The Strong Towns Podcast

Scholar and author John Dominic Crossan joins Chuck Marohn to talk about the study of the historical Jesus, his books The Power of Parable and The Greatest Prayer and what the teachings of Jesus have to teach us about community today.

Special guest Chris Gibbons talks about Economic Gardening, the early days of success and failure in Littleton, CO, the nationwide movement today and how to get involved. This is a far reaching conversation that demonstrates why the smart money in local economic development is in Economic Gardening.

Author of The End of the Suburbs: Where the American Dream is Moving, Leigh Gallagher, joins Chuck Marohn this week to talk about her book, her research and the reaction to her insights on America's post World War II development pattern.

This week on the podcast, Chuck interviews Original Green Steve Mouzon about his new book, New Media for Designers + Builders. Released today, the book explores the new and old media and provides the individual or small organization critical advice for how to project ideas into the modern marketplace. You can get a copy of New Media for Designers + Builders here. As you would expect from Steve, the book is beautifully written and illustrated. It is an easy read, yet has a ton of depth and insight. New Media for Designers + Builders is thick with content and, for those wanting more, Steve has set up a website full of extras that you can dive into with a simple click. A pure pleasure.

And surprisingly (or perhaps not surprisingly), Steve’s Original Green philosophy shines through and applies quite nicely to the realm of media and communications. While it was not his objective to write “original green for marketing,” Steve shows how simple, genuine and persistent rues the day over slick, packaged and ubiquitous. If you’re struggling with a marketing/advertising budget that is not getting you the results you are paying for, New Media for Designers + Builders will help you understand why.

And it will also show you what to do about it. At Strong Towns, we’re generally considered pretty decent at this whole new media thing. Well, I learned a ton from this book and am already working to improve our approach here and accelerate the spread of the Strong Towns movement. Congratulations to one of our good friends, Steve Mouzon, on this accomplishment. His work continues to break down barriers and make the world a better place.

This week Joe Minicozzi and Josh McCarty join Chuck Marohn from Chapel Hill to talk about what makes a financially productive place and the difference between a community getting rich and growing wealthy. 

Andrew Burleson joins Chuck Marohn this week to share his harowing plane story (failed engine on takeoff) and talk about the latest series on the Strong Towns Blog, Rational Responses. Bonus: Best intro music yet.

This week we share an interview of Chuck Marohn from the Outspoken Cyclist, a radio show out of Cleveland, Ohio. You can listen to the outspoken cyclist each week online at WJCU.org. 

There is an epidemic failure to understand what creates value within our cities. Applying the approach of baseball sabermetrics to our places reveals important truths.

Some miscellaneous interviews and speeches from CNU 21 in Salt Lake City. Speakers include (in order) Edward Erfurt, Will Dowdy, Andrew Burleson, Nate Hood, Faith Cable Kumon, Howard Blackson, Kevin Klinkenberg, Jen Krouse and John Anderson.

Steven Shultis of the blog RationalUrbanism.com joins Chuck Marohn to talk about competing casino proposals in Massachusetts, including one in downtown Springfield that is surprisingly well done.