TEASER: Cars Drive Us Apart, Subway Takes Unite Us

TEASER: Cars Drive Us Apart, Subway Takes Unite Us

Author: The War on Cars, LLC August 26, 2025 Duration: 8:10

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!

 

 


Imagine a world not built around traffic jams and parking lots, but shaped for people. The War on Cars is a dispatch from the front lines of that effort, a collective conversation questioning the automobile’s dominance over our cities, our environment, and our daily lives. Each episode digs into the real-world fight to reclaim public space, examining everything from the politics of a new bike lane to the history of how cars came to rule. You’ll hear from urban planners, activists, historians, and ordinary people pushing back, offering a mix of sharp analysis, on-the-ground reporting, and compelling narratives. This isn’t just about transportation; it’s about the culture and societal choices that have led us here, and the tangible, often inspiring work to create safer, quieter, and more connected communities. Tune in for a thoughtful and necessary critique of the status quo, a podcast dedicated to the idea that our streets can-and should-be for so much more.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

The War on Cars
Podcast Episodes
PREVIEW: Sean Duffy's Great American Road Grift [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:21
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, becom…
Taking the Transportation Fight to Congress from NY-7 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:05:22
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…
A Physical Education with Casey Johnston [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:51
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 mak…
Streets for Play, Streets for Freedom [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:33
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 "Streets for Play, Streets for Freedom…
A Doctor's View of Traffic Violence [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:56
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 f…
PREVIEW: Let's Get Political [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:46
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, becom…
Tony Kushner on The Pushcart War [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:45
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 th…
America's Hidden Desire to Live Car-Free [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:54
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 exac…
Planning Livable Downtowns with Brent Toderian [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:40
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…