Reconnect America

Solutionary Rail
  • 4.8 (22)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Reconnect America is the new podcast from Solutionary Rail that presents a creative yet common sense vision for U.S. railroads. It weaves together the genius of community and technical experts, workers and policymakers, advocates and scholars. Reconnect America reflects a decade of research, writing, and advocacy aimed at illuminating the ways in which the U.S. rail system can be harnessed to better service public interests and to address 21st century problems. Reconnect America is hosted by Bill Moyer, co-author of the book Solutionary Rail: A People-powered Campaign to Electrify America’s Railroads and Open Corridors to a Clean Energy Future. Please help us keep the podcast ads-free and without paywalls by making a tax-deductible donation at SolutionaryRail.org. solutionaryrail.substack.com

  1. APR 22

    Interview: Questioning Staggers—Greed without Guardrails? (w/ Arnav Rao)

    Dear Friends, This conversation rounds out a trio of interviews that explore the 46-year aftermath of the deregulatory Staggers Act. Our guest is Arnav Rao, who serves as a transportation policy analyst at the Open Markets Institute, where he works with previous Reconnect America guest Phil Longman. An astute student of the history of the U.S. railroad industry and a keen observer of the present moment, Arnav does an excellent job of weaving together the many threads we have been tracing in recent months. Beginning with the Staggers Act of 1980, Arnav reveals how an ideological program pushed regulators far beyond what Congress had originally intended. Not only were critical protections for shippers, workers, and the public were cast aside, but unchecked consolidation also left the U.S. with a largely monopolized and unaccountable railroad industry. As the conversation turns to the arrival of aggressive so-called “activist” investors from Wall Street and their imposition of the extractive business model known as precision scheduled railroading, Arnav helps tease apart the similarities and differences between this phenomenon and earlier forms of cost-cutting that followed the Staggers Act. Finally, we discuss the current state of the industry—the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger, the captivity of railroad management to Wall Street demands, and the illegal firing of Surface Transportation Board member Robert Primus. We wrap up by envisioning a path toward the restoration of public purpose for this critical national infrastructure. With Gratitude & Solidarity, Bill Moyer Reconnect America is hosted by Bill Moyer, co-author of the book Solutionary Rail: A People-powered Campaign to Electrify America’s Railroads and Open Corridors to a Clean Energy Future. Check out the essays and supplemental posts that complement this podcast HERE. Learn more, get involved and pitch in to support the work of Solutionary Rail at SolutionaryRail.org. Keep the podcast ads-free and without paywalls by making a tax-deductible donation HERE. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit solutionaryrail.substack.com

    57 min

  2. APR 4

    Interview: How Deregulated Railroads Sacrificed Service in Pursuit of Profit (w/ Ken Kirschling)

    Dear friends, We have been exploring the effects of the deregulatory interventions that the U.S. implemented from 1970 to 1980—extraordinary measures that aimed to rescue railroad corporations and keep the infrastructure they operate under private control. As we continue this exploration, we wanted to share a perspective that vividly brings to life the significance of what happened at that time and in the years that followed—not just the harms that were inflicted, but also the opportunities that were missed, the potential that remains untapped, and the enduring urgency of attempting to turn things around. Who better to do that than Ken Kirschling, who began working in the railroad industry shortly after its deregulation in the 1980s and remains deeply involved in it to this day? Ken is the owner and principal bridge engineer at Rail Star Engineering. By a stroke of good fortune, his office is also right next door to mine. As you will hear in our conversation, Ken’s up-close experience of the transformations that U.S. railroads have undergone imbues his stories with a unique energy. Decades after the fact, you can still feel Ken’s excitement when he recounts working in an industry that was no longer resource-constrained and was, for a time, actually growing and innovating—even as it was leaving smaller communities behind in order to free up that capital. No less palpable, however, is Ken’s profound disappointment at the funneling of capital out of the system that has since taken place, and the stagnation and deterioration of service that has ensued. Whether you are already familiar with these themes or approaching them for the first time, this conversation is sure to inspire you with both appreciation and concern for the past, present, and future of this critical national infrastructure on which we all depend. With Gratitude & Solidarity, Bill Moyer Reconnect America is hosted by Bill Moyer, co-author of the book Solutionary Rail: A People-powered Campaign to Electrify America’s Railroads and Open Corridors to a Clean Energy Future. Check out the essays and supplemental posts that complement this podcast HERE. Learn more, get involved and pitch in to support the work of Solutionary Rail at SolutionaryRail.org. Keep the podcast ads-free and without paywalls by making a tax-deductible donation HERE. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit solutionaryrail.substack.com

