Finishing La Sagrada Familia, plus why people still love Spam
6/8/202655 min
Against the odds, the exterior of Antoni Gaudi's extraordinary Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona is finished, and Pope Leo will bless the newly completed final tower on the centenary of the famous architect's death. Plus, why Spam is considered a luxury good in Korea and is a beloved staple across Asia and the Pacific. The answer lies with the US military.
Guests:
- Professor Mark Burry, Adjunct Professor at Swinburne University of Technology's School of Design and Architecture, and Senior Faculty member at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia.
- Kelly Spring, food historian, co-presenter of the Hungry Historians podcast and author of ‘SPAM: a global history’ (2025, Reaktion/New South)
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 10:00
[instrumental music] ABC Listen, podcasts, radio, news, music, and more. [instrumental music] The best design, you never notice it. The kettle, the beanbag, the umbrella. They look the way they do because someone somewhere made a decision, and that decision stuck. What does that say about them, and what does it say about us? The objects all around you have a story. Hear them on By Design with me, Anthony Burg. Search By Design on the ABC Listen app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Tracy Holmes· Host0:35
[instrumental music] Welcome to Late Night Live, coming to you from Gadigal Land. I'm Tracy Holmes. Spam, that pink jellied meat in a can, has been around since the 1930s. Born in the US, it was a Depression-era staple. Later, it became an oddly fashionable addition to '50s cocktail parties. By the 1970s, though, it was a gag in a famous Monty Python sketch.
Speaker 3· Soundbite1:21
Spam, bacon, sausage, and spam. Spam, eggs, spam, spam, bacon, and spam. Spam, spam, spam, eggs, and spam. Spam,