Solving America's Problems

Jerremy Alexander Newsome & Dave Conley
  • 5.0 (12)
  • Politics
  • Updated Weekly

America's Opportunities: From Conversation to Candidacy. Solving America's Problems is a weekly podcast that turns real conversations about America's toughest issues into a movement, so the best and brightest serve in government, not chase Wall Street or Silicon Valley. It's for anyone who wants a serious hour on the country's problems without a team jersey. Hosted by Jerremy Alexander Newsome (co-host and candidate) and Dave Conley (co-host and producer). Guests include authors, academics, presidential advisors, activists, CEOs and everyday people with lived experience. Solving America's Problems is about everyone. Topics: the economy and the Fed, housing and homelessness, education and school safety, immigration, AI and work, the national debt. Jerremy is running for office. The movement comes first; the campaign follows. Party: undetermined. Self-funded. No sponsors. No party. Start here: https://solvingamericasproblems.com

  1. 1d ago ·  Bonus

    29,000 Jobs, 7.28% Mortgages, and a Stock Market That Won't Quit

    The economy added 29,000 jobs against 90,000 expected, and the Nasdaq is still at all-time highs. Jerremy Alexander Newsome says the 10-year Treasury rose a fifth straight week to 5.277%, pushing the 30-year mortgage to 7.28%, the highest since 2023, and he thinks double-digit mortgage rates could land before the next president's term. Dave Conley calls it demand destruction: the Fed squeezes everyone while Congress, which holds the power of the purse, sits it out, and higher rates do nothing about diesel or $6.50 gas in Las Vegas. Jerremy walks the charts on NVIDIA at record highs, Meta up 41% since August, Tesla still down 17% for the year, and Bitcoin with $89,000 in sight. Dave closes on October surprise season, and Jerremy on hedges, cash and staying off margin. Timestamps: (00:00) 29,000 jobs against 90,000 expected – and Wall Street parties anyway (00:34) A war nobody has called a war – and Congress never approved it (02:25) The 10-year hits 5.277% – 30-year mortgages climb to 7.28% (02:49) Double-digit mortgage rates – before the next president's term? (03:57) Congress holds the power of the purse – and sits it out (05:44) The Fed's lever can't touch fuel – $6.50 gas in Las Vegas (07:01) Nike down 90% – why global brands are getting demolished (07:37) Dave's thesis – all the money flows to AI and crypto (09:52) NVIDIA at record highs – one company propping up the market (11:35) Meta up 41% since August – and a $300 billion buyback (12:59) Buybacks used to be off-limits – growth or just finance? (13:39) Tesla's down 17% this year – Jerremy's path back to flat (15:35) Bitcoin at $80,000 is still buyable – $89,000 within weeks (16:13) October surprise season – a 90-day window where anything happens (17:55) Hedges, cash and no margin – Jerremy's playbook at all-time highs 🌍 Connect with us: Instagram | YouTube | X | Web

  2. 5d ago

    Christopher Serkin: Why Zoning Reform Alone Won't Fix Housing (Full)

    Nashville approved every one of roughly 200 rezoning requests over two years, added about 75,000 housing units in a decade, and is still net less dense than it was 25 years ago. Christopher Serkin uses that to argue looser zoning alone won't deliver affordability, and that homeowners associations would fill the void if zoning vanished. Jerremy Alexander Newsome and Dave Conley press him on Wall Street, the 2008 crash and whether housing can be both affordable and a good investment. He says it can't. He also explains why the left and right agreeing on zoning makes him nervous, and why a state overriding local control feels different in Tennessee than in California. It ends with a lightning round and the hosts' own debrief. Timestamps: (00:00) Forty-year-old first buyers – Home prices have outrun paychecks for a decade(05:09) The ski mountain buyout – A town of 900 blocks development permanently(10:06) Nashville said yes – Every request approved, yet the city got less dense(18:04) Wall Street's real role – He admits he can't prove how much(25:40) Not both – Affordable and a good investment can't coexist(46:53) The liberal-tarian consensus – Left and right agree, and it worries him(61:35) The hosts' debrief – Homeownership as a home, not an investment thesis 🌍 Connect with us: Instagram | YouTube | X | Web

  3. 6d ago

    Who Should Decide How Fast Your Neighborhood Changes?

