Here’s what urbanist podcasts we’re listening to

GGWash contributors shared some of their favorite urbanist podcasts in 2017, and since new ones are coming out all the time, we decided it was time to update the list. If you're all caught up on Talking Headways, give some of these a listen.

Urbanist podcasts with a tech focus are popular

Smartphones and podcasts have both been around for a little over a decade, and technology—especially Smart Cities—is a frequent urbanist podcast topic. Here are a couple of tech-oriented podcasts with an urbanist beat:

CityLab launched Technopolis earlier this year, a weekly podcast that examines the relationship between technologies and cities. The first episode focused on venture capital’s foray into “urban tech,” as they call it (think: Uber). The hosts interviewed a venture capitalist to get investors' perspective, as well as a planner with the San Francisco County Transportation Authority who shared a public sector perspective.

The Mobility Podcast has 34 episodes as of April 3, and each centers around the intersection of mobility, technology, and people. Its transportation-heavy content is often about autonomous vehicles and the impact various transportation technologies will have on society.

City of the Future, which explores “the innovations and ideas that will transform our cities,” is another excellent option.

There are *lots* of urbanist podcasts

War on Cars focuses on “the worldwide fight” between automobiles and cities. One of their recent episodes features an interview with one of the NPR Car Talk guys, Ray Magliozzi.

Indigenous Urbanism looks at the places we inhabit with focus on “the community drivers and practitioners who are shaping those environments and decolonising through design.”

Island Press, an environment-focused publisher GGWash partners with, has a variety of podcasts. Some are a collaboration with Infinite Earth Radio as part of their Urban Resilience Project, while others feature urbanist authors like Jarrett Walker and Christof Spieler.

Strong Towns has two new podcasts to check out: “It's The Little Things,” which features “guests who have taken action in their own places and in their own ways,” and Upzoned, which is about urbanist news.

Black Kids in Outer Space, “A show about urban planning, walking, bicycling, public transit, Afrofuturism, in our space” is also a fantastic listen.

If you're looking for something more local, The Daily Record, a Maryland publication focused on business and real estate development, has a podcast and corresponding blog called Ground Up. It's focused on Baltimore and all things associated with development in the metro area.

Also check out The Black Urbanist Radio Show from GGWash contributor Kristen Jeffers. She talks about “design, urban planning, transportation, architecture and life as black woman in the modern world.”

Here are some podcasts with great urbanist episodes

There are also lots of great podcasts with individual episodes that have an urbanist bent.

99% Invisible continues to tell excellent design-focused stories. Check out the recent episode with Eric Klinenberg, who wrote “Palaces for the People,” which explores the concept and need for social infrastructure like libraries. Also, the episode about Curb Cuts is a must-listen. It highlights some fascinating disablity rights history through the lens of sidewalk and building ramps.

Hidden Brain, a science podcast from NPR, examined Zipcode Destiny in November 2018. This episode highlighted Raj Chetty’s work exploring the impact of our geography and where we live on the opportunities we can access.

Also from NPR, the Indicator explores a big economic idea or event in about 10 minutes. Recent urbanist-related episodes examined inequality, Lyft’s IPO, and the Super Bowl as a key housing indicator.

For a longer list of podcasts, check out this compilation from Reinventing Transport. Of course, we know there are even more!

What urbanist podcasts or podcast episodes are you listening to? Or what podcast do you want that hasn't been made yet?