Category Archives: Urbanism

Robert Stark interviews Joseph Dobrian

aesthetics, Architecture, Art, censorship, Culture, Economics, Edward Hopper, Fashion, Feminism, Film, Historic Preservation, Iowa City, Joseph Dobrian, journalism, Libertarianism, Literature, New York, Philosophy, Pilleater, Political Correctness, Politics, Sexuality, Urbanism

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to Joseph Dobrian. Joseph Dobrian is a novelist, essayist, poet, and financial journalist, also known as a political activist and TV talk show host. Hard-Wired is his third novel. Previous books include the novels Ambitions and Willie Wilden, and the best-selling collection of essays, Seldom Right But Never In Doubt. He ran for Mayor of New York City in 2009, and now lives in Iowa City, Iowa, with four rescue cats.

Topics:

Joseph’s experience living in New York City, his “Guys and Dolls” lifestyle in the 80’s, and how the city has changed
His run for Mayor of New York City as a Libertarian and his political views
His home town and current location Iowa City which is called “Berkeley on the Prairie,” and the city’s architecture(ex.Englert Theatre)
His custom made 1940’s inspired suits
His talk show on local cable TV the Joseph Dobrian Show
His novels including Ambitions, Willie Wilden, and Hard-Wired
Literary influences including William Makepeace Thackeray’s Vanity Fair, George Orwell, and Herman Wouk
Favorite artist including Walter Sickert, Gilbert Stuart, and Edward Hopper
Architectural interest including The Federalist Style, Albert Speer, and Hugh Ferriss
His op ed Abolish the National Endowment for the Arts – Iowa City Press-Citizen
Joseph and Robert debate funding for the arts
The cancellation of a book reading at Prairie Lights Bookstore in Iowa City due to hecklers

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Robert Stark interviews Santa Barbara Mayoral Candidate Maiza Hixson

aesthetics, Architecture, Art, Cartrell Payne, Cities, Culture, Economics, Elections, energy, Environment, Historic Preservation, income inequality, Maiza Hixson, Mass Transit, Pilleater, Police, Santa Barbara, The Adventure Kid, Urbanism, Water, Zoning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark, co-host Pilleater, and Cartrell Payne(The Adventure Kid) talk to art advocate and candidate for Santa Barbara Mayor Maiza Hixson. Maiza is the Former Chair of the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission and Co-Director, Curator, and Artist in Residence at SBCAST – Santa Barbara Center for Art, Science & Technology. Her campaign website is MaizaHixson.com.

Topics:

What inspired Maiza to run for mayor and her key issues
Making the city an arts destination and giving artist opportunities to network with local businesses
Economic niches in the art world and the need to support a variety of art
Giving artist a role in urban planning and city government
Solutions to the lack of affordable housing including rent control
The debate about housing density and height limits
The problem of empty storefronts on State Street, holding land owners accountable(ex. Transient Occupancy Tax), and Maiza’s proposal to use them for art
Ending the reliance on car transportation and creating a pedestrian friendly environment
The water shortage, water pollution, re-using reclaimed water, and the The Blue Economy
Transit, improving the bus network, and rail and monorail proposals
The City Budget

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Robert Stark interviews Jeffery J. Smith

Aldous Huxley, Architecture, automation, Basic Income, capitalism, Cities, comedy, Corporate Welfare, Corporations, Dystopia, Eco-Cities, Economics, Ecotopia, energy, Environment, Futurism, Georgism, Hong Kong, humor, income inequality, Jeffery J. Smith, Literature, Mass Transit, Oligarchy, Perfect Timing, Politics, Portland, Post-scarcity economy, Robert Putnam, Science, Science Fiction, Singapore, Skyscrapers, social capital, Social Isolation, Socialism, Suburbia, Time Travel, Urbanism, Utopia, Water, Wealth, Zoning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JEFFERY J. SMITH published The Geonomist, which won a California GreenLight Award, has appeared in both the popular press (e.g.,TruthOut) and academic journals (e.g., USC’s “Planning and Markets”), been interviewed on radio and TV, lobbied officials, testified before the Russian Duma, conducted research (e.g., for Portland’s mass transit agency), and recruited activists and academics to Progress.org. A member of the International Society for Ecological Economics and of Mensa, he lives amidst the beauty of Northern California. Jeffery is currently Chief Editor at Progress.org.

