Architecture & Urban Planning
Buildings, cities, structural engineering, transit, and the built environment
#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.
#481: Steel and Stone: Engineering Jerusalem’s Pilgrimage Road
Discover how modern engineering and ancient history collide beneath the streets of Jerusalem to reveal the legendary 2,000-year-old Pilgrimage Road.
#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.
#449: Skyscraper Science: The Ultimate No-Drill Rental Hack
Discover how the industrial-grade science behind the Burj Khalifa can help you mount heavy gear without losing your security deposit.
#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: Why Can't We Build a Mile Into the Sky?
From vortex shedding to the elevator paradox, Herman and Corn explore the physical and economic limits of building the world's tallest towers.
#407: The Vertical Revolution: Why Your Old Elevator Won’t Fall
Ever wonder why rickety old elevators stay upright? Explore the engineering behind safety inspections and the hidden power of modern lift tech.
#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.
#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.
#345: Remote Work 2026: The Great Compromise and Polycentric Hubs
Are office mandates a sign of failure or a "Great Compromise"? Herman and Corn dive into the shifting landscape of remote work in 2026.
#327: Why 80,000 People Moved to a Desert 5,000 Years Ago
From ancient Uruk to the "agricultural wall," explore why humans choose crowded cities over open spaces and the hidden costs of our urban obsession.
#316: The Architecture Cult: Why Our Cities Feel So Alien
Why do we love old neighborhoods but feel uneasy in modern towers? We explore the "cult" of architecture and the quest for a human-scale city.
#204: Jerusalem’s Vertical Revolution: Skyscrapers vs. City Soul
Corn and Herman explore the rise of luxury towers in Jerusalem, the "ghost apartment" crisis, and how global cities fight urban displacement.