The Brake: A Streetsblog Podcast

Covering the movement to end car dependency in the United States, one interview at a time

How One Transportation Emergency Can Keep Parents From Achieving Their College Dreams (Abigail Seldin)
May 22, 2025 – 21:16
Where Does 'Motonormativity' Come From — And Which Country Has It Worst? (Marco te Brömmelstroet and Ian Walker)
May 6, 2025 – 29:28
How Media and Culture Contribute to Traffic Violence (Myron Levin)
Mar 25, 2025 – 24:15
How Highways Tear Our Social Fabric Apart — and the Challenge of Measuring It (Luca Maria Aiello)
Mar 11, 2025 – 23:20
Does 'Vision Zero' Need a Reset? (David Harkey)
Feb 25, 2025 – 38:11
The Missing Ingredients In America's 'Minimobility' Revolution (Benjie De La Peña and Karina Ricks)
Feb 11, 2025 – 30:28
Everything You Need to Know About Keeping VRUS Safe In Your State in One Document (Michael Kelley)
Jan 29, 2025 – 24:42
What's Missing From the 'Safe Systems' Approach (Roger Millar)
Jan 14, 2025 – 25:03
When You Can't Drive in America's Hottest City (Mayor Kate Gallego)
Dec 17, 2024 – 22:43
How to Build a Car-Light Neighborhood From Scratch — Even in Texas
Dec 10, 2024 – 36:10
How America's 'Soft Power' is Shaping Mobility Around the World — And How Cities Like Tirana Are Resisting it
Nov 26, 2024 – 28:30
What the U.S. Can Learn From the 'Bike Mayor' of Africa, Manuel de Araújo
Nov 12, 2024 – 21:57
How America's Mayors Are Fighting Back Against Harmful Highways (Andy Schor)
Oct 29, 2024 – 20:52
When Car Dependency Meets Climate Disaster (Sara McTarnaghan and Will Curran-Groome)
Oct 15, 2024 – 21:01
Should We Stop Calling Bike Lanes 'Bike Lanes'? (Nick Ferenchak and Wes Marshall)
Oct 1, 2024 – 24:23
Five Hundred Episodes In, Jeff Wood Isn't Done Exploring Everything Our Cities Can Be (Jeff Wood)
Sep 17, 2024 – 32:32
How Cities Are Getting Creative to Reclaim Public Space for People (Vanessa Barrios)
Sep 3, 2024 – 20:28
Is America Ready for the Equity Impacts of the AV Revolution? (Dr. Andrew Dannenberg)
Aug 20, 2024 – 25:15
What If We Treated Car Crash Sites Like Disaster Zones? (Kevin Krizek and Tina Duhaime)
Aug 6, 2024 – 22:06
What Project 2025 Could Mean for Transportation in America (Beth Osborne)
Jul 23, 2024 – 27:29
How Cities Can Put Equality First Through Sustainable Transportation (Enrique Peñalosa Londoño).mp3
Jul 2, 2024 – 39:52
The Real Reason Why Traffic Engineers Design So Many Deadly Roads (Wes Marshall)
Jun 18, 2024 – 32:44
Why 'Sustainable Transportaiton' Is Not Enough (Thalia Verkade and Marco te Brömmelstroet)
Jun 4, 2024 – 26:23
What All of Us Can Learn From the 30 Percent of Americans Who Can't Drive (Anna Zivarts)
May 21, 2024 – 26:32
How to Fight a Texas-Sized Freeway Battle (Megan Kimble)
May 7, 2024 – 26:38
Why We Can't End Violence on Transit With More Police (Lindiwe Rennert)
Apr 23, 2024 – 23:10
Bike Advocates and EMS Workers Don't Have to Be Enemies (Shelley Bontje and Chris Bruntlett)
Apr 9, 2024 – 22:24
How People on Bikes Can Come Together As Advocates — No Matter Why They Ride (Peter Flax)
Mar 26, 2024 – 20:04
How Many People Does Car Culture Kill, Exactly?
Mar 12, 2024 – 24:27
Does Your City Need a Walkability Study? (Jeff Speck and Chris Dempsey)
Feb 20, 2024 – 30:09
What Are the Challenges — And Joys — Of 'Being Black in Public'? (Jay Pitter)
Feb 6, 2024 – 21:25
Could a Single Law End Impaired Driving As We Know It? (Rana Abbas Taylor)
Jan 23, 2024 – 27:02
Are Boomers to Blame for America's Dirty Transportation System? (Lawrence MacDonald)
Jan 9, 2024 – 22:18
Why 'Bike-partisanship' Is Our Secret Weapon (Rep. Earl Blumenauer)
Nov 14, 2023 – 28:30
How Walking Can Help End the Climate Crisis (Bill McKibben)
Oct 31, 2023 – 16:44
How AI Could Transform Transportation — And Not Just When It Comes to AVs (Renee Autumn Ray)
Oct 17, 2023 – 22:11
What Do 'Livable' Streets Look Like in an Era of Driverless Cars? (Dr. Bruce Appleyard)
Oct 3, 2023 – 16:57
Why Sustainable Transportation Advocates Need to Talk about Long COVID (John Bolecek)
Sep 19, 2023 – 19:26
Which Car-Cutting Strategies Really Work — And Which Ones Will We Accept? (Dr. Kimberly Nicholas)
Sep 5, 2023 – 22:00
How to Take a Freeway Fight to the Next Level (Alex Burns and José Antonio Zayas Cabán)
Aug 15, 2023 – 25:55
What Does 'Inclusive' Transportation Really Mean? (Veronica O. Davis)
Aug 1, 2023 – 27:23
Is This the Best Statewide Transportation Bill Yet? (Sen. Scott Dibble and Rep. Frank Hornstein)
Jul 18, 2023 – 24:59
How To Train an Army of Sustainable Transportation Activists (Carter Lavin)
Jun 6, 2023 – 31:03
How Does Parking Help Explain the World? (Henry Grabar, feat. Gersh Kuntzman)
May 23, 2023 – 18:07
Is the Electric Car A 'Wolf In Sheep's Clothing'? (Agnieszka Stefaniec)
May 9, 2023 – 21:39
How Can Sustainable Transportation Advocates Help End Poverty? (Matthew Desmond)
Apr 25, 2023 – 20:15
How Does Toxic Masculinity Play Out On Our Roads — And How Do We Stop It? (Dr. Tara Goddard)
Apr 11, 2023 – 33:45
What It Takes To Reframe the Narrative About Car Dependency (Grant Ennis)
Mar 28, 2023 – 29:20
What It Takes To Start Your Own Bikeshare Company
Mar 14, 2023 – 29:41
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Roadside Noise Cameras (Nick Ferenchak)
Feb 28, 2023 – 23:59

