The Strong Towns Podcast

This week, Strong Towns' staff (Chuck, Jason and Rachel) got together in Madison, WI for a speaking engagement and a staff retreat. We also hosted a Strong Towns meet up. This podcast episode features several Strong Towns members.

Toby Dougherty, city manager for Hays, Kansas, talks about his city's efforts to implement a Strong Towns approach.

Rachel and Chuck discuss last week's events in Ontario, Canada and Peoria, IL, the most beautiful city in North America and an exciting trip through US customs, plus the schedule for Chuck's trip to Idaho and Indiana this week and the book, The Selfish Gene.

This week's podcast is a conversation with one of the country's leading urban thinkers, Joe Minicozzi of Urban 3. Joe and Chuck talk about Brainerd, Lafayette, communicating complex ideas and Taco John's. 

Rachel and Chuck discuss last week's events in Louisville, KY and Peterborough NH, Chuck's new title as "Colonel Marohn," plus the schedule for Chuck's trip to Toronto and Peoria this week and the book, D-Day Through German Eyes.

The question and answer session of the debate in Lafayette, Louisiana, between Chuck Marohn and Randal O'Toole.

Welcome to new members Pat Kemp, Nick Whitney, Eirc Rogers, Blue Weber, Chris Kennedy and Tom Broderick. Rachel and Chuck discuss last week's events in Salt Lake City, the schedule for Kentucky and New Hampshire this week and The Selfish Gene.

Audio of the opening statements and rebuttal from Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns and Randal O'Toole of the Cato Institute in their debate in Lafayette, LA. 

A podcast preview of the upcoming week including introducing Jason Schaefer, the new Member Support Specialist at Strong Towns, a trip to Lafayette with Joe Minicozzi, a debate with Cato fellow Randal O'Toole and a success story in Waco.

The global climate is a complex system. Economic markets are a complex system. Why do we react so differently to these different forms of complexity and what can we learn from those reactions?

Chuck talks about the organization behind the Strong Towns movement, an update to their strategic plan based on what has been learned and a powerful theory of change.

Aaron Brown -- author, college instructor and radio producer from Minnesota's iron range -- joins the podcast to talk about the history of the Iron Range, economic development issues and cultural obstacles to change. You can get Aaron's book, Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range, and read his regular blog at his site, MinnesotaBrown.com.

Chuck reviews three different incidents involving children killed by automobiles and asks: Who are really the ones showing casual indifference here? 

Tony Dutzik, Senior Policy Analyst with Frontier Group, joins the podcast to talk about a new report he co-authored: Who Pays for Roads? How the "Users Pay" Myt Gets in the Way of Solving America's Transportation Problems.