized." – Host (04:43)

4. Transatlantic Frustrations: UK and Canada Facing US Indifference

• The group discusses UK politicians' confusion as Trump's US grows openly indifferent or even hostile to Britain, despite years of British self-abasement (05:19).
• Dan draws parallels to Canadian politics, suggesting that some good might come from the UK political class being forced to reckon with US hostility, as happened in Canada (06:48).

"All of our hard right politicians are so in bed with Trump and now Trump is basically saying like, I hate Britain, Britain's gay, I'll invade you, like, whatever." – Dan Boeckner (06:48)

• The Trump administration's disregard for the UK or even their supposed ally, Nigel Farage, is underscored (05:19), challenging the comfortable illusions of British strategists and commentators.

5. Canadian Military Paranoia & The US "Threat"

• The hosts and Dan reminisce about past podcast discussions regarding bizarre Canadian military plans for foreign invasions through the Arctic, noting they never accounted for threats from the U.S. – their southern neighbor (07:37).
• Recently, Dan points out, the Canadian Armed Forces are now modeling hypothetical U.S. invasions, including resistance tactics drawn from Afghan Mujahideen playbooks (09:11).
• The group satirizes the idea with comedic riffs on "Canadian Mujahideen" hiding out from the U.S. military in culverts and Tim Hortons.

"The Canadian Armed forces now having to model a hypothetical US military invasion of Canada and the country's potential response... which includes tactics similar to those employed against Russia and later US led forces in Afghanistan by the brave hosers of the Mujahideen." – Host (09:11)

"As fucking. If Gord who works at Tim's is going to be like, you know what? I need to be more like the Mujahideen." – Dan Boeckner (09:32)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Purpose of Davos:
  "It's a place where you go to rationalize the horrors and fabricate what's going on..." (00:09, Host)

• On Spite as Policy:
  "Gaza is just owning the enemy... The same with Minneapolis." (01:53, Dan Boeckner)

• On British Politicians Lost Without Washington:
  "He’s short circuit without the idea of the UK as a junior partner in the American imperial project..." (04:17, Host)

• On Canadian Military Imagination:
  "The Canadian Armed forces now having to model a hypothetical US military invasion of Canada... employing tactics similar to those... in Afghanistan by the brave hosers of the Mujahideen." (09:11, Host)

• On Canadian Resistance:
  "If Gord who works at Tim’s is going to be like, you know what? I need to be more like the Mujahideen. There's not a chance." (09:32, Dan Boeckner)
  "Not going to be a fucking martyr, buddy." (09:43, Host)
  "I want turban wearing Canadian Majahideen smoking ash, hiding in culverts." (09:46, Host)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00-01:48 – Fascism, Aesthetics, and Feel-Good Politics at Davos
• 01:48-02:33 – Rise of Spite in North American Politics
• 02:33-04:17 – Media/Economic Power, Rationalizing Atrocities, and the UK’s Unmoored Policy
• 05:19-07:12 – UK and Canada's Elites Reckoning with US Hostility
• 07:31-09:32 – Canadian Military’s Ridiculous Invasion Plans
• 09:32-10:02 – Satirical Canadian Mujahideen

Summary

This episode offers a darkly comic, critical examination of the delusions and moral evasions of Western power—whether in the corporate spectacle of Davos, in the pettiness of American and Canadian politics, or the farcical paranoia of Canadian defense planning. The hosts and Dan Boeckner use humor and acerbic wit to underscore how power rationalizes (or ignores) suffering, and how shifting geopolitics leave the British and Canadian elites scrambling for meaning now that their imagined special place with Washington is unmoored. The concluding riffs with "Canadian Mujahideen" highlight the episode's blend of satire and serious critique.