Shelterforce
Shelterforce is nonprofit news publication that covers affordable housing in the U.S., as well as community planning, racial equity, community development, and more. Here you can listen to authors read their latest Shelterforce articles, as well as our interviews with folks on the ground. For more, go to shelterforce.org. To support our nonprofit newsroom, make a tax-deductible donation at https://shelterforce.org/donate.
Episodes
May 20, 2026 • 26 mins
Laws designed to ease regulations that limit housing diversity and supply are passing in states around the country. Affordable housing advocates in four states talked with us about the coalitions that have come together, and how they might fit within the larger advocacy framework. Shelterforce's Miriam Axel-Lute reports.
Read the full article at https://shelterforce.org/2026/05/20/supply-reforms-put-housing-on-the-agenda-even-in-r...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
May 19, 2026 • 20 mins
When Chicago tenants on rent strike agreed to stop speaking publicly about their landlord as part of settling their eviction cases, they honored the agreement. They never dreamed the landlord's lawyers would try to charge them with violating the agreement for having talked to us in the past. Hope Davis reports.
Read the story here: https://shelterforce.org/2026/05/18/how-a-landlord-tried-to-silence-tenants-and-stop-a-shelterforce-...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
May 18, 2026 • 3 mins
In Houston, where a Housing First strategy has dramatically decreased the number of people without a place to stay, artists and unhoused residents teamed up to create public art works. Listen as Lara Heard reads her article, "Houston Artists and Homeless Residents Collaborate to Create Public Art."
Read the full story at: https://shelterforce.org/2026/05/04/houston-artists-and-homeless-residents-collaborate-to-create-public-art/
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
May 15, 2026 • 14 mins
Climate funding from the federal government has become unreliable. But state and local programs in the Northeast offer alternative ways to make homes more efficient for low-income residents and reduce their utility bills. Listen as Lara Heard reads her piece, "State and Cities Advance Affordability by Lowering Utility Costs."
Read it at https://shelterforce.org/2026/05/12/state-and-cities-advance-affordability-by-lowering-utility-...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
May 15, 2026 • 14 mins
Rev. Jesse Jackson’s passing reminds us of the need to combine political and economic organizing—and to translate protest gains into lasting structural change. Ron Stubblefield, director of Housing and Place-Based Initiatives at the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, explains.
Music by ℗ Music by ComaStudio
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
May 14, 2026 • 8 mins
In Brazil’s settlements, or favelas, residents risk displacement due to unclear property title—but getting clear title could price them out of the community. Could community land trusts offer a solution to this dilemma? Felipe Litsek and Tarcyla Fidalgo, coordinators of the Favela-CLT Project, explain.
This piece is read by John Ludas for Shelterforce.
Music by ℗ Music by ComaStudio
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
May 8, 2026 • 20 mins
Facing both federal and state legislature intransigence, many tenant organizers are shifting their tactics away from policy campaigns and toward direct, building-by-building organizing. Reporting by Aaron Fernando, read by Miriam Axel-Lute.
Read the story at https://shelterforce.org/2026/05/06/stalled-in-state-houses-tenant-unions-organize-against-landlords-directly/
Music by ℗ Music by ComaStudio
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
May 7, 2026 • 6 mins
The proposed FY 2027 budget for rural housing shows improvements from last year, but still fundamentally fails to provide the support needed for small towns and rural areas to thrive. Samantha Booth, government relations manager at the Housing Assistance Council, explains.
Read more at https://shelterforce.org/2026/05/07/the-white-house-rural-housing-budget-the-good-the-bad-and-the-bigger-picture/
Music by ℗ Music by ComaStudio
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
May 5, 2026 • 22 mins
It's not new for states and localities to have their own fair housing and community reinvestment measures—but as the federal government backs away from enforcement, their versions may grow more important. Minhae Roth reports for Shelterforce.
Read the story at https://shelterforce.org/2026/05/05/when-the-feds-step-back-on-fair-housing-can-states-step-up/
Music by ℗ Music by ComaStudio
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
May 1, 2026 • 18 mins
In Canada, more than half of all housing on community land trusts is cooperative housing. In the U.S., that number is less than 2 percent. Why? Shelterforce's Steve Dubb reports.
Read Steve's column at https://shelterforce.org/2026/04/27/how-clts-are-powering-co-op-growth-in-canada-lessons-for-the-u-s/.
