Look Both Ways with David & Wes

By Wes Marshall & David Zipper

Pragmatic conversations about all things transportation, with Wes Marshall & David Zipper. If it moves on the road or on tracks, it's fair game.

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How many episodes does Look Both Ways with David & Wes have?

The podcast currently has 33 episodes available.

Best of Look Both Ways with David & Wes

The most played episodes among Podcast App listeners.

Number 1: Episode 6: How Cities Should Prepare for Robotaxis + Old Bike Fights That Won’t Die
Robotaxis – David & Wes look ahead to the arrival of robotaxis and what cities should be doing (or not doing) to prepare. Rather than asking whether autonomous vehicles will “work,” they focus on the decisions cities actually control. Listeners will come away with a clearer sense of why waiting for technology to mature is not a plan, and how today’s choices could lock in decades of consequences for safety, access, and street life. Today, we also talk about: 🔹 How we go about finding a neighborhood to live in & what that reveals about transportation 🔹 Whatever happened to MaaS & why integrated mobility never delivered on its promises 🔹 Evolving bike lanes, bikelash, & John Forester & why old arguments keep resurfacing in new forms And then some rail drinks... stay tuned for bi-weekly conversations about all things transportation! If you are interested, here is David's new article on Cities & Self-Driving Cars: www.vox.com/future-perfect/461393/self-driving-cars-cities-congestion-avs-parking and his old one on MaaS: www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-05/the-struggle-to-make-mobility-as-a-service-make-money Here is Wes' paper on how cities with more protected & separated bike lanes are safer for everyone: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214140518301488 (if you don't like academic papers, this video explains our results: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwYeNz1jCkM) as well as the back-and-forth... www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214140519305481 www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214140519306310 Music by Charlie Van Stee (courtesy of bensound) Email us at [email protected] or find us at www.davidzipper.com and www.wesmarshall.org
September 24, 202551min
Number 2: Episode 5: Traffic Cameras are More Popular than You Think + Our First Times (Riding Transit)
Traffic Cameras – David & Wes take a closer look at traffic cameras and why they consistently poll better than most people expect. Rather than treating automated enforcement as a political third rail, they explore what the data actually show about public support, behavior change, and safety outcomes. Listeners will come away with a clearer understanding of why traffic cameras succeed where many other safety interventions stall, and what that popularity reveals about how people experience streets day to day. Today, we also talk about: 🔹 Our first times riding transit & how those early experiences shaped how we think 🔹 Exporting car bloat & why oversized vehicles have become a global safety problem 🔹 99% Invisible & making a city 10% better for no money, & how small, low-cost changes can add up to meaningful improvements And stick around to the end for some rail drinks... stay tuned for bi-weekly conversations about all things transportation! If you are interested, here is David’s article on the popularity of automated traffic enforcement: www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-28/automated-traffic-enforcement-is-more-popular-than-you-think Music by Charlie Van Stee (courtesy of bensound) Email us at [email protected] or find us at www.davidzipper.com and www.wesmarshall.org
September 12, 202546min
Number 3: Episode 4: Rainbow Crosswalks Aren’t the Problem + Why U.S. Road Safety Is
Rainbow Crosswalks – David & Wes respond to the backlash against rainbow crosswalks and ask a more fundamental question: why are symbolic safety treatments (that have proven to help_ getting blamed for crashes instead of the underlying designs that put people at risk? Using recent controversies as a starting point, they unpack how U.S. road safety debates often focus on visibility and culture wars while ignoring the fundamentals of speed, vehicle design, and street/city geometry. Today, we also talk about: 🔹 What David noticed while traveling in Europe 🔹 The “misery index” & paratransit 🔹 The US/Canada road safety gap, what Canadian cities prioritize differently, and why those choices matter And it’s 5 O'Clock Somewhere so stick around to the end for some rail drinks... and stay tuned for bi-weekly conversations about all things transportation! If you are interested, here is Wes’ paper about Paratransit: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198225000260 And David’s article on the growing divide in road safety between the US and Canada: www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-13/the-us-and-canada-are-going-in-different-directions-on-traffic-safety Music by Charlie Van Stee (courtesy of bensound) Email us at [email protected] or find us at www.davidzipper.com and www.wesmarshall.org
August 26, 202544min
Number 4: Episode 3: Tesla Autopilot on Trial + Why We Don’t Buy the Hype
Tesla Autopilot – David & Wes unpack the implications of Tesla’s Autopilot being put on trial and ask what accountability for automated driving systems could or should look like. As tech companies promise to solve road safety, this conversation asks the harder questions. When technology fails, who bears responsibility, and who pays the price? We then examine why expensive hype-driven approaches to safety often distract from proven, low-tech, inexpensive solutions. Today, we also talk about: 🔹 The problem with tech-first safety narratives 🔹 The Boring-est Company & how cities get distracted by shiny solutions 🔹 The humble speed hump & why speed humps work when “smart” systems fail And stick around to the end for some rail drinks... stay tuned for bi-weekly conversations about all things transportation. If you are interested, here is David’s article on speed humps: www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-08-05/all-hail-the-humble-speed-hump-the-best-cheap-traffic-safety-fix Music by Charlie Van Stee (courtesy of bensound) Email us at [email protected] or find us at www.davidzipper.com and www.wesmarshall.org
August 14, 202545min
Number 5: Episode 2: Abundance in Transportation + Who Likes Cars Less (or More)
Abundance in Transportation – David & Wes take on the idea of abundance in transportation. What would an abundant transportation system look like? Why do so many policies end up producing scarcity instead? We also explore how well-intentioned rules can limit who feels safe, welcome, or able to move through a city. Today, we also talk about: 🔹 Which of us likes cars less (or more) 🔹 Bike helmet mandates & unintended consequences 🔹 The risk of a transit doom loop And then we have a couple rail drinks... stay tuned for bi-weekly conversations about all things transportation! Music by Charlie Van Stee (courtesy of bensound) And in case you want to read David’s article on Abundance: www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-03/when-the-abundance-movement-talks-about-transportation Or Wes’ paper on bike helmets and safety: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17457300.2024.2441501 Email us at [email protected] or find us at www.davidzipper.com and www.wesmarshall.org
July 31, 202548min