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Artwork for Talking Headways: A Streetsblog Podcast

Talking Headways: A Streetsblog Podcast

The Overhead Wire
Urban Planning
Public Transit
Sustainable Transportation
Public Transportation
Transportation Policy
Urban Design
Climate Change
Congestion Pricing
Community Engagement
Transportation
Public Health
Affordable Housing
Economic Development
Housing Policy
Electric Vehicles
Transportation Equity
New York City
Transportation Planning
China
Infrastructure

A weekly podcast about the intersection between sustainable transportation, urban planning, and economic development. Hosted by Jeff Wood of The Overhead Wire.

PublishesTwice weeklyEpisodes828Founded13 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
GovernmentNews

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Artwork for Talking Headways: A Streetsblog Podcast

Latest Episodes

This week on Talking Headways we are sharing Part 1 of a conversation with Reece Martin of The Transit Brief in Toronto at the Mpact Transit + Community Conference. We discuss the politics and impacts of fare policy, construction costs around the glo... more

This week we're back and Han Solo but we're covering lots of things including the thinking differently about our transportation investments around the country, the sillyness of cutting property taxes in states, and thinking more about tenant investme... more

This week we're joined by the director of UNC Charlotte's school of Architecture Blaine Brownell. We talk about the role architecture and urbanism play in population decline, the need for permeability in walkable neighborhoods, and a revolution in bu... more

This week on the Talking Headways podcast we're joined by recent USC PhD graduate Wendy Zhou to discuss her dissertation, which focuses on dynamic accessibility. We talk about how static maps without a time based dimension don't tell the whole story... more

Key Facts

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Find out how many people listen to this podcast per episode and each month.

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Recent Guests

Reece Martin
Transit advocate and creator of The Transit Brief (formerly RM Transit)
The Transit Brief
Episode: Episode 596: Towards a Palpable Sense of Progress
Blaine Brownell
Director of Raven School of Architecture, UNC Charlotte
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Episode: Episode 595: Architecture's Role in Population Decline
Wendy Zhou
PhD graduate from USC Price School of Public Policy; researcher on dynamic accessibility
University of Southern California
Episode: Episode 594: People Based Accessibility
Leni Schwendinger
Urban lighting designer; contributor to the book on outdoor lighting
Leni Schwendinger Lighting Design
Episode: Mondays Flashback: Outdoor Lighting for Pedestrians
Frank Markowitz
Author and urban transportation/planning professional; co-author of Outdoor Lighting for Pedestrians
Markowitz Lighting / author
Episode: Mondays Flashback: Outdoor Lighting for Pedestrians
James Nix
Head of the CAS size program at Transport & Environment
Transport & Environment
Episode: Episode 593: Carspreading
Sofia Navas
Data analyst and CAS team member at Transport & Environment
Transport & Environment
Episode: Episode 593: Carspreading
Joshua Schank
Author of New Tricks for Old Bureaucracies, Improving Policy Outcomes in the Public Sector
Infrastrategies
Episode: Episode 592: New Tricks for Old Bureaucracies
Karen Seto
Frederick C. Hickson Professor of Geography and Urbanization Science at Yale University
Yale University
Episode: Episode 591: The Urban Pulse

Host

Jeff Wood
Host of the show and founder/host of a transportation and urban policy podcast network; frequently leads discussions on transit, urban planning, and policy across networks.

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars from 243 ratings
  • Uncritical, out-of-touch blather

    The host mentions that he and his child enjoy riding a historic streetcar to school each day. Most American public transit riders don't have the luxury. Few enjoy their commute. His childlike fascination with public transit means he takes whatever his industry guests tell him at face value, never asking tough questions.

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    hear-talk
    United States2 months ago
  • Good but needs work

    This show is now 50% content from other shows that I don’t want to hear. Removing them from my feed is messing with my other subscriptions

    Apple Podcasts
    3
    I do mountains
    United States2 years ago
  • Good content, bad audio

    The show has good perspective and great guests, but the audio is intolerable. Jeff seems to fade into mumbling frequently, and the interstitial audio is often much louder than the talking. It’s painful to listen.