    1h 2m

  3. MAR 21

    Interview: Origins of Precision Scheduled Railroading and the Financialization of U.S. Rail Transport (w/ John Strong)

    Dear friends, As we gear up for the release of Episodes 5 and 6 of Reconnect America, we wanted to share some of the conversations that have been guiding us toward a deeper understanding of the last 46 years of U.S. rail transport and the evolving relationship between this critical national infrastructure and the businesses and communities that depend upon it. My guest for today’s conversation is John Strong, professor of finance at the College of William and Mary. Professor Strong is the author of a handful of articles that have proven uniquely valuable in illuminating some of the interconnected issues that we are grappling with—in particular, the development of the operating model known as Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR) and the rise of a class of activist investors who have aggressively forced this model upon railroad managers in North America. In addition to these themes, our conversation also explores how the ground for PSR and shareholder activism was laid by an earlier wave of adaptation to railroad and financial deregulation. Driven by the newfound ability to spin off and abandon less profitable lines, merge systems, and enter long-term contracts with discounts that privileged the largest multinational corporations, this initial pivot was aimed at moving fewer, longer, so-called “unit trains” carrying a single commodity from a single origin to a single destination. Financially, it was fueled by an emergent class of index fund managers, whose passive oversight left a power vacuum that would ultimately be filled by activist investors. In a moment when Wall Street’s stranglehold on U.S. railroads threatens to trigger yet another wave of anti-competitive consolidation, this conversation sheds valuable light on the evolving incentive structures that brought us to where we are today. With Gratitude & Solidarity, Bill Moyer Reconnect America is hosted by Bill Moyer, co-author of the book Solutionary Rail: A People-powered Campaign to Electrify America’s Railroads and Open Corridors to a Clean Energy Future. Check out the essays and supplemental posts that complement this podcast HERE. Learn more, get involved and pitch in to support the work of Solutionary Rail at SolutionaryRail.org. Keep the podcast ads-free and without paywalls by making a tax-deductible donation HERE. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit solutionaryrail.substack.com

    55 min

  4. FEB 27

    Interview: When the Community Speaks Up—Rail Safety Edition (w/ Jess Conard)

    Earlier this month, I reached out to Jess Conard in the hopes of interviewing her for the Reconnect America podcast. I hardly expected that just a few days later we would be meeting face-to-face—along with my friend Beka Economopoulos, co-founder and Director of The Natural History Museum—in my cabin-studio in the woods of Vashon Island, Washington. Jess is a resident of East Palestine, Ohio, where the 2023 derailment of a Norfolk Southern train and the subsequent decision to vent and burn over 115,000 gallons of toxic vinyl chloride caused an environmental and public health disaster whose consequences will be unfolding for decades to come. In the aftermath of the derailment, Jess dove headlong into studying the countless layers of profit-driven corner-cutting and neglect that led to and exacerbated the disaster. Earlier this year, she launched Rail Watch, an organization aimed at protecting the safety of trackside communities across North America. Community organizing and coalition-building is of vital importance in a moment of political timidity on the part of our elected officials, regulatory rollback by executive agencies, and the entrenched captivity of railroad and other corporations to the unfettered power of financial interests. Our conversation focused not just on what happened in East Palestine, but also on how to build from the power we have to the power we need to bring about a world where communities are not endangered, but rather served by the infrastructure that passes through them. I hope you find our conversation as informative and inspiring as I did! With Gratitude & Solidarity, Bill Moyer This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit solutionaryrail.substack.com

    1h 17m

  5. FEB 21

    Preview: Organizing for Community Safety with East Palestine Resident and Rail Watch Founder Jess Conard

    Earlier this month, I reached out to Jess Conard in the hopes of interviewing her for the Reconnect America podcast. I hardly expected that just a few days later we would be meeting face-to-face—along with my friend Beka Economopoulos, co-founder and Director of The Natural History Museum—in my cabin-studio in the woods of Vashon Island, Washington. Jess is a resident of East Palestine, Ohio, where the 2023 derailment of a Norfolk Southern train and the subsequent decision to vent and burn over 115,000 gallons of toxic vinyl chloride caused an environmental and public health disaster whose consequences will be unfolding for decades to come In the aftermath of the derailment, Jess dove headlong into studying the countless layers of profit-driven corner-cutting and neglect that led to and exacerbated the disaster. Earlier this year, she launched Rail Watch, an organization aimed at protecting the safety of trackside communities across North America. Community organizing and coalition-building is of vital importance in a moment of political timidity on the part of our elected officials, regulatory rollback by executive agencies, and the entrenched captivity of railroad and other corporations to the unfettered power of financial interests. Our conversation focused not just on what happened in East Palestine, but also on how to build from the power we have to the power we need to bring about a world where communities are not endangered, but rather served by the infrastructure that passes through them. I hope you will take a few minutes to watch the preview above—and keep an eye out for the full interview, coming soon! With Gratitude & Solidarity, Bill Moyer This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit solutionaryrail.substack.com

