Substrate.
Long-form conversations on how physical constraints shape what gets built.
Energy. Compute. Materials. Capital. Land.
AI needs power. Electrification needs grid. Housing needs land, capital, and political will. Every transition underway right now depends on physical systems that are already at capacity.
Energy capacity, grid access, materials supply, capital duration and land availability now determine what gets built — and what stalls.
Real estate is where these constraints collide — and where the trade-offs become permanent.
Substrate examines the mechanics of that collision — with the people who control it.
London recorded effectively zero new housing starts last quarter. Data centres are being approved in months. The allocation is already happening — the question is whether anyone is paying attention to the trade-offs.
Season 1: Constraint
Before you can discuss housing delivery, industrial strategy or infrastructure rollout, you must understand the boundaries. What are the hard limits — and who runs into them first?
Twelve episodes. Three phases. One system.
Listening Mode
Designed to be listened to in sequence.
Each episode builds on the trade-offs explored in the last.
Be the first to hear Season 1
We’ll email you once — when it drops.