#237 – Steve Viscelli: Trucking and the Decline of the American Dream

Steve Viscelli is a former truck driver and now an economic sociologist at University of Pennsylvania studying freight transportation, including autonomous trucks. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:

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EPISODE LINKS:

Steve's Website: https://www.steveviscelli.com/

Big Rig (book): https://amzn.to/3EbaofP

Will Robotic Trucks Be "Sweatshops on Wheels?" (article): https://bit.ly/3vGGgpO

Johnny Cash - All I Do Is Drive (song): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEHoagHlqrE

Steve's Penn Gazette Interview: https://bit.ly/3nkRPyV

More Information on Automated Trucking: http://www.driverlessreport.org/

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OUTLINE:

Here's the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.

(00:00) - Introduction

(07:36) - Ethnography

(19:49) - Challenges of driving a truck

(38:28) - Trucking industry: State of affairs

(1:11:33) - Future of autonomous trucks

(1:37:49) - Solving the automated truck dilemma

(2:09:44) - Role of society in automated trucking

(2:36:53) - Tesla and revolutionizing the trucking industry

(2:56:33) - Hope and final thoughts