Category Archives: Cities

The Starkian Bay Area

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Matt Pegan discuss their trip to the San Francisco Bay Area over the last Labor Day weekend, their past trips in 2018 (extended segment: 20 minutes in), and how the Bay Area relates to Alt-Urbanism and cultural, aesthetic, societal, and Alt-Center political themes from the show.

Topics:

Observations of the impact of the pandemic including increase in homelessness
Why the Bay Area is the center of the Gray Tribe political sphere
The degree to which there is a unique and authentic regional culture and aesthetic
The John CPortman designed Embarcadero Center, concept of Interior Urbanism, and how Portman was unique in that he was both an artistic visionary and a capitalist
The impact of wealth on aesthetics
The magic of travel and appreciating the tourist traps
San Francisco Neon
The Bay Area’s Geography, microclimates, and urban layout
Wilderness locations including Mount Diablo, Tilden Regional Park, Alpine and Bon Tempe Lakes in Marin, and the region’s extensive Greenbelts
Unique attributes of the Bay Area suburbs of Marin County, Lamorinda, Walnut Creek, Alamo, and Danville, Ski-Lodge Urbanism, and Retrofitting The Aesthetically Pleasing Suburb
Bay Area demographics trends
Does California need a rightest version of Multiculturalism?

Click Here to download!

Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook pageTwitterInstagramStark Truth TV, novel Journey to Vapor Island, and in production documentary The Gospel of Gibson.

Robert Stark interviews Peter Nimitz about LA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks to San Fernando Valley based commentator, Peter Nimitz about the demographics, culture, economy and politics of the Los Angeles region from the perspective of a transplant. Check out Peter’s interview about the Russian Revolution and follow him on Twitter.

Topics:

LA’s class structure
City-Data Forum thread on demographic trends of the past decade by city
Immigrant groups in the LA region, including from Mexico, China, Bangladesh, India, Iran, Armenia, various European nations, and more recent community from Uzbekistan
Industry in LA, including entertainment, aerospace, tech, and shipping
Unique LA tropes/archetypes
Contrasting communities that have strong patronage networks with those that are more atomized
Poll on hypothetical proposal to base immigration on a local level
America’s neo-tribal future
The Double Horseshoe Theory of Class Politics and how that impacts how different demographic groups align politically
Crucial California issues of housing (YIMBYism), energy, water, and infrastructure being neglected by a one party state focused on national issues and a GOP that’s out of touch with younger voters and urban concerns
The degree to which LA’s post pandemic exodus and urban decay is overhyped
New urban development in LA (ex. futuristic complex planned in Beverly Hills) and metro expansions
The debate about education reform,

Click Here to download!

Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook pageTwitterInstagramStark Truth TV, novel Journey to Vapor Island, and in production documentary The Gospel of Gibson


Robert Stark talks to Matt Forney about the Caucasus Region

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks to Matt Forney about the Caucasus region and trends for the 2020s. Matt Forney is an author, journalist and founder of Terror House Press, whose mission is to publish outsider literary fiction, literary nonfiction, and cultural criticism/analysis. You can also follow Terror House publishing on Twitter and Instagram.

Topics:

Matt’s travels to the Caucasus region, living in Georgia for two years, and visiting Armenia
Georgia as an underrated gem, with an affordable but high standard of living, and hub for digital nomads
Geographic locations and mountainous natural beauty
Architecture and urban layout of Tbilisi, Georgia and Yerevan, Armenia
The anti-corruption Rose Revolution in Georgia
The region’s culture, Xenia hospitality culture, crossroad of Europe and the Middle East, and creeping westernization
The region’s cuisine, which is somewhat bland, but Georgian was the most exotic in Soviet Russia
Matt’s travels to Albania and misconceptions about that nation
The historic background leading up to the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
The conflict’s geo-political alliances and implications
Observations of social trends of the past two decades and speculation about the near future
How technology and social developments are leading to greater social atomization
The pandemic’s destruction of small businesses, gig economy, and overall end of normal employment
Why Matt has reservations about the UBI (Martin Goldberg: What Happens If You Get DELETED?)
The corporate gentrification of the internet
The Mancession of the 2008 crash vs. the current Shecession, and implications on gender relations
JPMorgan Chase extending billions in loans to minority homebuyers, Yelp’s anti-racist social credit nightmare, and overall unsustainability of woke neoliberalism
Matt’s prediction that Trump will win re-election and populism will align more with the GOP
Terror House Press’ upcoming books, including Matt Pegan’s Dragon Day

Click Here to download!

Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook pageTwitterInstagramStark Truth TV, and novel Journey to Vapor Island


Round Table Discussion on Urbanist Trends for the 2020s

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark is joined with San Francisco based architect, Adam Mayer, and Oregon based urbanist commentator, D E C A Y, to discuss urbanist trends that we can expect to see as a result of the pandemic and economic transformation this year.

