In this episode, I spoke with Professor Christopher Cowton, an expert in business ethics and co-author of a powerful paper on hypocrisy. Joining us from London, he helps unpack the moral tension at the heart of NIMBYism—when people who support progressive values push back on new housing in their own neighborhoods.

Is it hypocrisy? Fear? Or something deeper? And how can philosophy help us talk about housing more honestly—and more possibly more productively?

In this episode, I spoke with the Honorable Judge Joe Small, retired presiding judge of the Tax Court of New Jersey. Judge Small breaks down how our property tax system, rooted in 1940s constitutional language, affects everything from starter home construction to school funding, and why it’s often lower- and middle-income families who end up footing the bill.

We talk about what's broken, what could be fixed, and why some reforms are harder than they should be.

In this episode, I spoke with Commissioner Jacquelyn Suárez of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA). As one of the state’s largest departments, DCA is on a mission to support residents, local governments, businesses, and community organizations through financial assistance, technical expertise, and smart policy—helping improve quality of life across New Jersey.

I’ve personally benefited from DCA’s technical services, so it was especially exciting to hear about the innovative and ongoing programs that are saving taxpayers money and expanding access to homeownership in our state.

Here are the links to the programs we talked about:

• NJHOMES: https://www.nj.gov/dca/dhcr/offices/njhomes.shtml
• Section 8 Homeownership Program: https://www.nj.gov/dca/dhcr/offices/section8ho.shtml
• Family Self Sufficiency: https://www.nj.gov/dca/dhcr/offices/fss.shtml
• Affordable Housing Trust Fund: https://www.nj.gov/dca/dhcr/offices/ahtf.shtml

In this episode, I spoke with Skip Schenker, who’s helping people turn fixer-uppers into dream homes by creating tools that simplify financing based on after-renovation value.

Financing problems are a huge part of why starter homes are so rare—and Skip and his collaborators at Ready4Remodel.com and Renofi are working to change that.

In this episode, I spoke with someone who’s actually seen starter homes for sale—Kol Peterson, an author, educator, and housing advocate based in Portland, Oregon.

Thanks to Kol’s efforts, and the work of many other incredible advocates, Portland is seeing real change and real results. It’s a true success story we can all admire—and learn from.

Lots of people have asked us: Why is it so expensive to build starter homes?

In the final episode of our mini-series featuring conversations with brilliant millennials, I spoke with Shane Phillips, author of The Affordable City: Strategies for Putting Housing Within Reach (and Keeping it There).

We dug into what’s broken in the housing ladder—and what kinds of housing policy could help fix it.