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, Fighting Traffic, 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 phenomenon of forced car dependence. In this special episode, producer Ilana Strauss brings us a story that begins with the pushback against automobiles, the fight for speed governors, and the unlikely partnership between a Studebaker dealer and a young academic who manufactured the rules and norms that came to shape American streets at the expense of anyone who isn't in a car. Support The War on Cars on Patreon 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! ***Our new book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves From the Tyranny of the Automobile, is out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Pre-order now and find us on tour.*** This episode was sponsored by Cleverhood. Listen for the latest discount code. www.lifeaftercars.com

This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. 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, become a Patreon supporter of The War on Cars. 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 Clean Cities Campaign and Respire, 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. Become a Patreon supporter of the podcast for access to the entire episode. Order our new book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile, out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. And catch us on tour this fall and beyond. Tickets for live shows are on sale now!

Today we celebrate the publication of our new book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves From the Tyranny of the Automobile. 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 get your copy of Life After Cars wherever books are sold. Our Bookshop.org link. Please support independent booksellers! Support The War on Cars on Patreon 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 Upway and Cleverhood for sponsoring this episode. www.lifeaftercars.com

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 who has been covering the story, 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 here or follow him on Bluesky. Support The War on Cars on Patreon 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! ***Our new book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves From the Tyranny of the Automobile, will be published on October 21, 2025 by Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Pre-order now.*** Find us on tour in San Francisco, Washington DC, Seattle, Vancouver, Portland, San Diego, Los Angeles and more. New dates are being added all the time. The War on Cars is produced with the generous support of the Helen & William Mazer Foundation. This episode was sponsored by Cleverhood and Upway. Listen for the latest discount codes. www.lifeaftercars.com

Tim Gill, an independent scholar based in London and author focused on children's play and urban design, shares fascinating insights on creating child-friendly cities. He discusses the alarming correlation between restricted outdoor freedom and children's declining health. Tim advocates for reclaiming urban spaces for 'doorstep play,' revolutionizing neighborhoods from car-centric to play-friendly. He also highlights successful examples like Vauban's car-free design in Freiburg and stresses the importance of equity in urban planning for all families.

This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. 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, become a Patreon supporter of The War on Cars. 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 talked drive-thrus, "Who the F*** Did I Marry," monetizing the school pickup line, and the way that cars have become the backdrop for the great unscrolling American self-documentation effort. Become a Patreon supporter of the podcast for access to the entire episode. Pre-order our new book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile, coming in October from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. And catch us on tour this fall and beyond. Tickets for live shows are on sale now!

Brad Lander, the 45th comptroller of New York City and former council member, shares his journey in progressive politics. He discusses the challenges of defending bike lanes as a formative political experience. Lander explores the Reckless Driver Accountability Act and the urgent need for driver accountability to improve urban safety. He also highlights the significance of community solidarity and coalition-building in advocating for inclusive urban infrastructure, asserting that these same tools are vital in the fight against authoritarianism.

This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. 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, become a Patreon supporter of The War on Cars. 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 convenience. That obviously sucks for those of us who don't want to drive. But the crazy thing is, as we have often pointed out, that it also sucks for people who do think that driving it's a terrific way to get around. In the full bonus, we also give you our take on David Byrne's Subway Takes appearance—and his take about urban bike etiquette! Become a Patreon supporter of the podcast for access to the entire episode. Pre-order our new book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile, coming in October from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. And catch us on tour this fall and beyond. Tickets for live shows are on sale now!

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 is talking about bus riders. That's a win in our book. Support The War on Cars on Patreon 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! ***Our new book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile, will be published on October 21, 2025 by Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Pre-order now.*** Purchase tickets for our Life After Cars publication party and live show at The Bell House in Brooklyn on October 28th. And find us in other cities for our book tour including San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, and more. The War on Cars is produced with the generous support of the Helen & William Mazer Foundation. This episode was sponsored by Cleverhood and Upway. Listen for the latest discount codes. Check out Mamala Food by Dani Finkel. (She designed our logo!) SHOW NOTES Learn more about Yonah Freemark and his work at the Urban Institute. Watch Zohran Mamdani on The Breakfast Club. Charlie Komanoff: Free buses would mean faster buses and more riders. (Streetsblog) Andrew Cuomo has a less ambitious free bus plan. (Gothamist) Boston has free buses on three routes. (Boston.gov) New York's free bus pilot. (MTA.info) This episode was recorded at the Brooklyn Podcasting Studio. www.thewaroncars.org

This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. 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, become a Patreon supporter of The War on Cars. While we were researching and writing "Life After Cars" 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 Beside You" (1957). For very different reasons, both are fascinating examples of the mindset of people who knew a life before cars and, more than halfway into the 20th century, were grappling with the reality of life during cars. Become a Patreon supporter of the podcast for access to the entire episode. Pre-order our new book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile, coming in October from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. And catch us on tour this fall and beyond. Tickets for live shows are on sale now!