How Cars Change Us with Tara Goddard

The War on Cars

Why do people behave so badly behind the wheel of a car? Why do reporters and the police use passive language to describe automobile crashes and traffic violence? How do the words we use make a difference in street safety? , one of the top scholars studying what it is that cars do to our brains and the way we treat each other in the world, has some thoughts — and she’s done the research. Tara is an associate professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning at Texas A&M University. Her work focuses on creating a just transportation system through safe roadway design and inclusive transportation planning. We talked with her about “motonomativity,” how race influences how drivers treat pedestrians, and why language matters if we want to change the conversation about whom streets are for. *** and receive exclusive access to bonus content, ad-free versions of regular episodes, free stickers, merch discounts, early access to live shows, and more. *** This episode was produced with support from and . Listen for the latest discount codes. on January 31, 2025, at Hunter College in New York City. LINKS: Follow . Some of Tara’s studies: “Racial Bias in Driver Yielding at Crosswalks” () “Does News Coverage of Traffic Crashes Affect Perceived Blame and Preferred Solutions? Evidence from an Experiment” () “Windshield Bias, Car Brain, Motonormativity: Different Names, Same Obscured Public Health Hazard” () Some other things we discuss in the episode: Dr. Ian Walker’s research and our interview with him ( Sarah’s piece, “How I Became an Urban Monster in Just 10 Minutes” () “Death of Cyclist in Paris Lays Bare Divide in Mayor’s War Against Cars” () “The glare of the sun caused the westbound vehicle to jump the curb” () Laura Laker’s new “” . This episode was edited by Ali Lemer. It was recorded at by Josh Wilcox. Our music is by Nathaniel Goodyear. Our transcriptions are done by Russell Gragg.