Tag Archives: cars

Driven To Tears: Stefanie Lemcke + Jim Parry

Do you ever find yourself sitting stuck in traffic with your thoughts moving from benign irritation with the sheer number of cars on the road, to a fixation upon humanity’s encroaching doom? If you do, then this week’s episode of Sea Change Radio is right up your alley (or freeway, or creaky bridge). First, we talk to Stefanie Lemcke, the founder of a carpooling app for families who are sick of carting their children all over town in a not-so-environmentally friendly manner, and want a convenient way to connect with other riders and drivers. Then, we indulge those of you who tend toward catastrophic thinking by speaking with Jim Parry, a former ad executive who’s now an author (and cynic). He has put together a very informative, and sometimes darkly humorous, compendium of some of the biggest hurdles facing humankind today.

Autonomous Vehicles at a Crossroads

The transportation sector is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. There are vast resources currently being spent to transform it into something more efficient, greener, and safer. Many think that the technology behind autonomous, self-driving vehicles, will be a key piece to how we get around in the not-so-distant future. Looking at the size of the companies diving into the autonomous automobile space, from Google and Apple to Über and General Motors, it seems these self-driving vehicles are coming whether we like the idea of it or not. But what happens when someone gets killed by one of these vehicles? Sadly, that question is about to be answered, as an Arizona woman was killed just this week by an autonomous vehicle owned and operated by the ride-hailing company, Über. Today on Sea Change Radio, we discuss the fatal crash and what it means for the autonomous vehicle industry with Reuters Transportation and Technology reporter, Alexandria Sage. She talks about the details of the accident, the blowback to the industry, and what it may mean for the future of this transportation innovation.

Fart-fegnugen: Jack Ewing on VW Emissions Scandal

When a West Virginia University research team won a grant in 2012 to run some tests on diesel cars, they could not have imagined that their relatively small study would soon be bringing one of the largest, most storied auto makers in the world to its knees — something in the Farfegnugen just didn’t smell right. This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak to New York Times reporter Jack Ewing whose new book, Faster, Higher, Farther takes a deep plunge into the history of Volkswagen and gives us the latest on the company’s emissions scandal. We learn about the Nazi propaganda beginnings of Volkswagen, the company’s involvement in wartime atrocities, and the powerful families behind the Volkswagen brand. We also examine the company’s systematic and dishonest emissions cheating practices, and talk about what lies ahead for the auto giant.