What the Hell is Happening In the UK?

What the Hell is Happening In the UK?

Author: The War on Cars, LLC December 5, 2023 Duration: 48:44
The War on Cars
SocietySociety & CultureCommentaryCultureNews

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has declared it's time to end what he calls "the war on motorists." First, the Conservative Party leader announced he was delaying the UK's commitment to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars. He followed that with what he called his "plan for motorists," which would severely restrict local efforts to implement low-traffic neighborhoods, 20 mph speed limits, bus-only lanes, and other policies intended to benefit people walking, cycling, and taking transit. Finally, he scrapped a major portion of HS2, a high-speed rail line linking some of the UK's biggest cities.

So… what the hell is happening in the UK? With similar setbacks in Berlin, Madrid, New York and elsewhere, is this part of a broader global backsliding? Are we losing the The War on Cars or is the prime minister just grasping at culture-war straws? The Guardian's Peter Walker returns to the podcast to help us figure it all out.

***Support The War on Cars on Patreon and receive access to ad-free versions of all our episodes, exclusive bonus content and stickers.***

This episode is produced with support from Cleverhood. Listen to the episode for the latest Cleverhood discount code.

SHOW NOTES:

"Sunak 'backs drivers,' announces scaling back of HS2, and delays the UK's ban on gas-powered vehicles by five years. (Peter Walker & colleagues, The Guardian)

Rishi Sunak says he's "slamming the brakes on the war on motorists." (The Sun)

King Charles III makes his first "King's Speech." (YouTube)

British Transport Secretary Mark Harper on "sinister" 15-minute-city plans. (The Independent)

Hear Peter Walker discuss his book, The Miracle Pill, on this Patreon bonus episode of The War on Cars.

Pick up Peter Walker's How Cycling Can Save the World at our official Bookshop.org page.

See The War on Cars LIVE at Caveat on NYC on Wednesday, January 31st. Tickets are going fast!

Register for the Winter Cycling Congress, February 22-24 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. We will be there!

Buy official War on Cars merch at our store. 

Find us on Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, Facebook and Threads. Follow and review us on Apple Podcasts. 

TheWarOnCars.org


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

Official website RSS
The War on Cars
Podcast Episodes
TEASER: Listener Origin Stories [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:27
Last month the three hosts told their origin stories, or how they first became aware of the problems associated with cars and automobile dependency. Our stories included everything from lessons learned during early drivi…
TEASER: Hess for the Holidays [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:07
Since 1964, the Hess Corporation has released a toy truck for the holiday season, an annual tradition that's highly anticipated by children and collectors alike. Models have included gas tankers, fire trucks, motorcycles…
Road Ecology with Ben Goldfarb [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:17
In his new book, Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping The Future of Our Planet, independent conservation journalist Ben Goldfarb writes about how roads and cars are wreaking havoc on nature across the globe. He reports…
TEASER: Origin Stories [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:38
Have you ever found yourself wondering, how did Aaron, Doug and Sarah get mobilized into the war on cars? What made them this way? If so, you're in luck. In this bonus episode, exclusively for Patreon supporters, we dive…
John Bauters, America's Bike Mayor [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:32
Since he was elected mayor in 2020, John Bauters has gained an international reputation for his work to transform transportation and housing in the tiny city of Emeryville, which is wedged between Oakland and Berkeley on…
Dark PR with Grant Ennis [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:49
In his new book, Dark PR: How Corporate Disinformation Harms Our Health and the Environment, Grant Ennis — a lecturer at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia — identifies the "nine devious frames" that corporations…
Unintended Consequences with Steven Johnson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:11
This year, 2023, marks the hundredth anniversary since chemical engineer Thomas Midgley, Jr. made the discoveries that led to the invention of leaded gasoline. Of all the many harms that the automobile has caused the env…
TEASER: Celebrating Your Wins! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:10
In this bonus episode just for Patreon supporters of The War on Cars, we do a quick news roundup before getting to the thing that matters most: WINNING. Last month we reached out to our liteners and asked them to send us…
Why Congestion Pricing Matters with Diana Lind [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:44
After 16 years of slogging its way through municipal, state and federal government and every imaginable form of public process, congestion pricing is finally on its way to New York City. If all goes as planned, then anyo…
TEASER: Coach Balto's Bike Bus Lessons [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:59
While working on Episode 110, Back to School with the Bike Bus, we spoke with Sam Balto, a phys ed teacher in Portland, Oregon, who goes by @CoachBalto and who's become one of the most visible advocates in the global mov…

«1...5678910»