What is a Good Life?

In this episode of What is a Good Life, host Mark McCartney sits down with Lior Steinberg, a Rotterdam-based urban planner and co-founder of Humankind, a multidisciplinary team working toward urban happiness for all. Lior is also the author of the children's book The Car That Wanted to Be a Bike. Together they unpack why so many cities remain trapped in car-centric design decades after urbanist Jane Jacobs first warned against it.

They talk about the "sidewalk ballet," how children's toys teach us to want cars, the surprising parallel between car culture and cigarette smoking, Barcelona's superblocks, and why trees are the best climate technology we already have. 

This is a thought-provoking conversation on how often change feels impossible until it is here.

For more of Lior Steinberg's work:
Humankind: https://www.humankind.city/
Personal Website: https://steinberg.nu/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liorsteinberg/

For more from Mark McCartney:
Newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/
Website: https://www.mmcleadership.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@whatisagoodlife3875⁩



What is What is a Good Life??

What is a Good Life? is a podcast about the questions that shape our lives: how we live, who we become, and what truly matters. For the past five years, I've asked more than 300 people one deceptively simple question: What is a good life?
There isn't a single answer. Instead, each conversation offers a different way of seeing the world—through stories, ideas, struggles, joys, and moments of hard-earned wisdom. Together, they form a richer picture of what it means to be human.
Whether you're searching for clarity, purpose, or simply a thoughtful conversation, this podcast is an invitation to reflect on your own answer.
New episodes every Tuesday.