Shows
The ArgumentStop Letting Instagram Explain Your Love Life -- The Science of AttractionAre men naturally promiscuous and drawn to younger women? Are women obsessed with tall, older, rich men? Dating discourse is littered with pop evolutionary psychology that makes broad claims about how men and women are under a thin veneer of scientific credibility. But how much of it is backed by real science?In this episode of The Argument, host Jerusalem Demsas interviews UC Davis psychology professor Paul Eastwick about his new book, Bonded by Evolution: The New Science of Love and Connection. Eastwick breaks down some of the memes and myths about what evolutionary psychology really says...
2026-02-231h 00
The ArgumentThe Scientific Method Comes for Criminal JusticeEconomists love to say there are no free lunches. Jennifer Doleac thinks criminal justice is one of the rare places where that’s wrong.In this episode, host and Editor of The Argument, Jerusalem Demsas talks with Doleac—economist and author of The Science of Second Chances—about what happens when you treat crime policy like an empirical problem instead of a morality play. Rejecting the false choice of being "tough on crime" or "soft on crime," Doleac surfaces a surprising number of reforms that can reduce crime and make the system more fair.The A...
2026-02-171h 09
Pitchfork Economics with Nick HanauerLIVE FROM DC: Abundance and Social Democracy: Enemies or Allies?Can we build an economy that delivers abundance without abandoning democratic accountability and economic equity?
Recorded live at Democracy Journal’s “Can’t We All Just Get Along?” conference, this episode features a wide-ranging panel discussion on one of the most consequential debates shaping today’s political economy: whether abundance and social democracy are in tension—or whether they’re mutually reinforcing.
Moderated by Ed Luce of the Financial Times, the panel brings together Baillee Brown (Inclusive Abundance), Jerusalem Demsas (The Argument), Mike Konczal (Economic Security Project), and Sandeep Vaheesan (Open Markets Institute) to wrestle with what it a...
2026-02-1057 min
The ArgumentRoss Douthat on the End of ConservatismTrump didn’t just reshape the GOP—he may have ended what we used to call “the conservative movement.” New York Times columnist Ross Douthat joins host Jerusalem Demsas to map the new right: the collapse of fusionism, the rise of nationalism, and a media ecosystem where influencers matter more than institutions.Then they argue about what liberalism can and can’t solve. Can abundance and faster growth stabilize democracy, or are the deeper crises cultural, spiritual, and demographic in ways GDP can’t fix? The Argument is a podcast dedicated to honest, unf...
2026-02-091h 07
The ArgumentDid the Opioid Epidemic Help Republicans Win?Over less than 25 years, the opioid epidemic killed over 800,000 Americans. These deaths and the resulting economic and political ramifications were unequally distributed across the country. Some places were ravaged, others barely noticed what was happening. In this episode, host Jerusalem Demsas is joined by economist Carolina Arteaga to unpack new research linking the opioid crisis to increasing vote share for the Republican party. They dig into how a public-health catastrophe came to be a law and order issue, how conservative-leaning media covered the crisis differently, and how much of the shift can really be chalked up to p...
2026-02-021h 06
The ArgumentAre Children People?Children are a problem for liberalism -- and it’s one you can see in everything from school-board wars to fights over “indoctrination.” If all individuals are free and equal, endowed with rights by their Creator, then does that include children? Kids are fully human, yes, but they’re also dependent, impulsive, and not yet capable of adult autonomy. So when do rights actually kick in?Rita Koganzon, a political theory professor at UNC Chapel Hill, has a blunt answer: adult-style rights have to start at a fixed age, and before that, children don’t really have any rights...
2026-01-261h 13
AI Article ReadingsWhat if Ozempic doesn't fix literally everything? - By Jerusalem DemsasAI reading of What if Ozempic doesn’t fix literally everything? - By Jerusalem Demsas.* 00:00 - Introduction* 04:57 - The GLP-1 revolution is not a miracle. It’s a helper* 09:13 - OK OK but… do GLP-1s make you want to kill yourself?* 11:39 - Life is hard for thin people, toohttps://open.substack.com/pub/theargument/p/what-if-ozempic-doesnt-fix-literally?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askwhocastsai.substa...
2026-01-2312 min
The ArgumentWhy NIMBYs Oppose Housing (with Chris Elmendorf)NIMBYism is usually explained as selfishness: homeowners protecting property values, or neighbors who just hate change. But a growing body of research suggests something simpler and harder to argue with: aesthetics.What if people oppose new housing not only because of who might move in or what it might do to traffic, but because the building just looks “wrong”?In this episode, Jerusalem Demsas talks with UC Davis law professor Chris Elmendorf about new experiments that test what actually moves support for apartment buildings—design, context, symbolic cues like “luxury,” and even whether an architect is describ...
2026-01-191h 07
The ArgumentMatthew Yglesias on What Went Wrong with Modern Liberalism? If we want to address racism, should we talk more about race – or less?Matthew Yglesias argues liberals undermined their own principles when politics shifted from judging people as individuals to sorting them into moral categories based on group identity. We debate “the fox in liberalism’s henhouse,” collective blame, and why “accurate” generalizations can still poison a pluralistic society.The Argument is a podcast dedicated to honest, unflinching debate about the biggest questions facing democracy, culture, and our future. As the host, Editor-in-Chief Jerusalem Demsas brings together voices across the political spectrum to argue, challenge, an...
2026-01-121h 23
The ArgumentWe're Getting Frog-Boiled by AI (with Kelsey Piper)A lot of Americans are uneasy about AI, and so are many of the people building it. Yet we keep scaling and deploying these systems faster than we’re building rules to govern them. Why? The Argument's Kelsey Piper has a few explanations, from foreign competition to a sense of inevitability to a conservative party terrified of regulation. Even if the incentives are clear, our collective complacency is not, especially given AI models have already attempted blackmail and in one case attempted to smuggle itself to North Korea. Kelsey and host Jerusalem Demsas discuss why guard...
2026-01-061h 08
The ArgumentBest Of: Liberalism Under Pressure w/ Ezra Klein, Matt Yglesias, & Derek ThompsonAt the end of the year, I wanted to revisit our very first podcast conversation with some of my favorite liberal journalists. In our very first live show in Washington, D.C., Derek Thompson, Ezra Klein, and Matt Yglesias joined me for a disagreement-ridden conversation to tape the first episode of our new video podcast, The Argument.We talk about why Matt spends so much of his time arguing with the left, whether Ezra thinks it matters “who shot first” as the right ramps up its attacks, why Derek picked a fight with the New Antitr...
2025-12-291h 34
The ArgumentHow Liberal Elite Failure Fueled Far-Right PopulismWhy is far-right populism on the rise? Political scientist Gabriele Gratton has a controversial theory: For decades, technocrats moved policy decisions — on austerity, climate, and more – away from the realm of mass politics and toward independent authorities, courts, and experts. The result? A populist backlash fueled by the desire to reassert control over policy.In Gratton's telling, the populist backlash isn't irrational; it's a democratic response to elite failure. But his prescription isn't to abandon liberalism. This conversation explores how we got here and whether liberal democracy can course-correct before it's too late.The Argument is a...
