Rachel Booth — U.S. social policy writer at Vox — is in good traffic this week for a conversation about what happens when cities bet on millennials but forget they eventually have kids, why upzoning alone won't solve the family-sized housing shortage, and how to tell complex urban stories to audiences who need them most. As someone who has covered housing and homelessness for 15 years and is now 38.5 weeks pregnant while living in D.C. as a renter, Rachel brings both professional expertise and deeply personal stakes to the question of whether cities can actually work for families.

Rachel walks through her Vox reporting on the stark reality facing urban America: large urban counties lost roughly 8% of their under-five population between 2020 and 2024, and in New York City, families with kids under six left at twice the rate of everyone else. She explains why even in cities that have successfully upzoned and increased housing production, the economics of development overwhelmingly produce studios and one- and two-bedroom apartments rather than the three- and four-bedroom units families need. The conversation shifts to Vox's approach to accessibility—how to make wonky housing policy compelling without dumbing it down—and Rachel's work on an upcoming book project that explores these themes further. From the challenge of translating podcasts into audiobooks to why transcript availability has changed journalism, the episode weaves between urbanism and the evolving media landscape that shapes how these ideas spread.

We also touch on: Why vacancy rates don't tell the full housing story. The diversity cities lose when families leave. The economics of why developers don't build family-sized units. How Vox makes complex topics accessible. The tension between accessibility and depth. Rachel's book project and the audiobook problem. Why YouTube remains a question mark for writers. Baltimore to D.C. on the MARC train. Walking 40 minutes to the Vox office.

Timeline:

00:00 Rachel Booth from Vox.

02:47 Cities and families as political common ground.

03:28 Rachel's November piece on millennials and families.

04:03 38.5 weeks pregnant and renting in D.C.

04:32 The second piece on family-sized housing.

05:07 Why upzoning produces studios and one-bedrooms.

05:46 Vacancy rates versus housing types.

07:14 Large urban counties lost 8% of under-five population.

07:40 NYC families leaving at twice the rate.

09:22 The diversity cities lose without families.

12:18 Why developers don't build three-bedroom units.

16:34 Construction costs and unit mix economics.

21:45 Policy levers beyond upzoning.

26:12 How Vox approaches accessibility.

31:58 Making wonky topics compelling without dumbing down.

37:24 The tension between depth and accessibility.

42:19 Rachel's book project on housing.

46:33 The audiobook versus podcast problem.

49:40 Why conversations work better than monologues.

52:12 YouTube as the big question mark.

53:27 Podcast transcripts and journalism research.

55:46 AI applications for podcasts.

56:41 The commute question.

57:07 Walking 40 minutes to the Vox office.

57:24 Baltimore to D.C. on the MARC train.

58:22 Wrapping up.

Further context:

Rachel's article: Cities made a bet on millennials — but forgot one key thing.

Rachel's recent works.

@rcobooth on Twitter.

@rcobooth, on Instagram.