BONUS EPISODE: Way Too Many Tech Bros
Added 2021-07-14 10:00:04 +0000 UTCHey, Patreons!
Here's another special episode just for you. As always, thanks for your support. We truly appreciate it.
- Aaron, Sarah and Doug
It sure was a busy week for our transportation tech bro overlords. Elon Musk announced a deal to build another one of his car tunnels beneath the waterlogged streets of Fort Lauderdale, Florida while also admitting that, “haha” the self-driving cars he’s been promising for years aren’t going to happen any time soon. Malcolm Gladwell launched the new season of his “Revisionist History” podcast with an episode that comes across like a demented advertorial for robot cars. And a tech bro named Jason Crawford spent the better part of a day arguing on Twitter that "cars are one of the most amazing and wonderful inventions in all of history.” In this special episode for our Patreon supporters, Andrew Hawkins, senior reporter at The Verge, joins Doug and Aaron for a deep dive into the tech bros and their vision for the future of transportation. Plus: Lance Armstrong! As if it couldn't get any more bro-ish.
SHOW NOTES:
Follow Andrew Hawkins and his reporting at The Verge and on Twitter.
Elon Musk’s tweet announcing that, “Haha” he won’t be able to keep his promise to deliver full-self driving car technology any time soon.
“I Love You Waymo,” the first episode of the new season of Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History podcast.
"Cars are one of the most amazing and wonderful inventions in all of history.” A day-long piece of social media performance art by “former tech founder” Jason Crawford.
Elon Musk’s Boring Company pitches underground transit loop to Fort Lauderdale (The Verge)
Get official War on Cars merch at our store.
Check out The War on Cars library at Bookshop.org.
Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.
This episode was edited by Ali Lemer. Our music is by Nathaniel Goodyear. Our logo is by Dani Finkel of Crucial D.
Find us on Twitter: @TheWarOnCars, Aaron Naparstek @Naparstek, Doug Gordon @BrooklynSpoke, Sarah Goodyear @buttermilk1.
Questions, comments or suggestions? Email us: thewaroncars@gmail.com
Comments
talking shit about malcolm gladwell is the content i crave. (having said that, more thoughtful comments above are worthwhile)
Robert Green
2021-07-19 19:21:10 +0000 UTC...does Gladwell discuss any drawbacks in his full episode? None of the clips on TWOC mentioned drawbacks, only magical perfect AVs stopping patiently for an hourlong yoga class. It was farcical, but he didn't wink at the farce, he just spent his time optimistic and awestruck. Maybe I missed something, but I can't find any Gladwell comment that supports your angle yet. I think we need to explicitly state the argument against the rosy future imagery - we need to spell it out as you did, and as TWOC did. Too many who don't pay as close attention as we do won't catch the problems otherwise.
Cameron MacLeod
2021-07-15 15:54:36 +0000 UTCI love this podcast. really truly. But I think you’ve completely misunderstood Malcolm Gladwell’s argument regarding driverless cars. It definitely starts off sounding like an ad for waymo but, the way I heard it as least, it ends by saying driverless cars cannot actually be a workable concept. If I worked for any alphabet or any autonomous car designer id have hated this episode. it said if self driving cars can be made to work (assuming so for the sake of argument) then there won’t be any risk in a pedestrian playing chicken with the car anymore so pedestrians will and they will win and will take back the streets. Yes the powers that be won’t let that happen but I think that’s a different argument. Fundamentally what I think is being said is that cars cannot be on the street and be practical and be safe all at the time. it’s an argument against the tech bro’s rosey painting of the future rather than a proposal for how to get safer streets
TheScottishKiwi
2021-07-14 21:36:02 +0000 UTC
