Talking Headways: A Streetsblog Podcast

Episode 586: SF Muni to the Future 16.07.2026 43хв

This week on the Talking Headways podcast we're joined by SFMTA Director of Transportation Julie Kirschbaum. She discusses making system improvements, rising customer satisfaction, lessons from the pandemic on ridership and operations, as well as Muni's cultural connection to the city. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon! Find out about our newsletter and archive on YouTube! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site! And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

Episode 195: Mondays at The Overhead Wire - Han Solo Returns 14.07.2026 43хв

This week on the Mondays show Han Solo is back and we're going through some news from the last month or so. Some really super interesting items to share in news format from what's in the ROAD to Housing Act that recently passed, night time transportation, the difference between Costco and Amazon logistics, and what makes an authentic place. There's much much more so how about diving in? News Items Inside the ROAD to Housing Act: Bipartisan Policy Center Mobility wallet - Journal of the American Planning Association Night transit - ITS International Future prime minister bus man - New York Times Costco's model - Pheonomenal World Authentic neighborhoods - Harvard Gazette Bonus Extra Items Salamander crossing - Grist Transit deserts and food deserts - The Guardian Speed cameras - SF Examiner Riding the D - The Guardian Highway lobby hard to push back - Union of Concerned Scientists New Mexico child care - The Guardian Short flights more expensive, less available - NPR Young people need own spaces - ERR How traffic makes cities warmer - The Conversation A new approach to planning with less car traffic - Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research Tire particles - Yale e360 Procurement matters - Eurocities Fungal network - Grist Colorado EV recycling - The Drive Dance influenced ped mall - CVille Magazine Mayor's parking meter deal - Block Club Chicago Hanoi low emissions zones - Vietnam Investment Review +++ Many thanks to Bob Nanna for our intro/outro music. Get the show ad free on Patreon! Find out about our newsletter and archive on YouTube! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site! And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

Episode 585: Bill Fulton and the Future of Where 09.07.2026 50хв

This Week on the Talking Headways podcast we're joined by Bill Fulton who has worn many hats including mayor, planning director, think tank director, publisher, professor and currently can be found writing on Substack at The Future of Where. We chat the impacts of work from home on cities, changing migration patterns and the south's new role as the "National Suburb", tax policy and burdens, 100 years of zoning law, and much much more. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon! Find out about our newsletter and archive on YouTube! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site! And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

Flashback! Episode 419: We Travel to Reach Destinations 01.07.2026 49хв

This week on the Talking Headways podcast we're joined by Greg Shill, Professor of Law at the University of Iowa, and Jonathan Levine, Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Michigan to talk about their paper, First Principals of Transportation Law and Policy. We talk about how to rethink transportation metrics towards accessibility, how the law has embedded mobility in transportation, and why we really travel. Hey everyone! This is an episode we put out in February of 2023 with Greg Shill and Jonathan Levine about their paper discussing how to rethink transportation metrics by putting forward accessibility. One of the things I've gotten out of this one for the long term is that we travel not just for kicks, but mostly to reach destinations. I referenced this show in a recent post on my blog so I thought the July 4th weekend replay would be a good place to share it again. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon! Find out about our newsletter and archive on YouTube! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site! And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

Episode 194: Mondays at The Overhead Wire - Family Friendly Cities? 30.06.2026 1год 16хв

This week on Mondays at The Overhead Wire, Tracy McMillan is back on the show to talk about a number of items including a piece on the role of the built environment in population decline, the kids of the Netherlands taking part in a four day national walking festival, the prevalence of growing vehicles in the United States and in Europe, and a signification pollution reduction in London on account of low emissions policies including vehicle limits. News Item Links Built environment and population decline - Architect Magazine Dutch children's four day walkabout - The Guardian America's growing SUV size problem - NYT Europe's carspreading - The Guardian London's emissions reductions - The Guardian Links from Letters The Coal Town System - The American Experience Coal towns in Appalachia - Substack +++ Many thanks to Bob Nanna for our intro/outro music. Get the show ad free on Patreon! Find out about our newsletter and archive on YouTube! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site! And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

Episode 583: The Transit Abundance Playbook 25.06.2026 56хв

This week on the Talking Headways podcast we're joined by Will Poff-Webster of the Institute for Progress to talk about their new collection of ideas to bring transit project costs down entitled the Transit Abundance Playbook. We discuss how to translate ideas into legislation, how these ideas fit into the current transportation bill, the importance of building public sector capacity, and how to cut costs in order to build more transit projects. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon! Find out about our newsletter and archive on YouTube! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site! And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

