Topic: Landmarks

Landmarks including the Santa Monica Pier Ferris Wheel, the Empire State Building, and the Christ the Redeemer statue went dark for one hour to mark Earth Hour 2025. Observers note a perceived decline in local media coverage and public enthusiasm for climate change initiatives in the United States compared to Europe.

Cities around the world participated in "Earth Hour" by turning off lights at major landmarks like the Eiffel Tower to raise climate change awareness. The hosts mock the event as a celebration of "inevitable rolling blackouts" caused by a transition to wind and solar energy.

A former Macy's at Landmark Mall in Virginia has been converted into a homeless shelter, serving as a model for repurposing empty retail spaces. The hosts discuss the "working homeless" phenomenon, where individuals with jobs still cannot afford market-rate rent. They suggest that malls are ideal for conversion into dorm-like affordable housing due to existing plumbing and infrastructure.

A personal anecdote about a Craigslist transaction illustrates how modern society has lost the ability to navigate using landmarks or street names without a phone. This dependency on digital navigators is blamed for a decrease in spatial awareness, as users only focus on the immediate path rather than the broader geography.

Cafe Gratitude, a chain of small restaurants in the Bay Area, is criticized for requiring employees to attend Landmark Forum seminars, a successor to Erhard Seminars Training (EST). Reviews describe an unsettling atmosphere where servers ask customers "questions of the day" and use affirmations for menu items. The business practices are compared to corporate indoctrination or cult-like behavior.

Dvorak proposes visiting the Empress of China, a classic but faded restaurant in San Francisco's Chinatown, for a future review. He describes the venue as a semi-decadent landmark located on the 10th floor of a building overlooking the district. The hosts discuss the merits of reviewing such locations for listeners who frequent the city, contrasting it with the high-end entrepreneurial dinners Dvorak usually attends with figures like Dan Farber.