Episode · a16z Podcast · 2025-11-12

Books mentioned on Rocket Companies CEO: Here’s How to Fix the Housing Crisis

1 book · With Alex Rampell, Varun Krishna · Listen · Watch on YouTube

The Empire State Building took 110 days to build—today, changing a window would take two years. Alex Rampell (a16z) and Varun Krishna (Rocket CEO) expose how asset inflation turned housing from the American Dream into a wealth transfer machine where the median homebuyer age jumped from 30 to 38 in just fourteen years.

Varun Krishna discussed Thank You for Smoking by Christopher Buckley.

Books mentioned, in the order they came up

We earn a commission if you buy through the store links below, at no cost to you.

1. 

   Thank You for Smoking

   Christopher Buckley · at 22:11

   Thank You for Smoking by Christopher Buckley is a satirical novel about a tobacco lobbyist who skillfully defends the rights of Americans to consume a harmful product.

   Discussed

   “Yeah, there's a a great movie that came out like I think it was around 15, 20 years ago. It's called Thank You For Smoking. I don't know if you've ever seen that one. Yeah. There's this there's this one line that popped into my head where, you know, she kind of scams him, you know, and gets some information”

   Varun Krishna Rocket Companies CEO: Here’s How to Fix the Housing Crisis 2025-11-12 Listen at 22:11

   Where to get it

   AmazonListen on Audible