Guest:

Sonja Trauss – Founder & Exec Director of YIMBY Law

Guest Bio: 

Sonja Trauss is the founder and executive director of YIMBY Law, a groundbreaking organization using litigation and advocacy to enforce housing laws and expand all types of housing across California. A former math teacher turned activist, Sonja helped ignite the Yes In My Backyard (YIMBY) movement and has become one of the state’s most passionate and fearless voices for housing abundance, zoning reform, and environmental accountability.

Her work challenges entrenched interests and weaponized regulations — and she’s not afraid to call out CEQA abuse, NIMBYism, or political hypocrisy. Sonja is based in the Bay Area and continues to push for real solutions to California’s affordability crisis.

Show Summary

Can California be affordable again — and who’s actually fighting for it? In this episode, Jon Slavet sits down with housing warrior Sonja Trauss to unpack the real story behind the state’s housing shortage.

From CEQA lawsuits and zoning gridlock to political cowardice and rising homelessness, Sonja reveals how bad policy and entrenched interests have weaponized the environmental movement against the very people it’s meant to protect. She also breaks down the YIMBY movement’s legal and grassroots strategy for building more homes, faster — and why local activism is the key to turning California around.

Chapters

00:00 – The Housing Crisis Is Political

01:30 – Meet Sonja Trauss: From Math Teacher to Activist

03:00 – Why CEQA Lawsuits Are Killing Housing

05:22 – How the YIMBY Movement Took Off

07:18 – What Environmentalists Get Wrong

09:05 – How Local Governments Block Growth

10:40 – Holding Politicians Accountable with Lawsuits

12:11 – What It’ll Take to Actually Build

13:35 – The Future of California Depends on This

Connect with Sonja

Twitter: https://x.com/SonjaTrauss

Instagram: ​​https://instagram.com/sonjatraussd6

Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonja-trauss-02002968

Website: https://yimbyaction.org/

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