AI Summary
5 min read🎙️ The Speakers & Context
- The Format: Host-led narrative with embedded interviews and storytelling.
- The Key Players:
- Hosts: Erica Barris and Nick Fountain (NPR Planet Money co-hosts), blending economic journalism with relatable anecdotes; their angle is myth-busting housing narratives through data and human stories.
- James Lawrence: National Guard member in Djibouti saving for a down payment; credible as a real-world symbol of millennial housing desperation.
- Caitlin Gorback: UT Austin professor and lead researcher on institutional investor impacts; authored key working paper using decade+ of sales data.
- Susan Wachter: Wharton real estate/finance professor; expert on mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and federal interventions.
- The Vibe: Investigative and skeptical, with light-hearted storytelling amid policy critique.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **🎙️ Introduction: James Lawrence**
- 2 (04:15) **Trump Administration's Housing Affordability Push**
- 3 (07:03) **Institutional Investors Buying Single-Family Homes**
- 4 (16:56) **Analysis of Trump's Executive Order on Investors**
- 5 (21:51) **Mortgage-Backed Securities Plan to Lower Rates**
- 6 (26:01) **Root Causes and Supply Shortage**
- 7 (27:43) **James's Ongoing Quest**
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
Book tour dates and ticket info here.
Housing is too expensive. Everyone knows this. Democrats know that talking about it plays well with voters. And now – in a midterm election year – President Donald Trump seems to be focused on it, too.
His administration has recently started talking more about affordability. And they’re taking action with two new initiatives that aim to make buying a house easier.
Today on the show, we’re gonna take a close look at these two moves. And ask: Will they work?
Subscribe to Planet Money+
Listen free: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.
Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.
This episode was produced by Willa Rubin with production help from Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was edited by Marianne McCune, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Jimmy Keeley and Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.
Music: NPR Source Audio - "No Problem,” “Fruit Salad,” “Checking In” and “Day Dreamer.”
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy
Housing is too expensive. Everyone knows this. Democrats know that talking about it plays well with voters. And now – in a midterm election year – President Donald Trump seems to be focused on it, too.
His administration has recently started talking more about affordability. And they’re taking action with two new initiatives that aim to make buying a house easier.
Today on the show, we’re gonna take a close look at these two moves. And ask: Will they work?
Subscribe to Planet Money+
Listen free: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.
Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.
This episode was produced by Willa Rubin with production help from Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was edited by Marianne McCune, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Jimmy Keeley and Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.
Music: NPR Source Audio - "No Problem,” “Fruit Salad,” “Checking In” and “Day Dreamer.”
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy
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