Inside the Tesla Takedown Protests
The War on Cars
Since early February, a protest phenomenon has been building steadily across the United States, springing up at scores of Tesla dealerships from coast to coast. Organizers call it Tesla Takedown. It's remarkable in part because in today’s United States, we have engineered an environment that prioritizes automotive convenience and speed—and in the process deadens civic life and makes protest difficult. So it’s ironic that Tesla dealerships, many of them located in the worst kind of automotive sprawl, have emerged as crucial nodes in a decentralized network of resistance to Elon Musk and...
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TEASER: More Motonormativity with Marco Te Brommelstroet, aka "The Fietsprofessor."
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, . You may remember Marco te Brömmelstroet, also known as "The Fietsprofessor," from episode 65, Marco returns for this special bonus episode to discuss a new study he co-authored with , another former guest of the podcast. The study, takes a look at a phenomenon where people accept the harms and risks associated with cars in ways they wouldn't in other areas of life and asks...
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Cars Bad, Tariffs Worse with David Zipper
The War on Cars
Trump’s on-again-off-again tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico are causing chaos across the entire economy, but they’re hitting the auto industry especially hard. The big three U.S. automakers rely on an integrated supply and manufacturing process that sees raw materials and parts crossing international borders multiple times before each finished car rolls off the assembly line. The tariffs come at a time when the cost of car ownership is already sky-high, and when trying to find an affordable sedan from a domestic manufacturer is essentially impossible. David Zipper, a Senior Fellow...
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Riding the UK's Cycle Network with Laura Laker
The War on Cars
Laura Laker is a London-based freelance journalist who specializes in writing about cycling and urban transport. We talked with her about the year she spent riding around Britain on the United Kingdom’s 13,000-mile National Cycle Network—an enlightening and often hilarious odyssey that she documents in her , Potholes and Pavements: A Bumpy Ride on Britain’s National Cycle Network. We also got into her work in formulating and promoting the UK’s first Road Collision Reporting Guidelines, which detail best practices for the media and planning professionals to talk about road crashes and...
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Trump v. Congestion Pricing
The War on Cars
Can you believe this is our about congestion pricing? This time, we’re responding to the Trump administration’s attack on the program, which has been , that policymakers had hoped for. Despite those early signs of success, on Wednesday, February 19th, Sean Duffy, the new US DOT Secretary, sent an email to New York Governor Hochul saying that he was rescinding approval of the tolling plan. President Trump gloated about the move on social media, writing “.” Hochul fired back that New York “hasn't labored under a king in over 250 years” and said she’d . And things have just...
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What's Happening with Federal Transportation Dollars?
The War on Cars
The 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...
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TEASER: Live with City Nerd!
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, . Last month we had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Ray Delahanty, aka , for a live show presented by the Hunter College School of Urban Policy & Planning in New York. Our conversation with Ray covered everything from New York City exceptionalism to the latest data about congestion pricing. Plus, we surveyed the audience about their transportation choices and answered questions from Patreon supporters....
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Super Bowl Roundup with Rollie Williams and Nicole Conlan
The War on Cars
It’s the CXLIVth episode of The War on Cars, and just like in years past we’re taking a look at the ads that aired during the Super Bowl. This year, there weren’t a whole lot of ads specifically designed to sell cars and trucks, but there was still plenty of car-adjacent stuff to talk about—from ads highlighting the urban/suburban divide to an amazing halftime show from Kendrick Lamar featuring a Buick GNX. Rollie Williams (Climate Town) and Nicole Conlan (The Climate Denier’s Playbook, The Daily Show) join us to talk about some of the commercials that aired during the big game and...
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RE-RELEASE: The High Cost of Free Parking with Donald Shoup
The War on Cars
Donald Shoup, a towering figure in the world of urban planning and a distinguished professor emeritus at the UCLA Luskin School of Public affairs, died this week. He was 86 years old. As a tribute to such an influential, brilliant, and witty scholar, we are re-releasing this episode from 2023. ---- Parking is at the heart of every fight about how we build our cities and towns, with effects that go far beyond transportation. Minimum parking requirements — laws that dictate how many parking spaces are required for various types of buildings and businesses — make housing more expensive,...
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TEASER: The Romance of the Automobile
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, . You’ve probably heard us talking about how we have written a book that will be coming out this fall. We are super excited to share more about that very soon. We’ve spent a lot of the last year in the research and writing process. And what became apparent very soon was that there were a lot of things that we weren’t going to be able to fit into the book, no matter how hard we tried. So we put together a...
info_outlineCan you believe this is our second emergency episode about congestion pricing? This time, we’re responding to the Trump administration’s attack on the program, which has been in effect since January, delivering exactly the results that policymakers had hoped for. Despite those early signs of success, on Wednesday, February 19th, Sean Duffy, the new US DOT Secretary, sent an email to New York Governor Hochul saying that he was rescinding approval of the tolling plan. President Trump gloated about the move on social media, writing “LONG LIVE THE KING.” Hochul fired back that New York “hasn't labored under a king in over 250 years” and said she’d see the administration in court. And things have just escalated from there! With us to discuss it all is reporter Dave Colon, who has been covering the congestion pricing saga for Streetsblog NYC and is known (to himself among others) as “America’s beloved congestion pricing expert.”
*** 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! ***
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:
Catch up on all the latest congestion pricing news from Dave and the rest of the team at Streetsblog NYC.
See Dave’s video in which he explains why DOT Secretary Sean Duffy is wrong about congestion pricing.
Pick up official podcast merch in our store. Purchase books from podcast guests and support independent booksellers at our official Bookshop.org page.
This episode was edited by Doug Gordon. It was recorded by Walter Nordquist at the Brooklyn Podcasting Studio. Our theme music is by Nathaniel Goodyear. Transcriptions are by Russell Gragg.