Topics:

Jeffery Smith’s new science fiction novel Perfect Timing about time travel to a future society
How the book conveys the tone of Hitchhiker’s Guide, offers insights like Stranger in a Strange Land, and presents an upbeat alternative to Brave New World
The theme and implementation of a Basic Income in the future society
Why a basic income is necessary and ways to implement it
The artificial notion of the work week and the book The Overworked American
The Post-scarcity economy and how the surplus of wealth is concentrated in the top 1%
The theme of Utopia; Aldous Huxley’s utopian novel Island
The future society of Geotopia, the theme of Ecotopia, and the book by Ernest Callenbach
Ecological based economics; Herman Daly’s Steady State Economics
Geonomics, Georgism, and the land value tax
How a land value tax is different from a property tax and leads to more efficient land use
City Density—Friend of Trip Efficiency
The book Better NOT Bigger: How to Take Control of Urban Growth and Improve your Community
Jeffery Smith’s upcoming book on measuring the indicators of land value

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Robert Stark talks to Anatoly Karlin about Automation & the Basic Income

Anatoly Karlin, automation, Basic Income, Corporations, demographics, Economics, Elections, Emmanuel Macron, energy, Environment, Eugenics, Extroversion, France, Futurism, Gender, Globalization, Human Bio Diversity, Immigration, income inequality, Introversion, IQ, Millennials, Oligarchy, Peak Oil, Pilleater, Rabbit, relationships, Russia, Science, Science Fiction, Scott Jackisch, Sexuality, Silicon Valley, Social Isolation, Suburbia, Taxation, technology, Transhumanism, Urbanism, Wealth, welfare state

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark, Rabbit, and co-host Pilleater talk to Anatoly Karlin about Automation, the Basic Income, and Future Trends. Anatoly blogs for The Unz Review and is on the Russian language podcast rogpr.

Topics:

Anatoly’s analysis of the French election results and our show prior to the election
Political trends among Millennials and Gen Z
How automation will be the main political and economic issue in the future
The Automation of low skilled jobs in the near future and super intelligence in the distant future
Where Automation Will Replace Jobs in American Cities and what demographic groups will be impacted the most
The effects of automation on immigration, birthrates, and Human Bio Diversity
How automation will exacerbate income inequality
Whether automation will create a new political realignment
Why automation will make a basic income necessary
Proposals for generating revenue for the basic income, taxing robots, and why Anatoly finds it more feasible to tax the ultra rich
Rabbit’s proposal to break up the United States and why Anatoly thinks it would only exacerbate inequality in regards to automation
The Creation of a leisure class, liberating creative types, and addressing the right’s concerns that a basic income would lead to degeneracy
Peak Oil, Alternative Energy Sources, self driving cars, and how those will effect urban trends
Affordable Family Formation
Technological effects on socializing and dating
Anatoly’s participation in a Transhumanist Debate on immigration and the basic income in the SF East Bay
Hive Mind: How Your Nation’s IQ Matters So Much More Than Your Own
Artificial Wombs and CRISPR gene editing
Scott Jackisch’s The Robot Lord Scenario


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Robert Stark interviews Gustavo Semeria about Argentina

aesthetics, Amren, Architecture, Argentina, Art, Art Deco, Buenos Aires, capitalism, Cities, Class, colonialism, Communism, Crime, Culture, democracy, Economics, education, Gustavo Semeria, Healthcare, History, Human Bio Diversity, Immigration, income inequality, Juan Peron, Latin America, Mass Transit, Middle Class, Multiculturalism, Music, Nationalism, Neon, Oligarchy, Socialism, Urbanism

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks to Argentine author, businessman, former military officer, lawyer, and Professor of Social Science Gustavo Semeria

Topics:

Gustavo’s Spanish Language book Adiós a la Democracia about the role of Demographics in Democracy
Gustavo’s article for American Renaissance Argentina: A Mirror of Your Future
The early history of Argentina, the Nation’s Golden Age from the late 19th to early 20th Century, and the massive wave of European immigration
Buenos Aires as the Paris of South America and the extravagant architecture of the early 20th Century
The Art Deco Kavanagh building, Galerías Pacífico, and the Neon lit Lavalle Street
The Anglo-Argentine Tramways Company which built the Nation’s vast railway system and Buenos Aires’s Subway
Argentina’s demographic transformation, starting with internal migration from the North and later mass immigration from neighboring countries
The effects of mass immigration on infrastructure, healthcare, education, and crime
The decline of the Argentine Middle Class and growth in gated communities in the suburbs
Cultural changes; the decline in the Tango and Argentine Rock and popularity of foreign culture such as Cumbia
The parallels between Argentina’s situation and that of the United States
The Kirchners’ open immigration policy and concept of Patria Grande
The new president of Argentina Mauricio Macri
Latin America’s fluctuation between socialism and oligarchy
Juan Perón’s Third Way between Capitalism and Communism


