arts
Hosted by Marina Rubina · arts · EN · 88 episodes
Have you seen any starter homes for sale lately? Neither have we. In this podcast, we speak with experts and try to figure out why this humble first home is going extinct. We’ll be exploring if it is the politicians, wielding zoning laws like a murder weapon who killed the starter home? Or maybe the scaredy-cat planners and designers? Or the developers, armed with cookie-cutter plans and corporate indifference? Is it our convoluted tax policy that subsidies homeownership, but puts every tax penalty in the way of creation of the starter homes.Spoiler alert: it’s probably a little of everything.We’ll be peeling back the layers of bureaucracy, bad faith, and bad planning, with stops along the way for affordable housing scandals, ADU success stories, and a passionate plea for building code updates. Join us for a conversation that’s part policy deep-dive, part therapy session for frustrated builders, and entirely a love letter to cities that deserve better.
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Signup to Generate a PitchHave you seen any starter homes for sale lately? Neither have we. In this podcast, we speak with experts and try to figure out why this humble first home is going extinct. We’ll be exploring if it is the politicians, wielding zoning laws like a murder weapon who killed the starter home? Or maybe the scaredy-cat planners and designers?
Who Killed the Starter Home? is hosted by Marina Rubina. The show has published 88 episodes to date.
Recent episodes include "A Phenomenal Place to Live. No Car Needed. Conversation with Robert Ciatto" (23 October 2026, 8 minutes), "Luck Is Not a Housing Policy. Conversation with Charlotte Hayden." (16 October 2026, 41 minutes), and "The Income of Homeowners: The Rent You Don't Pay. Conversation with Richard Green" (2 October 2026, 52 minutes).
Who Killed the Starter Home? publishes roughly weekly, with episodes averaging 52 minutes across 88 episodes.
Booking probability for Who Killed the Starter Home? is 34%, and the host is rated Selective on guests. Who Killed the Starter Home? requires a Pod Score of 80 or higher. Who Killed the Starter Home?'s contact route on record: verified email.
The strongest fits for Who Killed the Starter Home? are Property Management & Appraisal. Who Killed the Starter Home? has an arts audience.
Marina Rubina hosts Who Killed the Starter Home?, an arts show with 88 episodes published.
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Episode #88
On this show, we usually bring in experts. They share what is broken in housing and what solutions are being tried around the world. Today is different. I recorded this one on my phone at the Princeton Farmers Market on...
Episode #87
Charlotte Hayden grew up in Princeton and recently came back as an adult. She found her apartment through a series of lucky coincidences and loves living in a walkable neighborhood without a car. Charlotte says that’s...
Episode #85
In this episode, Professor Richard Green joins us. He's the Director and Chair of the University of Southern California Lusk Center for Real Estate, and he's been obsessed with data and cities since he was about nine...
Episode #84
In this episode, Steve Goldin joins us with a rare perspective of the housing system from all angles. He's been a developer, a municipal planning director, a real estate head at a public university, and even started a...
Episode #83
In this episode, Dominic Behrens joins us from Sydney, Australia where he is a senior economist with The Ce ntre for International Economics . He is also the co-founder of Sydney YIMBY . Dominic walks us through a...
Episode #82
In this episode, Raisa Rubin-Stankiewicz joins us. She is the policy director of the New Jersey Coalition to End Homelessness . And she's here with some hard numbers. Unsheltered homelessness in New Jersey is up 61...
Episode #81
In this episode, Tara Paxton joins us at the start of what she calls her "Act Two." She spent nearly thirty years on the municipal side of planning, most recently as planning director in Brick Township here in New...
Episode #80
In this episode, David Kinsey joins us — the planner who, more than almost anyone else in New Jersey, has shaped the math behind the Mount Laurel doctrine and helped determine the numbers of deed-restricted residential...
Episode #79
In this episode, Justin Hollander, professor of urban & environmental policy and planning at Tufts University, joins us — and yes, he's also planned a new town on Mars , underground bike tunnels included. Back on Earth...
Episode #78
In this episode, research attorney with YIMBY Law Jack Farrell came back to the podcast to walk us through the newly passed Road to Housing Act . This sprawling, three hundred eighty-one-page bill is made up of small...
Episode #77
For decades, local zoning rules kept towns like Santa Barbara completely stuck, resulting in virtually zero new housing production. Then, the state of California stepped in. In this episode, architect and housing...
Episode #76
It is a common story of high-demand towns using zoning to keep housing supply from meeting demand with low- and moderate-income families being pushed out. In this episode, New Jersey's preeminent housing planner Creigh...
Episode #75
You have probably heard of the "Yes In My Back Yard" movement, but you may be less familiar with YIMBY Law — a nonprofit organization that helps research policy solutions, offer legal support, and streamline the...
Episode #74
"Design is the easy part. I get to sit in my secret magic studio, come up with a great design, and draw it up. I can do that all day long. But getting that design to work with the budget, the zoning, the neighbors, and...
Episode #73
"If you try to keep anything from changing in the buildings, then what has to change is the people," shared Andrew Burleson, Board Chair of Strong Towns , as he walked me through the way out-of-proportion regulations...
Episode #72
As someone who advocates for affordable housing, I am having a hard time processing this data—but it is officially in , and it’s a massive reality check. Economist Jason Sorens has done extensive modeling on New...
Episode #71
When Erick and Carolina were recent architecture grads navigating a long-distance relationship between Houston and McAllen, Texas, Erick dropped a question that would completely rewrite their futures: "Will You Design a...
Episode #70
Our latest episode was recorded live at the NJ Planning and Redevelopment Conference with Randi Moore, CEO of the Affordable Housing Alliance . We dove into a frustrating paradox: under normal circumstances the standard...
Episode #69
If we "just fix zoning" all our housing problems will be solved, right? Not exactly. In this episode, Professional Planner Gabby Hart joins us from Colorado to share her experience working with municipalities on master...
Episode #68
Potholes need fixing: no argument there! But while the "universal pothole consensus" keeps our eyes glued to the asphalt, it can make us miss the grander, more exciting evolution waiting to happen in our towns. In this...
Recent guests on Who Killed the Starter Home?. Study who booked and why before you pitch.
author of "Rekindle Your Professional Fire: Powerful Habits for Becoming a More Well-Balanced Teacher", Christ's Church of the Valley
mayor of East Brunswick, NJ, New Zealand Opera
neuroscientist and authority on gerrymandering, Princeton Gerrymandering Initiative
Chief Operation Officer, Sherwood Lumber
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