MuniciPals - TopPodcast.com

View Top 200 Chart

Back to Rankings Page

MuniciPals — Government
MuniciPals

The intersection of cities and friendship. MuniciPals is a podcast hosted somewhere in the ether between New York and Washington, DC. Every month David, Dylan, and Brit pick a couple of topics to delve into around urban planning, policy, and design. Content Warning: This podcast contains dad jokes and rap air horns. Comments? Hit us up at municipalspodcast@gmail.com

Latest Episodes:

Dylan with his Princeton in Asia co-fellow (center, back) and their China pals learning to play mahjong in Xiangyang, Hubei province, late 2017. — A Note for 2018, and Hopes for 2019 Dec 28, 2018
Show notes

Dylan with his Princeton in Asia co-fellow (center, back) and their China pals learning to play mahjong in Xiangyang, Hubei province, late 2017.

We mentioned in our last episode that the ‘Pals would be going on hiatus in late 2017. Brit, David and Dylan were each in a new phase of life, which made organizing MuniciPals recordings increasingly difficult. Dylan has returned from living in China (see the above) and life has settled into more of a routine for the other MuniciPals, as well.
While we missed you in 2018, we’re hoping to get back to business in 2019, bringing you all the snark and local policy trivia we know you’ve been craving. We’ll keep you posted! Date of next episode TBD.
Happy New Year!

Flood waters remain high in Carolina, Puerto Rico, Sept. 22, 2017, after Hurricane Maria slammed the island. Puerto Rico National Guard photo by Sgt. Jose Ahiram Diaz-Ramos — Episode 09: Puerto Rico Dec 04, 2017
Show notes

Flood waters remain high in Carolina, Puerto Rico, Sept. 22, 2017, after Hurricane Maria slammed the island. Puerto Rico National Guard photo by Sgt. Jose Ahiram Diaz-Ramos

MuniciPals is back after a brief break to discuss the ongoing crisis in Puerto Rico. Brit recently returned from working in San Juan, and shares some perspective on the ongoing natural and unnatural disasters, as well as some thoughts on the local urban form.
Links:
The Right Uses Natural Disasters to Push Through Their Agenda. So Should the Left. - Aman Baneerji and Jeremy Mohler
If We Fail - Christian Parenti
Imagine a Puerto Rico Recovery Designed by Puerto Ricans - Elizabeth Yeampierre and Naomi Klein
Puerto Rico is on Track for Historic Debt Forgiveness - Unless Wall Street Gets Its Way. - Kate Aronoff
Republicans Plan to Turn Puerto Rico into a Theme Park for Fossil Fuel Corporations - Kate Aronoff
David Harvey on the "realization" of capital

Episode 08: Municipal Water -- Guest Carley Przystac Jul 21, 2017

Show notes

Dylan and Brit speak with Carley Przystac on the challenges of municipal water, from Flint and beyond.

Source — Episode 07: The Politics of Airport Placement -- Guest Raynell Cooper Apr 16, 2017
Show notes

Source

Recorded 3/26/2017

Need to take a vacation or see family in another part of the country? We all need airports -- but you wouldn't want one in your backyard, right? So how to metro areas decide where to build an airport, and what happens if they need to upgrade? Or build a new one?
David's friend Raynell joins him on this solo episode to explain the surprisingly complicated politics of airports -- from how Chicago's Midway airport is related to Chicago's public schools, to how a Revolutionary War shipwreck on the Themes could be a stumbling block to a new airport in London.

MuniciPal's own David Meni at Klyde Warren park, a great example of the topic we're covering today. — Episode 06: Highway Capping Mar 13, 2017
Show notes

MuniciPal's own David Meni at Klyde Warren park, a great example of the topic we're covering today.

Recorded 3/5/2017

Ever look at that highway in your home town and wish there were a park there instead? Turns out, cities all over America are doing just that by covering highways in public parks. But do these projects succesfully rejuvenate their communities? Or are they simply applying a band-aid over deeper problems? This episode, David runs us through the idea of highway capping and talks through some examples all over the country, including Boston, Los Angeles, and St. Louis.
Further Reading:
- Atlanta's project "The Stitch"
- Five Cities Turning Ugly Overpasses Into Vibrant Parks
- Work Begins to Put Huge Park on Top of the 101 in Hollywood
- The Case for Removing the 280 Freeway in San Francisco
- Why Would You Have a Highway Run Through a City?
- Case Studies in Urban Freeway Removal (PDF)
- Five Things To Know About The Capitol Crossing Project in DC
- A Plan for the Gateway Arch Leaves a St. Louis Highway in Place. But for How Long?

