The Way We Live Now

I want to highlight this Train Time podcast from 2021 because it was recorded under unique, and historic, conditions. My interviewee was Congressman Seth Moulton and I’d set a date for our interview through one of his aides. Then the Capitol was invaded by a mob, and by the time our audio meeting came round Rep Moulton was scheduled to be back at the Capitol to vote on a second impeachment. I offered to reschedule, but as you’ll hear, Rep Moulton was eager to talk about trains and did so from the Capitol itself. We started a little late because of the extra time it took for him to get through the new security arrangements, but once we began, he didn’t miss a beat. I plan to talk to him again soon about all that’s happened, and not happened, in the intervening 3 years, but want this marker to be part of the new Train Time.

Podcast introduction 2021

We spoke with Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton (D-6th District) on January 13, 2021 about his bold plan for high-speed rail in the United States. He filed his “American High-Speed Rail” bill last May. The prospects for investment in rail look far better now and we will be following developments in federal infrastructure recovery, knowing that Rep. Moulton will be one of the leading voices for rail.

This podcast is shorter than usual, because Moulton and his aide were delayed by the increased security in Washington, and he had another interview scheduled. Later that day he voted on impeachment, so we were especially pleased to catch him.

Rep. Moulton is no stranger to conflict, having served four tours in Iraq. And he has dealt with the challenges of building a new train system, since he worked for Texas Central before turning to public service. We spoke about passenger rail as something to be approached as a 21st-century project: not preserving something from the 1950s but building something for the 2050s. This “moon landing” approach is bigger and bolder than the approach of many in the rail advocacy world. Take a listen and see what you think! We’ll be picking up the conversation as the Biden transportation team gets to work.

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This is the audio version of today’s letter, which you can find here.

Footnotes:

1 Donald Worster, American Academy of Arts and Letters.

2 J. M. Roberts, The Penguin History of the World (London: Penguin Books, 1987), 19.

3 “Domestic Cats Enjoyed Village Life in China 5,300 Years Ago.”

4 J. R. McNeill and William H. McNeill, The Human Web: A Bird’s-Eye View of World History (W.W. Norton, 2003), 324-26. Berkshire publishes McNeill’s later writings, which take on this theme in various ways, as well: A World View: Collected Essays by William H. McNeill.

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I’ve been thinking about Bill, and came across this short video, just a minute and a half. Tom Christensen was doing the recording, and I don’t know how the session continued. My recollection is that they weren’t able to finish the book, but I hope I’m wrong and will find it somewhere.

Summers Long Ago is a beautifully produced, jacketed hardcover and we have copies signed by Bill. It’s listed on Amazon but we have the limited edition signed copies on a shelf in my barn. Details here.

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Trailer (30 seconds) for The Way We Live Now

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This episode of Berkshire Bookworld is an unusual one, a telephone conversation with Ray Oldenburg that I recorded during the early weeks of the 2020 COVID lockdown. I had already agreed with Ray that I would coauthor a new edition of his famous 1989 book The Great Good Place, and I was calling him on his 88th birthday to check in and talk about third places.

Ray introduced the term "third place" back in 1989, and it's now ubiquitous. Property developers, museum planners, and shared workspace companies use it - sometimes accurately and sometimes not.

I hoped that Ray and I would continue to have conversations as I sketched out new chapters for the book, but this was, in fact, our only phone call. We did manage a Zoom cocktail hour, with the help of his friend Robert Dugan, and then another cocktail Zoom with friends in Brooklyn, who'd been inspired by Ray and wanted to meet him. They are among the many people around the world whose enthusiasm and experience will help to shape the 21st-century, post-pandemic edition of The Great Good Place.

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Today's Train Time conversation with Massachusetts State Representative Christina Minicucci ranges widely. We talked about issues that affect the travel choices of people in Rep Minicucci's district, and in fact pretty much everywhere: frequency, reliability, and cost. We talked about trains, of course, but also about bike and hiking trails and safe streets. These other [...]

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On this episode of Train Time we're talking to Rep William (Smitty) Pignatelli about his advocacy for new connections for western Massachusetts. Host Karen Christensen explains, "I'm delighted to welcome my own representative, Smitty Pignatelli of Lenox, to Train Time. Rep Pignatelli has been a great advocate for regional equity, in transportation as well as [...]

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Tom Sexton On this episode of Train Time, Tom Sexton, NE Regional Director for the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, explains the growing movement to combine passenger rail service and multi-use trails. While many people think that trails mean no trains, the reality is that the two forms of transportation work well together, and offer benefits to both [...]

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