The War on Cars
The War on Cars brings you news, commentary and stories about the worldwide battle to undo a century's worth of damage wrought by the automobile.
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Running the Chicago Transit Authority with Nora Leerhsen
10/06/2026
Running the Chicago Transit Authority with Nora Leerhsen
Since 2025, Nora Leerhsen has served as the acting president of the Chicago Transit Authority, the second-largest transit system in the United States and an indelible icon of the city. She is the first woman to fill the leadership role at CTA since the agency was established in 1947. We talked with her about the joys and challenges of running a system with ridership of more than 330 million a year, the way that children can help us appreciate transit, and the role of public transportation in fostering a healthy democracy. SHOW NOTES: Order our book, . Get official podcast merch ! Save 15% on the best rain gear for walking and cycling from Cleverhood. Listen to this episode and visit for your discount. Learn more how a can help you go far-free and change the way you get around. Buy a bike and get a free set of party lights. Go to for more information.
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PREVIEW: Ashik Jain, the Bicycle Mayor of One of India's Fastest Growing Cities
09/29/2026
PREVIEW: Ashik Jain, the Bicycle Mayor of One of India's Fastest Growing Cities
***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, .*** Ashik Jain is an architect, planner and the , the fastest growing industrial city in India and one of the fastest growing cities in the country overall. With that growth has come a host of problems which are common to any rapidly developing region, including pollution and automobile congestion. Thankfully, the city is working on number of initiatives to help make life a little healthier and safer for the people who live there. One of those programs, named ("Green Bridge"), aims to deliver India’s first 15-minute neighborhoods, with a complete network of bicycle lanes, continuous sidewalks, public seating, and—rather importantly in a part of the world feeling the effects of climate change quite acutely—green infrastructure and shade. Ashik's story offers lots of valuable lessons to all of us who do this work. Plus, as we discuss, bikelash may be the international language. Buy our bestselling new book, , published by Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. And don’t miss our upcoming live shows, including . Check out the full schedule at .
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Fighting for Federal Transportation Dollars with Mike McGinn
09/22/2026
Fighting for Federal Transportation Dollars with Mike McGinn
How will the United States spend $580 billion in federal funds for transportation over the next five years? That’s the question facing Congress right now, as it’s time once again for the transportation reauthorization bill. Our spending priorities have always been wildly lopsided in favor of highways, but under the Trump Administration, the attacks on projects that prioritize transit, biking, and walking are more virulent than ever—and as a result, this bill (which they’re calling the BUILD America 250 Act) could be worse than ever for advocates of active transportation. We talked with Mike McGinn, executive director of and former mayor of Seattle, about the corporate capture of politicians on both sides of the aisle, how better transportation spending can be part of defending democracy, and what actions you can take to help America chart a better course for the future this time around. featuring special guest Janette Sadik-Khan. Order our book, out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. SHOW NOTES: Find America Walks action alerts . Transportation for America’s proposals for a better reauthorization bill are . Find the official summary of the BUILD America 250 Act . ! Save 15% on the best rain gear for walking and cycling from Cleverhood. Listen to this episode and visit for your discount. Learn more how a can help you go far-free and change the way you get around. Buy a bike and get a free set of party lights. Go to for more information.
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Fine, We're Doing a Helmet Episode
09/08/2026
Fine, We're Doing a Helmet Episode
After New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted a social media video showing him listening to concerned citizens and deciding to wear a bicycle helmet, social media exploded. Some people praised the mayor for modeling good behavior while others wished he had kept the focus on larger safety solutions, like protected bike lanes. Needless to say, the conversation was not all that nuanced. So what’s the truth about bicycle helmets? What are they designed to do in the event of a crash and what kind of crash are they designed to help you survive? Who sets the standards that ensure that bike helmets meet a minimum level of safety? What does science say about mandatory helmet laws? And, to ask a much larger and more philosophical question, what is it about the mere mention of bicycle helmets that causes the conversation about bike safety to go off the rails, even among people who are normally rather informed about other issues related to public health? What are we talking about—or not talking about—when we’re talking about helmets? featuring special guest Janette Sadik-Khan. Order our book, out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. SHOW NOTES: Watch . Streetsblog: New York Times: Read . Popular Mechanics: Injury Prevention: Safety Science: Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute: Cycling Industry News: Consumer Reports: Journal of Safety Research: Injury Prevention: Canadian Journal of Public Health: Dr. Ian Walker: British Medical Journal: Urban Cycling Institute: The Conversation: Cascade PBS: “” Seattle Times: ! Save 15% on the best rain gear for walking and cycling from Cleverhood. Listen to this episode and visit for your discount. Learn more how a can help you go far-free and change the way you get around. Buy a bike and get a free set of party lights. Go to for more information.
