Fast food’s gray boxes: history and causes

Air Date: 12-23-25

Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:

• Ch. 1 - Why everything is so ugly these days

• Ch. 2 - The story of "Millennial Gray" and how our personal spaces are impacted by beauty

• Ch. 3 - How government intervention and regulation does (and could) impact the beauty in our surroundings

• Ch. 4 - How beauty impacts sustainability as well as our very important feelings of belonging

• BACKSTAGE: Beyond the Algorithm: Why people around the globe are unhappy despite increasing wealth and progress

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REFERENCES

Why Do All Fast Food Chains Look Like Boring Gray Boxes Now? - Delish

How Did The World Get So Ugly? (YouTube video) -Sheehan Quirke

Why Millenial's Have No Taste (Youtube video) - Answer in Progress

Trump executive order mandates classical architecture for federal buildings, discourages brutalism - CNN

'We're doing arch': Trump says his plan for DC's answer to the Arc de Triomphe is moving forward - The Independent

Zoning Incentives Mandate Private Developers Create Public Open Space - Sustainability

The Impact of Architectural Guidelines on Shaping Our Cities - Plusurbia

The most sustainable building is one too beautiful to tear down. - Lloyd Alter on Substack

Building, Beauty, and Belonging - The Public Discourse

BACKSTAGE:

The Psychological Reason You Can't Seem to Stay Happy - Very Well Mind

The world has gotten richer — so, why aren't we happier? - Vox

EXTRAS:

"Palaces for the People" by Eric Klinenberg

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Best of the Left #1758 - "Why Dictators Are Lunatics and Their Followers are Fools"

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Produced by:

Jay! Tomlinson

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