A hundred years ago, people in small towns were building things that still stop us in our tracks. Two-story brick shops on the corner of Main and Commerce. Sturdy. Modest. Enduring. And beautiful.
So the question is: what changed?
I joined Geoff Graham on his Yeoman podcast, alongside Jaime Izurieta and Saifedean Ammous (author of The Bitcoin Standard), to try and unpack that question.
We talk about why the small towns of the early 1900s could build beautiful things without credentialed architects, starchitects, or REIT funding... and why today, with all our global supply chains and five-star consultants, we mostly build disposable boxes.
Turns out, there’s a connection between money, time preference, and architecture. And when the money got funny, everything else started to crack too – our neighborhoods, our supply chains, even our standards for beauty.
It’s a wide-ranging conversation that touches on architecture, monetary policy, code creep, and how the over-financialization of everything is eroding our ability to build for the long haul.
Take a listen if you’ve ever wondered why your grandparents' post office looks better than your city’s new civic center.
CHAPTERS
00:00 The Changing Landscape of Building and Time Preference
02:51 Exploring the Intersection of Money and Architecture
05:57 Historical Context: Building in Early 20th Century America
09:01 The Role of Local Materials and Community in Architecture
11:54 Understanding Time Preference and Its Impact on Building
15:09 The Influence of Monetary Policy on Architectural Beauty
17:50 The Shift from Hard Money to Inflationary Currency
21:03 Regulatory Challenges and Their Impact on Construction
23:57 The Disparity Between Wealth and Money
26:56 The Future of Architecture in an Inflationary Economy
40:47 Innovative Window Design and Egress Solutions
41:32 The Rising Cost of Housing and Inflation's Impact
42:32 Housing as a Store of Value
45:18 The Competition for Homeownership
47:26 Regulatory Challenges in Housing Production
50:47 The Complexity of Modern Building Standards
52:43 Energy Efficiency and Building Costs
53:43 Inflation and Environmental Concerns
56:29 The Future of Energy Production
01:01:20 The Role of Nuclear Energy
01:03:03 The Case for Sound Money and Bitcoin
01:12:14 The Path to a Low Time Preference World
CONNECT WITH THE GUESTS
Geoff Graham: Host of the Yeoman Podcast, real estate developer
Yeoman Podcast Website: https://graham.dev/yeoman/
Jaime Izurieta Varela: Architect, developer, urbanist
www.storefrontmastery.com
https://x.com/izurietavarea
https://www.linkedin.com/in/izurietavarea/
https://www.instagram.com/storefrontmastery/
https://www.facebook.com/public/Jaime-Izurieta/
Book: Mainstreet Mavericks
Saifedean Ammous: Economist, Bitcoin advocate, author
Website: https://saifedean.com/
Twitter (X): @saifedean
Instagram: @saifedean
Podcast: saifedean.com/podcast
Courses: saifedean.com/courses
MENTIONED RESOURCES
The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking https://saifedean.com/the-bitcoin-standard
The Fiat Standard: The Debt Slavery Alternative to Human Civilization https://saifedean.com/the-fiat-standard
CONNECT WITH AUSTIN TUNNELL
Newsletter: https://playbook.buildingculture.com/
https://www.instagram.com/austintunnell/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/austin-tunnell-2a41894a/
https://twitter.com/AustinTunnell
CONNECT WITH BUILDING CULTURE
https://www.buildingculture.com/
https://www.instagram.com/buildingculture/
https://twitter.com/build_culture
https://www.facebook.com/BuildCulture/
SPONSORS
Thank you so much to the sponsors of The Building Culture Podcast!
Sierra Pacific Windows: https://www.sierrapacificwindows.com/
One Source Windows: https://onesourcewindows.com/
The Building Culture Podcast 
