How Cars Change Us with Tara Goddard
The War on Cars
Why do people behave so badly behind the wheel of a car? Why do reporters and the police use passive language to describe automobile crashes and traffic violence? How do the words we use make a difference in street safety? , one of the top scholars studying what it is that cars do to our brains and the way we treat each other in the world, has some thoughts — and she’s done the research. Tara is an associate professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning at Texas A&M University. Her work focuses on creating a just transportation system through safe roadway...
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Changing Hollywood's Car Culture with Ed Begley Jr.
The War on Cars
From mockumentaries to dramas to situation comedies, Ed Begley Jr. has done it all. His truly one-of-a-kind acting career has seen him work with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, and more. But beyond his impressive resume, Ed Begley Jr. is also known for his environmental activism. He's probably the most famous person to have owned some version of an electric vehicle for a lot longer than most people have even been aware of EVs. Ed has been been committed to environmental conservation since at least the 1970s, and he’s designed his life so...
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TEASER: Doug Ford and Ontario's War on Bikes
The War on Cars
This is a preview of a . For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, plus ad-free versions of regular episodes, merch discounts, pre-sale tickets to live shows, and more, . Back in 2010, the notoriously pugnacious Toronto mayor Rob Ford declared that “the war on the car is over,” and vowed to halt the city’s expansion of bike lanes, transit, and anything that inconvenienced motorists even slightly. Fourteen years later, his brother — Ontario Premier Doug Ford — has continued the family crusade against bike lanes. The Ford government is pushing a bill that would require...
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Election Extra
The War on Cars
We’re not going to sugarcoat it. That election was tough. But there are some points of hope that can help us make our way forward. We got together in the studio to look at victories around the country for transit and safe streets, and to discuss how we can all hang in there together and continue making positive change in our communities. *** and receive access to ad-free versions of all our episodes, special bonus content, stickers, merch discounts, and more *** LINKS: The good news from Nashville () The good news from Seattle () wins Seattle City Council seat The good news from San...
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"Cars are Done" with Adam McKay
The War on Cars
Adam McKay is the Academy Award–winning screenwriter, director, and producer behind such movies as Don’t Look Up, The Big Short, Vice, Anchorman, Talladega Nights, and more. He is also the founder of Yellow Dot Studios, a nonprofit production studio that raises awareness and mobilizes action on the climate emergency. Adam joins us to discuss his career and the existential anxiety that led him to write and direct the star-studded Don’t Look Up, one of the most successful Netflix movies of all time. We also hear about the books, films, and music that inspired him, and why humor is a useful...
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EXTRA: Cars as a Virus with Hermann Knoflacher
The War on Cars
***This is a bonus episode that was previously only available to . If you want to hear more bonus episodes like this, ! We’ll taking a very short break to work on our book and will be back with brand new episodes in November.*** Perhaps you’ve seen pictures of a person walking around in a large, wearable wooden frame meant to illustrate the space taken up by one person in a private automobile. That’s the gehzeug — or walkmobile — and it was invented by the Austrian civil engineer and professor Hermann Knoflacher. Professor Knoflacher, 84, is the head of the...
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TEASER: Winnipeg Bike Mayor Patty Wiens
The War on Cars
This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, . is the Bike Mayor of Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada. We met Patty on our trip to Edmonton for the back in February and were really struck with her energy and drive as an advocate for people who ride bikes in her city. We talked with Patty about how she became a Bike Mayor and how people in Winnipeg are organizing to create better streets for people in a very car-centric place. She also told us about how the community has been protesting against recent traffic violence in the...
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Key to the City with Sara Bronin
The War on Cars
Zoning is an invisible force that dictates how and where we can build housing, offices, factories, parks and more. It dictates how we access such places and can reinforce car dependency, often in ways that burden the communities that can least afford it, reinforce segregation, and exacerbate climate change and other environmental harms. In her new book, Key to the City: How Zoning Shapes our World, author Sara Bronin argues that zoning does not have to lead to negative outcomes, and that if we understand its power, we can use zoning to build the kinds of communities everyone deserves. Bronin...
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TEASER: When Athletes Ditch the Car
The War on Cars
This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, . During the recent US Open Tennis Championships in New York City, top-seeded American player Jessica Pegula got some attention when she posted an Instagram reel showing her taking the subway from Manhattan to the event venue in Queens. “I don't like taking a car, and I like trains,” she said. “So I always try and take the train.” We can relate. Pegula’s post inspired us to have a discussion about other sports stars who, at least occasionally, like to skip the luxury...
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Project 2025 and the Stakes for Transportation
The War on Cars
There’s been a lot of talk this election season about Project 2025, the initiative from the Heritage Foundation to prepare for a potential second Trump administration. Understandably, much of the conversation about Project 2025 has been about the stakes for abortion access, rights for LGBTQ+ people, protections for civil servants, the Department of Education, Social Security and much more. But there’s also a 10-page chapter about the Department of Transportation, written by a former Trump administration official, that outlines a lot of ideas and plans that could spell doom for many vital...
info_outlineElon Musk’s gigantic, stainless steel, 1980s sci fi movie–inspired Cybertruck is starting to show up on city streets. Perhaps you’ve had the misfortune of seeing one rolling through your neighborhood. If not, you’ve almost certainly seen some of the vehicle’s many truly epic fails on the Internet. The Cybertruck might not work very well, but it still appears to be wildly popular. More than two million people have deposited $250 to get in line for the opportunity to buy one. Journalist Ed Niedermeyer is the author of “Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors.” In this episode, Ed joins us to analyze the Cybertruck as a cultural text and also just to revel in its overwhelming absurdity. What is the Cybertruck? And what does its apparent popularity say about who we are and where we are headed collectively? This is the Cybertruck launch event we’ve all been waiting for.
This episode was sponsored by Sheyd Bags and Cleverhood.
LINKS:
Buy Edward Niedermeyer’s book, Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors from your friendly neighborhood bookshop.
You can follow Ed Niedermeyer on Bluesky and Threads.
The Cybertruck fails are being collected and shared on r/CyberStuck on Reddit. This week’s big one? Cybertruck accelerator pedals are falling off.
This, by journalist Victoria Scott is a good read: A Cultural Critique of the Tesla Cybertruck in Road & Track.
If the audio clips in this episode weren’t enough, you can watch Elon Musk’s bizarre performance at the New York Times DealBook Summit.
Buy t-shirts, stickers, hats and more in The War on Cars merch store.
Find us on Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.
Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps people find us!
This episode was recorded by Josh Wilcox at the Brooklyn Podcasting Studio. It was edited by Yessenia Moreno. Our theme music is by Nathaniel Goodyear.