What is an electric car, really? Is it a godsend that could save the planet from climate catastrophe by slashing emissions in the sector that contributes the most greenhouse gases in virtually every developed country in the world Is it an important tool for climate harm reduction that we have to invest in big, even if it doesn't solve all of the problems of car dependent transportation systems? Or is it just a heavier and more heavily subsidized car that makes nearly all of the core problems of car dependency worse, while using its climate benefits as a screen to shield us from those harms?

On today's episode of The Brake, we sit down with Agnieszka Stefaniec, co-author of the new paper "A wolf in sheep's clothing: Exposing the structural violence of private electric automobility," to get her take — and talk about why the EV debate is so polarizing.