Sam Bowman on what’s holding back progress (and how to fix it)

Young people across the Western world are struggling to start their lives. In most cases, it's not for lack of ambition, but because they can't find a place to live. The consequences show up anywhere from sluggish economies to low birth rates. But there's a way to fix it.In this episode, we talk with Sam Bowman, editor of Works in Progress, a magazine focused on high-leverage ideas to improve the world. We discuss why housing is the master key to some of the biggest challenges that Western societies are facing today.We discuss:Why the biggest bottleneck to economic growth in rich countries isn't technology, but where people are allowed to liveWhere laws on housing come from and why we should change themModels that have actually worked: from Israel's resident-led densification to Madrid’s low-cost metro expansionWhy aesthetics matter more than economists think when it comes to getting people to accept new housingWhat it would take for Western cities to grow the way Tokyo or the Pearl River Delta did, and what that could mean for growth, families and optimismThis special episode was recorded live at the 2025 Progress Conference, hosted by our friends at Roots of Progress. We’re grateful to them for bringing together so many thinkers reimagining how humanity can keep moving forward—and for making conversations like this one possible!Timestamps:0:00 Cold open0:38 Intro: Sam Bowman and Works in Progress4:14 Why a magazine format instead of a think tank or Substack10:13 When technology isn't the bottleneck to progress: housing, transport and energy17:56 Why San Francisco thrives despite its dysfunction24:19 Why industries develop in suboptimal places: the TSMC example27:06 Why it's so hard to build: the history of zoning laws36:12 Updates to regulation and policy: local decision-making models43:56 Housing as a western-world problem that drives everything else48:06 The role of aesthetics in getting people to accept new buildings55:48 Works in Progress and the journey to appreciating aesthetics58:55 Building movements to shift expectations about the future1:05:44 What a successful future looks like1:09:16 Italy, Spain and the birth rate crisis1:11:37 Housing and tech growth aren't in competition1:12:51 What DOGE got wrong about reforming government1:20:29 Other hopeful examples: the Madrid Metro projectOn the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures. Full transcript, listed resources, and more: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcastsFollow on X. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.