Recent Reviews

guitardude1236

What are you doing today, to help end car dependency?

Kea’s interviews are generally short and well edited to where she’s able to capture the guest’s main idea thoroughly and her empathetic tone and point of view make this show one of the best on my feed. I always leave wondering how what I just learned will help me to answer/respond to the question/charge of what I’ll do today to end car dependency
nkihvudhrvkudbrvku

On point

Kea is always full of valuable information and insights and presents it in a digestible way.
nusCGHK

Just amazing

Love Kia, the host’s, passion for mobility and all the guests are fantastic.
Nansindy

The Brake by streetsblog

Interview show with plain speaking people asking probing thoughtful questions.
Pepper Burly

Very thought provoking podcast

I learn so much listening to the brake, the adverse affects of car dependency, and how to better fight it in my community. Thanks!
Aidan Gormley

WAR ON CARS

Love the work this organization does!
pfhlick

The Streetsblog pod is GOOD

HOW DID I SLEEP ON THIS POD FOR A WHOLE YEAR?? Streetsblog Senior Editor Kea Wilson is hosting discussions with some of the same people whose work and advocacy she writes about. She does a good job as host of giving her interview subjects space to talk at length, and doesn't shy away from probing them about criticism or controversy. Mainly, I'm enjoying it because of the positive conversations she is having with various people involved in transportation, and being exposed to the voices of people who are out there doing something about the problems they see with our systems. Listen, get ideas, be inspired.