This is Cohousing: The Cohousing Podcast

The Cohousing Company
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THIS IS COHOUSING: The Cohousing Podcast, from The Cohousing Company and hosted by architect, author, and cohousing pioneer Charles Durrett. For nearly 40 years, Charles has explored how design and community can help us live more sustainably, affordably, and connected to one another. Through conversations with residents, organizers, architects, and developers, this podcast explores the ideas, history, and real-world practice of cohousing—and how better neighborhoods can create a better future.

  1. 6d ago

    This is Cohousing | Ep 18 | A Conversation on Cooperation vs. Competition with Alfie Kohn

    Cooperation is the secret ingredient of cohousing. Charles Durrett talks with Alfie Kohn, author of "No Contest: The Case Against Competition," to discuss why cooperation beats competition and how cohousing groups can learn to make it their default.In this episode:• Why competition undermines self-esteem, relationships, and even productivity• "Broken Squares," a puzzle that tests whether people will give up their own success for the group's• Why conflict isn't the enemy, and the danger of groupthink• Deep listening as the most important skill a cohouser can bring• Martin Buber's difference between a true community and a mere collective• Designing a neighborhood together, where "one plus one equals twenty" About Alfie Kohn: Alfie Kohn is the author of 14 books on human behavior, education, and parenting, including No Contest: The Case Against Competition, Punished by Rewards, and The Brighter Side of Human Nature. He has also written hundreds of articles for newspapers, magazines, and scholarly journals. Kohn lectures widely at universities, as well as to school faculties, parent organizations, and community groups, and, as of 2025, hosts a podcast called Kohn's Zone. He lives (actually) in the Boston area and (virtually) at www.alfiekohn.org.No Contest: https://www.alfiekohn.org/contest/Kohn's Zone: https://www.alfiekohn.org/podcasts/Cohousing books and classes: https://cohousingco.comContact Chuck: charles.durrett@cohousingco.comProduced by The Cohousing Company: Nadthachai Kongkhajornkidsuk and Melissa Turnbull For more info visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.cohousingco.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/CohousingCo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bossa Antigua Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    This is Cohousing | Ep 18 | A Conversation on Cooperation vs. Competition with Alfie Kohn

  2. Oct 19

    This is Cohousing | Ep 17 | Rooted in Community: The Future of Cohousing in America w/ Laurie Frank

    In this episode of This is Cohousing, Chuck Durrett talks with Laurie Frank, one of the sharpest thinkers in the cohousing movement. Laurie is a former public school teacher with more than 50 years of experience, beginning in special education and moving into building school communities centered on participation, collaboration, and leadership. She is the author of Journey Toward the Caring Classroom. She serves on the boards of United World College Costa Rica and the National Cohousing Alliance, and she lives at Linden Cohousing, an intergenerational community of about 70 people in Madison, Wisconsin.Laurie shares the Alliance’s new name, mission, and five strategic priorities. She explains why the organization now sees cohousing as part of a wider ecosystem of community-rooted housing that includes land trust partnerships, tiny home villages, and co-ops. Chuck describes how the first U.S. cohousing community in Davis, California, helped 23 first-time homebuyers into homes, and why restricting resale prices keeps cohousing from turning into a quick profit. The two also discuss the “social infrastructure” every forming group needs, including common values, community agreements, and governance. Laurie draws on Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development to explain why groups need experienced guides, and Chuck reflects on lessons from a Chicago project about following the lead of the people you hope to serve.They close with a survey of Copenhagen seniors, where 55% chose cohousing as the place they’d most like to grow old, and with what cohousing has meant to each of them personally.Resources mentioned:National Cohousing Alliance (formerly Coho/US)No Contest: The Case Against Competition and Punished by Rewards by Alfie KohnAffluenza by John de Graaf, David Wann, and Thomas NaylorCohousing Communities, Creating Cohousing, and Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves by Charles Durrett and Kathryn McCamant

    This is Cohousing | Ep 17 | Rooted in Community: The Future of Cohousing in America w/ Laurie Frank

  3. Sep 22

    This is Cohousing | Ep 16 | Cohousing in the UK: Inspiration & Celebration with Owen Jarvis

