Category Archives: Phoenix

Robert Stark interviews Richard Register about Ecocities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richard Register is a theorist in ecology and urban design, the author of several books on the topic of ecologically sustainable cities, and founder and President of Ecocity World.

Topics:

Richard’s concept of an Ecocity
Paolo Soleri’s concept of an Arcology and his project Arcosanti in Arizona
The Ecosa Institute which is doing what Soleri intended on a smaller scale
Ancient examples of the Arcology go back to Ur in Mesopotamia and Çatalhöyük in Turkey
The city as a complex living organism
Horizontal vs. three dimensional cities
Implementing an ecocity on a large scale as an Ecotropolis
Why density is more ecologically sustainable
Ecocity Zoning
The goal of creating a car free city
The use of bridges between structures
John C. Portman’s Embarcadero Center in San Francisco which has aspects of an Arcology
Exterior glass elevators
Richard’s book Ecocity Berkeley and NIMBY imposed barriers to change in Berkeley
Opening up the creek systems in urban areas
Creating Ecocity village cores in the suburbs and how to retrofit aesthetically pleasing suburbs(ex. Santa Barbara, Marin County, and wealthy East Bay suburbs)
Reducing the foot print of cities and suburbs and opening up new land to agriculture and wilderness
Richard’s illustrations and the importance of aesthetics in urbanism
New Urbanism as a step in the right direction but too rigid in height and density
Richard’s trip to the Galapagos Islands and observations of how architecture coexists with nature
Ecocities in China
Robert’s observation that Las Vegas despite being an ecological catastrophe has many aspects of the Arcology

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark talks to Brandon Adamson about Skytrain to Nowhere

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks to Brandon Adamson about his new photo essay and collection of poetry Skytrain to Nowhere. Purchase Skytrain to Nowhere in Paperback on Lulu, in eBook PDF, and on Amazon.

Brandon Adamson is a writer who currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona. He has been writing since 1995, and his work has appeared in many magazines, blogs and literary journals over the years. Brandon blogs at AltLeft.com.

Topics:

The book is made up of poems resulting from the author’s experiences riding the skytrain at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport
How the book was loosely inspired by Keith Gunderson’s A Continual Interest in the Sun and Sea
Brandon’s style and method of writing poetry
How there is very little offensive material in the book compared to previous works
The photographs in the book
How the skytrain doesn’t really go anywhere but an imaginative person will envision potential destinations and explore the possible ways in which this kind of technology could be used
The skytrain as a vehicle for escapism
The airport as the blueprint for self contained cities
Disneyland as also a model for self contained cities
How the author’s fascination with skytrains and monorails originated with trips to Disneyland and Disney World in the 1980’s
The importance of always staying on the move in life and never getting too comfortable
The Retro-Futuristic themes in the book
The Retro-Futurist’s dilemma of wanting to embrace the future while being inspired by nostalgia and having to determine what’s worth holding on to
The poem Treadmill to Neonopolis named after the place in Las Vegas
Mythological references in the book (Atlantis, Icarus, etc)

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark talks to Anatoly Karlin about The Syria Strikes, Russian Politics & Failure of Trump

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Brandon Adamson talk to Anatoly Karlin. Anatoly blogs for The Unz Review and is on the Russian language podcast rogpr.

Topics:

Douma and Dumber
John Bolton and the return of the Neocons
Trump using the strike to distract from Russiagate
Whether the strike is purely symbolic or could lead to a greater conflict
How there is no evidence of Assad using chemical weapons
The Saudi Israeli Alliance
How Can Russia Hurt the US?
Gloomy Presentiments
The Road to World War III
The geopolitics of China and India
Brandon’s article People Who Hate Each Other Against the War
Brandon’s article Tulsi Gabbard 2020 (or 2024) or Whom Would Magnum P.I. Vote For?
The re-election of Putin and Some Final Notes
Putin’s implementation of hate speech laws
Vladimir Zhirinovsky who Anatoly voted for as a protest vote
Anatoly’s Blackpill Scenario for the United States

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark interviews Joshua Zeidner

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Sam Kevorkian talk to Joshua Zeidner. Joshua is originally from the New York region and has a degree in Computer Science and minor in Art from CUNY .

