Clearstory

Between 1908 and 1940, Sears, Roebuck, and Co. sold 70,000 homes through their catalogs. These were called Kit Homes, and they ranged from simple one-story cottages to elaborate two-story homes with columns and fireplaces. The house arrived in pieces in a boxcar. And they helped spark the first wave of suburbia. Host Kevin O'Connor speaks with Rosemary Thorton, author of The Houses That Sears Built, and Avi Friedman, author of Pre-Fab Living, about this then-groundbreaking concept. How did the kit home answer a booming need for affordable and modern housing? And why did their popularity disappear? And is there a place for a modern kit home today as we face yet another housing crisis? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our lives are shaped by materials. And there’s no better place to see that reflected than in our homes. Glass windows revolutionized the comfort and safety of our houses. Stainless steel modernized our kitchens and even made our food taste more delicious. Host Kevin O’Connor explores the materials that surround us with Mark Miodownik, Professor of Materials and Society, and author of “Stuff Matters.” What are the most influential materials in our homes and will we really be able to change a room’s color with the push of a button? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sea levels are rising at an alarming rate worldwide. And yet, we keep moving to waterfront communities regardless of the threats. What does this mean for the buildings and residents of waterfront cities like New York City and Miami? How do we build our cities to be more resilient? Or is the best course of action to convince millions of people around the world to abandon their homes for higher ground? Host Kevin O'Connor speaks with Antony Wood, professor and executive director of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, Jim Murley, the Chief Resilience Officer for Miami-Dade County, and Jainey Bavishi, head of New York City’s Resilience Office about what’s being done now to mitigate this growing risk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Skyscrapers tell the stories of cities around the world. These massive columns of steel and glass continue to be feats of advanced building technologies, innovation and design, especially as super-tall structures push the limits of just how high we can go. But is it possible to build skyscrapers out of … wood? Host Kevin O’Connor speaks to architect Michael Green and Lynn Osmond, president and CEO of the Chicago Architecture Center, about building tall with one of our original building materials. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As building technologies have improved and new building materials have found their way into construction sites, our homes have certainly become healthier than before... right? Host Kevin O'Connor speaks with professors Jonsara Ruth and Alison Mears, co-founders of the Healthy Materials Lab, a design research lab at Parsons School of Design, about the history of toxic building materials, what we use today that could be harmful to our health, and how we can create healthier built environments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There was a time when the American Chestnut was a plentiful resource for the wood that built our homes. In the early 1900s it was found in house framing, windows, trim furniture, and more. At 100 feet tall and up to 10 feet wide, it towered over the eastern forests. But then it disappeared. And now there's a movement to bring it back. Host Kevin O’Connor gets the story from author Susan Freinkel, who shares the historic importance of the Redwood of the East. We learn about the cutting-edge technology that scientist Bill Powell is using to bring it back from extinction. We also talk to Rex Mann, who grew up in Appalachia with the American Chestnut and researcher Sara Fitzsimmons who is overseeing an orchard of new growth trees. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Could humans travel to Mars within the decade? Some tech giants are planning on it. And the plan isn’t just to get there -- it’s to live there. What would our Martian homes look like? How would we construct them? And should we even go to the Red Planet? Host Kevin O’Connor speaks with journalist and author Stephen Petranek, astrophysicist Michelle Thaller, planetary geologist Jacob Bleacher and architect Xavier De Kestelier about the future of human life on Mars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When we think of pests, we may think of the obvious: ants, mice, spiders, cockroaches. But what about the life we can’t see? And what about the ones that are actually helping us out? Host Kevin O'Connor speaks with ecologist, author, and professor Rob Dunn about the visible -- and invisible -- creatures we live within our homes and how there’s no amount of cleaning that can keep some of them out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How did a massive, devastating fire lead to the rebirth of one of our oldest building materials: concrete? Host Kevin O'Connor speaks with author and journalist Vince Beiser and assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering Admir Masic about concrete in the ancient world, how it came into our modern world, and the mystery of why it wasn’t