    Apple Podcasts
    3
    ΘΔΡ
    United States4 years ago
  • One of my favorite urban planning pods

    I love the mix of expert interviews and weekly news review on Mondays (plus links to said articles in the show notes!). Keep up the great work.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    AMP89613
    United States5 years ago
  • New to the Show

    I’m new to the show and I’m loving it so far. Particularly interesting in what midsize cities are doing to improve equity.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Booberry2013
    United States6 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Episodes blend policy depth with practical, on-the-ground examples from cities.
Many find the mix of expert interviews and policy discussions highly valuable for city-building insights.
Guests are high-quality experts, though audio quality sometimes undermines the content.
The host delivers a thoughtful, data-driven lens on transit and urban policy.
Listener feedback highlights accessible explanations of complex planning concepts.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts
#138
United States/Government
Apple Podcasts
#210
United Kingdom/Government
Apple Podcasts
#237
Canada/Government
Apple Podcasts
#76
Australia/Government
Apple Podcasts
#29
Brazil/Government
Apple Podcasts
#40
South Korea/Government

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Episode 596: Towards a Palpable Sense of Progress
Q: Can you summarize why transit construction costs have such a big impact on what gets built?
Costs act as a hard constraint; if projects cost more, there is less capacity to fund them, leading to slower expansion and fewer high-impact lines, which then reinforces a cycle of underinvestment unless costs are managed or benchmarking is used to reimagine what can be built.
Flashback: Episode 542: Measuring Transportation System Success
Q: How do we decide what to spend money on in transportation given these new insights?
He suggests combining top-down engineering analysis with bottom-up feedback from communities to prioritize investments that improve accessibility and reduce disparities, rather than focusing solely on expanding highways or storing car-centric solutions.
Flashback: Episode 542: Measuring Transportation System Success
Q: But that's an interesting question. Like, what are the problems then?
The guest explains that the traditional travel-time and congestion metrics miss broader social and safety dimensions, and emphasizes the need to identify a range of everyday transport problems, such as safety, accessibility, and the ability to travel independently, which can be uncovered through more comprehensive surveys.
Episode 592: New Tricks for Old Bureaucracies
Q: What are the four ideas you wanted to push at LA Metro, and why those?
The four ideas—bus lanes, pricing, on-demand/transit innovations, and P3s—were chosen because they represented pivotal levers to improve performance and accountability in a changing urban transit landscape.
Episode 592: New Tricks for Old Bureaucracies
Q: What motivated you to write New Tricks for Old Bureaucracies?
The book emerged from lessons learned while leading and reforming large transit organizations, documenting mistakes, successes, and practical tactics to help others implement change.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
Interests
Professions
Age Range
Household Income
Social Media Reach

Frequently Asked Questions About Talking Headways: A Streetsblog Podcast

What is Talking Headways: A Streetsblog Podcast about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A weekly, policy- and planning-focused show examining how transportation, urban form, and economic development intersect. Episodes frequently feature researchers, city officials, and practitioners discussing transit procurement, street safety, housing policy, and the politics of urban change. The host leans into data, case studies, and practical reforms, often drawing on industry reports and real-world deployments to explore how cities can deliver better mobility, equity, and sustainability. A standout is the hands-on breakdown of transit costs, procurement, and standardization, alongside deep dives into family travel, zoning, and the built environment. Listeners are likely planners, policymakers, and transit professionals seeking actionabl... more

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3. The Brake: A Streetsblog Podcast
4. Volts
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Talking Headways: A Streetsblog Podcast launched 13 years ago and published 828 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on Talking Headways: A Streetsblog Podcast?

Recent guests on Talking Headways: A Streetsblog Podcast include:

1. Reece Martin
2. Blaine Brownell
3. Wendy Zhou
4. Leni Schwendinger
5. Frank Markowitz
6. James Nix
7. Sofia Navas
8. Joshua Schank

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