Topics:

Whether the outdoor dining trend is permanent
The Retail apocalypse, with a decline in small businesses and foot traffic
The remote work exodus and The Rise of Work-From-Home Towns
How the urban exodus could be beneficial for the creative class
Interior Urbanism as a reaction to urban decay
Why we will see less skyscrapers and mega projects in the 2020s
The new suburbanism: learning from past mistakes by Retrofitting Suburbia
Ski Lodge urbanism: rustic charm with urban amenities
The Missing Middle trend
The need for pragmatic zoning reform, political polarization of the issue, and why YIMBYs sometimes push too far
Dead malls being re-purposed(ex. Horton Plaza)
Why Every City Feels the Same Now: Glass-and-steel monoliths replaced local architecture
Whether we’ll see a shift away from 2010s minimalism towards a regional kitsch aesthetic(ex. Rustic Industrial)
Building fire resilient communities
Whether mass transit will remain viable and Kamala Harris’ husband’s involvement in a NIMBY lawsuit to stop the subway under Beverly Hills
Conclusion that we will see a population and economic shift to 2nd tier cities but not the total demise of cities
Adam’s upcoming blog on missing middle infill

Click Here to download!

Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook pageTwitterInstagram, and Stark Truth TV


Robert Stark talks to Logo Daedalus about America’s Promethean Aesthetics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Matt Pegan talk to Logo Daedalus to analyze the Promethean themes throughout American history in regards to culture and aesthetics. Logo is the author of Selfie, Suicide: or Cairey Turnbull’s Blue Skiddoo and you can follow him on Twitter.

Topics:

Online Trad subculture as a search for authenticity within the Simulation
Embracing America as a theme park
Archeofuturism: progress fused with nostalgia
How cultural elitism can contradict economic elitism and vice versa
Popularity of Neoclassical architecture in 19th Century America, The Soviet’s later adoption of Neoclassical architecture, and Art Deco as the pinnacle of archeofuturism in early 20th Century America
The Minimalist architectural trend of the 2010s, focus on functionality, Puritanical origins, and popularity in the Silicon Valley
Logo’s experience living in New York, notable architectural sites, and it’s state of decay
Neo-Trad architectural fad
What Internet Memes Get Wrong About Breezewood, Pennsylvania
Finding political symbolism in architecture
Celebrity Futurism
The ironies of Trump’s aesthetics
Mormonism as a manifest of America’s Promethean Spirit
How modern America started at the Chicago World’s Fair
The early Electric Park and Freedomland U.S.A. Theme Parks
Utopian Societies in 19th Century America and Utopianism through accessing the capital to build rather than politics


Click Here to download!

Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook pageTwitterInstagram, Stark Truth TV, and novel Journey to Vapor Island


Robert Stark talks about the symbolic vs. material causes of our Nation’s political turmoil

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark is joined with Matt Pegan to discuss issues relating to Robert’s Unz Review article, The Real Wealth Gap:
The intergenerational wealth gap, the housing crisis, and how “BLM vs. MAGA” poisons the discussion on every issue
.

Topics:

The material vs. symbolic factors of our current political turmoil
The material based critique of woke ideology and limitations of a purely material based outlook
Comparing data on the racial wealth gap with the generational wealth gap
Millennials’ screwed economic status, the appeal of Bernie’s campaign, and an overall failure to invest in future generations
More on the motivation of corporate support for woke causes
The iconoclastic nature of neoliberalism to erase history and conceal power
Political symbolism in architecture(ex. statues, skyscrapers, single family homes, and public spaces)
Christopher Lasch’s The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy
Fox News host Lara Logan compares up-zoning to agenda of Antifa
Woke urbanist thought vs. the material benefits of YIMBY polices for millennials
Whether this new generation of urban flight to the suburbs will sustain the power of Woke neoliberalism

 

Click Here to download!

Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook pageTwitter, and Instagram


Round Table discussion on the long term ramifications of the Pandemic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark is joined with Moscow based Unz Review columnist Anatoly Karlin and Bay Area based blogger Dain Fitzgerald who has written for Spliced Today, Rachel Haywire’s Trigger Warning, and . Follow Anatoly and Dain on Twitter.

