A Podcast Exposing Housing Realities

REAL ISSUES is a weekly podcast and platform focused on the disconnect between housing policy and housing reality — exposing what works, what doesn’t, and why most “reforms” fail to deliver real affordability or ownership opportunities.

Investigations Into Land Use and Abuse

REAL ISSUES digs into how land is zoned, sold, traded, and withheld — exposing the deals, decisions, and political relationships that shape who gets to build, who gets displaced, and why housing markets stay broken even when everyone claims to want reform.

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Local Government, Made Readable

REAL BRIEFINGS translates city council meetings, county hearings, and planning sessions into clear, structured summaries — so journalists, advocates, and engaged residents can follow what's actually happening in the rooms where housing policy gets made.

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The Affordability Myth

Why "Affordable Housing" Rarely Means What You Think

The term gets used by developers, politicians, and advocates — often to mean completely different things. We unpack the definitions, the math, and who actually benefits when affordability is the headline.

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Land Use & Who Controls It

Zoning Is Housing Policy. Most People Don't Know It.

What gets built, where it gets built, and who can afford to live there are decisions made long before ground breaks. We follow the land use process from the hearing room to the finished project.

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The Reform Problem

Why Most Housing Reforms Don't Deliver

Upzoning, inclusionary requirements, density bonuses — the policy toolkit is full of tools that look good on paper. REAL ISSUES examines why so many reforms stall, get watered down, or produce outcomes nobody intended.

Whatcom County Planning Department CORRUPTION!

We revealed not just how one Whatcom County employee allegedly used his regulatory power to profit almost three quarters of a million dollars from wetland mitigation and permit manipulation—but also how the county knew about it, investigated itself, found no wrongdoing, allows the employee to continue to be in a position to help himself, and then threatened citizens who dared to speak up.

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City of Bellingham Land (mis)Use

This isn’t just a crisis. It’s a horror story. Because when the city owns the land, blocks the permits, raises the fees, and tells you to rent forever? That’s not a housing plan. That’s Freddy Krueger in a flannel shirt. And your dreams of ownership? Slashed.

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