Episodes 19
Avg. Duration 28m
Activity Active
Apple Rating 4.9 (121)
Since Apr 2023
Latest Episode Nov 2025

Publishing Details

Schedule
Quarterly
Format
Episodic
Hosting
feeds.cloud.kpbs.org

Contact & Outreach

About This Podcast

Freeways are not free. We pay for them in all kinds of ways — with our tax dollars, our time, our environment and our health. While freeways have enabled huge amounts of economic growth, they've also caused displacement and division. Learn the forgotten history of our urban freeway network, and how decades after that network was finished, some communities are still working to heal the wounds that freeways left behind. As climate change threatens to wreak havoc on our cities, freeways are not just a part of the problem. They can also be part of the solution.

Podcasting 2.0 Features

images

Explore Statistics

Recent Episodes

BONUS: "Life After Cars” (w/ The War on Cars)

Nov 21, 2025 57m

What would society look like if people no longer needed their cars? That's the premise of the new book “Life After Cars,” written by Doug Gordon and Sarah Goodyear.

BONUS: Abundance in transportation

Aug 12, 2025 24m

California needs better public transit. But building new bus and rail lines is difficult and expensive here. A new report says to make things easier, the state needs to get out of its own way.

BONUS: Freeways and loneliness

Apr 08, 2025 45m

Urban highways are preventing us from meeting our neighbors and building community, according to a landmark new study. Luca Aiello, professor of data science at the IT University of Copenhagen,…

BONUS: Sizing up California's freeway budget

Aug 13, 2024 45m

In a lean budget year, California has shrunk the size of its climate investments while still spending hundreds of millions of dollars on freeway expansions. Carter Rubin, director of state…

Port of Entry: The Right to The City

Jun 03, 2024 36m Transcript

Traffic is a huge problem in Tijuana and San Diego. If you drive around during the day, you will most certainly be caught in a traffic jam. So should we build more roads to ease traffic congestion?…

BONUS: Freeways are bigger in Texas

Apr 30, 2024 52m

City Limits, a new book from journalist Megan Kimble, chronicles the emergence of a modern wave of freeway revolts in Texas. As the Texas Department of Transportation seizes more and more land to…

BONUS: Reconnecting Communities (with David Alvarez)

Dec 19, 2023 23m

The California legislature is starting a conversation about how to reunite communities that were divided by freeways. For Assemblymember David Alvarez, the issue is personal. Alvarez grew up in San…

BONUS: Blowing the whistle on widening freeways

Nov 07, 2023 33m

Former Caltrans executive Jeanie Ward-Waller shares her story of getting fired after speaking out against a freeway project near Sacramento. She says Caltrans is driven by a "mindless impulse to add…

BONUS: In defense of freeways

Oct 17, 2023 26m Transcript

Gustavo Dallarda, director of Caltrans District 11, explains some of the engineering behind freeways and makes the case that they provide an efficient means of travel compared to surface roads. He…

BONUS: Do freeways really save us time?

Sep 19, 2023 32m Transcript

Our methods for measuring the economic impact of freeways are rooted in 1950s logic. A new report, "Divided by Design" from Smart Growth America, uncovers just how much they leave out. Co-author Beth…

BONUS: Engineering streets like freeways

Aug 15, 2023 31m Transcript

Chuck Marohn, the founder of Strong Towns, has a bone to pick with the field of engineering: Too often, it uses freeway design standards on local streets. Marohn spoke with Andrew as he was promoting…

BONUS: Hasan Ikhrata

Jul 25, 2023 31m Transcript

As the CEO of San Diego County's transportation planning agency, SANDAG, Hasan Ikhrata has done more than anyone else to shake up the conversation around our freeways. Ikhrata has pushed his own…

The road ahead

Jun 06, 2023 23m Transcript

San Diego is closer to removing a freeway than you might realize. Caltrans begins experimenting with temporary freeway closures that allow people to walk and bike on them. The vision for a freeway…

Decommission

May 30, 2023 19m Transcript

A devastating earthquake forces San Francisco to consider the radical notion of tearing a freeway down. The results are wildly successful: The Embarcadero Freeway is replaced with a transit and…

Reparations

May 23, 2023 19m Transcript

Caltrans takes a new approach to freeways by trying to win support from nearby residents. The community wins new amenities that come along with the freeway, but is still recovering from the damage it…

The freeway revolts

May 16, 2023 21m Transcript

The mid-century freeway boom sparks a backlash. Communities across the country that are slated to be demolished for freeways start fighting back. In San Diego, activists organize a campaign to stop a…

A feat of (social) engineering

May 10, 2023 23m Transcript

The American freeway is born in a time of intense optimism around the promise of the automobile. President Eisenhower sees the country's dilapidated road network as a barrier to economic growth and…

San Diego's first freeway

May 09, 2023 24m Transcript

An architect has a radical idea for San Diego's oldest freeway, SR-163, which cuts through Balboa Park. An environmental justice activist dreams of someday reconnecting her community that was divided…

Freeway Exit Trailer

Apr 28, 2023 2m Trailer

Freeways are not free. We pay for them in all kinds of ways — with our tax dollars, our time, our environment and our health. While freeways have enabled huge amounts of economic growth, they've also…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Freeway Exit have?

Freeway Exit has published 19 episodes since April 2023, covering topics in Documentary, Education.

Is Freeway Exit still active?

Freeway Exit is currently active with new episodes quarterly. Average episode length is 28m.

How do I contact Freeway Exit for sponsorship or guest appearances?

Sign up on Grep.FM to access contact details for Freeway Exit, including email and social media links.

Similar Podcasts