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Robert Stark talks to Count Isidor Fosco about creating New Retro Futurist Sub Cultures

1980's, 80's music, aesthetics, Alicia Silverstone, Alphaville, animation, Anime, Architecture, arcology, Art, Art Deco, Asian Aryanism, Asian Culture, Batman, Blade Runner, Cinema, Cities, Comic Books, Count Isidor Fosco, counterculture, Culture, Cyberpunk, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Europe, Film, Film Noire, Futurism, Helen Slater, Homosexuality, Identitarianism, Israel, Italo Disco, Japanese Culture, Kaze to Ki no Uta, Memes, Mid-Century Modern, Milo, Mishima A Life in Four Chapters, Music, New Retro Wave, Peter Sotos, Pilleater, Postmodernism, Retro Futurism, Sarah Michelle Geller, Sexuality, Steampunk, SWPL, The Crush, The Legend of Zelda, Toronto, Trolling, Urbanism, Vaporwave, Video Games, Will McBride, Winona Ryder, Yukio Mishima

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to returning guest Count Isidor Fosco.

Topics:

Retro-Futurism and it’s sub-genres
Whether Retro-Futurism and fusing past genres can evolve organically or end up being a “cut and paste”
Merging an Aristocratic or Traditional Genre into a Futuristic one
How fusing genres is most effective when there is a distance in eras(ex. Art Deco and Cyberpunk, Baroque and 80’s Retro-Futurism)
How futurism overlaps with the archaic in architecture(ex.Arcology)
Steampunk; Victorian era Train Stations in London, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in Milan, and shopping centers inspired by European shopping arcades
The Toronto Eaton Centre in contrast with the Underground City in Montreal, which is more Retro-Futuristic
Why “Decopunk” Deserves to Be Bigger than Steampunk
The Art Deco revival during the New Wave Age
Batman: The Animated Series, Batman & Architecture, and Anton Furst’s visions for the Aesthetic Of Gotham City(1989)
Alicia Silverstone in Batman & Robin and playing piano in the film The Crush
The aesthetics of Mishima: a Life in Four Chapters and the manga Kaze to Ki no Uta
New Retro Wave, Italo Disco, Falco, and Alphaville’s Forever Young and Big In Japan
The “Vaporwave” Babylon Club from Scarface which was featured in Miami Nights 1984’s Early Summer
How we are in post-post modernism and must rebuild cultures from scratch
Subcultures based on ethnic and cultural identity; cultural and ethnic fusionism(ex.Asian Aryanism)
How the future will either be mass global homogenization or forming new cultures from scratch but there is no returning to the past
Asian and Israeli Aryanism as memes
Count Fosco’s hierarchy of fetishes

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Stark interviews Jack Ravenwood

1980's, 1990's, aesthetics, Anime, Architecture, Art, Asia, Asian Aryanism, Beatniks, capitalism, China, Cinema, Cities, Class, College, conformity, Conservatives, Consumerism, Culture, Cyberpunk, Deconstruction, Donald Trump, Economics, education, Film, Free Trade, Ghost in a Shell, Globalization, History, Hong Kong, Immigration, Jack Kerouac, Jack Ravenwood, Japan, Japanese Culture, Jean Baudrillard, Las Vegas, Literature, Martin Heidegger, Mid-Century Modern, Neoliberalism, Neon, New York, Paradise Theater, Philosophy, Pilleater, Robert Brenner, Ross Perot, Shenzhen, Skyscrapers, SWPL, Thomas Rinaldi, Time Square, Trans-Pacific Partnership, Urbanism, Wisconsin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to Jack Ravenwood. He is the author of Paradise Theater, a collection of short stories centered around the theme of the post-industrial American small city. He is also the main writer at Mean Street Cinema, a website dedicated to films from New York City in the 70’s and 80’s, as well as the co-founder of little ape press. He blogs at Foreigner Thoughts

