#urban-planning
54 episodes
#1340: Beyond the Stepping Stone: The Power of Local Government
Is your city council just a stepping stone? Discover why local governance is the real foundation of our daily lives and how to get involved.
#1258: Jerusalem at One Million: The Great Secular Flight
Jerusalem hits one million residents as a demographic shift takes hold. Why is the secular middle leaving and what does it mean for the future?
#1163: Divided by Concrete: Israel’s Civil Defense Crisis
Over half of Israeli homes lack a safe room. We explore the dangerous gap between high-tech defense and the crumbling concrete reality.
#1059: Google’s World Models: The Shift from Chatbots to Reality
Google DeepMind is moving beyond chatbots to build consistent, physics-aware digital twins of our entire world.
#1022: Spatial Hacking: The Art of Radical Staycationing
Stop traveling to escape and start exploring where you live. Discover the psychology of spatial hacking and the art of the radical staycation.
#982: Jerusalem’s Street Cats: A History of Urban Evolution
Explore how Jerusalem became one of the world's most cat-dense cities, from British Mandate rat catchers to modern urban survivors.
#978: The Storrs Connection: Land-Grants, Logic, and Legacies
Explore the agricultural roots and mysterious past of the world's most educated donkey in the quiet village of Storrs, Connecticut.
#908: The Underground Paradox: Why Subways Cost Billions Today
Why does a mile of subway cost billions today? Herman and Corn explore the hidden complexities and rising costs of modern urban transit.
#892: The Engineering of Survival: Mamads vs. Deep Shelters
Compare the physics of home safe rooms versus deep underground car parks to find the safest spot during a ballistic missile attack.
#888: Infrastructure of Survival: Engineering the Modern Siren
Discover the physics and high-tech engineering behind air-raid sirens, the "last line of defense" that protects millions in an instant.
#862: Beyond the Yellow Line: Gaza’s New Governance Models
Can a boardroom of experts fix a crisis? We explore the "Board of Peace" proposal and the high-stakes future of governance in Gaza.
#827: The Invisible City: Mapping the World Beneath Our Feet
Explore the cutting-edge technology used to map the hidden world beneath our feet, from military tunnels to urban infrastructure.
#824: The UX of Survival: Why Our Shelters are Failing
When the sirens sound, why are the doors locked? We explore the "UX of survival" and the dangerous gaps in our public shelter infrastructure.
#793: The Engineering of Survival: Finding Safety in a Siren
Learn the structural engineering secrets behind why stairwells and specific floors offer the best protection during an urban emergency.
#754: Beyond the EV: The Rise of Autonomous Mesh Cities
Are electric vehicles just a temporary fix? Explore how autonomous mesh networks and public transit could create a truly car-free future.
#737: Beyond Egg Cartons: Silencing Auditory Trespass
Tired of city noise invading your home? Discover the science of acoustic windows and why egg cartons won't save your sleep.
#736: The Red Light Revolution: Why Your City Needs a Sunset
Are harsh streetlights ruining your sleep? Explore the science of why cities are switching to red and amber lighting for better health.
#653: The Chemical Cocktail: Why Desert Dust Makes Smog Deadlier
Discover the science behind the "chemical cocktail"—a toxic mix of desert dust and urban emissions turning city skies into a gritty, yellow haze.
#619: The Village and the Vibe: Kids, Cafes, and Clean Air
Should kids be in bars and cafes? Herman and Corn explore the "social apprenticeship" of third places and the battle for smoke-free public air.
#615: Beyond the Vibe: How Experts Rank Public Transport
Explore the professional yardsticks used to rank global transit, from reliability metrics to the psychology of ticket inspectors.
#611: Jerusalem’s Light Rail: Public Transit or Private Power?
Corn and Herman explore the aggressive "enforcement theater" on Jerusalem’s light rail and how residents can organize against systemic harassment.
#602: Seismic Shifts: Can Israel Withstand the Big One?
Are Israel's old buildings ready for the Big One? Explore the engineering of Tama 38 and how safe rooms provide a hidden seismic spine.
#601: The Engineering of Survival: Inside Israel's Safe Rooms
How do you survive a missile strike? Corn and Herman dive into the structural secrets of MAMADs, stairwells, and underground bunkers.
#592: Experts in Power: The Case for the Technocratic Minister
Does a Minister of Health need to be a doctor? Explore the high-stakes tension between technical expertise and political leadership.
#577: Under the Surface: The High-Tech Future of Smart Sewers
Explore the hidden world of urban infrastructure, from Victorian brickwork to AI-powered robots and the battle against the "fatberg."
#576: The Sinai Years: Israel’s 15-Year Desert Experiment
From the white-stucco homes of Yamit to the Red Sea reefs, explore the 15-year history of Israeli life and settlement in the Sinai Peninsula.
#575: The End of the Car: Can We Really Quit Private Transport?
Is the private car a failed experiment? Herman and Corn discuss why EVs aren't enough and how we can design cities for people, not machines.
