CHAPTERS
- 0:00 – 1:25
Taking on the Austin mayor’s job: motivation, rewards, and frustration
Joe asks Steve Adler what it’s like to be mayor and whether he’d do it again. Adler explains why he ran—gratitude to the city—and why the job is simultaneously spectacular and deeply frustrating.
- 1:25 – 2:38
A cascade of crises before COVID: storms, boil-water notices, and emergency leadership
Adler reframes COVID as one of several major shocks the city faced during his tenure. He recounts extreme weather events, infrastructure failures, and the strain of repeated emergencies.
- 2:38 – 4:56
The Austin bomber: fear, public messaging, and the FBI investigation
The conversation narrows to the 2018 package bombings and what it felt like to lead a frightened city. Adler describes the uncertainty around motive and targets, and the pressure to communicate calm without certainty.
- 4:56 – 6:43
How investigators caught the bomber: tracing packages, video, and camera networks
Rogan asks how the bomber was ultimately identified. Adler outlines the investigative techniques and coordinated police work that led to a relatively quick resolution.
- 6:43 – 9:25
Drought, wildfire, and the ice storm: community resilience vs. government limits
They pivot back to environmental extremes, including drought-era Lake Travis lows and the severe winter storm during the pandemic. Both discuss how neighbor-to-neighbor aid became essential when systems were overwhelmed.
- 9:25 – 16:08
What a mayor can (and can’t) do in Austin: ‘weak mayor’ structure and open-meeting rules
Adler explains the structural limits of the Austin mayor’s role compared to ‘strong mayor’ cities. He details how the city-manager model and Texas open-meetings rules make leadership and coalition-building slower and less efficient.
- 16:08 – 20:55
Housing affordability and the land development code fight: density, neighborhood character, and courts
Adler identifies housing supply as a defining challenge for Austin’s growth. He describes the attempted land development code rewrite, the political battles over density, and the legal requirement for a supermajority that stalled the effort.
- 20:55 – 25:04
‘Keep Austin Weird’ and the city’s creative gravity: startups, risk tolerance, and comedy’s rise
Rogan and Adler broaden into what makes Austin culturally distinct and attractive. They discuss Austin’s openness to experimentation, its startup mentality, and Rogan’s view that Austin could become a major comedy hub.
- 25:04 – 37:30
Homelessness becomes the defining controversy: encampments, neighborhood anger, and decriminalization
Rogan presses Adler on the visible rise of tents and encampments. Adler traces the issue from earlier concentrated problem areas to widespread neighborhood impacts, then explains why council decriminalized camping—while admitting key implementation mistakes.
- 37:30 – 42:56
Scaling what worked: the veterans housing model, risk funds for landlords, and the new unified plan
Adler explains the practical mechanics behind successfully housing homeless veterans and why scaling stalled for broader populations. He then describes a new moment of alignment—business groups and advocates agreeing on a plan—plus federal funding as a catalyst.
- 42:56 – 1:06:02
What success looks like: hotels/motels, wraparound services, workforce pipelines, and the ‘frequent flyer’ cost
They dig into implementation details: why housing-first with services beats shelters/tents, how to staff case management, and how jobs training can be integrated. Adler cites the outsized public cost of the most chronically homeless residents and points to Houston as proof-of-concept.
- 1:06:02 – 1:18:28
COVID governance in Austin: canceling SXSW, balancing health vs. economy, and the mayor’s travel backlash
Adler recounts the hardest early pandemic calls, especially canceling SXSW and managing shifting public expectations. The episode closes with discussion of Adler’s criticized travel incident, plus broader reflections on public health messaging, comorbidities, and personal wellness.