    4 min
  6. Interview: Congress Must Act to Protect Rail Shippers from Wall Street Greed (w/ Ann Warner)

    12/28/2025

    Interview: Congress Must Act to Protect Rail Shippers from Wall Street Greed (w/ Ann Warner)

    Though the railroad industry was deregulated in 1980, the public was always supposed to retain access to rail service that it could rely upon at a competitive price. That promise has been broken, and Wall Street is only partially to blame. A lack of clarity and specificity in the statutes that authorize the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to regulate U.S. railroads has also prevented this agency from exercising the authority it is meant to have. That is why a growing base of support is coalescing around the bipartisan Reliable Rail Service Act. Ann Warner, the guest of today’s episode, is one of the figures at the forefront of this coalition. She serves as managing partner at Ann Warner LLC and spokesperson for the Freight Rail Customer Alliance (FRCA), an “alliance of freight rail shippers impacted by continued unrestrained freight rail market dominance over rail-dependent shippers.” Ann’s legal expertise and her work at the FRCA make this episode a perfect follow-up to our fascinating conversation earlier this month with FRCA President Emily Regis. Whereas Emily focused more on the concrete ways in which Class I railroads take advantage of their customers—who often have no other transportation options—Ann helps us understand the legal structures that allow these abuses to continue. In particular, Ann illuminates why the Reliable Rail Service Act is necessary to right these wrongs and begin to put U.S. railroads back in service of public interests rather than Wall Street greed. Reconnect America is hosted by Bill Moyer, co-author of the book Solutionary Rail: A People-powered Campaign to Electrify America’s Railroads and Open Corridors to a Clean Energy Future. Check out the essays and supplemental posts that complement this podcast HERE. Learn more, get involved and pitch in to support the work of Solutionary Rail at SolutionaryRail.org. Keep the podcast ads-free and without paywalls by making a tax-deductible donation HERE. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit solutionaryrail.substack.com

    51 min

  7. 12/13/2025

    Interview: Captive Shippers and Their Fight for Reasonable and Reliable Rail Service (w/ Emily Regis)

    We recently released Episode Four of our main Reconnect America series. It explores in depth the story of the unique U.S. experiment in private ownership of the critical national infrastructure that railroads constitute, and the concessions we have made over the course of a century and a half to sustain that system. If you haven’t listened to it yet, we highly recommend you check it out. As we prepare to continue the story into the present day with Episode Five, we are exploring the experiences of shippers who depend on railroads to move their products, by speaking with some of the folks who represent these businesses in negotiations with railroads and before the Surface Transportation Board (STB). Emily Regis is one of these people. Emily is president of the Freight Rail Customer Alliance, an “alliance of freight rail shippers impacted by continued unrestrained freight rail market dominance over rail-dependent shippers.” Emily is also Fuel Resource Administrator for the Arizona Electric Power Cooperative and President of the National Coal Transportation Association. Now, those familiar with Solutionary Rail will probably know that much of our work has been focused on facilitating a transition away from fossil fuels. So you might be wondering: why are we talking with someone who works on behalf of coal producers and their customers? For one thing, as we highlighted in Episodes Two and Four of our main series, a large part of the reason why the U.S. was once able to balance the public purpose of rail transport with the need of shareholders to earn a profit is because of the principle of common carriage. Railroads once had an obligation to provide reasonable service upon reasonable request to every shipper along their lines. It was only once they were allowed to discriminate, de-market, and turn business away that the system ceased to serve the public. Coal shippers have no other option than to move their product by rail, and so they—alongside shippers of a few other rail-dependent commodities—are especially vulnerable to the railroads’ ongoing abuse of their market power. But there is another reason why having this kind of conversation is so crucial to the Reconnect America project. One of the central pillars of the vision we’re developing here is the idea that when it comes to rail transport, fighting for the public interest is a cause that transcends partisan politics. It is not that we don’t have disagreements. But if we cannot talk with people that have different perspectives on some things, then we will never learn enough about them to find out what we have in common. As you will hear in this conversation—which took place in early October, between Emily and Solutionary Rail Director and Reconnect America Host Bill Moyer—we do have a lot in common. And we also have a ton to learn from people like Emily. When we advocate for a rail system that better serves communities, rail customers are one of the key intermediaries in that relationship. It is their needs that have to be amplified and addressed. The picture that Emily paints in this conversation is one of a rail system dominated by a business model that benefits only the railroads and their shareholders, at the expense of customers. It is a system that has seen cuts to service, a weaponization of surcharges, a suppression of complaints against the railroads for fear of retaliation, and a process to address these complaints that is impossibly bureaucratic and resource-consuming—and not all that helpful even when it succeeds. We discussed the dangers of the pending merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, for shippers that would be left captive to the monopoly power of a single railroad to move their freight. And we considered possible ways to re-envision how we do rail transport in this country. Reconnect America is hosted by Bill Moyer, co-author of the book Solutionary Rail: A People-powered Campaign to Electrify America’s Railroads and Open Corridors to a Clean Energy Future. Check out the essays and supplemental posts that complement this podcast HERE. Learn more, get involved and pitch in to support the work of Solutionary Rail at SolutionaryRail.org. Keep the podcast ads-free and without paywalls by making a tax-deductible donation HERE. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit solutionaryrail.substack.com

