Do you feel poor when you watch TV? That's by design.

Do you feel poor every time you turn on Bravo television? You're not alone - the beautiful homes of the rich and famous showcased on reality TV shows from Keeping Up with the Kardashians to the Real Housewives of Atlanta are meant to be something of a fantasy for audiences everywhere. But what are the housing realities behind the glitz and glamour? And how are your favorite reality TV stars shaping your own ideas of home and stability? To find out, Brittany is joined by Jack Balderrama Morley, author of Dream Facades: The Cruel Architecture of Reality TV, and Liam Dillon , staff writer at Politico who covers housing in California. Want more about cultural deep dives into Reality TV? Check out these episodes: Is this the end of reality TV? The molten center of 'The Real Housewives' multiverse Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus. Follow Brittany on Instagram: @bmluse For handpicked podcast recommendations every week,

You can listen to Do you feel poor when you watch TV? That's by design. online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Do you feel poor when you watch TV? That's by design. is an episode from It's Been a Minute by NPR.

This episode is 21:08 long.

This episode was published on Apr 24, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from It's Been a Minute when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.