Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration    On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Joseph and Nathan discuss one of the biggest culprits of car-oriented development in the mid-20th century: malls. The boys begin by surveying several malls in Chicago (900 N. Michigan, The Water Tower Place, Block 37, and Ford City Mall) before delving into the largest malls in the country (Mall of America, American Dream Mall, and King of Prussia Mall). They then discuss a multitude of mall brands, noting the mall goth feedback loop generated by Hot Topic and the toxicity of Bath and Body Works. They conclude by discussing the urbanist critique of malls and what should be done with dying ones.    Links:The Economics and Nostalgia of Dead Malls by Nelson D. SchwartzThe Great American Shopping Mall: Past, Present, and Future by Spencer LiThe Perfectly Optimized Building for Late Capitalism - Stewart HicksOpening of Minnesota's Southdale Center99 Percent Invisible: Meet me by the fountainHow Malls Are Evolving In The U.SWhat Is a Class A Mall?Why Restaurants Have Become So Important To Shopping MallsWater Tower Place ‘Past Its Prime’ As A Mall — But Mag Mile Recovery In Full Swing, Backers Say by Melody MercadoThe Only Thing To Do in a Dying Mall by Edward Robert McClellandWhat is The Metropolitan? What to know about the new urban village in Phoenix by Taylor SeelyMeet the ‘Queen Spinner of Shell Shock,’ a local celebrity at MOA by Nicole KiSpencer’s Gifts existed back in the ‘40s as a mail order catalog that sold donkeysYankee Candles Levels of AbstractionMall Chicken Made Me Feel More American by Su Jit-LinLuxurydeptstore Instagram accountThe Great Places Erased by Suburbia - NotjustbikesWhat We Should (Actually) Do with Dying Malls - Chuck from Strong Towns   Artwork:1990s aerial photo of Glendale Galleria and pre-Americana   Recorded on 6/22/2025