EPISODE · Jul 3, 2026 · 16 MIN
NEOM City: How Saudi Arabia is Building a $1 Trillion Desert Metropolis
from Elsewhere · host Tyler Cooper
Saudi Arabia just broke ground on the most expensive construction project in human history: a $1 trillion desert city that's literally reshaping an entire region. Tyla Cooper breaks down how NEOM is displacing ancient Bedouin communities while promising to house 9 million people in a structure taller than the Empire State Building. 🎯 What You'll Learn: • Why Saudi Arabia chose to relocate 20,000 tribal members for a city that might never be finished • How The Line's 170-kilometer mirror wall could create an ecological disaster (or miracle) • What this $500 billion gamble reveals about Saudi Arabia's desperate race against oil dependency • The real reason Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is betting the kingdom's future on sci-fi architecture 👤 Perfect for: anyone trying to understand how money and power reshape entire societies, and why the world's most ambitious construction projects often come with the highest human costs. 📍 Chapters: [00:00] Tyla Cooper introduces Saudi Arabia's trillion-dollar desert gamble [02:15] The Howeitat tribe's forced relocation and centuries-old land rights [04:30] Inside The Line: 500 meters tall, 200 meters wide, completely insane [07:45] Why NEOM covers more land than Israel and what that means for regional power [10:30] The ecological and economic reality check nobody's talking about [13:00] What happens if the world's most expensive city becomes a ghost town This isn't just about one massive construction project. It's about what happens when unlimited money meets unlimited ambition in a place where saying no to the Crown Prince isn't really an option. 🔔 Never miss an episode: Follow Elsewhere on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and turn on notifications. New episodes drop daily, your next favorite insight is one tap away. 🔍 Topics: NEOM city, Saudi Arabia construction, desert megacity, oil dependency, tribal displacement ------- Keywords: international news, global politics, world politics, foreign policy, world events explained, global perspective Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What this episode covers
Saudi Arabia just broke ground on the most expensive construction project in human history: a $1 trillion desert city that's literally reshaping an entire region. Tyla Cooper breaks down how NEOM is displacing ancient Bedouin communities while promising to house 9 million people in a structure taller than the Empire State Building. 🎯 What You'll Learn: • Why Saudi Arabia chose to relocate 20,000 tribal members for a city that might never be finished • How The Line's 170-kilometer mirror wall could create an ecological disaster (or miracle) • What this $500 billion gamble reveals about Saudi Arabia's desperate race against oil dependency • The real reason Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is betting the kingdom's future on sci-fi architecture 👤 Perfect for: anyone trying to understand how money and power reshape entire societies, and why the world's most ambitious construction projects often come with the highest human costs. 📍 Chapters: [00:00] Tyla Cooper introduces Saudi Arabia's trillion-dollar desert gamble [02:15] The Howeitat tribe's forced relocation and centuries-old land rights [04:30] Inside The Line: 500 meters tall, 200 meters wide, completely insane [07:45] Why NEOM covers more land than Israel and what that means for regional power [10:30] The ecological and economic reality check nobody's talking about [13:00] What happens if the world's most expensive city becomes a ghost town This isn't just about one massive construction project. It's about what happens when unlimited money meets unlimited ambition in a place where saying no to the Crown Prince isn't really an option. 🔔 Never miss an episode: Follow Elsewhere on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and turn on notifications. New episodes drop daily, your next favorite insight is one tap away. 🔍 Topics: NEOM city, Saudi Arabia construction, desert megacity, oil dependency, tribal displacement ------- Keywords: international news, global politics, world politics, foreign policy, world events explained, global perspective Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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NEOM City: How Saudi Arabia is Building a $1 Trillion Desert Metropolis
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