2026-07-06
19 分钟Hi everyone, Gideon here.
Our team is off today for the July 4th holiday weekend.
But we’re bringing you something special in place of our usual daily show—
a narrated article from Popular Mechanics that we’re making free for everyone.
It examines why thousands of cities across the country are shrinking
and what ghost towns of the past can teach us
about what happens when thriving places start to fall silent.
We’ll be back with the news tomorrow.
America could be headed toward a future of ghost towns.
Research suggests that nearly half of US cities may shrink this century.
History offers clues to how once-thriving places just disappear.
Written by Elizabeth Rayne for Popular Mechanics.
Narrated by Kyla Garcia for Apple News+ subscribers.
Ghost towns often conjure visions of tumbleweeds blowing in the desert
through what were once mining villages or trading outposts,
but now contain little more than the skeletons of saloons, shops,
houses, and other buildings being reclaimed by the barren earth.
Shelves are shrouded in dust.
Doors creak on rusted hinges.
Many of the Gold Rush Phantoms that used to bustle with commerce and commotion