Anglofuturism

It'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 www.anglofuturism.co/subscribe

The 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 www.anglofuturism.co/subscribe

In 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 www.anglofuturism.co/subscribe