    1h 14m

  8. 11/27/2025

    Episode 4. Private Railroads for Public Purpose: Battles, Misadventures, and Extraordinary Measures (Part 1)

    Rail systems around the world are mostly owned and operated by the public. But the U.S. has only ever flirted with public ownership, and mostly in moments where this seemed like the only way to preserve a functional railroad system. Instead, for almost a century, we pursued a model of regulating corporate railroads to fulfill their public purpose while sustaining the revenue needed to keep them afloat. Meeting both of these objectives proved to be a balancing act which took decades to achieve, by which time it was already coming undone, thanks to massive public investments in competing modes of transportation. While it lasted, however, this system fueled the rise of what was, at the time, the largest middle class ever known. In Episodes 2 and 3, we focused on how the public responded to the partial collapse of this system in 1970 by creating Amtrak, a publicly-owned passenger railroad which relieved railroad corporations of their costly obligation to move people. We also discussed how Amtrak was nonetheless tasked with making a profit on this money-losing service, forcing it to eviscerate the nation’s passenger rail system in pursuit of that goal. In this episode, we retrace this history from the freight rail side of things, showing how our refusal to take full public responsibility for this critical infrastructure, even when circumstances seemed to cry out for it, led us on a wild goose chase in search of another path to stability. That chase carried us through two industry-wide death spirals, two merger waves, two temporary nationalizations, and a record-shattering bankruptcy, until legislators finally decided to change the paradigm—not by taking on the cost of providing the service, but rather by sacrificing service and giving free rein to Wall Street greed, all in the name of economic efficiency. Reconnect America is hosted by Bill Moyer, co-author of the book Solutionary Rail: A People-powered Campaign to Electrify America’s Railroads and Open Corridors to a Clean Energy Future. Check out the essays and supplemental posts that complement this podcast HERE. Learn more, get involved and pitch in to support the work of Solutionary Rail at SolutionaryRail.org. Keep the podcast ads-free and without paywalls by making a tax-deductible donation HERE. Recommended: Phillip Longman’s October 2024 article arguing that fixing our freight rail system is a prerequisite to re-industrializing the U.S., “Train Drain: How deregulation and private equity have gutted the U.S. freight rail system—and with it, the promise of America’s industrial renewal” Co-written and produced by Bill Moyer and Sasha Elenko. Engineering by August Moore and Tom Stiles. Musical theme by Ken Jacobsen and additional music by Ota Prota. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit solutionaryrail.substack.com

    1h 2m
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Ratings & Reviews

4.8
out of 5
22 Ratings

About

Reconnect America is the new podcast from Solutionary Rail that presents a creative yet common sense vision for U.S. railroads. It weaves together the genius of community and technical experts, workers and policymakers, advocates and scholars. Reconnect America reflects a decade of research, writing, and advocacy aimed at illuminating the ways in which the U.S. rail system can be harnessed to better service public interests and to address 21st century problems. Reconnect America is hosted by Bill Moyer, co-author of the book Solutionary Rail: A People-powered Campaign to Electrify America’s Railroads and Open Corridors to a Clean Energy Future. Please help us keep the podcast ads-free and without paywalls by making a tax-deductible donation at SolutionaryRail.org. solutionaryrail.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Solutionary Rail
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    29
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Solutionary Rail
  • Show Website
    Reconnect America

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