On this week’s This Old House Radio Hour, architects Jack Becker and Andrew Linn of BLDUS in Washington, D.C. explain how they’re turning the sustainable food movement into a sustainable building movement with their “Farm-to-Shelter” philosophy—drawing inspiration from Chef’s Table and using regional, regenerative materials to create homes that are beautiful, healthy, and good for the planet. Then, bestselling author Ariel Lawhon (Frozen River) returns to her childhood bunker in Taos, New Mexico, built by her father with no electricity or running water, in this week’s “My Old House.” Plus, Cheap Old Houses returns with listings in Oil City, PA and Garfield, WA, we play a new listener game called House Rules, and our expert team fields your DIY questions—from mysterious outlets and noisy neighbors to fence repairs and stubborn carpet glue.

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Adam Savage—former MythBuster and maker movement icon—joins us to talk about the philosophy of tools, the joy of failure, and building a 200-hour replica of Hellboy’s revolver. Then we visit Charleston to uncover the truth behind those sideways-facing row houses (spoiler: it’s not about taxes). Singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash invites us into her lovingly restored 1855 Manhattan brownstone, where music, memory, and steampunk-Jane-Austen style live in harmony. Plus, our experts take your calls—from crooked kitchen cabinets to leaking pond pumps—and face off in a hilarious round of What’s That Sound?

On this episode of This Old House Radio Hour, we sit down with viral sensation Caleb Simpson, the TikTok star who’s made a name asking one simple question: “How much do you pay in rent?” Caleb shares what 500+ home tours have taught him about housing, design, and what our spaces say about who we are. Then, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin reflects on turning grief into meaning by recreating her 19th-century farmhouse inside a Boston condo. Ethan and Elizabeth Finkelstein from Cheap Old Houses showcase two historic stunners for less than $125K, including one with its own National Register–listed playhouse.

We also dive into your DIY questions—from whether you should paint over ugly floor tile, to what to do with a puddle-prone bathtub, and how to protect your HVAC system from power surges. And we play another round of What’s That Sound?, where your favorite This Old House pros try to guess the noise—and maybe save your outlets in the process. All that, plus a Simple Fix from Jenn Nawada that tells you if your backyard trees are dying.