Asia Mieleszko
Asia (pronounced “ah-sha”) Mieleszko’s career defies easy categorization—from researching Ukrainian folk traditions to covering infrastructure policy, from performing on the world’s biggest stages to the most cramped basements. At heart, she’s a storyteller, driven by curiosity about how people and places become what they are.
At Strong Towns, Asia pairs analytical rigor with empathy to examine the forces shaping our built environment. As host of Stacked Against Us, she guides listeners through the labyrinth of housing, finance, and local governance, revealing both the systems constraining communities and the openings for meaningful action.
Off the clock, Asia can be found behind a camera, playing the accordion, or riding the rails across the country, always curious about the places and people along the way.
“At the end of the day, there’s no formal process for integrating our feedback... So it’s a bit of a dog-and-pony show."
Another death on Carlsbad's streets sparked urgency to do something, anything. But are officials focusing on the right causes?
Three lives lost leaving a Massachusetts library; each one preventable, each one a reflection of systemic neglect.
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An Alabama stroad is trying to serve too many functions at once. As a result, it's racking up a death toll.
In the event of a crash, when a person has been found jaywalking, the blame is pit on them. We don't ask why they were jaywalking. What if we did?
Free fares aren’t getting Estonians out of their cars. In fact, more of them drive today than in 2013.
There's power in numbers, both in safety and visibility.
A tanker truck caught fire, killing its driver and devastating over 100 feet of Interstate 95 above it. With the highway decommissioned, how did people get around?
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When the status quo is producing traffic fatality after traffic fatality, it's time to experiment.
Stadium promises are seductive, but can they unlock real value in the heart of a struggling urban district?