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PREVIEW: What Bicycles Can Do for Cities, via Velo-city 2026
08/25/2026
PREVIEW: What Bicycles Can Do for Cities, via Velo-city 2026
***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, .*** What can bicycles do for cities? That's the question we asked attendees at this year's , organized by the European Cyclists' Federation and held in the Italian city of Rimini. Lots of mayors and elected officials and even advocates talk a lot of what cities should do for cycling, but making it easier for people to cycle in a city unlocks a host of benefits, even for people who will never get on a bike. Hear what people from places around the world—including Mozambique, India, Switzerland, France, and the U.S.—think about the power of the humble bicycle to transform streets, society, and our planet. Our bestselling new book, , published by Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House, is available wherever books are sold. And don't miss our upcoming live shows, including our return to Hunter College on November 6th. Check out the full schedule at .
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Let's Get Political [Re-release]
08/18/2026
Let's Get Political [Re-release]
***We're taking a quick summer break this week so we're releasing this recent into the general feed. We hope you enjoy it as a taste of what you can get if you . We'll be back soon with another regular episode.*** How can people who care about safe streets, transit, and other issues related to our movement take their advocacy to the next level to not just win hearts and minds, but influence elections and enact good policy? There are now a growing number of small political action committees and lobbying groups that have sprung up to explicitly influence and endorse candidates that they see as friendly to the cause. How did they get started? How have they wielded their influence to elect good people who will enact good policies? Does it take a lot of money to make a difference? If ordinary people want to start their own PAC or lobbying group, where do they begin? Doug talked with Eric McClure, the co-founder and executive director of , which works to elect candidates in New York City and New York State; Kevin Bing, the co-founder of , which focuses on New Jersey; Alex Nelson, a strategic advisor to ; and Kyle Lucas, the co-founder and executive director of . Order our book, , out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Save 20% on everything in our with code HOTBIKESUMMER. Get 20% off a Fend foldable bike helmet . Buy a certified, pre-owned e-bike from or sell your own bike! Visit to get rolling. Thanks also to . Listen to this episode for the latest discount code and get 15% off the best rain gear for walking and cycling.
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Human Transit with Jarrett Walker
08/04/2026
Human Transit with Jarrett Walker
Jarrett Walker’s career has been dedicated to improving the quality of public transit in the United States and beyond. A specialist in bus network design, he has led transit planning projects around North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand for decades. He is also the author of the book Human Transit: How Clearer Thinking about Public Transit Can Enrich Our Communities and Our Lives. It’s a classic in the field, and a revised edition came out from Island Press last year. We talked with him about why buses should get more love and how transit advocates can fight for their systems in a hostile funding environment. Plus, should we even be thinking about making buses free? Or is making them fast and frequent more important? Find out more about . Buy his book, , at . Order our book, , out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Save 20% on everything in our with code HOTBIKESUMMER. Buy a certified, pre-owned e-bike from or sell your own bike! Visit to get rolling. Thanks also to . Use code DOGDAYS now through the end of August to get 15% off the best rain gear for walking and cycling. Get 20% off a FEND foldable bike helmet .
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PREVIEW: Bike is Best with Adam Tranter
07/28/2026
PREVIEW: Bike is Best with Adam Tranter
***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, .*** For our July bonus, we speak with Adam Tranter, the former cycling and walking commissioner for the city of West Midlands in the UK and the founder and CEO of about effective messaging for better and safer cycling. Some of you may know Adam as one of the co-hosts of the . At Fusion Media, Adam created the #BikeIsBest campaign, which included It cuts right to the absurdity of building a system where people default to using pickups, SUVs, and other large automobiles just to do simple tasks like getting milk at a nearby store. In this conversation, Adam explains that a concept called "pluralistic ignorance" can make it difficult to build the kinds of streets we all want, but there is hope. . Buy our book, , wherever you get your books.