2025-12-221h 18
The ArgumentAmerica’s Reading Crisis: What Mississippi Got RightAmerica's literacy problem is a policy choice. As schools shifted away from phonics toward guessing-based instruction, a generation of kids paid the price. But a quiet reversal is underway in an unexpected place. Mississippi rebuilt reading instruction from the ground up and saw real gains. If it worked there, why are other states so resistant to copying it?The Argument is a podcast dedicated to honest, unflinching debate about the biggest questions facing democracy, culture, and our future. As the host, Jerusalem Demsas brings together voices across the political spectrum to argue, challenge, and persuade. Each episode...
2025-12-151h 22
The ArgumentWhy We Feel Screwed: Immigration, Growth, and the Zero-Sum MindsetWhy do so many people believe immigrants are screwing them even when the evidence says otherwise? Economist Sahil Chinoy joins host Jerusalem Demsas to break down his massive 20,000-person study on zero-sum thinking — the worldview that assumes someone else’s gain must be your loss. They dig into how family histories of enslavement and immigration shape attitudes today, why young Americans are so much more zero-sum than older generations, and how economic stagnation fuels a sense of scarcity. They also explore why some policy fights (housing, redistribution, trade) trigger zero-sum instincts more than others, and what can actua...
2025-12-0851 min
Talking FedsCan a New Kind Of Liberalism Take Hold?Harry talks with journalist Jerusalem Demsas about her case for a robust, combative liberalism capable of taking the fight to the current political power structure. Demsas has just launched a new publication—The Argument—dedicated to renewing and improving the kind of politics that helped fostered many of the country's best achievements. Harry asks Demsas about the shape of that revived liberalism, how she plans to persuade MAGA and other skeptics, and why she feels so optimistic in such a difficult time Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
2025-12-0430 min
The ArgumentIs Inequality the Problem?Rising income inequality hurts democracy, health, happiness, and basically anything you can think of … right? Sociologist Lane Kenworthy doesn't think so. In his new book Is Inequality The Problem? Kenworthy argued that inequality is overrated as “the” cause of our problems — and discussed why the data pushes him toward a different set of priorities. Host Jerusalem Demsas is skeptical. Together, they dig into happiness, health, and populism, and they discuss why expanding the social welfare state might matter more than obsessing over the 1%.The Argument is a podcast dedicated to honest, unflinching debate about the biggest q...
2025-12-0156 min
The ArgumentThe Climate Movement’s Biggest Miscalculation (with Robinson Meyer)Climate activists spent a decade arguing that if Democrats passed a huge climate bill, created green jobs, and centered “climate justice,” voters—especially the young—would reward them.They got their bill: the Inflation Reduction Act, the biggest climate law in U.S. history. Then youth support for Democrats, Republicans tore key pieces out all while red states took the money and blue states made it almost impossible to build wind, solar, or transmission.In this episode, Jerusalem Demsas talks with Rob Meyer, founding editor of Heatmap News, about what the last few years have revealed...
2025-11-241h 17
The ArgumentHow Silicon Valley Became MAGA-CuriousSilicon Valley’s sharp right turn didn’t come out of nowhere. Former tech worker and current tech writer Jasmine Sun walks us through how a once-solidly liberal sector became MAGA-curious. We talk about:The rise of “effective accelerationism” (E/acc)Why parts of the tech elite feel betrayed by the Biden administrationHow backlash to regulation, internal employee revolts, crypto crackdowns, and AI safety debates pushed founders toward Trumpworld Sun maps the ideological split between the engineers who see themselves as the last “live players” in American so...
2025-11-171h 10
Digging a Hole: The Legal Theory PodcastJerusalem DemsasIt’s been quite an eventful month, dear listeners. After a few flight cancellations, Democrats decided it was time to finally reopen the government. The House released a cache of Epstein files that name President Trump. And Zohran Mamdani has officially been named king of New York. In these turbulent times, we’re lucky to be joined by Jerusalem Demsas—journalist, grade A pundit, and Editor & CEO at The Argument magazine—who is here to talk Mamdani, liberalism, and much more.The episode begins with reflections from Demsas and David about what Mamdani’s election means for New York...
2025-11-141h 10
The ArgumentArguing the Politics of Climate with Bill McKibbenWhat if climate policy can’t survive voters, courts, and NIMBYs?Bill McKibben is a pioneering climate writer and activist whose books and campaigns helped mainstream the case for rapidly replacing fossil fuels with clean energy. On today's episode, McKibben and host, Jerusalem Demsas, argue about the politics and economics of climate and discuss his new book Here Comes The Sun.McKibben's case: sun, wind, and batteries are now the cheapest new power on earth and China is sprinting ahead while America stalls. But Demsas is skeptical about McKibben's political strategy, particularly when it comes to...
2025-11-101h 17
The ArgumentWhy Free Speech Is Losing on the Left and the RightWhy is free speech losing ground? From crackdowns on immigrants, protesters, and law firms to campus speech codes, social-media “jawboning,” and government pressure – we're witnessing the erosion of the free speech culture that once defined American democracy.Greg Lukianoff is the president of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a free speech organization. In this episode, he and Jerusalem discuss why defending free speech always means defending the unpopular, how bureaucratic cowardice and partisan outrage feed each other, and what a real revival of liberal tolerance would look like. The Argument is a podcast...
2025-11-031h 15
The ArgumentTrump's Tariffs, ExplainedEconomics writer Joey Politano joins host Jerusalem Demsas to explain the great tariff comeback story. From bananas and coffee to washing machines and Christmas ornaments, Trump’s new trade war is making life more expensive – but why? They unpack how tariffs actually work, why Trump’s obsession with them never went away, and what it says about America’s growing economic nationalism. Plus: why are politicians obsessed with reviving a 1950s manufacturing economy and can tariffs even make that happen?The Argument is a podcast dedicated to honest, unflinching debate about the biggest questions facing democracy...
2025-10-271h 35
The ArgumentThe Battle to Rewrite COVID-19Was everything we did during COVID-19 a mistake — or are critics rewriting history? In this episode, Jerusalem Demsas talked with The Atlantic's Roge Karma about his reporting on “COVID revisionism,” which is gaining popularity across the political spectrum. The belief posits that not only were lockdowns, masking, and other public-health measures ineffective, but officials knew they wouldn’t work. Together, they traced how early uncertainty, mixed messaging, and political polarization created today’s crisis of trust in public health. They debated what the data actually showed about nonpharmaceutical interventions, how institutions weighed (or ignored) trade-offs, and what lessons we...
2025-10-201h 29The ArgumentRFK, Tylenol, and America’s Autism PanicLast week, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. the Trump administration's Health Secretary, outdid himself. During a Thursday Cabinet meeting, he alleged that "children who are circumcised early have double the rate of autism." This is part of Kennedy's ongoing quest to link Tylenol use in pregnancy to autism, a theory he previewed in September alongside the president. My guest today is worried about RFK Jr. Not just because some pregnant women may refrain from taking Tylenol unnecessarily, but because liberals seem to be missing what a dangerous political animal he really is. "As with Trump, liberals ha...
2025-10-131h 28
The ArgumentWhy even (some) liberals are worrying about the debtThe day-to-day chaos of the Trump administration can make it easy to ignore slow-moving threats on the horizon — like the $37 trillion national debt. How can you pay attention to a crisis building months or years away when every morning brings reports of basic freedoms being stripped away?In this episode of The Argument, host Jerusalem Demsas interviews economics journalist Jordan Weissmann about the U.S. debt crisis, whether Jordan's advancing age has anything to do with his sudden concern about the national debt, and how expanding social welfare programs may rest on taking the national de...
2025-10-061h 06
The ArgumentLiberalism Under Pressure w/ Ezra Klein, Matt Yglesias, & Derek ThompsonIn our very first live show in Washington, D.C., Derek Thompson, Ezra Klein, and Matt Yglesias joined host Jerusalem Demsas for a disagreement-ridden conversation to tape the first episode of our new video podcast The Argument.We talk about why Matt spends so much of his time arguing with the left, whether Ezra thinks it matters “who shot first” as the right ramps up its attacks, why Derek picked a fight with the New Antitrust Movement, and much, much more.The Argument is a podcast dedicated to honest, unflinching debate about the biggest questions faci...
2025-09-291h 34
The ArgumentWelcome to The ArgumentWe’re in the age of attention. Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are trying to remake America into a poorer, more dangerous and less free version of itself. Liberals have to fight back.Enter The Argument.We are a new media company with a mission to revitalize liberalism. We’re going to argue about AI and education, NIMBYs and affordable housing, and present our own issue polling on the biggest questions of the day.Join us. We’re libbing out.Get full access to The Argument at www.thearg...
2025-09-2504 min
The Bulwark PodcastGarry Kasparov and Jerusalem Demsas: Democracy Can't Defend ItselfWhile Trump keeps working hard on his own monetization and glorification—and delivers a Watergate practically every hour—the pro-democracy coalition must stay focused on winning next year's midterm elections. Trump is at the point of no return, Congress is becoming the only institution that can stop him, and holding onto that lever of power is his top priority. Meanwhile, not only did Trump look weak in Alaska, he also looked unpresidential. Plus, a new publication focused on the threats from the post-liberal right and left.Jerusalem Demsas and Garry Kasparov join Tim Miller.show notes
2025-08-211h 11
The Podcast BrowserIs Too Much Local Democracy to Blame for the Housing Crisis? Podcast: KQED's Forum (LS 53 · TOP 0.5% what is this?)Episode: Is Too Much Local Democracy to Blame for the Housing Crisis?Pub date: 2024-09-16Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationMost Americans are now acutely aware that we have a housing crisis, but Atlantic writer Jerusalem Demsas says that we have much less clarity about what’s causing it. “All too often,” she writes, “explanations center around identifying a villain: greedy developers, or private equity companies, or racist neighbors, or gentrifiers, or corrupt politicians.” All which may be...
2025-07-0255 min
Audible BleedingSVS Meet the Secretary CandidatesIn this episode, Audible Bleeding Editors Sasank Kalipatnapu (@ksasank), Falen Demsas sit down with Dr. Rabih Chaer (@rchaer2), Dr. Michael Conte(@MichaelSConteMD), Dr. Sherene Shalhub and Dr. Malachi Sheahan III, the four SVS secretary candidates for this year to learn more about them as part of the ongoing election process. Show links: SVS 2025 Meet the Secretary Candidates—Home Page—provides a comprehensive overview of all the candidates. Their professional biographies and answers to questions about their plans for the future are available in both text and video formats. Show Guests...
2025-06-011h 07
Berkeley TalksIn 1970, one in five Americans moved every year. Now it’s one in 13. What changed?In Berkeley Talks episode 225, The Atlantic journalists Yoni Appelbaum and Jerusalem Demsas discuss the decline of housing mobility in the United States and its impact on economic opportunity in the country. Appelbaum, author of the 2025 book Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity, began by tracing the history of housing mobility in the U.S. and its rapid decline in recent decades. He noted that in the 19th century, one out of three Americans moved to a new residence every year, and as late as 1970, one in five did. Today, only o...
2025-05-021h 32
Sixth & I LIVEEzra Klein and Derek Thompson with Jerusalem DemsasIn Abundance, journalists Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson explain how one generation's solutions have become the next generation's problems and offer a call to rethink big, entrenched problems that seem mired in systemic scarcity, from climate change and housing to education and healthcare. In conversation with Jerusalem Demsas, a staff writer at The Atlantic, host of their policy podcast "Good on Paper," and the author of On the Housing Crisis. This program was held on March 20, 2025 in partnership with The Atlantic.
2025-04-151h 30
Reasonably OptimisticBig houses, small houses, we just need (a lot) more housesThere’s a housing crisis in America: high interest rates, not enough homes, and regulations that seem to favor building massive “McMansions” instead of more diverse housing stock. How did we get here, and can we find our way out? Post columnist Heather Long talks to the Atlantic’s Jerusalem Demsas, who’s written a book on the housing crisis, and Bryan DeHenau, a Michigan roofer who sees the struggles in the building industry on the ground every day.Additional Reading:Heather Long and Amanda Shendruk: “The new American Dream should be a townhouse”...
2025-01-0727 min
Factually! with Adam ConoverWho Caused the Housing Crisis with Jerusalem DemsasAmerica is in the middle of a massive housing crisis, with a shortage of 4 to 7 million homes compared to the demand. The solution seems simple—just build more homes—but getting there is a lot trickier than it sounds. This week, Adam sits down with journalist Jerusalem Demsas, author of On the Housing Crisis: Land, Development, Democracy, to break down the real reasons behind the housing shortage and explore what we can actually do to get more people into homes. Find Jerusalem's book at factuallypod.com/booksSUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patr...
2024-09-181h 23
KQED's ForumIs Too Much Local Democracy to Blame for the Housing Crisis?Most Americans are now acutely aware that we have a housing crisis, but Atlantic writer Jerusalem Demsas says that we have much less clarity about what’s causing it. “All too often,” she writes, “explanations center around identifying a villain: greedy developers, or private equity companies, or racist neighbors, or gentrifiers, or corrupt politicians.” All which may be true, she says, but they fail to identify the root cause, that housing decisions are made at the hyper local level, in a tangle of zoning boards, historical preservation committees and sparsely attended meetings, “where no one is watching and no one is accou...
2024-09-1757 min
Keen On AmericaEpisode 2188: Build Baby Build - Jerusalem Demsas on how America can fix its housing crisisAt the debate last night, Kamala Harris opened her remarks by talking about the need for America to fix its housing crisis. And crisis it is, at least according to Jerusalem Demsas, a staff writer at The Atlantic who has written extensively on the increasing scarcity and rising cost of American housing. In her new collection of essays, On the Housing Crisis, Demsas suggests that the best way to confront this crisis is to aggressively construct new housing. Build Baby Build, in other words. And, for Demsas at least, the sooner the better.
2024-09-1245 min
Pantsuit PoliticsHousing in America with Jerusalem DemsasThere's a lot going on this week. Sarah and Beth discuss several of the big stories. Then, we break down one of the most complex, important issues in America: housing. Jerusalem Demsas of The Atlantic joins us for a great conversation. TOPICS DISCUSSED Louisiana’s 10 Commandments Law The Supreme Court on Guns and Domestic Violence Housing in America with Jerusalem Demsas Outside of Politics: Travis Kelce on Stage with Taylor Swift at the Eras Tour Visit our website for complete show notes and episode resources.See omnystudio.com/listener for...
2024-06-251h 12Pantsuit PoliticsHousing in America with Jerusalem DemsasThere's a lot going on this week. Sarah and Beth discuss several of the big stories. Then, we break down one of the most complex, important issues in America: housing. Jerusalem Demsas of The Atlantic joins us for a great conversation. TOPICS DISCUSSED Louisiana’s 10 Commandments Law The Supreme Court on Guns and Domestic Violence Housing in America with Jerusalem Demsas Outside of Politics: Travis Kelce on Stage with Taylor Swift at the Eras Tour Visit our website for complete show notes and episode resources.See omnystudio.com/listener for...
2024-06-251h 12
Plain English with Derek ThompsonThe News Media’s Dangerous Addiction to ‘Fake Facts’What do most people not understand about the news media? I would say two things. First: The most important bias in news media is not left or right. It’s a bias toward negativity and catastrophe. Second: That while it would be convenient to blame the news media exclusively for this bad-news bias, the truth is that the audience is just about equally to blame. The news has never had better tools for understanding exactly what gets people to click on stories. That means what people see in the news is more responsive than ever to aggregate audience behavior. If...
2024-06-0747 min
The Ezra Klein ShowA $1.7 Million Toilet and Liberalism's Failure to BuildThere is so much we need to build right now. The housing crunch has spread across the country; by one estimate, we’re a few million units short. And we also need a huge build-out of renewable energy infrastructure — at a scale some experts compare to the construction of the Interstate highway system.And yet, we’re not seeing anything close to the level of building that we need — even in the blue states and cities where housing tends to be more expensive and where politicians and voters purport to care about climate change and affordable housing.Jer...
2024-04-1649 min
Conversations with TylerJerusalem Demsas on The Dispossessed, Gulliver's Travels, and Of Boys and MenIn this special episode, Tyler sat down with Jerusalem Demsas, staff writer at The Atlantic, to discuss three books: The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin, Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, and Of Boys and Men by Richard V. Reeves. Spanning centuries and genres and yet provoking similar questions, these books prompted Tyler and Jerusalem to wrestle with enduring questions about human nature, gender dynamics, the purpose of travel, and moral progress, including debating whether Le Guin prefers the anarchist utopia she depicts, dissecting Swift's stance on science and slavery, questioning if travel makes us happier or...
2023-09-061h 03
Death, Sex & MoneyWhy Ezra Klein Thinks “We're Living Through A Mistake”The New York Times journalist talks about the difficulties of early parenthood, the lure of communal living, and why he loves Burning Man.Want more from Ezra on the topics in today’s episode? We recommend the following: This episode of The Ezra Klein Show with scholar Kristen Ghodsee on communes and intentional communities (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/09/opinion/ezra-klein-kristen-ghodsee.html), a conversation The Atlantic’s Jerusalem Demsas about homelessness and the origins of our current housing crisis (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/18/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-jerusalem-demsas.html), an interview with writer Sheila Liming on loneliness in America (https...
2023-08-3039 min
Death, Sex & MoneyWhy Ezra Klein Thinks “We're Living Through A Mistake”The New York Times journalist talks about the difficulties of early parenthood, the lure of communal living, and why he loves Burning Man.
Want more from Ezra on the topics in today’s episode? We recommend the following:
This episode of The Ezra Klein Show with scholar Kristen Ghodsee on communes and intentional communities (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/09/opinion/ezra-klein-kristen-ghodsee.html), a conversation The Atlantic’s Jerusalem Demsas about homelessness and the origins of our current housing crisis (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/18/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-jerusalem-demsas.html), an interview with writer Sheila Liming on loneliness in America (https...
2023-08-3041 minSlate Culture FeedWhy Ezra Klein Thinks “We're Living Through A Mistake”The New York Times journalist talks about the difficulties of early parenthood, the lure of communal living, and why he loves Burning Man.Want more from Ezra on the topics in today’s episode? We recommend the following: This episode of The Ezra Klein Show with scholar Kristen Ghodsee on communes and intentional communities (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/09/opinion/ezra-klein-kristen-ghodsee.html), a conversation The Atlantic’s Jerusalem Demsas about homelessness and the origins of our current housing crisis (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/18/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-jerusalem-demsas.html), an interview with writer Sheila Liming on loneliness in America (https...
2023-08-3039 min
The Next LevelWho's to Blame for the Homelessness Crisis? (with Jerusalem Demsas)Ever wonder how homelessness has gotten so bad in America? And why there appears to be no successful efforts to solve it? The Atlantic's Jerusalem Demsas joins Tim and JVL to answer every question they have about this massive problem. It's a truly in-depth discussion you won't want to miss!Watch the Tim and JVL interview Jerusalem on our official YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/qCsd1O4-hdI Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
2023-08-131h 00
Abundance - A Metropolitan Abundance Project Podcast#5 - Jerusalem Demsas on Housing PoliticsIn this episode, California YIMBY research director M. Nolan Gray chats with Jerusalem Demsas. Jerusalem is a staff writer at The Atlantic and a widely published author on housing and city planning, among many topics. In this episode, we discuss how she became a YIMBY, the importance of the freedom to move, and why DC builds so much housing—even it could build more. We’re joined this week by California YIMBY policy director Ned Resnikoff.
2023-03-241h 44
In the Bubble with Andy SlavittThe Blue State Homelessness CrisisWhy do progressive states with lots of wealth often have the worst homelessness problem? Simply put, they stopped building enough affordable housing. Atlantic writer Jerusalem Demsas and California YIMBY policy director Ned Resnikoff explain the obvious answer to homelessness, debunk myths about drugs and mental health, and spell out what needs to change in government policy and neighborhood sentiment. Keep up with Andy on Twitter and Post @ASlavitt. Follow Jerusalem Demsas and Ned Resnikoff on Twitter @JerusalemDemsas and @resnikoff. Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus...
2023-01-3040 min
The Gray Area with Sean IllingThe roots of homelessnessSean Illing talks with writer and reporter Jerusalem Demsas about the causes of homelessness in America. They discuss our ideas of home ownership, and how our country’s cultural expectations and policies are working against us. Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray AreaGuest: Jerusalem Demsas (@JerusalemDemsas) staff writer, The AtlanticReferences:
“The Homeownership Society Was a Mistake” by Jerusalem Demsas (The Atlantic; Dec. 20, 2022)
“The Obvious Answer to Homelessness and Why Everyone’s Ignoring It” by Jerusalem Demsas (The Atlantic; Dec. 12, 2022)
“The Billionaire’s Dilemma” by Jerusalem Demsas (The Atlantic; Aug. 4...
2023-01-1951 minPlain English with Derek ThompsonThe Messy Debate Over Student Loan ForgivenessThe level of student debt in this country represents a massive policy error. But is forgiving up to $20,000 of student debt really the best way to help low-income Americans, or fix the nation's education-financing problems? The Atlantic's Jerusalem Demsas joins Derek to discuss the student loan forgiveness debate and weigh the positives and negatives of Biden's controversial new policy.If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com. You can find us on TikTok at www.tiktok.com/@plainenglish_Host: Derek ThompsonGuest: Jerusalem Demsas...
2022-08-3042 minPlain English with Derek ThompsonWhat's Going on With the U.S. Housing Market?It's our first Curiosity Corner podcast! We asked you to tell us what questions you wanted us to answer, and a lot of you had the same thought on your mind: housing. In this podcast, we answer: What's going on with the U.S. housing market? Is this a bubble? Is it bursting? Why are homes in America so expensive? Why are we so bad at building houses? Why is there so much homelessness in America's richest cities? The Atlantic's Jerusalem Demsas comes on the show to share her theories with Derek, and Derek explains why he thinks every...
2022-05-2454 min
Explain It to MeWhy it’s so hard to move in AmericaDylan Matthews and Jerusalem Demsas are joined by Nick Buttrick (@NickButtrick), a psychologist at Princeton, to talk about interstate mobility in the US (or the lack thereof). They talk about why it is so hard to move; why some of those reasons, Jerusalem argues, are arbitrary; and what an immobile population means for American culture. References:Jerusalem’s article about why it’s so hard to move in AmericaNick Buttrick’s research: The cultural dynamics of declining residential mobilityA pape...
2022-03-0843 minExplain It to MeRussia's terrible invasionDylan Matthews and Jerusalem Demsas are joined by Vox senior correspondent Zack Beauchamp to talk about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. They discuss Ukraine’s surprising strength to date, plus Europe’s and America’s overwhelming economic response to the invasion. Plus, a white paper about how citizens in authoritarian regimes think about war.References:Vox’s podcast playlist: What to know about Russia and UkraineAll of Vox’s written coverage on Russia and Ukraine Zack’s piece on why Putin is...
2022-03-021h 07Explain It to MeWhy San Francisco’s school board got bootedDylan Matthews, Jerusalem Demsas, and Dara Lind discuss the recent school board recall election in San Francisco and also whether the Great Resignation is boosting inflation.References:Clara Jeffery's summary of why the recall succeededFormer Green Party mayoral nominee Matt Gonzalez’s case for the recallFormer board president Gabriela López's post-mortem after she was recalledLópez’s 2021 interview with the New Yorker on school renamingThe $87...
2022-02-2351 minExplain It to MeThe curse of the midtermsDylan Matthews and Jerusalem Demsas are joined by Vox’s Andrew Prokop (@awprokop) to talk about the midterm elections. More specifically, why the president’s party almost always loses seats in Congress. They discuss the theories of this phenomenon and what, if anything, can work on the margins. Plus, a white paper about Obamacare and the 2010 midterm elections.References:Why the president’s party almost always has a bad midtermThe political science of door-knocking and TV adsWhite paper...
2022-02-1558 minExplain It to MeAffirmative action could be doomed (again). What comes next?Dylan Matthews, Dara Lind, and Jerusalem Demsas talk about affirmative action. They dig into the current Supreme Court case about Harvard’s admission rates and ask: How do we make sure our elite institutions adequately reflect the population? Plus, a white paper about the effects of education on mortality.References:
Vox senior correspondent Ian Millhiser’s explainer about the SCOTUS cases
Peter Arcidiacono, Josh Kinsler, and Tyler Ransom's empirical papers on Harvard admissions
Jay Caspian Kang on the Harvard case
Ending affirmative action in California pushed Black and Latinx students into...
2022-02-0840 minExplain It to MeWhat happens to voting rights now?Dylan Matthews and Jerusalem Demsas talk with Emily Rong Zhang, a PhD candidate in political science at Stanford and a former Skadden Fellow at the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, about the recent attempts in Congress to pass voting rights legislation. And, a white paper about voter ID laws, written by Emily herself!References:Recapping Congress’s failed voting rights pushWhy some Dem strategists were skeptical of the effortThe case for fixing the Electoral Count Act
2022-01-2643 minExplain It to MeAre corporations winning at inflation?Jerusalem Demsas and Dylan Matthews talk with Joey Politano (@JosephPolitano), economics blogger and self-described "mid-tier take-haver," to go over one big question on people’s minds right now: are corporations profiting off of inflation? References:Joey’s blog post about rising corporate prices and inflationSen. Elizabeth Warren on rising corporate profit marginsPaul Krugman’s newsletter from this weekBinyamin Appelbaum on the meatpacking industryThe White House’s statement on meat comp...
2022-01-2142 minExplain It to MeWhat BBB means for climate policyWeeds co-hosts Jerusalem Demsas and Dara Lind talk with Robinson Meyer (@yayitsrob), staff writer at the Atlantic, about the climate provisions in President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better bill. They discuss specific climate-focused policy proposals and the political stalemate Congress is in, thanks to the filibuster in the Senate. Plus, a white paper about building codes and wildfires in California.References: Robinson Meyer on the climate gamble going on in CongressWeeds alum Matt Yglesias on the Build Back Better Bill...
2022-01-191h 08Explain It to MeThe building blocks of radicalizationHow does someone get radicalized? What do political scientists see as the building blocks of political violence? Is there anything we can do to stop radicalization? One year after the insurrection on January 6, 2021, Vox policy reporter Jerusalem Demsas talks with Peter Neumann, a professor of security studies at King’s College in London, to answer these questions. References:Vox’s Zack Beauchamp on where the crisis in American democracy might be headedPeter Neumann’s paper: The trouble with radicalizationA Q&A...
2022-01-0756 minExplain It to MeWhy hasn’t student debt been canceled?Dylan and Dara are joined by Vox’s Libby Nelson to talk about the policy merits and political implications of plans to cancel some or all student loans. They also discuss whether President Joe Biden has the power to cancel student debt unilaterally. And, Vox’s Jerusalem Demsas joins Dylan and Dara for a white paper about prisoners of war and genetics. References:
Brookings Institution’s Andre Perry on why student loan forgiveness isn't regressive
How canceling student debt helps beneficiaries get out of other debt
The racial justice case for student loan cancellation
Luke Herrine arguing t...
2022-01-0554 minExplain It to MeBest Of: The coming climate exodusVox senior reporter Rebecca Leber (@rbleber) joins The Weeds to explain the problem of migration caused by climate change, such as that due to wildfires, rising seas, and crop failures. She explains how a warming planet is forcing people to move both in the US and internationally, and how policymakers are and aren’t adapting. Vox reporters Dylan Matthews and Jerusalem Demsas continue the conversation with ProPublica’s Dara Lind, discussing a new white paper arguing that social mobility in America rose in the 20th century.References:
ProPublica’s feature on cli...
2021-12-2858 min
Explain It to MeAmerica's Public Health Experiment: More checks, less politicsIn the penultimate episode of our series America’s Public Health Experiment, Vox policy reporter Jerusalem Demsas talks to Arnab Datta, senior counsel at Employ America, about automatic stabilizers: what they are and how they could help during a crisis that affects the economy, such as a global pandemic.References:Vox's Emily Stewart on Democrats abandoning automatic stabilizersRecession Ready: Fiscal Policies to Stabilize the American EconomyStructuring Federal Aid To States As An Automatic (And Autonomous) Stabilizer
2021-12-1753 minThe Ezra Klein ShowBest Of: How Blue Cities Became So Outrageously UnaffordableJoe Biden’s economic agenda is centered on a basic premise: The United States needs to build. To build roads and bridges. To build child care facilities and car-charging stations. To build public transit and affordable housing. And in doing so, to build a better future for everyone.But there’s a twist of irony in that vision. Because right now, even in places where Democrats hold control over government, they are consistently failing to build cheaply, quickly and equitably. In recent decades, blue states and cities from Los Angeles to Boston to New York have become know...
2021-11-301h 08Explain It to MeHow does the pandemic end?Now that nearly 60 percent of the US population is fully vaccinated, Dylan, German, and Jerusalem discuss potential exit strategies for policies such as mask mandates and mandatory quarantines. They also talk about what an “endemic” Covid might be like in the US and which aspects of pandemic life might stick around. Finally, they discuss how better access to mental health care could affect crime.References:Mandate the vaccines, not masksThe case for ending school mask mandates at the end of the yearTh...
2021-11-1657 minExplain It to MeReshaping America’s citiesVox policy reporter Jerusalem Demsas talks with the Atlantic’s Derek Thompson (@DKThomp) about how the future of remote work could reshape America’s cities, upend US labor markets, and cause fundamental shifts in where people live. Derek and Jerusalem discuss how it would take only a small percentage of remote workers to impact the urban geography of the US — with complicated implications for electoral politics and the climate.References:Jerusalem's Q&A with housing economist Enrico Moretti on the future of remote work: Remote work is overrated. America’s superc...
2021-11-1256 minExplain It to MePass the SALT?Dylan, Jerusalem, and Dara discuss congressional Democrats’ efforts to uncap the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, and how the party found itself proposing a massive tax cut for high-income households. They also dive into the deduction’s stated purpose (encouraging states to spend on social programs) and talk about other programs that could encourage states to invest in health and education. Finally, they examine a white paper showing that domestic violence crimes didn’t increase during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.References:The state and local tax deduction, explained [Vox]
2021-11-101h 02Explain It to MeHousing policy, but make it BritishAmerica’s housing market is failing to meet the needs of most Americans. Rents have skyrocketed, homeownership is slipping out of grasp for young and other first-time homebuyers, and policymakers have struggled to meet the moment. But we’re not alone. The UK is also facing a dire housing shortage, one that is leading to skyrocketing rents and home prices. Usually, the solution to this problem is pushing higher levels of government to step in where local government has failed, but today’s guest, John Myers, the co-founder of London YIMBY, thinks his country should go in the opposite direct...
2021-10-2941 minExplain It to MeThe case for and against open bordersDylan, German, and Jerusalem get together to discuss one of the world’s least likely but most interesting utopian ideas: open borders. They discuss the moral and economic logic for making it easy to move to and work in different countries, and the political constraints that make such an idea anathema in most rich countries. Also, they discuss a new paper about how housing regulation is making it hard for Americans to move to where they’d get the best jobs.References:Bryan Caplan’s case for open borders, on Vox...
2021-10-2757 minExplain It to MeThe coming climate exodusVox senior reporter Rebecca Leber (@rebleber) joins The Weeds to explain the problem of migration caused by climate change, such as that due to wildfires, rising seas, and crop failures. She explains how a warming planet is forcing people to move both in the US and internationally, and how policymakers are and aren’t adapting. Vox reporters Dylan Matthews and Jerusalem Demsas continue the conversation with ProPublica’s Dara Lind, discussing a new white paper arguing that social mobility in America rose in the 20th century.References:
ProPublica’s feature on cli...
2021-10-1358 minExplain It to MeYes, vaccine mandates workDylan, German, and Jerusalem talk about vaccine mandates. They discuss the evidence supporting vaccine requirements, the United States’ history with inoculation campaigns, and the patchwork nature of America’s many public health measures. Plus, a white paper about elite universities. References:This is a good summary of the evidence supporting vaccine mandatesHere is the Homevoter Hypothesis Dylan mentionedThe NIMBY lawsuit against UC Berkeley and the NIMBY war against Georgetown’s expansionGerman mentioned two vaccination studies: this one and this oneThis week’s...
2021-10-0653 minExplain It to MeHow genes impact your life Dylan and Jerusalem are joined by Kathryn Paige Harden, professor of clinical psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, to discuss her new book The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality. They talk about what geneticists have learned about the impact of genes on income and education inequality, the social implications of this research and its potential misuse, and why genetics should leave us humbled by the huge effect of luck in our lives.Hosts:Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), senior correspondent, VoxJerusalem Demsas (@JerusalemDemsas), policy reporter, Vox
2021-10-011h 01
The New Liberal PodcastThe Politics of Housing ft. Jerusalem Demsas, part 1The US has a housing crisis, but how did we get here? Vox's Jerusalem Demsas joins the show to discuss the politics of housing. What does the public really think about building more housing? What motivates NIMBYs - economic self interest, fear of change, or something else? How much should we worry about accusations of gentrification when new housing gets built? We cover all this and more. To hear the entire conversation, head over to our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/neoliberalproject. The full episode is more than twice as long and covers the California YIMBY vi...
2021-09-2937 minExplain It to MeAMA time with Dylan, German, and JerusalemDylan, German, and Jerusalem sit down to answer listener questions. In our first AMA episode of the post-Matt-Yglesias Weeds era, the trio discusses constitutional amendments, climate change, how we could fix global poverty, influential books, and more.Resources:Reasons and Persons by Derek ParfitGang of Five: Leaders at the Center of the Conservative Ascendancy by Nina J. EastonThe Collaborator: The Trial and Execution of Robert Brasillach by Alice KaplanNight by Elie WieselThe Cult of Pharmacology: How America Became the World’s Most Troubled Dr...
2021-09-241h 09
The New BazaarThe meaning of gentrificationGentrification is a trend that can be confusing, contentious, and widely misunderstood. Perhaps most surprisingly, gentrification can offer “the promise of integration and sorely needed investment that can increase residents’ quality of life — but only if disadvantaged residents are set up to take part in the benefits of increased investment." Thus argues Jerusalem Demsas, policy reporter at Vox. In a wide-ranging conversation, she takes Cardiff through the research and academic literature on gentrification, explaining the nuances and complexities that are so often missing in debates about this controversial trend. Links from the episode:Jerusalem is on Twit...
2021-09-231h 05Explain It to MeMeans testing our patienceDylan, German, and Jerusalem discuss means testing and work requirements after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) suggested their inclusion in one of Biden's legacy priorities: the expanded child tax credit. Right now Democrats in Congress are trying to hammer out a 10-year, $3.5 trillion budget that includes an extension of the federal child tax credit; expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, and hearing aids; additional resources for home care workers; a slew of climate change measures; and much more. Resources:“The Time Tax” by Annie Lowrey (The Atlantic; July 27, 2021)“We’re Still Here” by Jennifer...
2021-09-2155 minExplain It to MeEzra, Matt, and Sarah Try (Again) to PodcastFor Matt’s last episode of The Weeds, Ezra Klein and Sarah Kliff return for a look at why health care and drug costs in the US keep rising, how subsidizing industries leads to higher consumer costs, and what both political parties can do about it. It gets real nerdy just as fast as the last time these three co-hosted. We also learn about the first print piece Matt ever published, and he shares some feelings about pseudo-Cyrillic. Resources:“How the US made affordable homes illegal” by Jerusalem Demsas (Vox Media; Aug 17, 2021)“Building housing —...
2021-09-171h 11Explain It to MeThe Weeds Will Live ForeverMatt, Dara, Jerusalem, and German use Matt’s last Tuesday episode to discuss life expectancy in the US. They explore paternalistic policy decisions, the misnomer of “deaths of despair,” and the longevity of The Weeds. US life expectancy is compared to that of European and Asian nations, and the US numbers are disaggregated and examined up close. Resources:“Why Americans Die So Much” by Derek Thompson (The Atlantic; Sep 12, 2021)“Inequality in Mortality between Black and White Americans by Age, Place, and Cause, and in Comparison to Europe, 1990-2018” by Hannes Schwandt et al. (NBER; Sep 2021)
2021-09-151h 02Explain It to MeThe Federal Reserve: Climate Change editionVox's Dylan Matthews joins Matt and Jerusalem to talk about whether the Federal Reserve can use monetary policy to fight climate change and how the ideal Fed Chair may not exist. Plus, a new study about the effectiveness of masking against Covid-19 reignites the debate on public health messaging around the pandemic. Also, Matt wants experts to stay in their lanes. Resources:“Will Biden Make a Historic Mistake at the Fed?” by J. Bradford Delong (Project Syndicate; Sep 1, 2021)“Strengthening the Financial System to Meet the Challenge of Climate Change” by Lael Brainard (Board of Govern...
2021-09-0758 min
Explain It to MeBack to School: Masters mishapsMatt is joined by Vox's Libby Nelson and Jerusalem Demsas for a conversation about the rising cost of master’s programs, their usefulness in today’s economy, and their role as federally subsidized job training. Matt, Libby, and Jerusalem reflect on their varied educational paths and discuss the effectiveness of student loan forgiveness for higher ed. This week’s white paper illuminates the downstream consequences of raising pollution standards for battery recycling in the United States.Resources:“‘Financially Hobbled for Life’: The Elite Master’s Degrees That Don’t Pay Off” by Melissa Korn and A...
2021-08-181h 02
Explain It to MeBack to School: All for pre-K, and pre-K for allMatt and Dara are joined by Vox's Jerusalem Demsas for a conversation about pre-K and day care programs. They discuss the impacts of pre-K programs on socioeconomics, diversity, and political behavior. Plus, some historical research is considered on a Norwegian program of rural education expansion.Resources:"Exploring New Research on Pre-K Outcomes" by Adrienne Fischer, Tom Keily and Matt Weyer (Education Commission of The States; May 2020)"Growing the Economy Through Affordable Child Care" by Rasheed Malik (Center for American Progress; May 24)White paper: "The Making of Social Democracy: The Economic and...
2021-08-0452 min
Explain It to MeTime Machine: Buchanan v. Warley (1917)Vox's Jerusalem Demsas joins Matt and Dara on a time machine trip back to a WW1-era Supreme Court decision that shaped land use policy, zoning, and racial discrimination in housing. Discussion of Buchanan (and the related Euclid case decided nine years later) leads our hosts to talk a lot about the interrelated histories of zoning and racism in twentieth-century America.Resources:Buchanan v. Warley, 245 US 60 (1917)Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Company, 272 US 365 (1926)"The racial origins of zoning: Southern cities from 1910–1940" by Christopher Silver (Planning Perspectives; May 8, 2007)"Prelude to...
2021-07-2851 min
Macro Musings with David BeckworthJerusalem Demsas on Problems in the US Housing Market and How to Fix ThemJerusalem Demsas is a policy reporter for Vox and joins David on Macro Musings to discuss the state of housing in America and its implications for policy. Specifically, Jerusalem and David discuss the current state of the housing market, whether there is a housing bubble, how the housing shortage creates avenues for discrimination, the dynamics of racism in the US housing market, the impact of zoning laws, and much more. Transcript for the episode can be found here. Jerusalem's Twitter: @JerusalemDemsas Jerusalem's Vox archive: https://www.vox.com/authors/je...
2021-07-2653 minThe Ezra Klein ShowHow Blue Cities Became So Outrageously UnaffordableJoe Biden’s economic agenda is centered on a basic premise: The United States needs to build. To build roads and bridges. To build child care facilities and car-charging stations. To build public transit and affordable housing. And in doing so, to build a better future for everyone.But there’s a twist of irony in that vision. Because right now, even in places where Democrats hold control over government, they are consistently failing to build cheaply, quickly and equitably. In recent decades, blue states and cities from Los Angeles to Boston to New York have become know...
2021-07-231h 08
Vox Quick HitsThe 51st state | Tell Me MoreThe House of Representatives recently voted to make Washington, DC, the 51st state in the union, something many residents have wanted for a long time. Even though momentum is building, the bill probably isn’t going anywhere in the Senate unless Democrats get rid of or change the filibuster rules. Vox policy reporter Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas) discusses what DC not being a state means for the people who live there as well as politics and polling around the issue.Learn more:Read Jerusalem’s story on DC statehood here. ...
2021-07-0611 min
Reopening AmericaWhy It's so Expensive to Build Something in AmericaThere is a lot of talk about infrastructure lately as the Biden administration tries to get a bill passed and one of the big questions being debated is how to pay for it. But why does it cost so much to build things in America? When it comes to mass transit and roads, we just don’t build enough and are out of practice. Every time a new project comes along it’s like starting from scratch. There is also the complexity of working across multiple jurisdictions and bottlenecks at every step of the process. Jerusalem Demsas, policy reporter at Vox, j...
2021-07-0211 min
Vox Quick HitsA housing bubble? | Tell Me MoreThere’s no denying the housing market has been a little wild lately — home prices are soaring in many parts of the country, and the competition among buyers has people going to some pretty extreme lengths. The last time we saw such a frenzy in the housing market, about 15 years ago, it ended in a crash. Now, it’s hard not to wonder whether the US economy is headed in the same direction, and whether skyrocketing prices will soon come back down to earth. Vox policy reporter Jerusalem Demsas explains whether America is seeing yet another housing bubble, and how to...
2021-06-1514 minExplain It to MeThe lab-leak hypothesisMatt is joined by Vox's Libby Nelson and Jerusalem Demsas for a conversation about the rising cost of master’s programs, their usefulness in today’s economy, and their role as federally subsidized job training. Matt, Libby, and Jerusalem, explore their varied educational paths and discuss the effectiveness of student loan forgiveness for higher ed. This week’s white paper illuminates the downstream consequences of raising pollution standards for battery recycling in the United States. Resources:"The Lab-Leak Theory" by David Leonhardt (May 27, New York Times)"The Biological Weapons Convention at a crossroad" by Bonn...
2021-06-021h 04Explain It to MeHomelessness and the rising tideMatt and Dara are joined by Vox Politics and Policy Fellow Jerusalem Demsas to talk about homelessness, and the policies that have failed to even properly confront this problem. They talk about the decline of SRO housing, the progressives who seem to oppose any way to help out, and the 1951 sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still. Then, some research is discussed that takes a look at how Italian workers responded to a 2011 pension reform.Resources:"Iowa is making it harder to be a low-income renter" by Jerusalem Demsas (Vox, May 5)"Homeless...
2021-05-111h 03
It's Been a MinuteHousing Boom For Whom? Plus, 'Ziwe' PremieresThe housing market is booming— but who actually benefits? Sam talks to Jerusalem Demsas, politics and policy fellow for Vox, about what so many are getting wrong about housing. Plus, Sam revisits his 2020 conversation with Ziwe Fumudoh, whose comedy variety show Ziwe premieres on Showtime on May 9. Then, in honor of NPR's 50th anniversary, Sam plays "Who Said That?" with All Things Considered hosts Audie Cornish and Ari Shapiro.You can follow us on Twitter @NPRItsBeenAMin and email us at samsanders@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Po...
2021-05-0838 min
Infill: A YIMBY PodcastHow to Excite the Suburbs - Part 2The Long Anticipated PART 2 of the YIMBY Chat with Vox Reporter Jerusalem Demsas. Laura & Jerusalem answer some questions, discussing how to change hearts and minds on housing. A sprawling, fast-paced discussion on polling and growing the pro-housing movement in both red and blue communities.
2021-05-0443 min
Vox Quick HitsThe 51st state | Tell Me MoreThe House of Representatives recently voted to make Washington, DC, the 51st state in the union, something many residents have wanted for a long time. Even though momentum is building, the bill probably isn’t going anywhere in the Senate unless Democrats get rid of or change the filibuster rules. Vox policy reporter Jerusalem Demsas (@jerusalemdemsas) discusses what DC not being a state means for the people who live there as well as politics and polling around the issue.Learn more:Read Jerusalem’s story on DC statehood here. ...
2021-04-2710 min
Elevate MarylandWhy Single Family Detached Zoning Hurts Everyone w/ Vox's Jerusalem DemsasVox's Jerusalem Demsas has burst onto the scene as a thought-leader on housing policy across the country. We were fortunate enough to book her for an interview to discuss the disjointed politics of land use policy, the economic impacts of SFD zoning, and how President Biden's new infrastructure plan may change all that.
2021-04-2358 min
Model CitizenHow Zoning Screws up EverythingThis is my question: can we YIMBY harder? Many people are awakening to the enormous costs of restrictive municipal land use and zoning. But what can we do about it? Most assume that restrictive zoning and skyrocketing housing costs are local issues that require local solutions. But as my guest, David Schleicher, makes clear, that's not really true. A few superstar cities choking off housing supply has huge national implications. It creates massive distortions in labor markets and patterns of interstate labor mobility. This has left us a lot poorer than we'd be if our most productive cities were more...
2021-04-161h 46
Vox Quick HitsWhat problems can gun control solve? | The WeedsMatt, Dara, and Vox's Jerusalem Demsas discuss the politics of progressive control proposals that rise to the fore in the wake of mass shootings, and whether or not they can be effective at curing the real ills of gun violence in America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
2021-03-2405 minExplain It to MeIs gun violence fixable?Matt and Dara are joined by Vox Politics and Policy Fellow Jerusalem Demsas to talk about gun violence and mass shootings in America. They discuss the recent shootings in Atlanta and Boulder, talk through the difference between real policy solutions and more superficial ones, and discuss several non-productive but entrenched aspects of the media landscape surrounding mass shootings, gun violence, and progressive reforms. Then, they take on some new research on the correlation between political polarization in a society and the presence of a "charismatic leader."Resources:"The long history of anti-Asian hate in America...
2021-03-241h 21
Infill: A YIMBY PodcastHow to Excite the Suburbs - Part 1Vox Reporter Jerusalem Demsas joins Laura Foote of YIMBY Action to discuss changing hearts and minds on housing. A sprawling, fast-paced discussion on polling and growing the pro-housing movement in both red and blue communities.Read Jerusalem's latest articles:How to Convince a NIMBY to Build More HousingAmerica's Racist Housing Rules Really Can Be Fixed
2021-03-1640 min
Vox Quick HitsHow can Dems fight exclusionary zoning? | The Weeds in 10Vox's Jerusalem Demsas joins Matt and Dara to share policy ideas for achieving more housing equity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
2021-03-0304 minExplain It to MeHow to destroy the suburbsMatt and Dara are joined by Vox Politics and Policy Fellow Jerusalem Demsas to talk about how to take on America's housing problem, exclusionary and discriminatory zoning restrictions, message against NIMBYs, and ultimately, to sue and destroy the suburbs. Then, research is analyzed that confronts the effects of rising prescription drug prices on patient behavior.Resources:"America's racist housing rules really can be fixed" by Jerusalem Demsas, Vox (Feb. 17, 2021)"How to convince a NIMBY to build more housing" by Jerusalem Demsas, Vox (Feb. 24, 2021)"How George Floyd's death is fueling a push...
2021-03-0357 min