Topics:

The setting of the book Paradise Theater in Jack’s home town West Allis, Wisconsin in the 1980’s and early 90’s
The Paradise Theatre movie house which the book was named for and featured on the cover
The Fairview Motors Sign which is featured on the back of the book; Mid-Century Road Signage
The cultural, political, and economic themes in the book
Allis-Chalmers closing in West Allis and the de-industrialization of the Midwest
Ross Perot’s campaign in 1992 against NAFTA, and Trump campaigning on trade issues
Jack’s Unz Review article Trump, JFK, and the Deep State
National Review Writer: Working-Class Communities ‘Deserve To Die
How the best case scenario for the US would be to carve out a niche in high end manufacturing that caters to China’s growing middle class
Jack’s new home Shenzhen, China which is a manufacturing power house, and new mega city built from scratch
Jack’s Mean Street Cinema site, his interest in Vintage New York City, and Robert Stark’s interviews with Thomas Rinaldi about New York Neon and Robert Brenner about his Time Square Tours
Jack’s observations about Hong Kong Neon and how Hong Kong Is Slowly Dimming Its Neon Glow
Jack’s future plan to document Neon in Hong Kong in either a book or blog
The culture of Hong Kong as a bridge between the east and west and it’s “relative autonomy”
Vertical living and how it is the norm for urban China for all classes
High density living isn’t inherently bad but it is necessary to have a high quality of culture to sustain it
Jack Kerouac’s The Town and the City
Conformity in Asian culture; authentic Asian culture vs. SWPL larping
Chinese Philosophy; the Tao Te Ching
The evolution of Western Philosophy; Deconstruction and selective deconstruction
Jean Baudrillard and the simulation


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Thomas Rinaldi returns to talk about Neon

1960's, 1980's, aesthetics, Architecture, Argentina, Art, Art Deco, Asia, Blade Runner, Buenos Aires, Cities, Consumerism, Corporations, Culture, Economics, Futurism, gentrification, Historic Preservation, History, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, Mid-Century Modern, Neon, New York, Philadelphia, Pilleater, Retro Futurism, Robert Brenner, San Francisco, Thomas Rinaldi, Time Square, Travel, Urbanism, Wildwood New Jersey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to returning guest Thomas Rinaldi. He is the author of New York Neon and blogs at nyneon.blogspot.com

Topics:

Thomas’s Tours of West Village’s Vintage Neon Signs, his Greenwich Village Neon Walking Tour, and how those areas have the highest concentration of surviving Neon in New York City
Thomas’s observation that Neon has declined in both corporate chain dominated, as well as lower income communities
How ironically in the 60’s Neon was synonymous with commercialization(ex. Simon & Garfunkel’s The Sound of Silence)
The association of Neon with 80’s Retro-Futurism(ex. Retrowave, Club NEON) and the irony that Neon hit rock bottom in the 80’s
The decline of Neon in Time Square, Robert Brenner’s Gritty Old Time Square Tours, and the few remnents including the West 43rd Garage and the McDonalds from the 80’s
Lights Out 2016: Signs We Lost That Year
The Colgate Clock in Jersey City, which has been LED’ed
Clock Towers Signs in New York including the Paramount Theatre, the Consolidated Edison Building, the Met Life Tower, and the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower
Soviet Neon Stars at the Kremlin and Neon in Communist Cuba
Williamsburg’s Domino Sugar Refinery redevelopment; the outlawing of waterfront signs in New York City
The C & H factory Sign in Crockett, California
Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco as one of the best examples of a renovated former industrial site
Georges Claude, the father of the commercialization of Neon
The popularity of Signs Inside
Fake Neon
Animated Neon Signs, the peak in the 50’s, and San Francisco’s “Coca~Cola” Sign
Bulb Signs which were proliferate in the 1920’s, and Robert’s observation that they were also popular with 90’s era Las Vegas Casinos
Wildwood, New Jersey Neon
Mid Century Road Signage; Route 66
Downtown LA; The LA Museum Of Neon Art
Neon in Buenos Aires, Argentina; The Art Deco Kavanagh building and Estadio Luna Park
Thomas’s observations from Stockholm and Amsterdam
How Neon is declining in both Mega Cities such as New York and London as well as the poorest cities in the developing world
Hong Kong Is Slowly Dimming Its Neon Glow


