SUMMER SPECIAL: Meet Mr. Barricade
The War on Cars
The War on Cars, LLC
4.9 • 937 Ratings
🗓️ 31 August 2021
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This episode was originally released as a Patreon exclusive. Become a Patreon supporter of The War on Cars for bonus episodes, early releases and more.
Combine a deep love of cities and urban planning with a penchant for wearing stylish suits, smooth dance moves set to Swedish rap music and a curious fascination with drainage and what do you get? Mr. Barricade, an unlikely TikTok star. Vignesh Swaminathan, who runs his own engineering and design firm in California, has built a huge following on the video-sharing platform based on his unique ability to explain everything from how protected intersections work in busy downtowns to the ongoing impacts of redlining and segregation. Doug talks to Vignesh about his viral videos, tricks for successfully fighting racism online and the power of TikTok to help people see and experience their streets and communities in new ways.
SHOW NOTES:
Follow Mr. Barricade on TikTok.
Learn more about Crossroad Lab, Vigesh Swaminathan's engineering and urban design firm.
Read all about Vignesh in the San Jose Mercury News.
Pick up official War on Cars merch at our store.
Receive 20% off the purchase of stylish rain gear for walking and cycling from our friends at Cleverhood by entering code WARONCARS at checkout.
Buy books from podcast guests and check out The War on Cars reading list at Bookshop.org.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey all, Doug Gordon here. |
| 0:02.8 | It's the last blast of summer and we're taking it easy, so we're digging into the archives |
| 0:07.6 | to release my interview with Vignache Swaminathan, the Urban Planner and Tic Talk Star, otherwise known as Mr. Barricade. |
| 0:17.0 | It's a taste of what you can access if you sign up and become a Patreon supporter of the podcast |
| 0:22.0 | by visiting the War on cars.org. |
| 0:25.0 | We'll be back soon with brand new episodes and we have a lot of great stuff on tap for the |
| 0:30.0 | rest of the year. |
| 0:31.0 | But first here's a word from our sponsor. |
| 0:37.0 | We mention it pretty much every episode so you've probably already heard that |
| 0:42.4 | Cleverhood makes stylish |
| 0:43.6 | functional rain gear designed for walking and bicycling. But did you also know that |
| 0:48.2 | Cleverhood is just a cool company that puts a lot of thought into how to be a |
| 0:52.3 | force for positive change. |
| 0:54.0 | They support environmentally friendly manufacturing, fair labor, and small suppliers. |
| 0:59.0 | And for every rover cape they sell, |
| 1:02.0 | Cleverhood donates 5% of revenue to local advocacy groups working |
| 1:07.1 | to create safer, more livable, and equitable streets in cities across the U.S. For 20% off on a rover cape and lots of other great |
| 1:15.7 | products go to cleverhood.com slash war on cars and enter coupon code war on cars when you check out. |
| 1:24.0 | Again, that's cleverhood.com slash war on cars. |
| 1:27.8 | Coup code war on cars. Hello I'm Doug Gordon and welcome to a special bonus episode of the War on Cars |
| 1:48.6 | just for Patreon supporters. Are you on |
| 1:52.5 | on Tik-Tok. I'm old so I am not but I do know that there are a lot of viral |
... |
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