One of Justin Davidson's first gigs as New York Magazine's architecture critic was covering the development of the 9/11 memorial — an incredibly complex and controversial project that shaped the city's future. The experience influenced the way he thinks about the role of architecture and urbanism in the ways we process our societal traumas. We talk to Justin about the role of the architecture critics, the 21st century task of creating memorials to shame, and why it's too soon to truly memorialize Covid. And then, for fun, we put him in the urbanist hot seat for questions ranging from: "how do we fix housing" to "who should we vote for mayor of New York?"

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On the agenda:

* -Cities, journalisming, and national tragedies

* -What do critics critique? (And why scale matters!)

* -9/11 and the premature monument

* -How will we remember COVID19?

* -Who do monuments serve?

* -Why NY sucks (aka Adaam’s favorite diatribe)

* -Is there anybody out there (among NYC mayoral candidates)?

Uncertain Things is hosted and produced by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk. For more doomsday ruminations, subscribe to: uncertain.substack.com.

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Episode 001: Let the Insanity Begin