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Alex Pareene, a contributing editor to The New Republic and the author of The AP (Alex Pareene) Newsletter, joins the podcast to talk about his recent run of stories on cars, parking and the competition for scarce space on city streets. We discuss 311 — the non-emergency phone number for accessing municipal services — and what it tells us about how government works (or doesn’t work). What message are police sending when they fail to enforce illegal parking? As far as driving is concerned, does anything go? And how does Elon Musk’s insistence on beta-testing Full Self-Driving on public streets relate to it all?

You can find the full transcript of this episode here.

***This episode is sponsored by our friends at Cleverhood.***

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***This is a preview of a bonus episode. Become a Patreon supporter of The War on Cars for ad-free access to this and all our exclusive content.***

Perhaps you’ve seen pictures of a person walking around in a large, wearable wooden frame meant to illustrate the space taken up by one person in a private automobile. That’s the gehzeug — or walkmobile — and it was invented by the Austrian civil engineer and professor Herman Knoflacher.

Professor Knoflacher, 81, is the head of the Institute of Transportation at the Vienna University of Technology. Long before the current global pandemic, he compared cars to a virus. It’s a provocative analogy, but Knoflacher makes a compelling case. And rather than searching for vaccines and other ways to fight this particular threat, humanity has actively helped the spread of cars, much to the detriment of the built environment, children’s health and safety and even our future on this planet.

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In 2019, Melissa and Chris Bruntlett and their two children moved from Vancouver to the small city of Delft in the Netherlands. The experience of transitioning to and living in a place that puts people first over automobiles forms the basis for Curbing Traffic: The Human Case for Fewer Cars in Our Lives. The book, the Bruntlett’s second on the lessons offered by Dutch cities, explains the many benefits of car-free and car-lite spaces, from lower anxiety and stress, better social trust, improved health and increased independence for people of all ages and abilities. Plus, as you’ll hear, cities with fewer cars are quiet!

You can find the full transcript of this episode here.

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New York public high school students rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall in October for better bike infrastructure.

Young people want to live. It seems kind of basic, right? Anyone over the age of 35 or so probably grew up thinking that the desire to live was something to take for granted, at least on a societal scale. But many members of Gen Z worry that the places they live today will soon be uninhabitable. That they won’t be able to realize their dreams or raise their children the way previous generations did. That their very survival is at stake. And they don’t see meaningful action from the adults in charge. In this episode, we hear from some teens in Brooklyn who are demanding radical improvements in bike infrastructure to make emission-free transportation safe and accessible to all. We also talk with Dr. Elizabeth Marks, a clinical psychologist who has co-authored a new study about climate anxiety in ten thousand young people all over the world. Sixty percent said that they are either “very worried” or “extremely worried” about climate change. There’s a crisis in intergenerational trust. How can we begin to repair the damage?

***This episode is sponsored by Rad Power Bikes and Cleverhood.***

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On Tuesday, November 2nd, 2021, The War on Cars recorded a live show at Caveat on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Our special guest for the evening was Choire Sicha, an editor at large at New York Magazine, who joined us to talk about YIMBYism, “bike fascism” and life in the suburbs. Plus, why does Eric Adams, the newly elected mayor of New York City, need to fix his bike’s front fork?

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Jason Slaughter is the creator of Not Just Bikes, the wildly popular YouTube channel that covers urban design and daily living in the Netherlands. Jason’s videos are informative and entertaining, and whether they’re about the shaky finances on which the suburbs are built or something as simple as grocery shopping, each one helps viewers understand larger concepts about building cities for people, not cars. Doug sat down with Jason in Amsterdam to talk about the origins of Not Just Bikes and why places that force everyone to drive whether they want to or not just plain suck.

You can find the full transcript of this episode here.

***The episode is sponsored by Rad Power Bikes.***

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Introducing the 2022 Chevy Inundator

To celebrate the podcast’s third anniversary (how did that happen?) we open up the listener mailbag and field your questions and comments. Is it time to take more subversive action in the fight for safe streets? With all the evidence on our side, why does it sometimes feel like cities keep having the same arguments over parking spaces? Why don’t strollers get more respect as transportation? Is it ok to drive an SUV while wearing a War on Cars T-shirt? Plus: The marketing push for the 2022 Chevy Inundator begins today. 

You can find the full transcript of this episode here.

This episode is sponsored by Rad Power Bikes and Cleverhood.

Support The War on Cars on Patreon and cool stickers, access to exclusive bonus content, merch discounts and more.

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***This is a preview of a short bonus episode just for Patreon supporters. Become a Patreon supporter of The War on Cars for ad-free access to this and all our exclusive content. Plus, we’ll send you stickers!***

Michael Hobbes, a journalist and podcast host known for his work on Maintenance Phase and You’re Wrong About, joined The War on Cars for episode 72 to discuss what bikelash has in common with moral panics. In this short bonus episode, hear a part of our conversation that was left on the cutting room floor. We cover everything from how newspaper headlines absolve drivers who hit vulnerable road users and offer some advice to people who are freaking out about the #BanCars slogan.

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What does bikelash have in common with moral panics? Has Paris really descended into anarchy because of all the cyclists? Are e-bikes and scooters the biggest threats to pedestrians on the mean streets — and sidewalks — of New York? What happens when reporters misunderstand statistics and rely on anecdotes to paint a picture of an urban transportation landscape that’s spinning out of control? To answer these questions and more, we’re joined by journalist Michael Hobbes, the co-host of the podcasts Maintenance Phase and You’re Wrong About. Michael explains what a moral panic is and helps us debunk some commonly held misconceptions about what happens when cities make streets for people, not cars.

You can find the full transcript of this episode here.

This episode is sponsored in part by Rad Power Bikes and Cleverhood.

Support The War on Cars on Patreon and cool stickers, access to exclusive bonus content, merch discounts and more.

SHOW NOTES:

Subscribe to Confirm My Choices, the newsletter from Michael Hobbes.

Listen to Maintenance Phase and You’re Wrong About wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow Michael Hobbes on Twitter.

“As Bikers Throng the Streets, ‘It’s Like Paris Is in Anarchy'” (New York Times)

“As E-Scooters and E-Bikes Proliferate, Safety Challenges Grow’ (New York Times)

“Cycle lanes, scooters and terraces — is Paris still safe for pedestrians?” (The Local)

Get official War on Cars merch, including our new “CARS RUIN CITIES” sticker, at our store.

Check out The War on Cars library at Bookshop.org.

Follow and review us on iTunes!

This episode was recorded by Josh Wilcox at the Brooklyn Podcasting Studio and edited by Ali Lemer. Our theme music is by Nathaniel Goodyear. Additional music by Michael Hearst. Our logo is by Dani Finkel of Crucial D.

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Alicia Kennedy is a food writer whose weekly newsletter covers the way food culture intersects with politics, media, labor rights and climate change. On the surface it might not seem like it has much to do with the war on cars. But it does. Because what Alicia is doing in her work is really similar to what we do: she tries to make the invisible visible. She shines a light on how huge political and commercial forces are constantly manipulating our emotions about food for their own profit, with reckless disregard for the natural world and human health. It’s pretty much the same thing we see every day in transportation and urban planning. Sarah talked with Alicia about what electric cars have in common with lab meat, and how to deal with people thinking you’re a joyless Puritan just because you don’t want our society to go up in flames.

You can find the full transcript of this episode here.

***This episode is sponsored in part by our friends at Cleverhood. For 20% off stylish, functional rain gear designed specifically for walking and biking, enter coupon code BANCARS at checkout now through November 1.***

Support The War on Cars on Patreon and get cool stickers, access to exclusive bonus content and more.

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