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Final Dispatches from Book Tour
07/21/2026
Final Dispatches from Book Tour
Our final Life After Cars book tour roundup episode is here, with our reports from Atlanta, Memphis, Chicago, Montréal, Orlando, Portland, Maine, and many, many more great North American cities! We get into the good, the bad, and the ugly of everything we saw out there on the road. Plus a discussion of…Reverse Copenhagen Syndrome? for access to ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus content. Order our book, out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Save 20% on everything in our with code HOTBIKESUMMER. Buy a certified, pre-owned e-bike or sell your own bike! Visit to get rolling. Thanks also to . Listen to this episode for the latest discount code and get 15% off the best rain gear for walking and cycling.
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Sidewalk Nation
07/07/2026
Sidewalk Nation
In most parts of the United States and elsewhere, sidewalks exist in a legal grey area. They are public spaces that, at least when it comes to things such as maintenance and snow removal, are largely the responsibility of private property owners. They are subject to all manner of laws that govern what kinds of activities can take place on them, laws that change not just from city to city, but sometimes from neighborhood to neighborhood, block to block, and address to address. They are also an important part of the transportation network and a key component in the effort to keep pedestrians safe, although certainly not a panacea, even in rural areas. Michael Pollack, the author of an excellent new book, , thinks that sidewalks need a whole lot more consideration in legal and governing circles, and even goes so far as to advocate for the creation of a Department of Sidewalks that can cut through the rather opaque rules that govern these narrow strips of concrete. (Or other materials, given that many sidewalks are often governed by historic preservation laws.) ***For an extended, ad-free version of this episode featuring a bonus conversation about sidewalk delivery robots, .*** SHOW NOTES: Buy and support independent booksellers at . Order our book, , out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Save . Buy a certified, pre-owned e-bike from or sell your own bike! Visit to get rolling. Thanks also to . Listen to this episode for the latest discount code and get 15% off the best rain gear for walking and cycling.
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PREVIEW: Urban Planning Pop with Pondless
06/30/2026
PREVIEW: Urban Planning Pop with Pondless
***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, .*** The musical artist known as Pondless, who as a civilian goes by the name of Aaron Oliver, writes and performs pop songs about urban planning. If that sounds kind of out there, well, so is he, in the best way possible. We talked with him about why this country is divided into Houstons and New York Cities, why Boston does not exist, and how he came to write a love song to Robert Moses. Pondless is @itspondless on and . Our bestselling new book, , published by Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House, is available wherever books are sold.
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Rethinking Criminal Consequences for Drivers Who Kill
06/23/2026
Rethinking Criminal Consequences for Drivers Who Kill
What should happen to drivers who kill or injure someone with their car? Does a focus on punishment for “reckless” or “dangerous” drivers let everyone else off the hook and never force them to look at the larger harms of a transportation system based around personal car ownership? Those are the questions asked by Ian Loader, a professor of criminology at the University of Oxford, who argues that the law’s focus on “motonormative punishment” is just another way of masking the larger problems caused by a car-dominant society. In a new study, Professor Loader proposes a vastly different way of thinking about criminal punishment organized around five harm reduction principles. Plus, is it really wrong for news outlets to write headlines like “Pedestrian Hit By Car,” or is there more to it than advocates are willing to admit? *** and listen to exclusive ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, Discord access, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers!*** SHOW NOTES: Read Professor Ian Loader’s study, Curious about motonormativity? , who coined the term. Learn more about the concept in and . Order our book, , out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Buy a certified, pre-owned e-bike from and save $100 off any purchase of $800 or more with code TWOC100. Visit to get rolling. Thanks also to . Listen to this episode for the latest discount code and get 15% off the best rain gear for walking and cycling.