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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Stark talks to Giovanni Dannato about Solutions to Social Problems

aesthetics, alienation, Alternative Left, Alternative Right, American Culture, Arabs, Architecture, arcology, Armenia, Asia, Asian Culture, Banking, Bashar Assad, Bernie Sanders, California, capitalism, Cities, Class, Conservatives, Consumerism, Culture, David Lynch, demographics, Donald Trump, Dune, Economics, Eugenics, Futurism, Giovanni Dannato, Globalization, History, Human Bio Diversity, Immigration, income inequality, Internet, Islam, Israel, Korea, Middle Class, Millennials, Nationalism, neo-tribalism, Pilleater, Political Correctness, Politics, Retro Futurism, Saddam Hussein, Science Fiction, Secessionism, Singapore, Skyscrapers, social capital, Social Isolation, Social Media, social status, social trust, Socialism, Suburbia, Syria, Urbanism, Usury, Utopia, Video Games, War, Wealth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to Giovanni Dannato. Giovanni blogs at Colony of Commodus and is the author of A Kingdom For the Introvert. Follow Giovanni on Twitter.

Topics:

What Might A Post-Western Aesthetic Look Like?
Paolo Soleri’s Arcosanti, the concept of arcology, and self contained cities
David Lynch’s Film Dune and the Game Riven
Sci-Fi Inspired By WW1: Future Best Shown Through The Past
How Singapore Went From A Fishing Village With Slums Full OF Shacks To A Thriving City-State With Skyscrapers
Singapore’s founder LEE KUAN YEW
The Human Life Bubble
The Backwardness of Consumerism and Consumer Capitalism
The 60s Revolutionary Order Has Fallen: Now What?
No Going Back to the 1950s – And What Lies Ahead
New Balance Hysteria Shows Us Meaning Beyond Markets
President Trump’s First Baby Steps (And the Big Picture)
How To Turn The Educated Against Political Correctness
Internet Benefits People Asymmetrically
Millennials as a lost generation, and why Giovanni is more optimistic about Generation Z
Discrimination and Why Nepotism Is Necessary
The need for Smart Socialism
Mercantile Diasporas
Neo-Tribalism
The Future of Alt-Right Populism
How the Alt-Right is limited mainly to the white working class and how a larger populist movement could attract progressive voters who have been neglected by the democrat coalition
What Giovanni Believes

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




 

Robert Stark interviews Vincent Law

9/11, aesthetics, Alternative Right, American Culture, Anatoly Karlin, Architecture, capitalism, Class, Communism, Conservatives, Consumerism, Culture, Cyberpunk, demographics, Donald Trump, Economics, Feminism, Futurism, Gender, gentrification, Globalization, History, Identitarianism, Immigration, income inequality, Islam, Islamization, Liberalism, Libertarianism, Middle Class, Moscow, Multiculturalism, Nationalism, Oligarchy, Philosophy, Pilleater, Politics, Retro Futurism, Russia, Saint Petersburg, Science Fiction, Sexuality, social status, Socialism, Soviet Union, Suburbia, Sweden, SWPL, Travel, Ukraine, Urbanism, Vincent Law, Vladimir Putin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to . Vincent is based in Russia, blogs at Atavistic Intelligentsia, and co-hosts the Red Dawn Podcast

Topics:

FROM RUSSIA WITH A SHOVE
Vincent’s background being born in the Ukraine, growing up in the United States, and living in Russia
Identity and the importance of understanding ones roots
The generational divides in Russia
The effects of Communism on Russian Culture
The Yeltsin era in the 90’s, the populist backlash, and the rise of Putin
Social Nationalism, rejecting right wing economics, and why it’s crucial to appeal to factions of the disaffected left
Bobo Nationalism
The Bronze, Silver, and Gold Soul Theory
THE POZ IS A WEAPON OF CLASS WARFARE
Cultural Appropriation, LARPING, and Elite Slumming
Chad Nationalism is a Bad Idea
Vincent’s observations from his recent trip to Sweden
Singh – A Sikh Perspective on the Alt-Right
The Alt-Right Should Support Gentrification
Moscow and Saint Petersburg’s architecture; Archeo-Futurism
Vince’s Cyberpunk Sci-Fi Novel Jak’s Play set in Saint Petersburg in the future, and the upcoming sequel set in Sweden


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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!