Tall Stories 451: Sun Valley Resort ski lift, Idaho

Gregory Scruggs explains the story of an unlikely invention that changed the fortunes of ski towns worldwide.

Can San Francisco turn its downtown around?

We report from San Francisco as Monocle’s Christopher Lord speaks with some of the key players and devotees of the city’s downtown – an area that has most keenly felt the effects of the post-pandemic lull. The city’s mayor…

Tall Stories 450: The Warburg Institute, London

Sarah Grice explores the history and current day offerings of the Warburg Institute Library.

Mipim 2025: meet the mayors

We are on the ground in Cannes for the global urban festival Mipim, where we speak with mayors from around the world who are looking to stoke interest in their cities.

Tall Stories 449: Circo Voador, Rio de Janeiro

Tomas Pinheiro tells us how concert venue Circo Voador became so intertwined with Brazilian music that it was named an intangible cultural heritage site.

The Round megadevelopment in London and air pollution in Bangkok

We explore The Round, a new almost 93,000 sq m landmark development in London, to hear how developers are putting community at its core. Plus: we’re in Bangkok to discover how the city is tackling its suffocating air pol…

Tall Stories 448: Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas

Camille Rodríguez Montilla takes us to Universidad Central de Venezuela to see why it means so much to its students, alumni and the city as a whole.

Revisiting, reviewing and restoring the city

We look back at snapshots of our cities as we speak to the man behind Milan’s Bosco Verticale a decade on from construction, revisit a collection of essays 14 years after they were written while strolling the streets of…

Tall Stories 447: Kennedy Park, Lima

Elna Schutz takes us to a park in Lima best known for its large number of well-cared-for resident cats.

Digital democracy and the new Riyadh Metro

We explore how going digital can contribute to a thriving city democracy and improve other things such as climate resilience and urban loneliness. The CEO of digital community-engagement platform Go Vocal describes its…

Tall Stories 446: Villa Rezek, Vienna

Alexei Korolyov tells us about the refurbishment of one of Vienna’s most important modernist buildings.

Developing London

We take a look at three developments in the UK capital that will be worth a visit in the months to come. From a revitalised piece of industrial history to a colourful waterside park in a grey business district and the big…

Tall Stories 445: Maha Kumbh Mela, Prayagraj

Geetanjali Krishna takes us to a temporary city on the banks of the Ganges river to investigate a large example of temporary urbanism brought about by a Hindu pilgrimage.

Cultural city planning

We explore how keeping culture in mind when planning our cities can have effects beyond just arts-related improvements. The people behind ‘The Routledge Handbook of Urban Cultural Planning’ tell us more. Plus: we visit a…

Tall Stories 444: Sacré-Cœur, Paris

Carla Hyenne describes the history of Paris’s Sacré-Cœur basilica, which holds a history that many of those who visit the monument today might not be familiar with.

Tall Stories 451: Sun Valley Resort ski lift, Idaho

Want more radio episodes like these in your inbox?

The Urbanist - latest episodes