Anglofuturism Podcast Podcast By Tom Ough and Calum Drysdale cover art

Anglofuturism Podcast

Anglofuturism Podcast

By: Tom Ough and Calum Drysdale
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 Reimagining Britain's future. Hosted by Tom Ough and Calum Drysdale.

anglofuturism.substack.comAnglofuturist Podcast Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Santi Ruiz on America's Techno-Industrial Master Plan

    Santi Ruiz on America's Techno-Industrial Master Plan
    May 28 2025

    Santi Ruiz is a policy researcher at the Institute for Progress and host of the Statecraft newsletter and podcast. He's one of the editors of the Techno-Industrial Policy Playbook, a comprehensive strategy document produced by three American think tanks to help the US compete with China's manufacturing dominance. The playbook outlines concrete policy proposals across frontier science, energy abundance, and national security—from creating special compute zones to reforming naval shipbuilding and accelerating geothermal development.

    The Society for Technological Advancement (SoTA) is organising a hackathon on 31st May and 1st June focused on geoengineering and weather control. Click here to find out more.

    Episode outline

    * How China's 230x shipbuilding advantage over America represents an existential threat to Western naval power

    * The X-Labs proposal to fund cutting-edge research institutions outside traditional universities using flexible block grants

    * Special compute zones that would fast-track energy infrastructure for AI development in exchange for security commitments

    * Why America's Loans Programs Office has funded every nuclear plant built this century and shouldn't be dismantled by DOGE

    * How regulatory carve-outs for geothermal energy could unlock abundant clean power using proven oil and gas drilling techniques

    * The critical minerals challenge where China could crash markets to destroy American mining operations

    * Why American naval shipbuilding fails because design is outsourced instead of done in-house like it used to be

    * Whether Britain should be America's lapdog or develop independent techno-industrial capacity focused on European threats

    * How elite consensus matters more than popular mobilisation for implementing transformative policy changes

    * The difference between financialisation that enables productive investment versus financialisation that replaces it

    Mentioned in this episode:

    The Techno-Industrial Policy Playbook: How to Kickstart America's Techno‑Industrial Renaissance

    Statecraft on Substack

    Why FORGE Works by Tom Ough for IFP



    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anglofuturism.substack.com
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    1 hr and 21 mins
  • 🚨 Keir Starmer, Anglofuturist?

    🚨 Keir Starmer, Anglofuturist?
    May 19 2025

    A 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 would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anglofuturism.substack.com
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    45 mins
  • Everything Is About Everything Until Nothing Works, with Joe Hill (Policy Director, Reform Think Tank)

    Everything Is About Everything Until Nothing Works, with Joe Hill (Policy Director, Reform Think Tank)
    May 14 2025
    Joe Hill is Director of Policy at Reform and founder of the Greater London Project, a community initiative focused on London's future. A former Treasury civil servant with experience across government departments, Joe has become a leading critic of what he calls "everythingism"—the dysfunctional tendency to make every policy about every other policy, everywhere, all at once. His influential essay on this concept has gained significant traction in policy circles, offering a framework for understanding why British governance has become increasingly ineffective despite ever-expanding regulations and procedures.Calum and Tom talk to Joe about:* How "everythingism" manifests in absurd policy decisions like rejecting a nuclear power plant to protect Welsh language or requiring fish discos for reactor cooling systems* The rise of plus-oneism—how individual policy advocates each adding "just one more requirement" creates an unmanageable bureaucratic morass* Why statutory requirements like the Equalities Act and Climate Change Act have created unintended veto points that prevent sensible decision-making* The failure of technocratic governance through quangos and how these arms-length bodies have become accountability sinks* How social value procurement requirements waste billions by forcing contractors to prioritise secondary goals over core objectives* The paradox of parliamentary sovereignty—how ministers have the power to cut through bureaucracy but lack the knowledge or will to do so* Why successful government initiatives like the vaccine task force only work by exempting themselves from normal rules* The path forward: restoring personal accountability, rejecting everythingist thinking, and accepting that good policy requires difficult trade-offsSee below for transcript and further reading. Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.Further Reading on Everythingism and British Policy ReformIf you enjoyed this episode with Joe Hill discussing the crisis of everythingism in British governance, here are some recommended resources to explore these topics further:"Everythingism" by Joe Hill - The original essay that defines and analyses the concept of everythingism in British policymaking.Greater London Project - Joe's community initiative and Substack focused on building a liveable future for LondonReform research - Various papers on planning reform, regulatory burden, and state capacityDan Davies on “The Unaccountability Machine” - Dan Davies explores the concept of unaccountability sinksBooks"The Uses of Knowledge in Society" by F.A. Hayek - Foundational text on the limits of centralised decision-making"The Blunders of Our Governments" by Anthony King and Ivor Crewe - Analysis of systematic failures in British government decision-making"The British Regulatory State" by Michael Moran - Academic examination of how Britain became a hyper-regulated society"Seeing Like a State" by James C. Scott - Classic work on why certain schemes to improve the human condition have failed"Simple Rules for a Complex World" by Richard Epstein - Legal scholar's argument for simplicity in law and regulation"The Death of Common Sense" by Philip K. Howard - How bureaucratic rules have replaced human judgment in governance"Why Government Fails So Often" by Peter Schuck - Analysis of the structural reasons for policy failure This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anglofuturism.substack.com
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    1 hr and 43 mins
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