On The Abundance Agenda this week, James explains why buses are cool – and shares depressing news about what appears to be another delay to HS2.
Then Martin digs deep into a new report packed with ideas for increasing Britain’s housing supply. The secret? More air conditioning and smaller homes!
And finally, we speak to writer, comedian and prolific podcaster Andrew Hunter Murray about the phenomenon of empty houses… and why they are actually good.
The Abundance Agenda is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and hopefully wherever you get your podcasts!
You can find James on Bluesky here, and Martin here.
You can find Andrew Hunter Murray’s novel, A Beginner’s Guide to Breaking and Entering here. He’s also on the Private Eye Podcast, No Such Thing As A Fish, and The Naked Week.
The report Breaking the Bottlenecks by Centre for Cities can be found here.
James’s unwise wading in on Blue Labour and the politics of immigration is here.
Martin’s latest post about the nature of diagnosis is here.
Liz’s post on why we need seven bins is here.
00:00 Introduction to the Abundance Agenda Podcast
00:35 The Struggles of Non-London Bus Services
01:31 Exciting News: West Yorkshire's Weaver Network
03:02 The Future of Bus Franchising in the UK
06:40 HS2: Costs and Delays
12:34 Challenges in Building More Housing
15:56 The Debate on Air Conditioning and Flat Sizes
28:45 Substack News and Housekeeping
30:38 Introducing Our Guest: Andrew Hunter Murray
31:34 Andrew's Obsession with Second Homes
32:46 The Second Home Situation in the UK
35:12 Potential Solutions to the Housing Crisis
37:33 The Impact of Second Home Ownership Policies
39:36 Incremental Changes and Taxation
46:01 Gentle Density and Housing Solutions
52:19 Political Viability of Abundance Ideas
55:38 Conclusion and Podcast Promotion
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www.abundancepod.com