    How do you grow a cohousing movement, and what does it take to make it a normal housing choice? Charles Durrett talks with Owen Jarvis, director of the UK Cohousing Network and co-founder of the Community Led Housing Growth Lab, ahead of Chuck's upcoming UK tour through Lancaster, Manchester, Bristol, Oxford, and London. They explore how cohousing has grown in Britain since its first community opened in 2003, and what needs to change for a post-Brexit, post-financial-crash housing landscape. Along the way, they talk about a proposed London School of Economics study on how much senior cohousing could save government, the million-dollar fire truck a Nevada County community didn't have to buy, and why UK landowners and developers are now approaching cohousing groups rather than the other way around. Owen shares how Housing 21 is bringing cohousing to underserved communities through "community coaching," and why the UK's new commonhold law could open the door for hundreds of thousands of people to consider cohousing. Chuck reflects on a study of 80,000 Copenhagen seniors, most of whom chose senior cohousing over every other option, and a Danish community whose mission is to have as much fun in their second 50 years as in their first. #Cohousing #SeniorCohousing #Community #Belonging #Loneliness #AgingWell #IntentionalCommunity For more info visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.cohousingco.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/CohousingCo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bossa Antigua Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    This is Cohousing | Ep 16 | Cohousing in the UK: Inspiration & Celebration with Owen Jarvis

  4. Sep 2

    This is Cohousing | Ep 15 | Reparatory Real Estate & Self-Determined Communal Living with Senait Brown

    In this episode, Chuck sits down with Senait Brown of House of Mkeka, an eight-household intergenerational pocket neighborhood being developed by Black families in Seattle. Senait, a community organizer and single parent, shares how her community chose what they call "self-determined communal living": pooling their collective net worth and pursuing grants, donations, and community resources rather than taking on thirty-year mortgages or accepting the AMI and resale caps of conventional affordable housing.The conversation moves from the practical to the profound. Senait explains their "reparatory real estate" model as a direct response to redlining, foreclosure, and generations of exclusion from the wealth-building tools other Americans took for granted. She and Chuck trade hard-won strategies for finding land in a tight market — from faith-based land initiatives and city surplus sites to the biases that persist even when the money is in hand. In one striking moment, Senait recounts a fully funded land deal that fell through simply because a seller didn't want to see a Black community empowered, and why they refused to put a white face out front to make it easier.They also dig into what makes cohousing actually work: designing decision by decision rather than brick by brick, the pre-development "healing work" that funders overlook, parking and car-free design, and what Senait calls "Afro security" — designing for protection and belonging in light of the community's history. Woven throughout are the principles guiding the project, from Kwanzaa to Ubuntu — "I am because we are" — and Muhammad Ali's two-word poem, "Me, We."A wide-ranging, hopeful conversation about building community as, in Senait's words, an act of revolution. Learn more about House of Mkeka: https://www.houseofmkeka.org/ #Cohousing #SeniorCohousing #Community #Belonging #Loneliness #AgingWell #IntentionalCommunity For more info visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.cohousingco.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/CohousingCo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bossa Antigua Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    This is Cohousing | Ep 15 | Reparatory Real Estate & Self-Determined Communal Living with Senait Brown

  5. Aug 18

    This is Cohousing | Ep 14 | The Antidote to Isolation with Dr. Richard Louis Miller

    What makes us feel like we belong? Psychologist, author, and podcast host Dr. Richard Louis Miller joins Charles Durrett to make the case that connection isn't a luxury — it's a biological need we've engineered out of modern life, and one that cohousing is uniquely built to restore. Dr. Miller traces how architecture, economics, and the pandemic have manufactured isolation and offers small, concrete antidotes anyone can start this week: introduce yourself to a stranger, wave at the four-way stop, make one phone call instead of sending a text. The conversation then turns to seniors, where Dr. Miller argues that "acting your age is dangerous," that aging is fundamentally about maintenance, and that senior cohousing offers a way for people to genuinely come alive again. Charles shares the practical details that make cohousing click — from remarkably affordable internet to sharing a single lawnmower across dozens of households — alongside the deeper story of neighbors who supported one another through their final years at home. Learn more about the Study Group 1 facilitator training (starting October 7, 2026): cohousingco.com/products/p/sg1 Dr. Richard Louis Miller's Podcast: Mind Body Health Politics #Cohousing #SeniorCohousing #Community #Belonging #Loneliness #AgingWell #IntentionalCommunity For more info visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.cohousingco.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/CohousingCo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bossa Antigua Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    This is Cohousing | Ep 14 | The Antidote to Isolation with Dr. Richard Louis Miller

  6. Aug 17

    This is Cohousing | Ep 13 | Bridging the Cultural Divide through Cohousing with Alan O'Hashi

