#139 - Tom Ough & Calum Drysdale - How Britain Forgot How To Build And Why The Consequences Are Coming

Tom Ough is Senior Editor at UnHerd and author of The Anti-Catastrophe League. Calum Drysdale is an engineer and writer. Together they host Anglofuturism — a podcast exploring ambitious, outlandish, and remarkably achievable ideas to revitalise Britain from their thatched space station. Robert Jenrick declared himself an Anglofuturist at a 2025 conference. Curtis Yarvin has appeared on their show.In this conversation, we think out loud about:— What Anglofuturism actually is — and whether the Britain it imagines is one that also knows who built it and why it matters— Whether you can be an Anglofuturist without being a cultural conservative — and whether material renewal without cultural renewal is just efficiency— Whether Britain can become Europe's energy powerhouse — offshore wind, Rolls-Royce SMRs, North Sea oil, battery storage — without paving over the green and pleasant land— Whether population growth is necessary for prosperity — or whether a high-tech, high-skill country can stabilise its population and still thrive— Why the technocratic class that would need to deliver the Anglofuturist future is the same class that produced the decline — and whether it can be removed— The demographic question that Anglofuturism cannot avoid — and what "a future that feels like home" requires— Whether beauty is a non-negotiable — and who decides what beautiful means when the institutions that once knew have been captured— What the ordinary Briton, the CEO, and the Prime Minister should each do on Monday morningFind Anglofuturism:Substack: anglofuturism.substack.comYouTube: youtube.com/@anglofuturismSpotify: open.spotify.com/show/0PxQEO62ESL7DYmZHLgQIDRelated episodes you might enjoy:— Pierre d'Alancaisez — The Custodians Of Beauty Became Its Gravediggers: https://youtu.be/KXn2z3mfCDk— William Clouston — Why British Politics Governs Against The National Interest: https://youtu.be/Rm2Qp-1qnJw— Michael Lind — Why America & Britain Keep Betraying Their Working Class: https://youtu.be/YN212csIsvU— Jonathan Rose — What The British Working Class Lost And Who Is Responsible: https://youtu.be/OKHcEo2QrJg— Lord Tony Sewell — Life At The Bottom In Broken Britain: https://youtu.be/WKf26_Va_yMThe Call of England - a documentary series retracing a 1927 journey through England to discover what remains of the national inheritance:Watch Episode 1 here: https://youtu.be/muBQWIP6ZQQWatch Episode 2 here: https://youtu.be/jbVZfSR3ZF4Thinking Class is a long-form interview podcast on the cultural, historical and civilisational forces shaping England, Britain, the Anglosphere and the wider West. Hosted by John Gillam.▶ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThinkingClass✍ Substack: https://thinkingclass.substack.com🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/37vvzrlxpo8eORDoTDRtbH🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/thinking-class/id1717021615🐦 X: https://x.com/thinkingclassesNew episodes every Thursday at 3pm.