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The John Batchelor Show

S8 Ep357: PREVIEW FOR LATER TODAY: SAN FRANCISCO DOOM LOOP WORSENS Guest: Jeff Bliss Bliss reports on San Francisco's accelerating urban decay as another major mall closes due to rampant drug use and homeless encampments driving away shoppers and retailers. Discuss

The John Batchelor Show

John Batchelor

Society & Culture, Arts, News, Books

4.52.8K Ratings

🗓️ 23 January 2026

⏱️ 2 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary


PREVIEW FOR LATER TODAY: SAN FRANCISCO DOOM LOOP WORSENS Guest: Jeff Bliss Bliss reports on San Francisco's accelerating urban decay as another major mall closes due to rampant drug use and homeless encampments driving away shoppers and retailers. Discussion examines the city's failed policies, business exodus, declining tax revenues, and whether new leadership can reverse the devastating downtown spiral.
1906

Transcript

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0:00.0

Jeff Bliss, his specific watch, reporting on the not happy news from San Francisco,

0:06.0

another mall closing, another darkened rooms. San Francisco was called the doom loop.

0:12.8

That's no longer adequate. There's a new mayor. There's a new spirit of let's try,

0:17.3

let's get this back together, but it's not happening. Maybe they've been overwhelmed by the amount of trouble in the streets.

0:24.6

Maybe the drugs have just dominated the homeless population to the point you cannot confront them.

0:31.7

I don't know.

0:33.3

But monetizing San Francisco is now a high risk of an enterprise.

0:38.5

Here's Jeff to explain.

0:40.4

Well, San Francisco Center Mall, which has been, you know, for decades,

0:44.9

has been this showpiece for the city, a great place for commerce, food.

0:50.2

It's just, it was beautiful.

0:51.8

It has fallen on hard times.

0:53.2

Now, a lot of malls across the country have because they have been managed well or because

0:57.2

of retail trends.

0:59.0

But the San Francisco Center Mall, which it was just a great place to visit.

1:03.5

It was so beautiful.

1:04.3

It was an architectural interior design marvel.

1:07.4

It was just gorgeous.

1:08.7

It's going out of business.

1:10.7

And the last restaurant, you know,

1:13.0

closed up shop this week. And now it's just kind of become a place that's a dead zone. That's a

1:18.5

shortcut to go from, you know, transit to BART trains, which is the trains that go around the Bay

...

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