TRASHFUTURE: "The Day After The Day After Tomorrow ft. Séamus Malekafzali"

Released: October 21, 2025
Main Theme:
A satirical but serious discussion of the psychic malaise fostered by late capitalism and the ongoing crisis in Palestine, with deep dives into Starbucks' tech pivot, British political reactions to Israeli football hooliganism, and what "ceasefire" means in modern international affairs.

1. Starbucks, Tech Hype, and AI Absurdity (00:16–13:12)

Introduction—Starbucks' Pivot to Tech Nonsense

• The episode opens with Matt sharing a story about Starbucks’ attempt to become tech-forward, referencing their failed 2022 NFT/Web3 “Odyssey” scheme and their recent forays into AI.
• Memorable riff: Matt jokes about investing all his podcast earnings into “Starbucks Odyssey bucks.” (01:22)
• The group mocks the marketing language and corporate fads, e.g., Starbucks AI “green dot” that helps baristas make drinks, and the fantasy that customers will soon have AI-predicted, perfectly frictionless coffee experiences.
• Lewis: “This is going to turn me into Dennis Leary. I want a coffee-flavored coffee, goddammit.” (03:26)
• The idea of a coffee-ordering app that “learns” your preferences but is fundamentally just about collecting more data is lampooned.

Satire on Automation, Pronouns & Capitalist Narratives

• Eleanor notes that similar automation is already used by smaller brands like Blank Street, but it's not a game-changer.
• Lewis jokes that baristas now just “stand by the machine and have pronouns,” turning AI-automation into a faux-woke performance (04:43).
• The hosts reflect on how Starbucks positions itself as the “world’s greatest customer service company,” and how this is both nostalgic and absurd.

Notable Quote:

• Matt (on Starbucks AI): “The experience of most people at Starbucks is—this is where I can go to vent all of my Facebook anger at someone who’s not allowed to talk back to me.” (05:26)

2. British Football, Israel, and the Politics of Hooliganism (13:12–30:11)

Setting the Scene

• Seamus Malekafzali joins to talk about his new podcast "Turbulence" and the ongoing fallout from the Gaza war.
• The hosts move onto the “ceasefire that wasn’t” and the media circus around Israeli football fans.

The Maccabi Tel Aviv Away Fans Scandal

• UK police banned Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans from attending a Europa League match in Birmingham due to prior hooliganism.
• Media and political establishment in the UK rallied behind the idea that banning Israeli away fans is structurally antisemitic—a position lambasted for its hypocrisy and knee-jerk reflexivity.
• Matt: “You have what appear to be the entire British political mainstream coming out in favor... of football hooliganism, because it is politically necessary to do so if it will make Israel seem normal.” (16:18)
• Seamus describes the fan firm’s notorious violence and racist, openly fascist songbook (e.g., lyrics about raping and murdering opponents’ families—a chant detailed at 22:58).
  • This prompts a grim reflection on the political uses of sport and how British politicians launder their reputation by aligning with Israeli positions, no matter how transparently abhorrent.

Tommy Robinson & the Israeli Right

• Tommy Robinson, British far-right figure, is highlighted as a guest of Israeli officials.
• Seamus: “To the Israeli government, [Robinson] is the repository of the most incisive critiques of British society right now.” (17:12)
• Discussion on Robinson’s ‘football hooligan’ persona being largely “stolen valor,” yet effective as a political tool in this moment.
• Eleanor notes how UK governments’ attempts to pander to “pro-Israel” actors appease neither the right nor the liberal Jewish establishment, as Robinson is embraced in Israel while British politics lurches further into reactionary territory.

3. The Farce of 'Ceasefire' and The Day After Plan (31:22–61:13)

The Ceasefire that Isn’t

• Seamus unpacks what the current “ceasefire” in Gaza really entails (31:59):
  • Hostage exchanges, military redrawings, and an American-led extraterritorial “peace board” (with Trump, Tony Blair, and "business professionals").
  • Plan envisions "apolitical" Palestinian technocrats—effectively a denial of Palestinian self-determination.

