A Right to Housing?: a Conversation with Samuel Stein

What would it take to realize the dream of housing for all? Samuel Stein’s A Right to Housing? (Verso, 2026) offers both a clear-eyed assessment of the political and economic forces arrayed against struggles for universal housing, and a practical blueprint for those engaged in such struggles. Drawing on his own experiences as an organizer, Stein reflects on virtually every issue that bears on the right to housing, from the meaning of the concept—what, materially, does it mean to uphold a right to housing?—to the potential forms of universal housing to the constellation of players whose conflicting interests define the terms of the housing debate. What does it mean to wrestle with the strange combinations of hope and ambivalence experienced by anyone committed to staying in this fight for the long term?

Join us Thursday, September 24 at BISR Central as we celebrate the publication of A Right to Housing? Samuel Stein will join BISR faculty member Andy Battle for a wide-ranging conversation about housing justice in the age of finance capital. Together, the two will ask: What ideological investments sustain current housing discourse? What are the limitations of a rights-based approach to struggles for housing? On what basis should we compare different forms of social housing, including limited equity cooperatives, mutual housing associations, and public housing? What might we learn from, and how can we take advantage of, the current enthusiasm for municipal socialist policies in New York City?

The event is free to attend, with a suggested $8 donation. Copies of A Right to Housing? will be available for purchase. Beer, wine, seltzer, and snacks will be served. Please RSVP below.

Event Schedule

Thursday, 7:00-8:30PM
September 24, 2026

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