    Can cohousing do what so much of American life can't — bring genuinely different people together? In this episode, host Charles Durrett sits down with Alan O'Hashi, a longtime resident of Silver Sage Cohousing in Boulder, Colorado — one of the first senior cohousing communities in the country — and author of Aging Gratefully in Good Company. Charles was the original schematic architect for Silver Sage, and the two reconnect for a wide-ranging, candid conversation about race, belonging, aging, and affordability in community. Alan reflects on a lifetime of collaborative living, from a large extended family to co-op houses to senior cohousing, and on his experience as one of the few people of color in a predominantly white movement — "the raisin in the Silver Sage oatmeal." Drawing on his Japanese American upbringing and his travels to intentional communities in South Africa, he challenges the idea that cohousing is a Western invention and asks what it would look like built by and for the other 98 percent. Together, Charles and Alan dig into why cohousing skews white and affluent, how it might evolve from a social movement into a social norm, the real work of bridging cultural divides, and why affordability comes down to getting organized. Alan also shares the moment cohousing's meaning became undeniable — when neighbors showed up at his door during a health crisis — and what living in community has taught him about elder hood. Whether you're forming a community, living in one, or wondering who cohousing is really for, this conversation offers honest, hard-won insight. Mentioned in this episode: Aging Gratefully in Good Company by Alan O'hashiThe Senior Cohousing Handbook by Charles DurrettStudy Group One: Aging SuccessfullyNeuro-Inclusive Community Design by Charles DurrettNational Cohousing Alliance For more info visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.cohousingco.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/CohousingCo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bossa Antigua Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    This is Cohousing | Ep 13 | Bridging the Cultural Divide through Cohousing with Alan O'Hashi

  7. Jul 28

    This is Cohousing | Ep 12 | Getting Your Cohousing Community Approved with Marty Maskall

    Hear from the project manager who "project managed a project into existence."In this episode, Charles talks with tenacious project manager, Marty Maskall about what it actually takes to get a cohousing project approved. Together they discuss preparing for the obstacles, the hardships of the zoning process, how to win over the neighbors, the city, and the county. Learn when to fight the bureaucrats and when to punt, and why the group's willingness to keep showing up can make all the difference.They also get into the parts that come after approval — hiring real professionals, moving from an LLC through construction to an HOA at turnover, choosing the right type of cohousing for you.Marty's path into cohousing: facing a hundred neighbors who showed up in opposition; her group had twenty. How she handled the failures and what Marty calls "a lack of political courage on the part of officeholders." Finally what her life is like today, living in a community with thirty homes on three and a half acres that previously held a single household.Her advice, and the line Chuck calls the most important thing said in the episode: "we have far more power than we realize. You don't need to see the whole thing before you take the first step." For more info visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.cohousingco.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/CohousingCo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bossa Antigua Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    This is Cohousing | Ep 12 | Getting Your Cohousing Community Approved with Marty Maskall

  8. Jul 13

    This is Cohousing | Ep 11 | The Anthropology of Culture Change & Cooperation with Richard Senghas

    Join Charles Durrett on This is Cohousing as he sits downwith anthropologist Richard Senghas. Together they explore what appliedanthropology can teach us about building community — and about changing cultureitself. Richard has lived in cohousing for 25 years and helped start two communities, including the exceptional FrogSong in Cotati, California. Drawing on his background studying how humans use language and build relationships, he and Charles dig into the heart of what makes cohousing work: the practice of "intentionally accidentally" bumping into your neighbors, the discipline of deep listening, and the slow, habitual work of becoming the kind of people who can live well together. Along the way they cover the three questions at the root of every cohousing design — who are we as a culture, who do we want to become, and how do we get there — as well as why FrogSong got built in three years, on time and under budget; Robert Bellah's Habits of the Heart; why diverse expertise beats "like-minded" groups every time; the sharing economy of a real neighborhood; the loneliness epidemic among older Americans; and Richard's compelling argument that cohousing isn't about recovering the old village, but building genuinely new ones for the challenges ahead. Above all, this is a conversation about cooperation — not as an ideal, but as a practical tool for a richer, lighter, less lonely life. For more info visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.cohousingco.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ , ⁠⁠⁠nccoho.org⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/CohousingCo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bossa Antigua Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    This is Cohousing | Ep 11 | The Anthropology of Culture Change & Cooperation with Richard Senghas
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THIS IS COHOUSING: The Cohousing Podcast, from The Cohousing Company and hosted by architect, author, and cohousing pioneer Charles Durrett. For nearly 40 years, Charles has explored how design and community can help us live more sustainably, affordably, and connected to one another. Through conversations with residents, organizers, architects, and developers, this podcast explores the ideas, history, and real-world practice of cohousing—and how better neighborhoods can create a better future.

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