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Changing Lanes
06/09/2026
Changing Lanes
What does it take to make a street safer for everyone? In the US, it typically requires a combination of tragedy, grassroots organizing, and political leadership. Even when these ingredients come together, success is never guaranteed, as so many projects become battles about more than just bike lanes. Changing Lanes, a new documentary from director Ben Wolf, covers the fight to make McGuinness Boulevard in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, safer following the tragic death of a beloved teacher at the hands of a hit-and-run driver. Featuring interviews with such notable figures as Janette Sadik-Khan and former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, Changing Lanes moves beyond bike lanes to tell a story that’s very much made for this political and cultural moment. Wolf joins us along with advocates Bronwyn Breitner and Kevin LaCherra, as well as New York State Assemblymember Emily Gallagher, to talk about how they fought to make McGuinness safe and the broader lessons they learned along the way. *** and listen to ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers!*** SHOW NOTES: Stream Changing Lanes on or . Watch the . Learn more about the film and request a screening at . Read more about the campaign and learn about . Catch up on the corruption that led to a powerful family’s downfall and the indictment of a top aide to Mayor Eric Adams, . Order our book, , out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Buy a certified, pre-owned e-bike from and save $100 off any purchase of $800 or more with code TWOC100. Visit to get rolling. Thanks also to . Listen to this episode for the latest discount code and get 15% off the best rain gear for walking and cycling.
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PREVIEW: Sean Duffy's Great American Road Grift
05/26/2026
PREVIEW: Sean Duffy's Great American Road Grift
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, . See the USA in your... Toyota? That's what US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and his family have done with their reality-style online series, The Great American Road Trip. The way Secretary Duffy explains it, the show is a celebration of the country's 250th birthday. Duffy has told interviewers that "To love America is to see America," so he's packed up the family SUV and hit the road. This being the Trump administration, the trip isn't just an exercise in patriotism but a giant conflict of interest packaged as a reality TV show. That's hardly surprising given Duffy's history with reality TV—Sean Duffy met his wife Rachel Campos-Duffy while shooting MTV's Road Rules in the late 1990s—but it is concerning given that the series is sponsored by nearly a dozen companies that have business before USDOT. Reporter Henry Burke—a senior researcher at the Revolving Door Project—breaks down the many questionable and outright shady details behind Sean Duffy's trip across the country, from the opaque non-profit organizing it to the many transportation-related companies footing the bill. Our bestselling new book, , published by Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House, is available wherever books are sold.
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Taking the Transportation Fight to Congress from NY-7
05/19/2026
Taking the Transportation Fight to Congress from NY-7
Antonio Reynoso, Claire Valdez, and Julie Won are all running in the June 23 Democratic primary for New York's 7th congressional district. That’s the seat that opened up when veteran Democratic politician Nydia Velazquez announced she was retiring. It’s a traditionally progressive district, covering neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens. This isn’t just about New York, though. Federal funding is incredibly important to local transportation, and that money is in danger. But a new generation of candidates across the country is prioritizing the issues that matter to us at The War on Cars. What role can congressional representatives play in making our streets and transit systems better? and listen to exclusive ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, Discord access, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers! Interested in learning more about the NY-7 candidates? Links to their campaigns here: Order our book, , out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Get the book and find us on tour at . Buy a certified, pre-owned e-bike from Upway and save $100 off any purchase of $800 or more with code TWOC100. Visit to get rolling. Thanks also to . Listen to this episode for the latest discount code and get 15% off the best rain gear for walking and cycling. And check out the and the at . Save 10% off your purchase with code TWOC10.
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A Physical Education with Casey Johnston
05/12/2026
A Physical Education with Casey Johnston
Just as it is with road safety, so much of how Americans talk about health pushes the responsibility for eating right and exercising onto the individual, ignoring the many structural barriers that prevent people from making “good” choices. Through her newsletter, She’s a Beast, and her bestselling book A Physical Education: How I Escaped Diet Culture and Gained the Power of Lifting, Casey Johnston cuts through the noise, making connections across various disciplines to help people rethink their notions about health, exercise and body positivity. Casey joins The War on Cars to talk about how “at the scale of daily life, cars should be systematically discouraged, in order to even begin to contend with the deaths and health decline from a lack of physical activity.” *** and receive exclusive access to ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, Discord access, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers!*** Order our new book, , out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Find out the latest about our book tour at . LINKS: Buy Casey Johnston’s books, and , as well as books by all of our podcast guests at our Subscribe to Casey Johnston’s newsletter, , and read her post on Thanks to for sponsoring The War on Cars. Listen for the latest discount code and get the best rain gear for walking and cycling at 15% off. Buy a certified, pre-owned e-bike from Upway and save $100 off any purchase of $800 or more with code TWOC100. Visit to get rolling. Check out the and the at
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Streets for Play, Streets for Freedom
04/28/2026
Streets for Play, Streets for Freedom
Streets can be more than places to move and store cars—they can be places for children to grow and thrive. Alice Ferguson and Tim Gill are the UK-based authors of a new paper called “.” Each of them has decades of experience in envisioning a world where children can use streets safely and happily. Together they are calling for a “radical, child-centric approach to transport policy and planning.” *** and listen to exclusive ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, Discord access, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers!*** Listen to from last fall. Read Tim’s book, . Learn more about the movement. Order our new book, , out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Get the book and find us on tour at . Thanks to Upway for sponsoring this episode. . You can also save $100 off any order of $800 or more with the . Thanks also to . Listen to this episode for the latest discount code and get 15% off the best rain gear for walking and cycling.
