The best of 2025

Monocle’s editor-in-chief Andrew Tuck recalls some of his favourite interviews and reports from the year on ‘The Urbanist’.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We assess how the design of healthcare facilities can improve not just the experience of treatment but also the neighbourhoods in which these centres stand.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gregory Scruggs tells us the tale of the oldest existing synagogue in the United States.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We speak to Jeremy Till and Tatjana Schneider – two of the authors behind ‘Architecture is Climate’ – a new book rethinking the industry and its foundations in an age of ecological crisis.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alexei Korolyov visits an air-raid bunker that has laid empty for decades but is now being brought back to life through art.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We report from MIPIM Asia in Hong Kong, where delegates from across the APAC region and beyond discussed solutions to meet the rapid pace of urbanisation. Plus: a city reeling from a devastating fire in Tai Po.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Paul Logothetis takes us to an iconic feature of Athens’ urban fabric – covered walkways offering much needed shade and a space for socialising.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

JLL’s Sue Asprey Price joins us to discuss the findings from the Workforce Preference Barometer 2025. Then Charlotte McDonald-Gibson reports on the challenges of training for combat in urban environments.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jessica Bridger marvels at the tallest dam in Europe, which was constructed in the 1950s and supplies about 20 per cent of Switzerland’s stored energy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We speak to South Korean artist Jinjoon Lee about how his country interacts with public art, Inzamam Rashid visits an acclaimed installation from Dubai Design Week and we meet new Riba president Chris Williamson.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.