Autonocast

The story of automated driving often starts with the DARPA Challenges of 2004-07, but for Jan Becker the story starts well before then. On this week's episode, the AV pioneer and founder of Apex AI describes his own path through a tumultuous decade for the technology, and how the class he teaches at Stanford has evolved to include a variety of critical non-technical lessons.

The gang makes its annual trek to Las Vegas to check out and experience all of the mobility wonders at CES 2023. Does it impress? Blow our minds? Find out in this next episode when Alex, Ed and Kirsten rehash the highs and lows of the world's biggest auto, I mean, tech trade show.

How has emerging driving automation technology been developed and tested on public roads with such a relatively strong safety record? As Waymo's Francesca Favarò explains on this week's episode it has everything to do with the humans behind the wheel. On this week's episode we dive into how Waymo manages fatigue risk among safety operators, why it's so important, and where the landscape of safety standards has room to improve.

The crew was just back together for a week of car shows and conferences in Los Angeles, where they witnessed and discussed the very latest in mobility technology. On this week's episode they discuss it all, from the new Waymo/Zeekr robotaxi and Toyota's sleek new Prius to a retrofuturist Hyundai concept, an electric Fiat and much more.

The gang is back to discuss some big changes in the AV world. Argo AI has shut down and Alex Roy is now adjusting back to life out of the corporate lane. Is the AV industry dead as some suggest? Is ADAS the future worth betting on? Find out on this spicy episode of the Autonocast.

Ever been pulled over by police and wish you had a dashcam and a lawyer in the passenger seat? Ever been in a car crash and wondered what to do? Meet TurnSignl - a new app that provides attorneys-on-demand via live video. Co-Founder Jazz Hampton joins Kirsten and Alex to discuss de-escalation, and how TurnSignl helps make drivers, passengers and law enforcement safer.

Paris Marx is the host of the popular tech-critical podcast Tech Won't Save Us, and the author of a new book called Road to Nowhere: What Silicon Valley Gets Wrong about the Future of Transportation. On this week's episode, Paris joins Kirsten and Ed for a wide-ranging look at his left-of-center critiques of the mobility technology sector and his arguments for a less "solutionist" approach to our mobility challenges.

Jessie Singer's new book There Are No Accidents has made a big splash in the road safety community and far beyond, by interrogating a word that makes most people nod and move on: "accident." On this week's episode, Singer joins Alex, Kirsten and Ed to discuss how she became fascinated with the word, the realities she discovered behind its bland façade, and what it all means.

Ed's latest essay in the New York Times, calling into question the big batteries that have made EVs so popular among American consumers (who can afford them), sparks a wide-ranging discussion in this week's episode. From battery supply chains to American consumer preferences, and from road trips to home charging, almost every aspect of electrification comes together in this fascinating conversation.

Sometimes you just need to let it out and rant a bit, and this week Alex, Kirsten and Ed are each feeling the need to screed. Unsurprisingly a lot of this week's ranting is about Tesla, but the gang also found room in their harts to get ranty about other topics as well. So skip the blood pressure medication, eat something spicy and get ready to breath a little fire as we get fed up with things that really need to change in the mobility tech space.