#573: The Death of the Ghost Town: Rethinking Mixed-Use Zoning
Explore how mixed-use zoning is transforming sterile suburbs into vibrant 15-minute cities. Herman and Corn dive into the future of urban living.
#572: Cracking the Code: How Zoning and Policy Shape Our Cities
Why do our cities look the way they do? Herman and Corn dive into the invisible codes, taxes, and global models that define the urban landscape.
#571: Density Without Stress: Building the Perfect City
Explore how "Hermanville" redefines urban density through acoustic architecture, mid-rise blocks, and car-free centers.
#547: Jerusalem’s Thirst Tax: The Fight for Public Water
Why is it so hard to find a drink in Jerusalem? Herman and Corn explore the history, economics, and public health of urban water access.
#544: Engineering Sovereignty: The Two-State Geography Puzzle
Can a state function as an archipelago? Herman and Corn explore the engineering and geography behind a potential two-state solution.
#531: Vertical Harvests: Can Skyscrapers Actually Feed a City?
Herman and Corn explore the reality of vertical farming, from Singapore’s high-tech towers to the structural limits of growing food in cities.
#524: Beyond the Stigma: The New Science of Schizophrenia
Explore the truth about schizophrenia, from the "urbanicity effect" to a revolutionary new class of drugs that change the game.
#521: Hidden in Plain Sight: Safe Houses and Front Companies
Explore the world of urban camouflage, from fake London facades to the "deep cover" front companies embedded in our global supply chain.
#512: The OPEC of Dirt: Why Israel Owns 93% of Its Land
Why does the Israeli state own 93% of the land? Herman and Corn explore the history and the impact of this unique monopoly on the housing market.
#511: Who Owns Jerusalem? The Hidden Power of Church Land
Explore how ancient church deeds and expiring 99-year leases create real estate chaos and diplomatic minefields in modern Jerusalem.
#507: The Science of Cool: High-Tech VRF vs. Ancient Wisdom
Discover how Variable Refrigerant Flow technology and ancient architectural secrets are redefining how we stay cool in a warming world.
#504: Urbanism for Everyone: Building Better Neighborhoods
Tired of "sidewalks to nowhere"? Learn the principles of good urbanism and how to advocate for a more walkable, resilient community.
#503: Dignity in the Golden Years: Vienna’s Housing Safety Net
Discover how Vienna’s social housing system ensures that elderly renters are never forgotten through proactive care and legal protections.
#499: Gentle Urbanism: Why Vienna Works and Jerusalem Struggles
From "whispering asphalt" to social housing, discover how Vienna creates a human-centric city while others struggle with noise and grit.
#490: The Day the Walls Fell: Erasing Jerusalem's City Line
Explore the chaotic, high-speed demolition of the walls that divided Jerusalem for nineteen years and the "temporal vertigo" of 1967.
#489: Tears of the Tree: The Secret History of Frankincense
Explore the biology, economics, and neuroscience of frankincense, from the ancient Incense Route to its psychoactive role in Temple worship.
#475: The Invisible Crisis: Why Israel is Gasping for Air
Why is Israel’s air quality worse than London’s? Herman and Corn explore the science of smog and how DIY tech can help us breathe.
#473: The Price of Progress: Jerusalem’s Light Rail Revolution
Jerusalem is undergoing "open heart surgery." We explore the brutal trade-off between futuristic transit and the survival of today's city life.
#444: How to Spot a Real Estate Money Pit: The Property Triage
Learn how to distinguish between "good bones" and expensive structural failures when touring potential fixer-upper properties.
#428: The Invisible Threat: Decoding the Air We Breathe
From orange skies to microscopic particles, learn what’s actually in the air and how to protect your health using the Air Quality Index.
#413: The Skyscraper Lie: Density, Cost, and Jerusalem’s Future
Are luxury towers solving the housing crisis? Explore the "rocket equation" of architecture and why height doesn't always equal density.
#408: Beyond the Burj: The Future of Kilometer-High Towers
From vortex shedding to the elevator paradox, Herman and Corn explore the physical and economic limits of building the world's tallest towers.
#406: Policing Shekels, Losing Dollars: The Transit Friction Crisis
Exploring how aggressive transit enforcement creates high-stress cities and why "policing shekels" might be costing us the future of green mobility.
#387: Fixing the Leak: How Cities Can Actually Protect Renters
Explore how cities like NYC and Vienna protect tenants from landlord neglect and why housing should be treated as a public utility.
#375: Firmness, Commodity, and Delight: A Guide to Architecture
Explore the evolution of architecture from ancient pyramids to digital twins, and learn why a building needs firmness, commodity, and delight.
#155: Building an Ideation Factory: Beyond Generic AI Ideas
Learn how to overcome AI repetition and build a multi-agent "ideation factory" to solve complex local economic challenges.
#94: Inside Smallville: Can AI Agent Villages Predict Humanity?
Herman and Corn explore "Smallville," a digital town where AI agents plan parties, form memories, and simulate human society.