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A Doctor's View of Traffic Violence
04/07/2026
A Doctor's View of Traffic Violence
We talk with a guest who knows firsthand just how destructive cars can be. Dr. Rex Tai is a physician who works in long-term care. Many of his patients are the victims of traffic violence. His experience providing care for these people has been part of his growing awareness of how our country’s car-dependence creates and exacerbates inequality and division in our society and even in our global politics. We talk about all that, the effects of catastrophic injury for individuals and families, and how the public health crisis of traffic violence is just one aspect of a system that limits our mobility in so many ways, as well as dividing us from each other. If you’d like to check out some of the organizations Dr. Tai mentions in the episode, here they are: and listen to exclusive ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, Discord access, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers! Order our new book, , out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Get the book and find us on tour at . Thanks to Upway for sponsoring this episode. to sell your bike. You can also save $100 off any order of $800 or more with the . Thanks also to . Listen to this episode for the latest discount code and get 15% off the best rain gear for walking and cycling.
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PREVIEW: Let's Get Political
03/31/2026
PREVIEW: Let's Get Political
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, . For a long time, safe streets and transit advocacy organizations have had to play a careful game. While non-profit organizations can advocate for policies and infrastructure changes that protect pedestrians and cyclists and make transit more efficient and accessible, they can’t endorse candidates for office or otherwise throw their weight around when another election rolls around. Thankfully, that's changing. There are now a growing number of safe-streets and transit-focused political action committees and lobbying groups that have sprung up to explicitly influence and endorse candidates that they see as friendly to the cause. How did they get started? How have they wielded their influence to elect good people who will enact good policies? Does it take a lot of money to make a difference? If ordinary people want to start their own PAC or lobbying group, where do they begin? We talk to the founders of StreetsPAC in New York, Streets PAC NJ, and the Better Streets Chicago Action Fund to find out how to win elections and influence politicians. Order our new book, . And catch us on tour in 2026:
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Tony Kushner on The Pushcart War
03/17/2026
Tony Kushner on The Pushcart War
—written by Jean Merrill and illustrated by Ronni Solbert and first published in 1964—is a charming and provocative children’s novel that tells the story of a band of pushcart vendors who fight against the organized forces of big trucks on the congested, contested streets of New York City. For Tony Kushner, the Pulitzer-prize-winning playwright, screenwriter, and author, reading the book as a child was a formative experience. “It made opposition, even nonviolent civil disobedience, seem fun and right and necessary and heroic, and something even someone as powerless as a kid can and should undertake,” he has said. March 2026 marks the 50th anniversary of the date on which the events described in the book are said to have begun. So we invited Kushner on to talk about The Pushcart War and what it can tell us about how to defend human beauty and agency against the brutal forces of technocratic capitalism. Get , plus other , at our . and listen to exclusive ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, Discord access, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers! Order our new book, out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Find us on tour and get tickets at . Thanks to for sponsoring this episode. and save $100 off any order of $800 or more with the code TWOC100. Thanks also to . Listen to this episode for the latest discount code and get 15% off the best rain gear for walking and cycling. The War on Cars is produced with support from the Helen and William Mazer Foundation.
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America's Hidden Desire to Live Car-Free
03/10/2026
America's Hidden Desire to Live Car-Free
Do people really like our all-enveloping autocentric system quite as much as everyone keeps saying they do? What kind of communities would they live in if given the choice? The answers, as a new study shows, are not exactly what so many of us have been told. Nearly one in five American car owners is “strongly interested” in living car-free, and another 40 percent are open to the idea. We talked about the implications of that study with its authors, Nicole Corcoran, Deborah Salon, and Hue-Tam Jamme, researchers at the Arizona State University School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning in Tempe. Check out . and listen to exclusive ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, Discord access, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers! Order our new book, out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Find us on tour and get tickets at . Thanks to for sponsoring this episode. and save $100 off any order of $800 or more with the code TWOC100. Thanks also to . Listen to this episode for the latest discount code and get 15% off the best rain gear for walking and cycling. The War on Cars is produced with support from the Helen and William Mazer Foundation.
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PREVIEW: What Snow Reveals About Cities (Plus More From Our Book Tour)
03/03/2026
PREVIEW: What Snow Reveals About Cities (Plus More From Our Book Tour)
***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 our latest Patreon bonus episode, we get into what we saw in the wildly different cities we hit on our last round of book tour (Miami! Pittsburgh! Toronto! Phoenix!). Then, we discuss how all the snow we have gotten this year has revealed some truths about what cars do to our cities and what we can learn from it. It’s a lot! (And it’s not just sneckdowns.) Order our new book, . And catch us on tour in 2026:
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Planning Livable Downtowns with Brent Toderian
02/24/2026
Planning Livable Downtowns with Brent Toderian
Brent Toderian has decades of experience in city planning, urban design, and transportation. He was chief planner for the city of Vancouver from 2006 to 2012, a time when the city hosted and was transformed by the Winter Olympics. As a consultant, Brent has advised and collaborated with folks from Auckland to Buenos Aires to Copenhagen to Reykjavik, and he often sparks conversation on social media, where he is one of the most prominent voices advocating for more human and humane urban design. We talked with him about how to make downtowns attractive and livable for families, why developers should value regulation, and that legendary urban Costco in Vancouver. Plus, Brent gives us the scoop on the new and its mission to beat back the lies people tell about cities. and listen to exclusive ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, Discord access, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers! Find out more about Brent Toderian and all his projects at his , and . And check out the brand-new , Brent’s collaboration with Tom Flood and Grant Ennis. Order our new book, , out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Find us on tour and get tickets at . Thanks to for sponsoring this episode. Listen to this episode for the latest discount code and get the best rain gear for walking and cycling. The War on Cars is produced with support from the Helen and William Mazer Foundation.
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Superbowl Roundup with Ian Chillag
02/10/2026
Superbowl Roundup with Ian Chillag
Super Bowl LX had everything, from ads for weight loss drugs and male grooming products to spots touting tax prep services and calming fears about our AI overlords. It also had one outstanding halftime performance from Bad Bunny. But what the game didn’t have was a whole lot of car ads. (Or a whole lot of touchdowns, but that’s a different story.) Why, after dominating the broadcast for decades, has the automobile industry gone cool on one of broadcasting’s biggest nights? And what did the few cars ads that did run say about the state of the nation and American culture at this particularly fraught moment in time? Ian Chillag—creator and host of the award-winning Radiotopia podcast “Everything is Alive,” the co-host of NPR’s “How to Do Everything,” and a senior producer of “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me”—joins us to break it all down. and listen to exclusive ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, Discord access, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers! Watch all of the Super Bowl ads. () Listen to Ian Chillag’s podcasts and . Order our new book, , out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Find us on tour and get tickets at . Thanks to for sponsoring this episode. Listen to this episode for the latest discount code and get the best rain gear for walking and cycling. The War on Cars is produced with support from the Helen and William Mazer Foundation.
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PREVIEW: Women Changing Cities with Melissa and Chris Bruntlett
01/27/2026
PREVIEW: Women Changing Cities with Melissa and Chris Bruntlett
***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, .*** When it comes to transforming cities and reclaiming space from the automobile, some of the best and boldest leaders are women. There's Mayor Anne Hidalgo in Paris and former Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, just to name two. Why is that so? That’s the question explored by our guests, urban mobility experts , in their new book: . The Bruntletts discuss the qualities that have allowed these leaders—along with women planners, advocates, and policymakers—to reshape their cities to benefit people, not cars. When women lead, cities thrive. This bonus episode was recorded live at the Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida. Thanks to for hosting this epic teamup. and listen to exclusive ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, Discord access, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers! Order our new book, , out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Find us on tour and get tickets at .
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The Importance of Livable Streets with Bruce Appleyard
01/20/2026
The Importance of Livable Streets with Bruce Appleyard
We talked with Dr. Bruce Appleyard, who has spent a lifetime thinking about what we mean when we talk about liveable streets—and why it is so important that we build our cities with human beings in mind, first and foremost. Bruce’s research makes an appearance in Life After Cars, and his father, Donald Appleyard, was a legend in this field for his work that led to the indispensable book Livable Streets, published in 1981. In 2020 Bruce published Livable Streets 2.0, which brings his father’s book up to date while preserving its core principles and teachings. We talked with him about how streets can foster (or erode) social ties in our communities, how car-centric infrastructure harms children’s ability to navigate, and how we can fulfill what his father called “the promise of our streets.” and listen to exclusive ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, Discord access, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers! Order our new book, , out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Find us on tour and get tickets at . Thanks to for sponsoring this episode. Listen to this episode for the latest discount code and get the best rain gear for walking and cycling.
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The Creation of America's Car Culture, Part 2
01/06/2026
The Creation of America's Car Culture, Part 2
Signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, otherwise known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act, ushered in an unprecedented era of roadbuilding in the United States, becoming the largest public works project in the country’s history. Designed to spread freedom and prosperity — and, as the name implies, provide for the national defense — these highways tore through urban neighborhoods, destroying once-thriving communities and displacing countless citizens, many of them people of color. In this special report, we examine just what inspired this massive project and the effects it had on two communities, one in New Orleans and one in Syracuse. This episode was produced with the generous support of the Helen & William Mazer Foundation. and listen to exclusive ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, Discord access, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers! Order our new book, , out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Find us on tour and get tickets at . Thanks to for sponsoring this episode. Listen to this episode for the latest discount code and get the best rain gear for walking and cycling.
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PREVIEW: Hanging Out with Jonathan Maus of Bike Portland
12/30/2025
PREVIEW: Hanging Out with Jonathan Maus of Bike Portland
***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, .*** We were out in Portland, Oregon, for our book tour in November, and spent a lot of great time hanging out with Jonathan Maus, the legendary founder of . We sat down with Jonathan in his backyard shed/studio and talked about how a great bike city can get even better, the importance of transit, and how media is an important part of the movement for more human cities. Order our new book, . And catch us on tour in 2026:
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Dispatches from Book Tour, Part 2
12/23/2025
Dispatches from Book Tour, Part 2
We are back home in Brooklyn but we can’t stop talking about everything we saw out on the road on our Life After Cars book tour. Listen for our takes on the second leg of our trip, which took us from Providence to Austin to Houston to Denver to Boulder…and then ended with a surprise diversion to an unexpected destination. We’ve seen so much along the way—like just how destructive freeway expansions can be. But also how cities can reclaim automobile infrastructure for humans! Plus, a shout-out to all the people who took such good care of us along the way. Our book tour continues! Find out where we’ll be next at . and receive exclusive access to ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, Discord access, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers! Order our new book, , out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Thanks to for sponsoring this episode. Listen to this episode for the latest discount code and get the best rain gear for walking and cycling. www.thewaroncars.org
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Dispatches from Book Tour
11/25/2025
Dispatches from Book Tour
The last few weeks have been a whirlwind as we hit the road (not in a car) to promote our new book, , in some of the greatest cities of North America including San Francisco, Washington, DC, Seattle, Vancouver, BC, Nanaimo, BC, Portland, OR, San Diego, and Los Angeles (as well as our home base of NYC, of course). Getting to visit all these cities in person, often walking and riding the streets accompanied by local advocates and elected officials, was a real joy and a privilege. We saw a lot! And maybe not surprisingly for a couple of podcasters, we had some thoughts about all of it—from excellent bike lanes and public spaces to transit service that left a lot to be desired and the horror that is Interstate 5. Our tour continues! Find out where we’ll be next at . Our upcoming schedule: Austin, TX: and and receive exclusive access to ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, Discord access, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers! Thanks to for sponsoring this episode. Listen to this episode for the latest discount code and get the best rain gear for walking and cycling. Order our new book, , out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
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