used for a thousand years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The pandemic has changed our lives and our world... but will it change our homes? Host Kevin O'Connor speaks with author and professor of architecture Sara Carr, journalist and bioethicist Elizabeth Yuko, and assistant professor of architecture Cyrus Penarroyo about how our history with pandemics has influenced the way we build our homes, and how Covid-19 could shape the future of our homes and communities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From This Old House, Clearstory returns with a brand-new season—with more incredible insight from industry leaders, historians, and builders alike. Listen as host Kevin O’Connor unveils some unexpected truths, flashes back to the past, and takes a glimpse into the future to shed light on the stories behind our homes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are ending 2020 with some good news: Clearstory will be back for its second season in spring 2021! In the meantime, we’re bringing you an episode of “The Walk-In,” a podcast from our friends at America’s Test Kitchen. In this episode, podcast host and chef Elle Simone Scott sits down with Mashama Bailey, executive chef and co-founder of The Grey in Savannah, Georgia, to chat about cooking with intention, developing confidence in the kitchen, and balancing creative energy with business savvy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Clearstory will be back for season 2, but in the meantime, we’re excited to announce the debut of the Ask This Old House Podcast. Just like the Emmy-Award winning TV show on PBS, the podcast features the Ask This Old House experts, who answer home improvement questions from homeowners around the country. In the first episode, This Old House editor Chris Ermides sits down with master electrician Heath Eastman to help a homeowner with a ceiling fan in a loft space, and a bathroom chandelier. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After major natural disasters, like Superstorm Sandy and the Paradise, California fires, why do some homeowners choose to rebuild, often in the very same spot, while others opt to move and start fresh elsewhere? We hear stories from people who’ve made these tough decisions. Then, psychology professor Susan Clayton and This Old House’s Richard Trethewey talk about what “home” really means. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve all seen a dumpster full of debris on a job site, but do you know anything about where that construction waste ends up? We generate about 570 million tons of construction waste every year... and that number is growing. Listen as This Old House Contractor Charlie Silva sorts through what we can reuse or recycle, the EPA’s Nicole Villamizar runs the numbers, and Professor Debbie Reinhart looks to smarter technology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Clearstory will be back with a brand new episode next week. In the meantime, we’re excited to share a favorite podcast of ours: Proof from America’s Test Kitchen. Kevin sits down with host Bridget Lancaster to learn more about the podcast which “goes beyond recipes and cooking to investigate the foods we love,” and then we bring you the “Prepping for the Worst” episode of the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the future, you might have wireless electricity powering virtually everything in your home fed by transparent solar cells planted in your window glass. Alex Gruzen of WiTricity and Professor Vladimir Bulovic of MIT.nano explain the electric futures they are working on. And in the meantime, This Old House electrician Heath Eastman shares what he’s wiring up these days. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Not everyone wants to talk about it, but the toilet is responsible for saving countless lives throughout human history. Hodding Carter, author of “Flushed: How the Plumber Saved Civilization” takes us on a journey through the toilet’s development, and This Old House’s Richard Trethewey tours the Plumbing Museum with an eye to the past before looking to the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Put simply, building science is used to optimize the performance of a building...but what does that actually mean for your home? Noted expert and industry consultant Christine Williamson helps decode the science, and offers practical tips to make your home more comfortable and efficient, and This Old House’s Richard Trethewey dons his lederhosen and fawns over German energy efficiency. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The design, the materials, the maintenance. Let’s face it, most of us don’t really know what’s up there protecting us. It’s battered by the wind, the rain, snow, and the sun and it’s supposed to take it all without any complaints or leaks. In this episode, Duo Dickinson, architect and author of “A Home Called New England” tells us what the perfect roof has to deal with, while Anne Cope, Chief Engineer of the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety shares how roofs are tested. You’ll also hear tips from This Old House’s Charlie Silva and Jeff Sweenor on how to keep roofs in tip-top shape and what to do when you need a new one. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices