Talking Headways: A Streetsblog Podcast

This week on the Talking Headways podcast we're joined by Chris and Melissa Bruntlett to discuss their newest book Women Changing Cities: Global Stories of Urban Transformation . We discuss the mobility of care work and the unpaid labor the undergirds the economy, elevating the voices of people with experience, and the women getting elected to get things done. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon !...

This week on The Talking Headways podcast we're joined by  Dr. Lawrence Frank to talk about how the built environment and the way we get around connect to public health outcomes. We also discuss the shortcomings of cost benefit analysis, and the systematic externalization of health benefits. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon ! Find out about our newsletter and archive on YouTube ! Follow us on B...

This week on Mondays at The Overhead Wire we're Han Solo, but got some great and interesting news for all the sickos out there.  We talk about the legacy of Hope VI, tracking Amazon packages, trash can politics, and the silliness of letting protestors kill something before they've even protested for real.    MAIN ITEMS USDOT wants AI to write rules - ProPublica EVs make air cleaner - Autopian LAMe...

This week we're joined by Professor Scot Danforth of Chapman University to discuss his book An Independent Man: Ed Roberts and the Fight for Disability Rights . We chat about Ed's life, the origins of the disability movement, and creating access for all. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon ! Find out about our newsletter and archive on YouTube ! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, F...

This week on the Talking Headways podcast I'm joined by Danny Pearlstein of the Riders Alliance to Talk About the One Year Anniversary of Congestion Pricing in New York City. We chat about the history of the idea, the mobilization of activists to turn the cameras on, and sour grapes from New Jersey and USDOT. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon ! Find out about our newsletter and archive on YouTub...

This week on Mondays at The Overhead Wire we're joined by Kate Gasparro, host of the Building Better Cities podcast! We talk about the first transit system invented by mathematician Blaise Pascal, whether design is making the housing shortage worse, LA Metro's new Care Based Services Division, and whether Chicago should have taken back it's parking meters from private equity.  Below are the items...

This week Talking Headways is being hosted by our friend Anna Zivarts who guides a panel of elected officials and advocates to talk about the impacts of the Week Without Driving . They look back at 2025's activities and look forward to this year's version. Featured guests include: Arizona State Senator Analise Ortiz (Referenced Videos on TikTok and Instagram ) Rochester MN City Council Member Nick...

This week on the Talking Headways podcast we're joined by Jake Berman to talk about his book, The Lost Subways of North America: A Cartographic Guide to the Past, Present, and What Might Have Been . We discuss transit histories through the lens of racial dynamics, monopolies, ballot measures, and overlooked cities. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon ! Find out about our newsletter and archive on...

We're back for a new year of Mondays at The Overhead Wire!  This week we're chatting about faster transit, cable cars in the Paris region, congestion pricing and more! Below you'll find links to the items we discuss during the show... Closing labor force gap - Los Angeles Times Congestion pricing air pollution - Phys.org Congestion pricing benefits - NYT Leaving DART is hard - D Magazine Paris cab...

This week we're back at the Mpact Transit + Community Conference in Portland Oregon at the Mpact Innovators Poster Sessions.   We talk with young professionals about the transportation implementation and policy work they've been doing in the field including designing new transportation hubs, rethinking parking, and improving bus service. This week we're at the 2025 Mpact Transit + Community Confer...

Hey everybody!   I want to wish everyone a happy new year!   We're doing our second replay episode at the end of the year featuring one of my favorite discussions over the last few years with David Schleicher about his book In a Bad State . This is one of the foundational ideas for me of late because of how we fund transportation infrastructure with bonds but also how those bonds are backed up!  ...

We're joined by Professor Michael Neuman to talk about his book Sustainable Infrastructure for Cities and Societies .   We chat about why trees are important models for infrastructure development, the important lessons of Barcelona for the world, and why infrastructure is lately seen as a monetary asset instead of a public good.   This week we're going back in time to Episode 392 from July of 2022...

This week we're joined by Carter Lavin to discuss his new book If You Want to Win You've Got to Fight: A Guide to Effective Transportation Advocacy . We discuss the mess and practice of politics, how we have more power than we think as advocates, and how we can get the policy results we deserve. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon ! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substa...

This week on the Talking Headways podcast, we're joined by Benjamin Schneider to talk about his book The Unfinished Metropolis: Igniting the City-Building Revolution . Ben chats about the unfinishedness of cities, the larger origins of NIMBYism, and how much our economy and built environment cater to cars. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon ! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Fli...

This week we're Han Solo but we're sharing news about fire departments and their impacts on cities, how Boston and Denver are considering putting housing together with other public services like libraries and police stations, and a bill that would allow transit agencies to get projects environmentally certified in state. And much much more!!! Below the fold are the article links we chatted about o...

This week we're joined by Tony Jordan, President of the Parking Reform Network at the Mpact Transit + mobility conference in Portland. We talk about getting rid of our cars, the arbitrary requirements for parking around the country, and Donald Shoup's legacy. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon ! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on...

This week we're going back to Episode 459 exactly two years ago to chat with author Ben Goldfarb to talk about his book, Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet. We discuss how roads cut off ecosystems, wildlife crossings, and animal mobility at different scales. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon ! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @t...

This week on Mondays at The Overhead Wire we're Han Solo, but we've got some interesting news from the world of transportation and urban planning to share.  We talk briefly about tram trains, the NAVI electric vehicle program, Chicago's big win, and much much more!  Below the fold are the show notes with all the items we cover in our digest show.   Main items Single stairway - Pew Stateline Tram t...

This week on the Talking Headways podcast we're joined by  Olivia Plotnick , Founder of Wai Social in Shanghai China. We discuss her summer trip to over 30 different Chinese cities to experience different retail, the impacts of high speed rail, and the social e-commerce ecosystem. We also discuss how competition has made Chinese retail sharper, electric vehicle saturation, and emotional consumptio...

This week we're joined by Cortni Desir, Executive Program Manager for Public Transportation at the Connecticut Department of Transportation at the Mpact transit + community conference in Portland. We discuss her international influences, upgrading bus stops, customer experience, homelessness and transit, and being curious. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon ! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instag...

This week we're joined by Corrigan Salerno of Transportation For America. We discuss three transportation principles for a better federal transportation bill, how to create better reporting data for MPOs, and better bus manufacturing. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon ! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon  theoverheadwire...

This week on Mondays at The Overhead Wire we chat about signal timing tinkering in Houston, the impact of commute times on sleep disorders, Phoenix's lack of water for sprawl, and how many times Raleigh had to bid for contractors to build bus rapid transit. Below are the show notes: Houston signal timing off - Rice Thresher Whitmire thinks he knows - New York Times Sleep impacted by commutes - Sci...

This week we're back live for another show from Manny's in the Mission featuring Streetsblog SF editor Roger Rudick interviewing California High Speed Rail Authority CEO Ian Choudri. They chat about reducing costs, systems in other countries, and take questions from the audience. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon ! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverh...

This week Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon of the War on Cars podcast join the show to talk about their new book: Life After Cars – Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile . We discuss opposing views, Turtle Jesus, and potential offramps towards car free cities. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon ! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire...

This week on Talking Headways we're flashing back to exactly ten years ago to Episode 78 with Dr. Kevin Gurney, now at Northern Arizona University. We chat about measuring emissions at the street, block, and neighborhood level and the data that enables it.  I wanted to flash back to this one this week because I recently saw Kevin pop up in a New York Times article discussing all the work that the...