The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo protest in March 1985 in Buenos Aires. (Courtesy Yahoo News) — Episode 05: Public Spaces and Protest Feb 20, 2017
Show notes

The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo protest in March 1985 in Buenos Aires. (Courtesy Yahoo News)

Recorded February 12th, 2017.
Brit leads a discussion about how public spaces affect the shape and efficacy of protests from the National Mall in Washington D.C. to the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires.
"So Many Protests, So Little Space" - New York Times
The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon - Marx
"Place, space, networks, and the sustainability of collective action: the Madres de Plaza de Mayo" - Fernando J. Bosco
The City as a Work of Art - Donald J. Olsen (for perspectives on Haussmann)
In the episode, Brit mentions a couple times that John Snow "invented data visualization" - this, as you might imagine, is a bit too broad of a statement and not entirely accurate. Data visualization is ancient and we have artifacts of different forms across different eras and geographies. John Snow's cholera map of London was still groundbreaking in its own context, and instrumental in launching the modern practice of data cartography. But it definitely didn't "invent" the practice of documenting information in visual media. Sorry about that.
The whole story fits nicely into the genre of TED Talk-esque pop histories, and recently made the rounds in the book The Ghost Map, by Steven Berlin Johnson.
Outro Music: A cover of Paul McCartney's "Little Willow" by Mike Wilder - Solo folk rock, singer song writing act coming out of New York City in the middle of recording his debut EP.

Deporting all undocumented immigrants would cost a fortune, disrupt lives, and have tangible effects on all of the nations' communities. This will play out on the local level. [Image courtesy this article on the BBC.] — Episode 04: LIVE from DC it's!...Sad Truths About Trump's Deportation Plan. Jan 30, 2017
Show notes

Recorded January 22nd, 2017
The last week has seen, among other things, massive protests, a ban on Muslims coming into the country, and what looks an awful lot like a purge in the State Department. We're only about 10 days into the Trump presidency, but much like the rest of the country, our heads at MuniciPALs are spinning.

Deporting all undocumented immigrants would cost a fortune, disrupt lives, and have tangible effects on all of the nations' communities. This will play out on the local level. [Image courtesy this article on the BBC.]

That's why we sat down to discuss one of President Trump's biggest promises - the mass deportation of illegal immigrants. How would it work? Is there precedent for it? How does the US deport people now? What does it mean for you at the local level? Answers to all these questions and more this episode of MuniciPALs.
Show Notes:
- The Postville Raid
- What is the federal agency ICE?
- What are Sanctuary Cities?
- How minor infractions can get immigrants deported
- Mayor DeBlasio tries to destroy data to protect the undocumented
- Texas Governor Abbot faces off with county Sheriffs of Austin, Dallas, and even State Universities, threatening to pull funding over sanctuary moves.
- A (much clearer) explanation of the difference between Returns & Removals
Outro Music: Mademoiselle by Jacob Sigman - Born and raised in the rust belt, Singer/Songwriter/Multi-Instrumentalist Jacob Sigman combines influences of Motown, Soul, and Contemporary Pop music to create something both new and familiar.

The debate about this development in Monroe Park has raged on in David's neighborhood. — Episode 03: HUD, Ben Carson, and David's NIMBY Plight Jan 20, 2017
Show notes

The debate about this development in Monroe Park has raged on in David's neighborhood.

Recorded Dec. 10th
Brit, Dylan, and David discuss the appointment of Dr. Ben Carson to head the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Listen to them try to come to terms with the fact the Ben Carson has no experience in public housing, and also believes that the Pyramids were built to store grain. Relatedly, David talks about a housing development in his DC neighborhood that puts him at odds with local activists.
Links:
Politico: Trump picks Ben Carson to be HUD secretary
Monroe Park Development: Should it stay or should it go?

Episode 02: Urbanism, technocracy, and populism Jan 07, 2017
Show notes

Recorded Dec. 10th
In Episode 2, Brit, Dylan, and David discuss urbanism in the wake of the November elections, and how it relates to larger discussions of technocracy and populism. Using Randolph Bourne's essay Twilight of Idols as a launching point, the boys consider Jane Jacobs' unique role as both the preeminent visionary and iconoclast in urbanism.
Links:
Twilight of Idols - Randolph Bourne
Bright Lights, Small Government - Max Holleran
A Conference on Cities - Ada Louise Huxtable (no direct link available, but available through the New York Times Archive)

Source: http://www.wnyc.org/story/why-new-jersey-got-billions-less-sandy-aid-new-york/ — Episode 01: Race, Bike Lanes & Sea Level Rise Nov 21, 2016
Show notes

Source: http://www.wnyc.org/story/why-new-jersey-got-billions-less-sandy-aid-new-york/

Recorded October 23rd, 2016
In their inaugural episode, MuniciPALs tackle two issues that are simple on their face, but more multi-faceted the deeper you dig.
David leads a discussion on what protected bike lanes in Washington, D.C. have to do with race & class, Dylan discusses the challenges of mitigating the effects of climate change on cities using his hometown of Boston as an example, and Brit serves as the ever-insightful peanut gallery, with a few tidbits of his own.
Show Notes/Further Reading:
Opening Rant:
Rise of the "Urbanpreneur"
Bike Lanes:
When a Bike Lane Debate Isn't Just About Bicycling
Three Churches Open to Compromise on Shaw Bike Lane
Building Equity: Race, Class, and Protected Bike Lanes
Sea Level Rise:
Boston Canals
Boston's precarious flooding situation
How Boston is preparing for rising seas
Radical Ideas for restructuring Boston
Retrofitting Boston's infrastructure for Sea Rise
We want to hear your thoughts & reactions! Email us at municipalspodcast@gmail.com

Related Podcasts