The Strong Towns Podcast

Chuck Marohn interviews Kate Herzog, one of the first members of Strong Towns and Marketing & Assistant Director of Downtown Bismarck in Bismarck, ND. Chuck and Kate discuss the economic and political challenges in the Bismarck area and what Downtown Bismarck is doing about it. They also discuss a "renaissance zone" in Bismarck and the benefits and drawbacks of that program, as well as comparisons with tax increment financing (TIF) programs.

Chuck and Rachel discuss the fate of America, in light of Chuck's article from today, "Where is our republic headed?" and whether all of our work is in vain or whether there's reason for hope. They also chat about a recent episode of Strong Talk.

Mentioned in this episode:

• "Where is our republic headed?"
• Strong Talk: Planning for Tourists vs. Residents
• Animal Farm by George Orwell
• The Revolutions podcast

Chuck and Rachel check in after a couple weeks away (Rachel was traveling for her wedding and honeymoon). Chuck offers an update on recent events in Atlanta, GA, Calgary, AB and Utica, NY, including one at which he was made an honorary citizen and given a cowboy hat. Chuck and Rachel also talk about the best books they've recently read.

Mentioned in this podcast:

• The Happiness Hypothesis: Minding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom by Jonathan Haidt
• Animal Farm by George Orwell
• Give a Girl a Knife by Amy Thielen

This is the last day of our member drive and we're taking a look at what comes next for Strong Towns.

Sign up to be a member at http://www.strongtowns.org/membership

Strong Towns member Paul Fritz of Sebastabol, CA, talks about the ways Strong Towns thinking has influenced him and his community.

Sign up to be a member during our member drive. Go to http://www.strongtowns.org/membership

When you become a member of Strong Towns, you are supporting a change in the conversation. You are giving us the resources that we need to get this powerful message in front of more and more people. It’s working. All we need today is your support.

In this podcast, Chuck Marohn interviews Tony Dutzik, Senior Policy Analyst for Frontier Group and Strong Towns member about his recent article, "What Comes After the Auto Bubble?" Chuck and Tony discuss the relationship between easy access to lending and car ownership increases, and its overlaps with the housing bubble and crash. They also discuss the impact of car-reliance on poor families and our economy as a whole.

Chuck and Rachel discuss several recent events in Traverse City and Chicago, as well as upcoming events in Brainerd, MN, Atlanta, GA and Calgary, AB. They also discuss Chuck's new series on incremental growth, which kicked off today on our website.

Mentioned in this podcast:

• 2017 Strongest Town Contest
• Strong Towns Strength Test #1: How's your main street doing?
• Info about upcoming Q&A webcasts
• Brainerd History Week event
• FEEcon in Atlanta, plus info about an Atlanta member meetup
• Conference in Calgary, AB
• "The power of growing incrementally" by Chuck Marohn
• Spiders on Drugs video
• Portland Housing series

Chuck Marohn interviews Grace Potts of Ypsilanti, MI and Elias Crim of Valparaiso, IN, writers and editors for Solidarity Hall, a group blog, "a hospitable old hostelry, a mental oasis in the deserted landscapes that surround us." Solidarity Hall reflects on great thinkers like Jane Jacobs, Wendell Berry, and Dorothy Day to discuss issues of community, religion and social progress.

In this interview, Grace and Elias discuss the concept of communitarianism and cooperatives, as well as the problem with centralized systems and our partisan political structure. In this wide-reaching dialogue, Grace, Elias and Chuck contemplate how to build truly resilient communities where power rests in the hands of neighbors, and where economic prosperity is not the realm of the few, but shared by all.