Look Both Ways with David & Wes

Wes Marshall

Join David Zipper & Wes Marshall for a podcast offering pragmatic conversations about all things transportation. If it involves moving on a street, a sidewalk, or on tracks, it’s fair game – from autonomous vehicles to bikes to subways. Research will be discussed, policies dissected, and favorite drinks shared...

  1. JAN 22

    Episode 14: The Great Autonomous Vehicle Debate + David Under Fire

    In this episode of Look Both Ways, David & Wes explain why an online kerfuffle about autonomous vehicle safety unexpectedly put David himself in the spotlight. They unpack why autonomous vehicle debates so often generate more noise than insight, how narratives take on a life of their own, and what cities should be paying attention to right now. Listeners will come away with a clear sense of where autonomous vehicles truly stand and why context, logic, and governance matter more than bold promises. Other topics: 🔹 The quick start to the Mamdani era in NYC 🔹 Listener questions & what mode of transportation would win Survivor 🔹 A rehash of our first ever in-person Rail Drinks in DC Stay tuned for biweekly conversations about all things transportation. Additional resources: Officials showed off a robo-bus in D.C. It got hit by a Tesla driver NCHRP Project 17-97: “Strategies to Improve Pedestrian Safety at Night” David’s Original Stories… Bloomberg: We Still Don’t Know if Robotaxis Are Safer Than Human Drivers Financial Times: Europe doesn’t need driverless cars And the back-and-forth... Why David Zipper is Wrong Why David Zipper is Right (by Peter Norton) NYC doing things… Mamdani Takes the Bite Out of ‘the Bump,’ Paving Over Hated Road Hazard Mayor Mamdani Announces City to Complete Redesign on McGuinness Boulevard Fast Buses: Mamdani Administration Moves Forward With Stalled Madison Avenue Bus Lane Project

    59 min
  2. 12/05/2025

    Episode 11: Cities Pushing Back on Waymo + Our Most Memorable Road Trips

    In this episode of Look Both Ways, David & Wes explore why cities are beginning to push back on Waymo and other robotaxi companies, and what that resistance reveals about local control, safety, and trust in emerging technologies. Using Boston’s response as a case study, they dig into the tensions between innovation narratives and municipal responsibility. Listeners will come away with a clearer understanding of why cities are asserting themselves now, what’s at stake in these confrontations, and how regulation shapes the future of automated mobility. Today, we're also talking about: 🔹 Memorable road trips & how they shaped our thinking about transportation, freedom, & access 🔹 The purported death of a major eBike player & what that signals about the micromobility market 🔹 New words for access & why the language we use matters for how transportation problems get framed Then, we take listener questions and partake in some rail drinks... stay tuned for bi-weekly conversations about transportation.  Some additional resources: ‘Attack on our way of life’: Debate around autonomous vehicles heats up in Boston The rise and fall of Rad Power Bikes: From breakout success to the brink of shutdown CPSC Warns Consumers to Immediately Stop Using Batteries for E-Bikes from Rad Power Bikes Due to Fire Hazard; Risk of Serious Injury or Death   Music by Charlie Van Stee (courtesy of bensound) Email us at lookbothwayspod@gmail.com or find us at www.davidzipper.com and www.wesmarshall.org

    51 min
  3. 10/21/2025

    Episode 8: The Hidden Harm of Traffic Noise + Advice for a Young Engineer

    In this episode of Look Both Ways, David & Wes dig into traffic noise as an overlooked public health problem and a quiet but pervasive form of harm in cities. Moving beyond annoyance, we explore how constant exposure to noise affects health, equity, and quality of life, and why it remains largely invisible in transportation decision-making. Listeners will come away with a better understanding of why noise matters, how it reflects deeper design choices, and what acknowledging this externality would change about how streets and cities are planned. Today, we also talk about: 🔹 Trick-or-Treating & how it's the more dangerous day of the year for kids 🔹 A proliferation of anti-car books & what this moment says about shifting public attitudes 🔹 The trials & tribulations of a young engineer trying to do better & Wes' advice for how to handle the ethical tensions Then, we have some rail drinks...stay tuned for bi-weekly conversations about all things transportation! Here is David's article on the Anti-Car Books: www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-10/car-brain-is-making-the-us-unhealthy-and-dangerous-evs-won-t-fix-it And "The Traffic Noise Externality: Costs, Incidence and Policy Implications" paper by Enrico Moretti & Harrison Wheeler:  www.nber.org/papers/w34298 Music by Charlie Van Stee (courtesy of bensound) Email us at lookbothwayspod@gmail.com or find us at www.davidzipper.com and www.wesmarshall.org

    55 min

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
17 Ratings

About

Join David Zipper & Wes Marshall for a podcast offering pragmatic conversations about all things transportation. If it involves moving on a street, a sidewalk, or on tracks, it’s fair game – from autonomous vehicles to bikes to subways. Research will be discussed, policies dissected, and favorite drinks shared...

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