    For roughly the first 85 to 90 years of zoning, the left and right split on it. Now they agree it's the problem. Christopher Serkin says that convergence makes him nervous, and he calls it the liberal-tarian consensus. Jerremy Alexander Newsome and Dave Conley ask who should decide how fast a neighborhood changes. He says it depends on the market, and that a state overriding local control feels very different in Tennessee than in California or New York. He gets heavy pushback when he asks for government to build housing itself, and he doesn't trust a less regulated market to deliver affordability. Looking twenty years out, he pictures cheaper building costs, more multifamily housing and a move away from the suburban ideal the federal government pushed in the 1930s and 1940s. The lightning round and the hosts' own debrief close it out. Timestamps: (00:00) Who decides? – The question under every zoning fight, asked point blank(01:18) Tennessee versus New York – Why state takeovers of local zoning feel so different(02:24) The liberal-tarian consensus – Left and right agree, and it worries him(07:39) Twenty years out – The housing future he wants people to inherit(11:05) Good density, dumb density – A conference line that stuck with him(17:07) The hosts' debrief – Homeownership as a home, not an investment thesis 🌍 Connect with us: Instagram | YouTube | X | Web

  4. Sep 29

    Housing Can't Be Both Affordable and a Good Investment

    Housing can't be both affordable and a good investment. Christopher Serkin says that tension is the lesson the country forgot after 2008, when so many recent buyers lost everything. Jerremy Alexander Newsome and Dave Conley ask whether zoning is really the whole story. He says it's one problem among several, and that fixing only zoning could make outcomes worse in many markets. He also argues home prices are one piece of a wider rise in asset prices, a return to capital instead of labor. Jerremy asks whether it's so bad if people rent and put their money in the stock market, and Christopher explains why rent and ownership costs stay linked. Timestamps: (00:00) The two-goal trap – Affordable and a great investment can't both happen(01:22) What 2008 taught – Scholars questioned homeownership as the goal for most people(07:28) A 40% price crash – Would anyone blame zoning reform for it?(08:42) Asset prices everywhere – Stocks, tuition and homes all inflated together(09:59) Is renting so bad? – Jerremy asks if owning is overrated(15:36) The one law – Dave asks what single change he'd make tomorrow 🌍 Connect with us: Instagram | YouTube | X | Web

  5. Sep 28

    Nashville Approved Every Rezoning Request. Prices Exploded Anyway

    Nashville approved every one of roughly 200 rezoning requests over two years and added about 75,000 housing units in a decade, and it is still net less dense than it was 25 years ago. Christopher Serkin says that's why he doubts looser zoning alone delivers affordability. Jerremy Alexander Newsome and Dave Conley ask what fills the gap if zoning disappears, and he says homeowners associations would, which he calls worse in every dimension. He also tells the story of his mother, a weaver in a Vermont town of 900, who helped the town buy a defunct ski mountain and lock it up with conservation easements. On Wall Street, he says he can't prove how much private equity moves prices, but his phone rang every few days with offers to buy his house. Timestamps: (00:00) Forty-year-old first buyers – Home prices have outrun paychecks for a decade(05:08) The ski mountain buyout – A town of 900 blocks development permanently(10:05) Nashville said yes – Every request approved, yet the city got less dense(15:07) Public zoning or HOAs – What fills the gap if zoning vanishes tomorrow(18:03) Wall Street's real role – He admits he can't prove how much(21:04) The unsolicited offers – Private equity kept calling to buy his house 🌍 Connect with us: Instagram | YouTube | X | Web

  6. Sep 24

    Gene Eidelman Is 3D-Printing America Out of a Housing Crisis (Full)