Topics:

Going back to Anatoly’s initial predictions on the pandemic from February
The short term modest economic recovery due to the stimulus but not sustainable long term
How the pandemic has been neglected due to the rallies
Spike after re-opening and limits of quarantine capital
Asia’s hard lockdown vs the West’s potential epidemic yo-yo of cyclical lock downs
Peter Turchin published a paper in 2010 predicting political, economic and social instability would peak in 2020
Protests overseas as American Cultural Imperialism
The culmination of the Great Awokening
How conservatives are naive to think that wokeness only thrives under prosperity
Whether woke capital really is a deliberate plan to subvert class consciousness
How de-funding police might be purely symbolic but, if true, we’ll see more private security and gated communities
The oncoming urban exodus due to remote work, the pandemic, economics, and rising crimes rates
Fertility and Immigration trends
UK may grant refugee status to residents of Hong Kong
Breaking of the Chimerica arangement?
Biden’s advantage as a perceived return to normalcy
Speculating which nations will fare the best economically and containing the pandemic

Click Here to download!

Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook pageTwitter, and Instagram




Robert Stark and Matt Pegan discuss the Nationwide Civil Unrest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Matt Pegan discuss the civil unrest that has occurred over the past week and the social and political ramifications. Note the show was recorded on June 3rd. Follow Matt on Twitter.

Topics:

The economic crisis due to the pandemic
How economic despair combined with identity grievance culture created a perfect storm
How in crisis people reject civility and revert to their base instincts and polarized narratives
Virtue signaling from Woke Capital
The relationship between bourgeois liberalism and the far left(see Opinion poll based on income)
How the civil unrest is a shock to many but shows the long time social breakdown of our society
How this hits close to home for Matt as an LA resident
How, unlike in past riots, looting was in wealthier areas such as LA’s Westside and Midtown Manhattan
Unrest spreads to Bay Area suburbs
How the pandemic made it hard to jail looters
Narratives about law enforcement
Trump’s handling of the crisis, and how he’s in the worst possible situation
Comparisons with past media narratives when dealing with right wing extremism
How the worst of rioting has been quelled but we could see long term urban decay

Click Here to download!

Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook pageTwitter, and Instagram




Robert Stark interviews Scott Tungay

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks to Scott Tungay about the current situation in South Africa, the ongoing riots in America, and his views on social capital, land use, and wealth. Scott is originally from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and immigrated to Kentucky to be with his American wife. He blogs at Department of Winning, has a Youtube channel with his wife Kelli, and is also on Twitter.

Topics:

Scott’s background, like many English South Africans, growing up believing in the Rainbow nation narrative and classical liberal values
How immigrating to America lit a nationalist spark
Scott’s passion for homesteading and Permaculture
Scott’s admiration for conservationist Wendell Berry and the Southern Agrarians
How Scott is currently stuck in South Africa which has one of the most draconian Lockdowns in the world
How the lockdown could be used as a power grab by the ANC, with businesses foreclosing, and a planned expropriation of White property
Why South Africa will fall, like Yugoslavia | With Scott Tungay by Willem Petzer
Different scenarios for South Africa, including a partition into smaller nations, Chinese intervention, and why a Rwandan scenario is unlikely
How most White South Africans are looking to emigrate
The ongoing riots in America, and why Scott thinks America is 20-30 years away from where South Africa is now
The media narrative about race relations, divide and conquer strategy, and long term un-sustainability due to economic breakdown
The failure of conservatism, and opportunity for a Third Position that is localist, anti-usury, and anti-globalist
The missed mashup that could have happened between Bernie and Trump
The Backto-the-land movement and New Urbanism as alternatives to the commercial squalor that destroyed small town Americana
How the lockdown proves the value of family and community over the corporate rat race
Economic Class Dynamics: The significance, slave, and survival economy
The importance of aesthetics: how beauty elicits care
The limits of meritocracy: how future economic survival will depend upon one’s In-group

Click Here to download!

Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook pageTwitter, and Instagram




Robert Stark interviews Rich Houck

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks to Rich Houck about urbanism, aesthetics, and the need for social capital. Rich is a recent law school grad and you can check out his blog on Patreon and his Twitter account.

Topics:

Rich’s interest in photography
Rich’s patronage of independent artists
Interest in both traditional and Retro-Futurist aesthetics
Neon nationalism: reclaiming the future we should have had
80s nostalgia: the 80s as a going away party
The Last Mall Rat OR The Decline and Transformation of The American Mall
The importance of communal spaces, whether it’s Interior Urbanism or a traditional village space
How urban planning models and density relate to social cohesion
Does Diversity Create Distrust?
Crime prevention through environmental design and A New Way of Understanding ‘Eyes on the Street‘ 
Impression of San Francisco, how it could have been an American Paris with a uniquely American European aesthetic
The spring COVID-19 took from me
How the pandemic is exposing a wide range of problems from open borders to factory farming
Robert’s novel Journey to Vapor Island’s lesson about taking the best from all sides
Symbolism of the Neon-Raccoon

Click Here to download!

Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook pageTwitterInstagram, Stark Truth TV, and novel Journey to Vapor Island