Local Limelight with 'Abundance' author and journalist Derek Thompson

Axios

26-03-2025

In writer Derek Thompson's view, a world full of clean energy, plentiful housing, vertical farming and fast and convenient transit is nearly in our grasps — if only we could just build it.
The problem, though, is we no longer as a country know how to take on ambitious public works or we create too many rules and procedures that make projects too expensive and time consuming to take on.
Driving the news: In " Abundance," a book the Chapel Hill-based journalist co-authored with New York Times columnist Ezra Klein, Thompson examines what keeps the U.S. from taking on big public projects — from the clean energy infrastructure needed to avert climate disaster to high-speed public transit — or even simply to build enough housing to meet the demand for it.
These are issues that even the Triangle has struggled with, especially in the realm of public transit projects, like light rail and bus rapid transit, said Thompson, who writes for The Atlantic and hosts the " Plain English" podcast.
What they're saying: "One theme of the book is that many cities and states struggle with something we call state capacity: the ability of the state, the government, to accomplish its goals," he told Axios. "A theme of recent efforts to build light rail in the Triangle is that it just takes so damn long, and costs so much damn money, to get projects off the ground."
"Delay is death for complex construction projects: New objections always emerge, motivations flag, costs spiral," he added. "This is not a North Carolina problem. It's a truly national problem. The U.S. used to be able to start and complete transit projects in a matter of years. These days it can take decades just to arrive at the conclusion that nothing can be built."
We talked with Thompson for our latest Local Limelight conversation. The Q&A has been edited for Smart Brevity.
Next month, Thompson will be part of a panel discussion in Durham to discuss "Abundance" with Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams and Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell. More info can be found here.
✍️ What's your writing routine like? There's this famous idea in productivity called Parkinson's Law, which says that work expands to fill the time available to do it. I try to take advantage of the opposite of Parkinson's Law: If I rigorously limit the amount of time I work, I can get more done.
I typically take my daughter to day care in the morning and try to go to the gym around 4pm. That leaves roughly 10am to 4pm to write and podcast and talk to people and do whatever else I have to do. Weirdly, I've found that prioritizing things outside of work — like family and exercise — makes me more productive, because it increases the urgency during the work hours. There are very few days where I wake up and think, "Wow, so much time and so little to do."
🍛 What do you think the Triangle is missing? More high-quality southern Asian and Latin American cuisine.
📱 What's your first read in the morning? The Atlantic and The New York Times.
🎧 Do you have a go-to podcast? Some days I listen to Bill Simmons' voice more than any other except my wife's.
🍷 Favorite place to go for a long weekend? Sonoma.