The War on Cars

At last, New York City started its congestion pricing program on January 5. We knew that the local mainstream press would be out in force interviewing drivers and elevating the voices of those who were against the toll. We knew that because the New York press corps has a long history of putting the people who commute by car in New York above those who don’t.  So we went out on congestion pricing’s first weekday morning and talked to some people who weren’t driving. Some of the people we talked with were random New Yorkers, but mostly we heard from advocates who knew we would be there and showed up in the freezing cold to talk about why they were so excited about the launch of this historic program. Thank you to all the people who spared some of their time on a cold morning to talk to us, especially Samir Lavingia, Charlie Todd, Chris Sanders, Alex Duncan, Rich Miller, Noel Hidalgo, Seth Solomonow, Kirby Kersels, Paul Krikler and Steve from Peekskill. This episode was edited by Ali Lemer.  *** Support The War on Cars on Patreon and receive exclusive access to bonus content, ad-free versions of regular episodes, free stickers, merch discounts, early access to live shows, and more. ***  LINKS: The MTA’s FAQ page answers all your questions about congestion pricing. Check out this congestion pricing traffic tracker for collected data showing the program’s impact. TheWarOnCars.org  

How do dense, walkable cities influence what people wear? Derek Guy has some thoughts. Otherwise known as The Menswear Guy, Derek rose to fame on social media for his takes on men's fashion, but he also dips his toes into urbanism from time to time, arguing that the ecosystems that support quality craftsmanship and expert tailoring are strongest in places where it's easy to get around without a car. Derek joins us to talk about what the great fashion capitals of the world have in common, why Tokyo is a hotbed of fashion enthusiasts and craftspeople, how the housing crisis is affecting style, and more.  *** Support The War on Cars on Patreon and receive exclusive access to bonus content, ad-free versions of regular episodes, free stickers, merch discounts and more. ***  Become a Patreon supporter to get pre-sale tickets to our live show on April 24th in Minneapolis, presented by Our Streets. This episode was produced with support from Cleverhood. Listen for the latest discount on the best and most stylish rain gear for walking and cycling. LINKS:  Follow Derek Guy on Bluesky, Instagram, and other social media sites. Read more from Derek Guy at Die, Workwear. Read Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style and Status and Culture: How Our Desire for Social Rank Creates Taste, Identity, Art, Fashion, and Constant Change, both by W. David Marx Pick up official podcast merch in our store. thewaroncars.org Read 

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, pre-sale tickets to live shows, and more, become a Patreon supporter of The War on Cars. For our year-end bonus episode, we asked our Patreon supporters to tell us the best things that happened to them or in their communities in 2024. We heard from listeners around the globe about the many victories, from the political to the personal, that stood out to them in the past year and that give them hope for the future. There was a lot to celebrate, including lower speed limits, new bike commutes, and a string of victories at the local level that mean progress in The War on Cars.

Why do people behave so badly behind the wheel of a car? Why do reporters and the police use passive language to describe automobile crashes and traffic violence? How do the words we use make a difference in street safety? Dr. Tara Goddard, one of the top scholars studying what it is that cars do to our brains and the way we treat each other in the world, has some thoughts — and she’s done the research. Tara is an associate professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning at Texas A&M University. Her work focuses on creating a just transportation system through safe roadway design and inclusive transportation planning. We talked with her about “motonormativity,” how race influences how drivers treat pedestrians, and why language matters if we want to change the conversation about whom streets are for. *** Support The War on Cars on Patreon and receive exclusive access to bonus content, ad-free versions of regular episodes, free stickers, merch discounts, early access to live shows, and more. ***   This episode was produced with support from Cleverhood and Sheyd Bags. Listen for the latest discount codes. Buy tickets to our live show with CityNerd on January 31, 2025, at Hunter College in New York City. LINKS: Follow Tara on Bluesky. Some of Tara’s studies:  “Racial Bias in Driver Yielding at Crosswalks” (Transportation Research) “Does News Coverage of Traffic Crashes Affect Perceived Blame and Preferred Solutions? Evidence from an Experiment” (Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives) “Windshield Bias, Car Brain, Motonormativity: Different Names, Same Obscured Public Health Hazard” (Transport Findings) Some other things we discuss in the episode: Dr. Ian Walker’s research and our interview with him (Episode 99: Car Brain with Dr. Ian Walker) Sarah’s piece, “How I Became an Urban Monster in Just 10 Minutes” (Bloomberg CityLab) “Death of Cyclist in Paris Lays Bare Divide in Mayor’s War Against Cars” (New York Times) “The glare of the sun caused the westbound vehicle to jump the curb” (Emily Walters on Bluesky) Laura Laker’s new “Road Collision Reporting Guidelines” Get official podcast merch in our store. This episode was edited by Ali Lemer. It was recorded at Brooklyn Podcasting Studio by Josh Wilcox. Our music is by Nathaniel Goodyear. Our transcriptions are done by Russell Gragg. TheWarOnCars.org