The Creation of America's Car Culture
The War on Cars
This episode is part of a special series called "Changing American Car Culture" funded with the generous support of The Helen and William Mazer Foundation. As historian Peter Norton documents in his book, , the death and destruction caused by the introduction of automobiles into U.S. cities in the early part of the 20th century caused a lot of people to challenge the notion that such machines would ever become popular. In response, autmobile companies, car dealers, driving enthuisasts, and others went on the offense, creating the culture that gave rise to the mass adoption of cars and the...
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PREVIEW: A Talk with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo
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, presale tickets to live shows, and more, . Back in September, Sarah moderated a conversation with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo as part of Climate Week events in New York City. The event was presented by the and , a Paris-based nonprofit that focuses on improving air quality. We talked about her work removing cars from the city, reducing air pollution, and cleaning up the Seine. for access to the entire episode. Order our new book, , out now...
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Welcome to Life After Cars
The War on Cars
Today we celebrate the publication of our new book, . In this episode, we serve up a sample of the audiobook and talk about some of the things we learned and that surprised us during the process of bringing Life After Cars to publication. Also, who should play us in the movie version? Listen to hear our thoughts and let us know your opinion. We are so grateful to all of our listeners and supporters for making this day possible. Go out there and . . Please support independent booksellers! and receive exclusive access to ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content,...
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The War on the War on Cars with Ted Mann
The War on Cars
In this episode, we talk about the Trump Administration’s full-on financial assault on all the modes of transportation we hold dear here at The War on Cars. Biking, walking, public transit—basically, anything deemed “hostile to cars” or that has something to do with sustainability and equity is under attack. Ted Mann, a reporter at Bloomberg News , joins us to explain what is going on with federal transportation funding for active transportation projects and more. You can find more of Ted’s work or follow him on . and receive exclusive access to ad-free versions of...
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Cities for Children with Tim Gill
The War on Cars
is a London-based independent scholar, writer and consultant on childhood, and a global advocate for children’s play and mobility. He is the author of and We met Tim when he appeared on a panel with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo that Sarah moderated during Climate Week in New York. When we heard what he has to say about cities and children, we knew that we had to have him on the show. So we grabbed him before he could leave New York. We talked on a bench in City Hall Park on a weekday morning, so you can hear the sounds of a city that is waking up and going to work and school in the...
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PREVIEW: The Cars of TikTok
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, presale tickets to live shows, and more, . If you spend any time at all on social media, you’ve seen countless videos of all kinds of different people talking about all kinds of different things with one setting in common: the car. We got together in the studio with journalist and author Mathew Rodriguez to discuss the way cars have become our nation’s premier social media content studios—and all the weirdness that entails. We...
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Political Courage with Brad Lander
The War on Cars
Brad Lander has been a fixture in New York’s progressive political scene for nearly two decades now, and has earned a reputation as a strong advocate for bike lanes, bike share, driver accountability, and congestion pricing. This year, though, he’s become known in a new way. As a candidate in a crowded Democratic mayoral primary, Brad cross-endorsed Zohran Mamdani, who eventually won the race with a margin that shocked the Democratic establishment. And in June, mere days before the primary ended, Brad was escorting a man named out of an immigration hearing . Brad joins us to explain how...
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TEASER: Cars Drive Us Apart, Subway Takes Unite Us
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, presale tickets to live shows, and more, . In this bonus episode, Doug and I discuss a couple of recent studies that look at just how destructive cars are to the social fabric of our communities, how they decrease life satisfaction, and how walkable neighborhoods with public gathering places are an important resources for combating the loneliness epidemic. As we often say, we have custom-built our communities for cars, in the name of...
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Should the Bus Be Free? With Yonah Freemark
The War on Cars
Should the bus be free? That’s the question everyone following the New York City mayoral race is asking, with Democratic primary winner Zohran Mamdani promising to focus on fast, free buses if he’s elected to City Hall. Eliminating bus fares is a big idea, but is it a good one? Like a lot of things in politics, there’s no simple answer. That’s why we asked Yonah Freemark — a researcher in cities, land use, and transportation at the Urban Institute — to walk us through the pros and cons of making the bus free for everyone. Whatever you think about it, the good news is that everyone...
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PREVIEW: We Know What We Read Last Summer
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, presale tickets to live shows, and more, . While we were researching and writing last year, we read and pulled information from dozens upon dozens of books. There were also a handful of books that caught our attention but that, try as we might, didn't quite warrant inclusion in our own. In this Patreon exclusive, we talk about two of these books: "Road Safety: How to Reduce Accidents" by T.S. Skillman (1965) and an anthology called "He Rides...
info_outlineThe Trump administration has upended the entire United States government over the last several weeks, sending Elon Musk and his minions into the guts of pretty much every federal department in a crusade for what they’re calling “efficiency.” Funds that were legally appropriated by Congress have been frozen, and in some cases even clawed back. The battle to preserve all sorts of spending is now in the courts.
What does this all mean for federal funding of public transit, bike and pedestrian infrastructure, and the transition to EVs? And what is DOT Secretary Sean Duffy’s “Woke Rescission Memo”? We talked with Beth Osborne, executive director of the advocacy organization Transportation for America, to help us understand what’s at stake and how we can help defend projects we care about in our own communities. (Spoiler alert: It won’t be easy!)
*** Support The War on Cars on Patreon and receive exclusive access to ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers! ***
This episode was produced with support from the Helen and William Mazer Foundation and Cleverhood. Listen to the episode for the latest discount on the best and most stylish rain gear for walking and cycling.
*** If you’re in the New York area and are looking for a new e-bike, check out the Upway Sample Sale at their warehouse in Brooklyn on February 28th. You’ll score deep discounts on e-bikes from all the major brands. Tell ‘em The War on Cars sent you. ***
LINKS:
Transportation for America has some great resources to help you understand the federal funding picture in more detail.
Some terms Beth mentions in the interview that might be unfamiliar:
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ISTEA (pronounced ICE-T) is an acronym referring to the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, which fundamentally restructured the way federal transportation funds are disbursed. You can read more about it here. (Brookings)
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Justice40 refers to a Biden-era policy initiative aiming to direct 40 percent of federal investments in areas like climate, clean energy, and affordable housing to disadvantaged, disinvested communities that suffer disproportionately from pollution.
Pick up official podcast tees and other merch in our official store. Purchase books from podcast guests and support independent booksellers at our official Bookshop.org page.
This episode was edited by Ali Lemer. It was recorded by Josh Wilcox at the Brooklyn Podcasting Studio. Our theme music is by Nathaniel Goodyear. Transcriptions are by Russell Gragg.