Subscribe to The Spectator and get 12 weeks of Britain's most incisive politics coverage,

unrivaled books and arts reviews, and so much more, all for just £12.

Not only that, but we'll also send you a £20 Amazon gift card absolutely free.

As a subscriber, you'll also be able to listen to all our other podcasts, ad-free.

Go to www.w.com.com.com.com

U.K. forward slash voucher to claim this offer now. Terms apply.

Hello and welcome to Spectator Out Loud, where each week we choose some of our favourite pieces from the magazine and ask their writers to read them aloud.

I'm Petra Gibbons and on this week's podcast, Sean Thomas explains how an AI-generated goth girl became a nationalist icon.

Mary Killen argues that we should all regret the loss of the landline.

Owen Matthews explains why banning Russian art only weakens Ukraine,

and Patrick Kidd makes the case for letting children experience alcohol.

Up first, Sean Thomas.

It has been obvious for some time that there are basic concepts that the liberal British establishment simply does not understand,

like money or tax, or business, or going to the pub, or the fundamental value of free speech.

Well, now we can add a whole new roster of more Baroque concepts to this list.

Meme culture, eagles, semitics, detournement, the subtext of black chokos, and basic human nature.

And all because of a purple-haired young cartoon woman called Amelia.

Before we get to Amelia, we need to understand what created her, because the joke can only be grasped once you appreciate the

lunacy that came before her minxy pink dresses. Amelia comes from a game called Pathways, Navigating

gaming, the internet and Extremism.

It was developed last year by local authorities in East Yorkshire with public money as part of the Prevent Anti-Radicalization Program.

Ostensibly, it was an educational tool for school children and college students.

...