June 20, 2024· 50 min

John Arnold on Why It's So Hard To Build Things in America

Orality
Model
79%
Oral-dominant (speeches, podcasts, storytelling)

Speaker Breakdown

HostJoe Weisenthal(1,406 words)
M:29%
HostTracy Alloway(1,757 words)
M:29%
GuestJohn Arnold(5,031 words)
M:92%

Oral Indicators

Agonistic33%
crazy, literally, absolutely
Engagement56%
you, our, your
Memory Aids100%
listen, so, now
Repetition100%
like (82x), it's (57x), think (55x)
Parallelism100%
So why would I pay for stuff I..., And I'm Tracy Alloway...., And I have to say, like, readi...
Sound Patterns65%
60 question(s), alliteration: "markets move", alliteration: "barclays brief"
Formulaic Phrases4%
you know what, i mean

Literate Indicators

Hedging6%
probably, maybe, could
Passive Voice9%
were supposed, were supposed, is finalized
Abstract Nouns23%
investment, business, verizon.com/business
Subordination8%
though, because, unless
Sentence Length47%
Avg: 16.7 words/sentence
Word Complexity50%
investment, analyze, anticipate
Academic Markers0%
Impersonal Style44%
515 personal pronouns found
Descriptive Style72%
exactly, apply, monthly

Description

Virtually everyone, across the ideological spectrum, has the view right now that it's too hard to build things (or get things done generally) in America. New infrastructure is thwarted by red tape and permitting. New housing is thwarted by YIMBYism. Even something that doesn't require much new construction -- like NYC's attempt to impose congestion pricing -- is difficult to get done after years and years of wrangling. What is the core problem? And what can be done to address it? On this episode, we speak with John Arnold, who started his career as an energy trader at Enron, before going on to found a highly successful energy hedge fund. Now in his role as the co-founder of Arnold Ventures, he works on policy solutions to address these key bottlenecks. We discuss how he goes about philanthropy to affect policy change, the problems he's identified, and what solutions could be put in place to improve domestic development. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.