The War on Cars

is a London-based independent scholar, writer and consultant on childhood, and a global advocate for children’s play and mobility. He is the author of and We met Tim when he appeared on a panel with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo that Sarah moderated during Climate Week in New York. When we heard what he has to say about cities and children, we knew that we had to have him on the show. So we grabbed him before he could leave New York. We talked on a bench in City Hall Park on a weekday morning, so you can hear the sounds of a city that is waking up and going to work and school in the background. It was an appropriate setting for a chat about how we by making cities better for children, we make them better for everyone.   and receive exclusive access to ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, Discord access, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers! ***Our new book, , will be published on October 21, 2025 by Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. .*** Find us on our book tour in , , , and more. We're adding new cities every week. The War on Cars is produced with the generous support of the Helen & William Mazer Foundation. This episode was sponsored by  and . Listen for the latest discount codes.  

Brad Lander has been a fixture in New York’s progressive political scene for nearly two decades now, and has earned a reputation as a strong advocate for bike lanes, bike share, driver accountability, and congestion pricing. This year, though, he’s become known in a new way. As a candidate in a crowded Democratic mayoral primary, Brad cross-endorsed Zohran Mamdani, who eventually won the race with a margin that shocked the Democratic establishment. And in June, mere days before the primary ended, Brad was escorting a man named out of an immigration hearing . Brad joins us to explain how his defense of the Prospect Park West bike lane as a then-new member of the New York City Council became a formative experience in his political career and why the courage and coalition building it takes to stand up for safe streets are also the same tools it takes to fight fascism. and receive ad-free versions of regular episodes, exclusive bonus content, Discord access, presale tickets for live events, merch discounts, and free stickers! ***Our new book, , will be published on October 21, 2025. .*** Purchase tickets for our publication party and live show at . And find don’t miss our events in , , , and more. The War on Cars is produced with the generous support of the Helen & William Mazer Foundation. This episode was sponsored by and . Listen for the latest discount codes.

Should the bus be free? That’s the question everyone following the New York City mayoral race is asking, with Democratic primary winner Zohran Mamdani promising to focus on fast, free buses if he’s elected to City Hall. Eliminating bus fares is a big idea, but is it a good one? Like a lot of things in politics, there’s no simple answer. That’s why we asked Yonah Freemark — a researcher in cities, land use, and transportation at the Urban Institute — to walk us through the pros and cons of making the bus free for everyone. Whatever you think about it, the good news is that everyone is talking about bus riders. That’s a win in our book. and receive exclusive access to ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, Discord access, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers! ***Our new book, , will be published on October 21, 2025 by Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. .*** Purchase tickets for our publication party and live show at . And find us in other cities for our book tour including , , , and more. The War on Cars is produced with the generous support of the Helen & William Mazer Foundation. This episode was sponsored by and . Listen for the latest discount codes. Check out . (She designed our logo!) SHOW NOTES Learn more about and his work at the . Watch Zohran Mamdani on .  Charlie Komanoff: Free buses would mean faster buses and more riders. () Andrew Cuomo has a less ambitious free bus plan. () Boston has free buses on three routes. () New York’s free bus pilot. () This episode was recorded at the .            

This is a preview of a . 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, . While we were researching and writing  last year, we read and pulled information from dozens upon dozens of books. There were also a handful of books that caught our attention but that, try as we might, didn't quite warrant inclusion in our own. In this Patreon exclusive, we talk about two of these books: "Road Safety: How to Reduce Accidents" by T.S. Skillman (1965) and an anthology called "He Rides Beside You" (1957). For very different reasons, both are fascinating examples of the mindset of people who knew a life before cars and, more than halfway into the 20th century, were grappling with the reality of life during cars.  for access to the entire episode. Pre-order our new book, , coming in October from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. And catch us on tour this fall and beyond.

This is a preview of a . 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, . Are cyclists too mean online? To read some of the headlines about a recent study, you'd think the answer was yes. blared the headline in The Guardian. The subhead said that "toxic" online debates can make officials and other people in government reluctant to pursue cycling-related transportation projects. Adding one and one together, any reader would likely assume that it's those "forceful bike campaigners" who are mostly responsible for the "toxic" online debates. This story spread online and confirmed a lot of people's priors. Those darn cyclists! If only they'd behave they'd deserve safer streets! Not so fast. was a bit more complicated than the headlines and social media posts might have led people to believe. It also offers good lessons for effective engagement to get the change we want at the scale we need, no matter the issue. for access to the entire episode. Pre-order our new book, , coming in October from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. And catch us on tour this fall and beyond, including at our .