Episode 583: Framing Urban Disorder 18.06.2026 48хв

This week we're joined by Ryan Puzycki, who writes at The City of Yes. We have a discussion on urban disorder, how it manifests, and how to address the upstream impacts instead of when it's too late. We also talk about enforcing norms and the impacts of media on our perceptions. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon! Find out about our newsletter and archive on YouTube! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site! And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

Episode 193: Mondays at The Overhead Wire - Henry George's Urbanist Army 16.06.2026 1год 17хв

This week on the Mondays show we're joined by Kate Gasparro of the Building Better Cities podcast. We talk about the potential for land value taxes, research on car commutes from the Pottsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, 15 minute cities and the importance of destinations, and big Japanese megadevelopments. Main Stories A potential for land value taxes - Sightline Institute A new approach to planning with less driving - Pottsdam Insitute for Climate Impact Research 15 minute cities and proximities to jobs - Florida Atlantic University Rise of the managed city - Japan Times +++ Many thanks to Bob Nanna for our intro/outro music. Get the show ad free on Patreon! Find out about our newsletter and archive on YouTube! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site! And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

Episode 582: A Latent Hazard Activated by Conflict 11.06.2026 48хв

This week we're joined by Professor Eric Dumbaugh of Florida Atlantic University to share his new paper on Land Use and Road Safety: Understanding the Persistence of Vulnerable Road User Deaths and Injuries in the United States. We discuss the connections between the siting of destinations and deaths of vulnerable road users as well as a long game needed for true road safety. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon! Find out about our newsletter and archive on YouTube! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site! And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

Episode 581: In Good Faith 04.06.2026 43хв

This week we're joined by Ryan Avent to discuss his new book In Good Faith: How the Nature of Belief Shapes the Fate of Societies. We discuss human evolution and the impact of collective knowledge and culture and the need to create a new story about the future of society. We also discuss grass is greener thinking on infrastructure, the nature of belief without the need for evidence, and the fact that there is no perfect past. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon! Find out about our newsletter and archive on YouTube! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site! And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

Episode 192: Mondays at The Overhead Wire – No BRT for Christmas, Only Ham 02.06.2026 1год 36хв

Chrissy Mancini Nichols joins the show again and we have a blast talking about all kinds of urban topics. We discuss the rise of electro-states, a new way to measure accessibility from Wendy Zhao, short versus long term thinking on BRT alignments, and thoughts on how we should fund transportation considering our new world of deliveries and electric vehicles. Lots of great stuff, listen in here. Discussion Items Dawn of the Electric World Order - Phenomenal World A new way of measuring accessibility - USC Price Colfax: to center run or side run BRT - Westword | Denverite Funding transportation - will we miss the gas tax? KQED | Governing Bonus Items Hormuz Jeff - Saturday Night Live Women Changing Cities - Talking Headways +++ Many thanks to Bob Nanna for our intro/outro music. Get the show ad free on Patreon! Find out about our newsletter and archive on YouTube! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site! And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

Episode 580: Community Severance by Road 28.05.2026 52хв

This week on the Talking Headways podcast we're joined by Jaime Benavides and Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou of Brown University to discuss their new paper showing how community severance by road infrastructure and traffic has led to more mental health related hospital visits in New York City. We talk about the role of roads cutting people off from social connections and how impacts of roads on mental health were separated out from air quality. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon! Find out about our newsletter and archive on YouTube! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site! And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

Episode 579: Greensboro's Downtown Greenway 21.05.2026 51хв

This week we're joined by Dabney Sanders, Project Manager of the Greensboro Downtown Greenway. We chat about opening the final section of the Greenway after 25 years of work, the amazing art projects on the route, and lessons for other cities wanting to build greenways. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon! Find out about our newsletter and archive on YouTube! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site! And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

Episode 578: Sidewalk Nation 14.05.2026 1год

This week on the Talking Headways podcast we're joined by Cardozo Law professor Michael Pollack to talk about his new book Sidewalk Nation: The Life and Law of America's Most Overlooked Resource. Michael discusses who manages, owns, and feels ownership of sidewalks and advocates for a Department dedicated to them. We also talk about the nexus between sidewalks and roads, the impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Denver's successful funding and maintenance referendum. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon! Find out about our newsletter and archive on YouTube! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site! And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

Episode 191: Mondays at The Overhead Wire - Moving New Orleans 12.05.2026 1год 13хв

