It's a Mall World

Graphene is a super-strong and super-conductive material. Gerry Northam looks at its move from the laboratory to the commercial world. 

The US Federal Reserve, America's central bank, is one hundred years old. Simon Jack tells its surprising story. 

Brazil's anti-slavery hit-squads are unique. Linda Pressly joins a raid with a committed band of labour inspectors on an alleged slave labour operation in deepest rural Brazil. 

<p>While no one is going to malls (or so it seems), everyone seems to be talking about them: the CDC is writing up reports on mall walkers, people are growing beards to get into the mall Santa game, and writers are waxing nostalgic about them. But what exactly were malls intended ... Show More

No teenager in America in the 1980s could avoid the gravitational pull of the mall, not even author Alexandra Lange. In her new book, Meet Me by the Fountain, Lange writes about how malls were conceptually born out of a lack of space for people to convene in American suburbs. Des ... Show More

What do we lose if we lose the mall? 70 years into their existence, these hulking temples to commerce are surprisingly resilient and filled with contradictions. In this episode, Alexandra Lange, the author of the new book Meet Me at the Fountain: an Inside History of the Mall wal ... Show More

This episode, we delve into shopping malls. We discuss our favorite malls, share mall stories from our youth, look at the future of malls, and much, much, more. Podcast produced by Nate & Laura Bargatze Recording & Editing by Genovations Media https://www.natebargatze.com https:/ ... Show More

In the late 1990s, American malls were the place to be. Families from around the world vacationed at the Mall of America. Teens flocked to Britney Spears’ Hair Zone Mall Tour. A nine-year-old Jonathan basked in the fine fragrance mists of Juniper Breeze. Today, there are only aro ... Show More

Retail was struggling. Then came the virus. Recode’s Jason Del Rey explains how the American mall will never be the same, and how the machines might save retail. Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices