Good arguments fail when they ignore how people feel. Chuck Marohn and Joshua Bandoch talk through using empathy, ethical persuasion, and values-based stories with everyone from public works directors to concerned residents. Their examples reveal why understanding fears and incentives often matters more than another chart or study.

• Joshua Bandoch (LinkedIn)
• How to Get What You Want (Book)
• How to be more persuasive (Tedx Talk)
• Joshua Bandoch (Site)
• Chuck Marohn (Substack)

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you!

Chuck and Kevin Klinkenberg explore why progress comes from people who stop waiting for permission and start doing things locally. They look at incremental developers, neighborhood groups, and the limits of top-down systems in cities like Kansas City. Along the way, they wrestle with incentives, housing, and how much order a city actually needs.

• Kevin Klinkenberg (LinkedIn)
• The Messy City Podcast (Spotify)
• The Messy City (Substack)
• The Messy City (Site)
• Chuck Marohn (Substack)

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you!

Chuck Marohn and Tony Dutzik unpack the messy history of the gas tax, cross‑subsidies between states, and the moral story drivers were told about “user fees.” They revisit highway revolts, the rise of federal transit funding, and the long slide into Highway Trust Fund bailouts. Their conversation lays out stark choices for the next chapter of national transportation policy.

• Tony Dutzik (LinkedIn)
• Call "Time Out" on Highway Boondoggles (Article)
• Frontier Group (Site)
• What Comes After the Interstate Era? | New Report (Youtube)
• Read the Mission Accomplished White Paper.
• Chuck Marohn (Substack)

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you!

In this moderated panel at the REACH Ideas + Action Summit, Chuck Marohn and California Forever’s Jim Wunderman tackle California’s housing crisis from two very different angles: maturing existing neighborhoods and building a brand‑new city. Together they wrestle with whether local reforms, new towns, or both can deliver real affordability in places like Santa Barbara and beyond.

• California Forever (Site)
• REACH (LinkedIn)
• Jim Wunderman (LinkedIn)
• Jocelyn Brennan (LinkedIn)
• Chuck Marohn (Substack)

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you!

New Zealand’s infrastructure commission added up every sector’s project wish‑list—and found a bill voters could never realistically pay. In this conversation, Geoff Cooper and Chuck Marohn unpack the national plan that starts by centering maintenance and renewals, then shows how that shifts the debate over big new projects, growth on the fringe, and the pressure on public budgets.

• Geoff Cooper (LinkedIn)
• Te Waihanga (Site)
• Te Waihanga National Infrastructure Plan (Site)
• Chuck Marohn (Substack)

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you!

The conversation follows Michel Durand-Wood's path from noticing small local cuts—closed pools, rising taxes—to understanding his city as structurally insolvent. Along the way, he and Chuck talk about grants, debt, Canadian and U.S. examples, and why efficiency alone hasn’t fixed anything.

• Dear Winnipeg (Site)
• You'll Pay For This! (Book)
• Chuck Marohn (Substack)

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you!

Chuck walks through three ways of seeing the housing crisis: supply, demand, and the Strong Towns view that grapples with “dark finance” and capital flows. He explains why campaign-style wins and single-variable fixes rarely deliver real affordability. The episode closes with a candid update on recent leadership changes and how Strong Towns has restructured its media work over the past year.

• Chuck Marohn (Substack)

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you!

For years, the dominant explanation for America’s infrastructure problems has been that we haven’t invested enough. Yet federal spending on transportation is at historic highs, and frustration with the results continues to grow.

This report offers a different interpretation.

The Interstate Highway System achieved its original goal. The challenges we face today are not the result of failure, but of a system that continued long after its purpose was fulfilled. Understanding what comes after it is the work in front of us.

• ‍Watch on YouTube.
• Read the Mission Accomplished White Paper.
• Chuck Marohn (Substack)

This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you!