Music by ℗ Music by ComaStudio
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
May 1, 2026 • 60 mins
In this webinar, co-sponsored by Shelterforce and the Lincoln Institute for Land Policy, we examine some of the steps Fannie and Freddie can take to make homeownership more affordable.
The webinar was moderated by Steve Dubb, Shelterforce‘s strategic initiatives editor, and included:
—George McCarthy, president and CEO of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
—Sara Morgan, president of Fahe, an Appalachia-based community develop...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
April 30, 2026 • 83 mins
DeShanda Williams and Nikea Ward have spent their careers supporting young people in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, helping them move from instability to safety through housing, trust, and consistent support. In this interview, Shelterforce's Schlonn Hawkins chats with Williams and Ward about their work, how they establish trust with youth, their challenges and triumph as women of color, and more.
This interview is part of Shelterforce's ...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
April 29, 2026 • 13 mins
At a time when support for housing homeless people is under attack, preventing unnecessary evictions—which are costly as well as cruel—is more important than ever for local governments. Sandra Sadek reports on some of the approaches being tried.
Read the full article at https://shelterforce.org/2026/04/29/avoiding-evictions-how-state-and-local-policy-can-keep-tenants-in-their-homes/
Music by ℗ Music by ComaStudio
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
April 28, 2026 • 9 mins
States can pursue legal remedies under anti-trust laws when landlords collude to raise rents or use deceptive practices to institute extra fees, even if the FTC backs away from these cases. Caroline Nagy, associate director of housing policy for Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, explains.
Read Nagy's op-ed at https://shelterforce.org/2026/04/28/states-can-put-the-brakes-on-landlord-collusion-and-junk-fees/
Music by...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
April 27, 2026 • 21 mins
Affordable housing has never been easy to finance. Now, with rising insurance, debt, and operating costs outpacing rents and subsidies, developers say it’s getting harder to make the math work. Shelterforce's Shelby R. King reports.
Read the full article at https://shelterforce.org/2026/04/24/breaking-point-why-the-affordable-housing-business-model-is-unraveling/
Music by ℗ Music by ComaStudio
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
April 23, 2026 • 10 mins
Housing markets don't stay within state boundaries. Why should housing finance agencies? Peter Sabonis, director of housing and equitable development for Partners for Dignity and Rights, explains.
Read Peter's op-ed at https://shelterforce.org/2026/04/22/how-states-can-build-housing-together-a-proposal-to-create-joint-authorities/
Music by ℗ Music by ComaStudio
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
April 21, 2026 • 13 mins
Housing funding programs are notoriously fragmented. One way to make limited housing dollars go further is to improve the systems distributing them. Reporting by Amanda Abrams; article read by John Ludas.
Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2026/04/21/making-money-for-housing-go-further/
Music by ℗ Music by ComaStudio
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
April 20, 2026 • 22 mins
My experience with a utility shutoff led me to look more closely at who provides my city’s power. It turns out there's a push for the city to buy out the investor-owned utility and create a public one. Gabb Schivone reports.
Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2026/04/02/will-tucson-take-back-its-power-literally/
℗ Music by ComaStudio
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
April 16, 2026 • 17 mins
In the hunt for ways to fund affordable housing, taxes on controversial activities from gambling to short-term rentals are often appealing. Colby Sledge, regional policy director for Grounded Solutions Network, explores how that's been working in four communities.
Read the article at https://shelterforce.org/2026/04/17/are-dedicated-sin-taxes-a-useful-path-for-affordable-housing-funding/.
℗ Music by ComaStudio
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
April 14, 2026 • 13 mins
Chattanooga aligned its housing tax incentive with the actual cost of charging more affordable rents. Developers are participating.
Hanneke van Deursen, the director of housing finance for the city of Chattanooga, shares the story.
For more, go to https://shelterforce.org/2026/04/14/how-we-rewrote-a-tax-incentive-to-encourage-more-affordable-housing/
℗ Music by ComaStudio
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Popular Podcasts
Hey Jonas! The official Jonas Brothers podcast. Hosted by Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas. It’s the Jonas Brothers you know... musicians, actors, and well, yes, brothers. Now, they’re sharing another side of themselves in the playful, intimate, and irreverent way only they can. Spend time with the Jonas Brothers here and stay a little bit longer for deep conversations like never before.
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.