Topics:

How Joshua became involved in Right Wing politics and the Tea Party Party in response to illegal immigration in Arizona
The demographic transformation and destruction of the middle class in California
Suburban sprawl in Phoenix, environmentalism, and urban planning issues
Living in Israel and witnessing a terrorist attack in Jerusalem
Israel as a National Socialist Nation
Intelligent millennials lacking economic opportunities joining dissident movements
Parallels to Weimar Germany where former members of the middle class were reduced to poverty
Creating a new political dichotomy to address these issues
Social Nationalism as an alternative to Conservatism
The flaws of Libertarian ideology and free market economics
Boomer Conservatism and the Old Economy Steve Meme
Karl Marx on society as a relationship between capital and labor
Italian Futurism and National Futurism
Heavy Metal (magazine) 
Joshua’s Facebook group The Whims of Savagery
Illustrators Tanino LiberatorePhilippe Druillet, and Moebius

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




Robert Stark talks to Brandon Adamson about the Film Cherry 2000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark, new Co-host Sam Kevorkian, and retiring co-host Pilleater talk to Brandon Adamson about the Film Cherry 2000(1987). Brandon blogs at AltLeft.com, is the author of Beatnik Fascism, and has a new youtube channel Self Checkout

Topics:

Brandon’s review Cherry 2015 – If Loving A Fembot Is Artificial, I Don’t Want To Be Genuine
The main character Sam Treadwell who is a romantic guy who still longs for a traditional loving relationship and finds courtship with a female android
The depiction of sexual encounters and relationships with real women as complicated legal transactions requiring lawyers, reduced to merely emotionless business arrangements
Contrasting the film with the “Stepford Wives” where the men kill their loving yet sassy wives in exchange for robot sex slaves
How the issue of sex robots has become relevant again and it’s implications for the future
The ending of the film where Sam falls for the tracker, “Edith”(Melanie Griffith) whom he hires to help locate the robot
The theme of a journey and the popularity of road trip films in the 80’s and 90’s(ex. Chevy Chase in “Vegas Vacation”)
Pamela Gidley as Cherry 2000 and her role in the Twin Peaks prequel “Fire Walk With Me”
The 80’s aesthetic of the film
The dystopian theme where cities are deserted and overrun with criminals; comparisons to “Mad Max”
Locales depicted in the film including Las Vegas, the Hoover Dam, and the Citadel Outlet Mall
Self Checkout – Becoming a New Suburbanist

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




Robert Stark interviews Adam Hengels about Market Urbanism

Adam Hengels

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Rabbit talk to Adam Hengels.

Adam is SVP and Director of Development of PAD, a real estate development start-up that builds communities for young professionals.  PAD’s developments will feature micro-apartments and other product innovations.

From Mega-Projects to Micro-Apartments, Adam has brought his development expertise to several high profile projects such as the $5B Barclays Center Arena and Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, New York .  Adam earned his Masters in Real Estate Development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and has a BS and MS in Structural Engineering.

Adam is passionate about urbanism, and is known as a pioneer in the Market Urbanism movement.  His mission is to improve the urban experience, and overcoming obstacles that prevent aspiring city dwellers from living where they want.  He considers the conventional apartment layout to be stale.  Product innovations such as micro-apartments are a key part of the next wave in urbanism.

Topics include:

Why Adam advocates for the liberalization of zoning laws
The debate between absolute private property rights vs. the argument that regulations are necessary to prevent landowners from harming their communities
Zoning laws that contribute to suburban sprawl(ex. parking requirements, limits on density in suburbs, and government subsidies of roads and highways)
Retrofitting Suburbia
How demographic and economic changes are leading to the decline of suburbia
How to attract middle class families back to cities by improving education and increasing housing supply
New Urbanism
How zoning laws can prevent bad developments, but can also lead to increases in costs of living
Whether zoning laws are necessary to preserve the aesthetic and historic character of cities
How original mixed use communities declined due to zoning regulation and the rise of the automobile
Robert Stark’s point that even though he supports historic preservation and wilderness conservation, he acknowledges that many zoning laws have negative affects on cities and encourage sprawl
How the Lack of New Housing On The Westside of LA Is Causing Gentrification Of East And South LA
Height limit restrictions in cities
Minimum lot size requirements, and how they stifle creativity in urbanism
Whether highrises can provide housing for the middle class, and Adam’s point that new highrises are expensive but over time they decline in cost and eases the overall demand for housing
Whether mass transit can function in a free market, and how New York City’s Subway System started out as private, and Tokyo’s Subway System is semi private
Transit-oriented development
Adam’s development of micro apartments and how they can address the housing crisis for young people
How zoning laws make it difficult to create micro apartments
The role that Zoning and Urban planning plays in income inequality

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Transcript of interview:

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