    In 1976, homes under 1,400 square feet made up a third of new construction; by 2020, that number was 7%. Gene Eidelman sold $100 million in real estate within three years of arriving as a refugee, then built Azure Printed Homes, which 3D-prints houses from recycled plastic in weeks instead of months. He details the zoning fights blocking affordable manufactured homes, wildfire data showing 2008-code houses survived 80% of the time versus 80% destroyed before it, and how LA could house its homeless for under $100,000 each instead of a million. Jerremy and Dave press him on financing, factory quality control, and how his company stacks up against newly public competitor Boxabl. Timestamps: (00:00) A refugee's first deal – $100M in real estate, closed almost by accident(07:39) Built in a factory – Why that doesn't mean lower quality here(25:43) The Columbus rule – A city bans manufactured homes for no real reason(32:59) The financing gap – Lenders still won't fund modular homes despite new law(43:08) The 2008 code – It decided who lost their home in the fires(54:08) Boxabl comparison – How a newly public rival stacks up against him Connect: Gene Eidelman – Website | Azure Printed HomesCrowdfunding – Invest 🌍 Connect with us: Instagram | YouTube | X | Web

  7. Sep 23

    Houses Built After 2008 Survived Wildfires 80% of the Time

    Homes built under California's 2008 fire code survived last year's wildfires 80% of the time; homes built before it were destroyed 80% of the time. Gene Eidelman breaks down the cheap fixes behind that gap — double-pane windows, mesh over AC vents, no wooden fences touching the house. He and Jerremy also dig into LA County's homelessness numbers: 75,000 people, with only 18% showing drug addiction the moment they first hit the street. Cities routinely spend up to a million dollars and six years building one unit; Gene says he can do it for under $100,000 in six months. He closes by comparing his company directly to newly public competitor Boxabl and revealing plans for a public crowdfunding round. Timestamps: (00:00) The Malibu fire – He lived through it and later found the pattern(06:48) The addiction myth – Only 18% show drug use at first(08:23) The real cost gap – Cities spend a million; he does it cheaper(11:15) Boxabl comparison – How his approach differs from the newly public competitor Connect: Gene Eidelman – Website | Azure Printed HomesCrowdfunding – Invest 🌍 Connect with us: Instagram | YouTube | X | Web

  8. Sep 22

    Zoning Still Blocks the Affordable Homes America Needs

    One Ohio city's zoning code outright bans manufactured homes in a low-income neighborhood — even for a project explicitly meant to be affordable. Gene Eidelman calls it a holdover from 1960s trailer-park stigma that has nothing to do with how these homes actually perform today. He walks through how ADUs, junior ADUs, and new state rules allowing four to eight units per lot are quietly solving California's housing shortage, while cities like Laguna Beach still block almost everything. Dave presses him on how an ADU actually changes a homeowner's life day to day. Gene also flags a real financing gap: some lenders still refuse to fund modular construction, even with a new federal law requiring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to back it. Timestamps: (00:00) The zoning fight – One city won't even approve his affordable homes(00:22) The Columbus rule – A city bans manufactured homes for no real reason(04:25) Two cities, two outcomes – Why one welcomes density and one blocks it(07:32) The financing gap – Some lenders still won't fund modular homes at all Connect: Gene Eidelman – Website | Azure Printed HomesCrowdfunding – Invest 🌍 Connect with us: Instagram | YouTube | X | Web

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Hosts & Guests

5
out of 5
12 Ratings

About

America's Opportunities: From Conversation to Candidacy. Solving America's Problems is a weekly podcast that turns real conversations about America's toughest issues into a movement, so the best and brightest serve in government, not chase Wall Street or Silicon Valley. It's for anyone who wants a serious hour on the country's problems without a team jersey. Hosted by Jerremy Alexander Newsome (co-host and candidate) and Dave Conley (co-host and producer). Guests include authors, academics, presidential advisors, activists, CEOs and everyday people with lived experience. Solving America's Problems is about everyone. Topics: the economy and the Fed, housing and homelessness, education and school safety, immigration, AI and work, the national debt. Jerremy is running for office. The movement comes first; the campaign follows. Party: undetermined. Self-funded. No sponsors. No party. Start here: https://solvingamericasproblems.com

Information

  • Creator
    Jerremy Alexander Newsome & Dave Conley
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    288
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Solving Americas Problems LLC
  • Show Website
    Solving America's Problems

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