The Strong Towns Podcast

In this podcast on the second day of the Strong Towns Winter Member Drive, Chuck shares a bit about the history of Strong Towns and the wake up call he had while working as an engineer — building the very roads and big box stores he now recognizes as harmful for our towns and cities.

To build stronger towns, we have to shift the cultural conversation in American. It's a big challenge but with your help, we know we can do it. Join the Strong Towns movement today.

We've still got a ways to go before we get to our goal of 2000 members. Don't procrastinate. Become a member now.

On this podcast episode, Chuck Marohn shares an update on the Strong Towns movement and invites listeners and readers to join us as members during this important week. Help us spread the Strong Towns message across the globe. Become a member today. Help us become #2000Strong.

In this podcast, Rachel Quednau interviews long-time Strong Towns member Matthias Leyrer about how he has built a financially resilient household. They discuss topics ranging from a major home rehab project to how the birth of a child changes your perspective on what's important (with a few tangents in between). 

This article is part of an ongoing series about building personal and household resilience. Read more from the series here.

Chuck and Rachel recap recent events in Ashland, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Northampton, Massachusetts. They also discuss upcoming events in Dallas, Texas and Monterey, California, plus a Strong Towns staff and board retreat. Finally, they check in about their holiday baking plans.

Mentioned in this Podcast:

• Event and member meet-up in Dallas
• Event in Monterey
• And Your Daughters Shall Prophesy: Stories From the Byways of American Women and Religion by Adrian Shirk
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In this episode, Chuck Marohn interviews Keita Demming, host of the Disruptive Conversations podcast. Keita works in the space of applied innovation, helping companies become beautiful organizations, and holds a PhD from the University of Toronto.

In this conversation, Chuck and Keita discuss the concept of disruption and why disruptive conversations are so valuable. They also talk about the difference between simple problems, complicated problems and complex problems — and which we must focus our efforts on in order to build a better world.

You can also catch Chuck on Keita's podcast in an episode from earlier this year.

Chuck and Rachel discuss upcoming events in Virginia, Washington, DC, and Massachusetts. They also discuss Chuck's newest article on the pitfalls of school drop-off zones and chat about the special content they're preparing for next week.

The Strong Towns message has a big impact wherever it is heard, but how do we turn that into action? In this episode, Founder and President of Strong Towns, Chuck Marohn, talks about some of the next steps for the movement.

Chuck and Rachel recap recent events in New Haven, CT and New York, NY. They also discuss some recent success stories of Strong Towns members in action.

Mentioned in this podcast:

• "An Open Letter to the City of Springfield" by Chuck Marohn
• "One Million Strong" by Chuck Marohn
• Join us for this week's slackchat at 12pm CT on Wednesday
• "Putting Portland's Urban Highway in its Place" by Rachel Quednau
• "Placemaking Projects Create a Stronger Iron Range" by Rachel Quednau
• Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber
• Who Gets What ? and Why: The New Economics of Matchmaking and Market Design by Alvin Roth

In this podcast episode, Rachel Quednau interviews her colleague Kea Wilson about her journey to financial freedom and personal resilience. Kea talks about how she paid off $25,000 in college debt in less than a year and how a mindset of financial frugality and saving over spending has stayed with her since. By finding joy in low-cost, productive, simple activities and adopting a lifestyle aimed at happiness, not consumption, Kea is charting a path of personal and community resilience. We can all learn something from it.

This episode is part of an ongoing series about personal resilience. Find more articles in the series here.

Chuck and Rachel begin with some exciting news, then discuss upcoming East Coast events and debt in Puerto Rico (and what it means for all of us). Apologies; we had some issues with Chuck's audio on this one. 

Mentioned in this podcast:

• Planetizen's List of Top 100 Most Influential Urbanists
• New Haven, CT presentation and meet-up
• New York City presentation and meet-up
• "The Spooky Nature of Debt" by Chuck Marohn
• Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graebe
• Cognitive Architecture: Designing for How We Respond to the Built Environment by Ann Sussman
• Send Rachel your ideas and comments: quednau@strongtowns.org