This week on Mondays at The Overhead Wire we're joined once again by Tracy McMillan to discuss a number of super interesting news items. We discuss the future of New Orleans in a time of Sea Level rise, getting amphibians across the road safely during mating season, food insecurity amidst transit deserts, the importance of weekend transit service, and a bit on meeting people where they are when planning. Below are the News items that were discussed and links to resources mentioned. Main Items SafeTrec street story - University of California at Berkeley New Orleans point of no return - The Guardian How Americans in transit deserts get groceries - The Guardian The weekend transit problem - Car Free America How planners could reduce the cost of living - Planetizen Amphibian crossings - Grist Extra Items Maul Shadow Lord Janix Transit Map YouTube Ecology Bingeing China releases horses to stop desertification - Ground Zero Channel Scotland's 250 year forest plan - Make Tech Future Nevada let five Beavers back into a dead desert - Daily Discoveries Do Redwoods Only Grow in California? - Atlas Pro Referenced Talking Headways Episodes 521: Food Deserts and Policy - Stacy Mitchell of ILSR 459: Crossings - Ben Goldfarb 325: Transport Justice - Karel Martens +++ Many thanks to Bob Nanna for our intro/outro music. Get the show ad free on Patreon! Find out about our newsletter and archive on YouTube! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site! And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

Episode 577: Find the Bus Art 07.05.2026 49хв

This week we're joined by Stephanie Dockery to discuss the Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge. Stephanie discusses how a bus art can get a cult following, how artists are creating attention in their cities with temporary art, and what happens after the projects disappear. Find the Bloomberg Connects art app here which contains audio, video, and written resources. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon! Find out about our newsletter and archive on YouTube! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site! And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

Bonus Mondays at The Overhead Wire: Mapping Every Sidewalk in Your State 04.05.2026 27хв

We're doing a bit of a crossover episode this week as I wanted to do two things, promote the amazing podcast The Brake hosted by Kea Wilson at Streetsblog USA and Dr. Anat Caspi at The University of Washington and her work focused on creating a platform that inventories Washington State's sidewalks. This is a reproduction of The Brake's February 24th episode What It Would Take to Map Every Sidewalk In Your State. The Washington State sidewalk inventory is now 100% complete but if you'd like to be part of the coalition to get legislative support for continued maintenance make sure to contact the folks working on OS Connect. +++ Many thanks to Bob Nanna for our intro/outro music. Get the show ad free on Patreon! Find out about our newsletter and archive on YouTube! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site! And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

Episode 576: The Logistics of Package Delivery 30.04.2026 1год 3хв

This week we're joined by Arizona State Professor Benjamin Fong to discuss an item he wrote in Urban Omnibus entitled Where's My Package? We discuss his work trying to suss out how e-commerce companies like Amazon have built their logistics systems and the difficulties of last mile deliveries. Benjamin also shares potentially beneficial legislation, movements that could benefit workers, and the process of siting warehouses that impact small towns to the benefit of big corporations. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon! Find out about our newsletter and archive on YouTube! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site! And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

Episode 190: Mondays at The Overhead Wire – Aging Out of the Car 28.04.2026 43хв

This week we're Han Solo, but have a lot of great news items to share including SRO legislation, Japan's rail expertise, the idea of onboarding residents to a city, and the quiet that came from the solar eclipse. Below are the show notes including links to the articles that we discussed. MAIN ITEMS SRO legislation - Niskanen Center Older drivers - Carbon Upfront! Japan's railways - Works in Progress The warehouse in plain sight - Places Journal Onboarding residents - National League of Cities Free range parenting - The Dispatch Total eclipse silence - ScienceDaily Sacramento parking legend - Sacramento Bee Way-mo cars on the road - Streetsblog NYC BONUS ITEMS Boom and bust built into the system - Kings College Mamdani curb management - Streetsblog NYC Credit card charges going up for Clipper - SFGate Federal home loan bank system reform - New York Times Local government staffing shortages - Smart Cities Dive City owned grocery - 6sqft Automated speed enforcement - Global News Robotaxi polls - The Verge Water conservation overshadowed by drought - The Conversation Finland opens longest active transportation bridge - New Atlas Gas prices and housing supply - Newsweek Amazon's algorithm makes prices go up - Washington Monthly Wildlife connections through land use - bioGraphic Asphalt's health impacts - Arizona State University +++ Many thanks to Bob Nanna for our intro/outro music. Get the show ad free on Patreon! Find out about our newsletter and archive on YouTube! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site! And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com

Episode 575: The Urban Truth Collective 23.04.2026 45хв

This week we're joined by Tom Flood, Grant Ennis, and Brent Toderian to discuss their new communications project, The Urban Truth Collective. We discuss pushing back on falsehoods and conspiracies through positive messaging around cities. +++ Get the show ad free on Patreon! Find out about our newsletter and archive on YouTube! Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Substack ... @theoverheadwire Follow us on Mastadon theoverheadwire@sfba.social Support the show on Patreon http://patreon.com/theoverheadwire Buy books on our Bookshop.org Affiliate site! And get our Cars are Cholesterol shirt at Tee-Public! And everything else at http://theoverheadwire.com