Episode 17: America's Housing Crisis: Everyone's Welcome, Just Not Here
Listen on Apple Podcasts * Spotify * Amazon Music
Why are NIMBYs so adamantly against new housing? Are liberals hypocrites on housing? What is a YIMBY? These and other questions are the topics of this episode where we tackle America’s housing crisis. Emily shares what’s wrong with how we build housing with a story from her own street. Trevor shares research into how corporate consolidation has strangled building and turned it into a greed machine, and also explores a strange historical angle: are Americans just not moving anymore, and is that leading to… electing Donald Trump?
From zoning laws to rational choice theory, this wonky episode explores America’s broken housing industry and introduces Trevor to this use of the term “wonky.” There’s some good news to share at the end — even some from Idaho’s legislature.
In today’s Good Take Corner: Why the Pattie Gonia versus Patagonia trademark fight is probably a coin flip, and why playing a lawyer online is probably a dumb idea.
Segments & Timestamps:
0:32 - Welcome & Intro: Liberals Are Hypocrites About Housing
4:36 - How Emily Became a YIMBY
8:01 - NIMBY vs. YIMBY & The Luxury Housing Myth
11:14 - A Brief History of Zoning
19:19 - Corporate Consolidation & Homebuilders
23:46 - The Development at the End of Emily's Street
28:37 - Rational Choice Theory vs. Symbolic Politics Theory
39:11 - The Conservative NIMBY
40:50 - A Challenge to Fellow Liberals
42:09 - Good News: Idaho's 2026 Housing Bills
47:49 - Americans Used to Move
51:39 - Voting by Distance From Home
53:47 - Strangers, Trust & Fear
57:29 - Does Remote Work Explain It?
1:02:53 - Golden Gates & Showing Up for Neighbors You Don't Have Yet
1:04:49 - Good Take Corner: Patagonia vs. Pattie Gonia
1:19:24 - Closing & Credits
Mentioned:
Golden Gates: Fighting for Housing in America by Conor Dougherty
The Atlantic: "Why Americans Stopped Moving"
The New York Times Opinion: "The Anti-Multiresident Housing"
More Perfect Union on homebuilder consolidation
Strong Towns: What’s a STROAD and Why Does it Matter?
The Leftist Lawyer on Threads: Patagonia v. Pattie Gonia
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Produced and Engineered by Ken Wilson | Original Music by Ken Wilson, Trevor Adams, and Robert Lanterman
Website: thenuancehour.com
Instagram: @thenuancehour
Email: thenuancehour@gmail.com
