Decoder Ring: The Mall is Dead (Long Live the Mall)

I spoke to host Willa Paskin about all things mall. Listen to the end for an amazing Victor Gruen haunting!

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 by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall walks us through the atriums, escalators, and food courts of this singular suburban space. We also hear from mall-goers whose personal experiences help us make sense of this disdained yet beloved, disappearing yet surviving place.