"America's 50 best cities to live in," reveals USA Today. "These rising U.S. cities could become the top places to live and work from home," reports CNBC. "The best U.S. cities to raise a family," lists MarketWatch.

Over and over again in American media we hear stories centered around ranking, judging and analyzing the rather vague concept of  a city. But who is being discussed when we talk about "cities"? How are "cities" a meaningful unit to understand a given space, especially in a country marked by runaway inequality and segregation?

When we’re told Johns Creek, Georgia, is the best city for "young people," or Carmel, Indiana, is the most "livable," whose lives and experiences are the media really talking about? Who is the audience for these reports about the best cities for families, for nightlife, for safety, for education, for happiness?

The criteria most U.S. corporate media uses centers a very particular constituent: Your average homeowner or prospective homeowner, usually white, upwardly mobile, namely, those who marketers, investors and real estate agents most want to reach.

Cities then, aren't deemed livable for their fair labor practices, but for their business-friendly policies. They're not worth moving to for their abundance of free public space in low-income neighborhoods, but for their charming boutiques and chic restaurants. They don't rank high for their strong rent-control laws, but for their ability to attract tech companies and they capture attention not for their excellent mental-health statistics, but for their "booming economies".

On this episode, we parse the ways in which media coverage of cities and urban living — often crafted by white professional-class writers for white professional-class audiences, and funded by faceless parent companies and corporate advertisers — centers the most powerful while ignoring the needs of the working class, the homeless, people with disabilities, and the vast majority of Black and brown residents.

Our guest is VOCAL-NY's Jawanza James Williams.

Episode 141: How "Most Livable Cities" Lists Center Upwardly Mobile White Professionals

This week we cover Cuomo, climate change, cops, and vaccine mandates

Subscribe to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/trillbillyworkersparty

Episode 211: Leaving Cop City

Matt goes off live on http://www.twitch.tv/chapotraphouse
Topics: Imperial Failure, Misery at the Burger King, Stupid Elites, Fragmentary People

Grill Stream

183 - Friday the 13th: Jason Takes Wellbutrin 08.13.21

Matt goes off live on http://www.twitch.tv/chapotraphouse
Topics: Afghanistan, Systems adapting to ecological shock, Creation of classes, post-class consciousness

184 - Speak, Memory. Listen, Fat. 08.17.21

Matt goes off live on http://www.twitch.tv/chapotraphouse
Topics: pleasure seeking, death, against the black pill, development of civilizations, homeostasis and end of cycles of capitalism, development of working class, Bolsheviks and the fate of the revolution, The Two Pimps

187 - And I Looked as He Ordered the FourthMeal... 09.02.21

Brett & Bryan are taking calls and treading on some patriots.

// Captain America Predicted Coronavirus // Some Shit Seems OK // It Is Bryans Troll // Best Fish Sandwich Ever // Old Guy Solution // Clancy Gets Fancy // This Sucks Too Much // Nope // Spending Money On Money // Mover Receipts // Baby Bit Of LCD // Working At 16 // 

Street Fight Mail - P.O Box 82306 Columbus, OH 43202
Street Fight Radio Call In Show - (614) 655-3887

Captain America Predicted Coronavirus

Matt goes off live on http://www.twitch.tv/chapotraphouse
Topics: Vaccine Mandate, Separating political action from political identity

189 - Vaxx Police 09.10.21

Patrick (@lunch_enjoyer) joins Charles and Alex to watch Barney Goes to Space dubbed in Arabic.

97 - Fortune Kit Goes to Space (ft. Patrick Doran)

Bryan & Brett are back talking on phones and not playing music outside of homes.

// Using The N Word On The Radio // Bryans Not Getting Emotional // It’s Not Bad But It’s 8 Hours // The Loud Music Guy // Appalachian Trail // The Black Widow // What’s Wrong Dude? // Hoping To See A Strike // Selling Drugs On The Appalachian Trail // Stretched Nose //   

Street Fight Mail - P.O Box 82306 Columbus, OH 43202
Street Fight Radio Call In Show - (614) 655-3887

Selling Drugs On The Appalachian Trail

Matt goes off live on http://www.twitch.tv/chapotraphouse

Topics: Chill out, Q&A, Congressional democrat shenanigans, Book club requests

193 - Art of the Meal 10.19.21

With Jacques and Ben back from their Cajun vacation, all four of us finally figure out whether we are "Alpha" (top), "Beta" (bottom) or "Sigma" (vers) podcasters (homos). 

intro/// Macky Feary Band - You're Young (1978)
outro/// Bobby Charles - Big Boys Cry (1965)

Bonus episodes at patreon.com/seekingderangements

184 - Speak, Memory. Listen, Fat. 08.17.21

Grill Stream

Related tracks