Notable Exchange:

• Matt: “It seems like what this is, is it’s a ceasefire at any point where there isn’t shooting. And then when there is shooting, the ceasefire’s off, which to me is the same as just the tempo of an attack.” (34:13)
• Lewis: “Technically, when you think about it, there were microsecond-long ceasefires while all the weapons were cycling.” (34:24)

The Real Estate Bonanza & Blairite Fantasies

• The “day after” is essentially about who gets to build, invest, and profit from rebuilding Gaza:
  • Tony Blair’s “performance-based” reforms to the PA are less about democratic legitimacy, more about producing docility and suppressing Palestinian political agency.
  • A “Gaza Investment Promotion and Economic Development Authority,” bankrolled and run by private business, is floated as the answer (42:52).
  • Plans include tech-bro mega projects, AI Starbucks, and planned cities—while companies cited as partners deny any involvement.
  • The farcical element is underscored: no guarantees Israel won’t just demolish anything built the moment it suits them.

Key Analysis:

• Seamus notes that private investment & tech zones are likely just platforms for extracting value, controlling labor, while real meaningful governance and safety for Palestinians is never even broached.

Western Complicity, Nihilism, and the Post-Trump Order

• The episode draws bleak parallels:
  • UK and US governments’ interests are now “image management,” not coherent policy.
  • Starmer’s Labour and Biden/Trump White Houses move reactively, driven by right-wing outrage cycles and PR stunts.
• Trump’s role as personalist peacemaker emerges: only his direct fits and whims affect Israeli compliance.

Notable Reflection:

• Lewis: “We may not have a government of podcasters, but we have a government that can be moved by podcasters. Just not our kind of podcaster.” (31:13)

Israel as the Vanguard of Fascist 'Normality'

• The ongoing crisis is framed as the shop window for a new global fascism, “the vanguard”; Israel's political culture and rightward lurch are highlighted as central to the international normalization of extreme violence and suppression.
• Seamus and hosts warn that constant pressure and reactionary dissatisfaction remain dangerously effective strategies for their proponents.

Standout Quote:

• Seamus: “We are just ruled by syphilitic morons... I do remember a time when the president could form complete sentences. What a terrible way to live.” (61:49)

4. Biohacking, CO₂ Inhalers, and the American Tech Death Drive (62:29–end)

Carbogenetics: The Business of Breathplay Death (62:29– end)

• In typical Trashfuture fashion, the episode ends with a gleeful roast of 'Carbogenetics,' a real (or plausible) startup selling “CO₂ inhalers” as a wellness hack.
• Discussion quickly veers from the dangers of the device, via pseudoscientific claims, to its obvious appeal for sexual ‘breathplay’ fetishists.
• Lewis (reading a trip report): “My lungs still ate from the experience, there was a stabbing pain... and my tongue hurt, maybe from biting during a seizure?” (66:32)
• The gang points out the absurdity of a product built on the premise “relax—by simulating suffocation.”
• “Don’t kill yourself during sex; I can’t stress that enough.” — Seamus (71:57)
• Lewis: “If you die in a sex accident, it should be a fun story, not a depressing embarrassing story.” (72:12)

5. Conclusion, Promotions, and Final Jokes (73:29–end)

• Seamus plugs his new podcast “Turbulence,” launching October 28th.
• Matt closes by riffing: “Shame about what we have to talk about, but always a pleasure to talk to you.”
• The hosts banter about the future: “Have we fixed everything? Is carbon everywhere?”
• The show ends with a plug for Trashfuture’s Patreon.

Episode At-A-Glance

Timestamps for Key Segments:

• Starbucks/AI/Corporate Tech Silliness: 00:16–13:12
• Maccabi Tel Aviv, Football & Politics: 13:12–30:11
• Gaza Ceasefire & 'The Day After' Plan: 31:22–61:13
• Carbogenetics/CO₂ Inhalers: 62:29–72:22
• Conclusion & Plugs: 73:29–end

Summary Takeaways:

• Cultural Satire: The hosts' humor brings out the surreal contradictions of late capitalism—how mega-corporations and governments alike chase AI, image, and PR, while ignoring material reality and suffering.
• Political Critique: In the context of the Gaza war, they capture the cynical performance of Western governments and the brutally real policies being floated for Palestine: performative “day after” schemes, designed not for self-determination but for investment, security, and control.
• Dystopian Irony: From Starbucks’s AI baristas to Gaza as a Blairite development zone and tech start-ups offering death as a luxury experience, the show’s tone is one of exhausted, almost gleeful nihilism.
• Memorable Line:
  “We are just ruled by syphilitic morons... What a terrible way to live.” (61:49, Seamus)

For listeners seeking smart, irreverent, and often cutting take-downs of the absurdities of politics, capitalism, and tech, this episode delivers—and offers much to think (and laugh grimly) about.