SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America

Growing up in California's Sierra Nevada foothills, wildfire has always been part of Sold Out host Erin Baldassari’s consciousness. Her earliest memory is fleeing a fire as it bore down on her childhood home. At the time, it was the state’s third largest wildfire, but now it doesn’t even rank in the top 20. As she considers moving back, she explores what it means to live in an area with known and pronounced climate risk. The question for all of us on the frontlines of climate change is: how do we adapt when our memories of a place are constantly clashing with new realities?

Sea Change is a podcast from WWNO and WRKF in Louisiana that dives deep into the environmental issues facing coastal communities on the Gulf Coast and beyond.

When we talk about climate change, we hear one word all the time: resilient. We use it to talk about everything from our houses, to our power grid, to ourselves. 

In this episode of Sea Change, we asked our listeners what they think about this word, and we got some very strong reactions. And, we ask the question: how can we address both the physical forces of climate change and the broken social systems that make it an even greater threat? We hear stories about efforts from across the Gulf Coast – from storm-proofing homes to creating neighborhood disaster response groups – to help keep people from needing to be resilient in the first place.

When a flood or fire swallows someone’s home, insurance can provide some stability, and prevent a plunge into poverty. But as insurance companies pull out of California that promise is melting away. In this episode we discover what happens to home insurance as wildfires get worse and what we can do to improve the outlook. And we meet two families living with the consequences of this uncertain future.

What if there was a way that California could build the housing it needs and drastically cut carbon emissions at the same time? City planners and environmentalists say this unicorn does exist: transit-oriented housing. It sounds great in theory, but in practice, it’s more complicated. This episode explores how one California city, built around cars, is trying to create a different future. We’ll examine how the perfect solution for climate change forces us to rethink the American dream of the detached single family home and the SUV.

A quarter of California’s carbon emissions come from homes and buildings -- from the appliances we use to keep ourselves warm and our families fed. Replacing gas powered appliances with electric ones is one way to make a big impact, but the process is slow and expensive. We head to a neighborhood in Oakland that is taking a revolutionary approach to reducing their emissions: by electrifying together, all at once. We talk to the gung ho enthusiasts and the holdouts and explore the roadblocks to success.

Whether it’s severe heat, fires, or floods, people experiencing homelessness are on the bleeding edge of the climate emergency. We follow the story of one woman who is trying to keep herself and her adult son alive on the blistering streets of Fresno, California. We hear from advocates pushing lawmakers to find solutions, and creating their own. And ask, how is climate change forcing us to rethink our response to homelessness?

Climate change is intensifying wet periods across California - untaming waterways humans corralled with dirt and concrete.  When the river comes for your town, what do you do, how do you adapt? Is abandoning life in the floodplain the only real option? We follow the Escutia family, starting on the night that a flood swallowed their hometown, and for months afterward, as they searched for an affordable home on higher ground.

Sold Out: Rethinking Housing In America is back with an all new season. Host Erin Baldassari leads a team of reporters as they grapple with the ways climate is affecting our very idea of home.

What are your biggest ideas on how to solve the housing crisis? How has housing impacted/shaped your life?

Throughout this season, we wanted to hear from you – the SOLD OUT audience. We asked you to get in touch, and you came through! Through voice memos, email and social media, dozens of listeners reached out and shared stories of housing insecurity and loss, advocacy work, and visions for an equitable housing future. 

In this bonus episode, we hear from seven people for whom housing is at the center of everything. 

Still want to contact the show? Email us at [email protected]

The number one reason people are evicted is falling behind on rent. So how do you keep that from happening in the first place? 

In the final chapter in our series on evictions, we look at Section 8; the promise, the problems, and the history. And the push for guaranteed income – because if the rent is out of reach, maybe the solution is to help pay it.

Read the episode transcript here.