The History of Concrete with John Wilson

October 5, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In the first year of filming his documentary The History of Concrete, John Wilson mostly shot cracked sidewalks. Then he threw that footage out. The problem, he explains, was that a straight documentary about concrete—all the depressing ecological trivia, the crumbling infrastructure—needed a structure to keep both him and the audience from getting lost. So he borrowed the formula of a Hallmark movie. The result is a film that weaves concrete facts between the story of a struggling musician, a man who preserves tattoos, and a group of runners looping the same block for two months. Wilson calls it "putting the vegetables in there right next to the marshmallows."

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What you'll learn

1 (01:42) **Why Concrete?** - John Wilson explains choosing concrete as a massive, foundational subject for his first feature film, inspired by a crack in his house foundation.
2 (02:53) **Embarrassing Ignorance** - Wilson discusses feeling embarrassed by how little he knew about concrete, despite it dominating his visual environment.
3 (03:24) **Funding the Film** - The filmmaker recounts the challenge of getting the documentary financed, including a requirement to include a celebrity musician.
4 (05:03) **Concrete Facts Left Out** - Wilson shares a shocking fact about concrete's sustainability, predicting we can't continue at current intensity for another hundred years.
5 (05:20) **The Sand Shortage** - Wilson details the impending sand crisis, noting heavy usage by China, Japan, and the U.S.
6 (06:45) **Unsustainable Beach Replenishment** - The conversation covers how sand is stolen for beaches, with tourist-heavy beaches being eroded and replenished unsustainably.
7 (07:30) **Roman Concrete's Secret** - Wilson discusses the self-healing properties of ancient Roman concrete, which used volcanic ash.

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Show Notes

John Wilson’s new documentary, “The History of Concrete,” has a subject matter that to most people may seem gray, drab, and boring. The film is anything but. Alongside facts about concrete’s reliance on dwindling sand reserves and New York City’s crumbling infrastructure, there are unexpected tangents. Following the idiosyncratic format of Wilson’s hit HBO show “How To,” he tells the stories of a struggling musician, a man who preserves tattoos, and a group of runners looping the same block for two months.

Ira talks with documentarian John Wilson about the documentary and their shared appreciation of concrete.

Guest:

John Wilson is an NYC-based documentarian best known for his HBO series “How To with John Wilson.”

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