The Creation of America's Car Culture, Part 2
The War on Cars
The War on Cars, LLC
4.9 • 937 Ratings
🗓️ 6 January 2026
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, otherwise known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act, ushered in an unprecedented era of roadbuilding in the United States, becoming the largest public works project in the country's history. Designed to spread freedom and prosperity — and, as the name implies, provide for the national defense — these highways tore through urban neighborhoods, destroying once-thriving communities and displacing countless citizens, many of them people of color. In this special report, we examine just what inspired this massive project and the effects it had on two communities, one in New Orleans and one in Syracuse.
This episode was produced with the generous support of the Helen & William Mazer Foundation.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | At this time of year, you have to be ready for anything when it comes to the weather. |
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| 1:08.8 | This episode was produced with the generous support of the William and Helen |
| 1:13.6 | Mazur Foundation. |
| 1:14.6 | This is the War on Cars. |
| 1:31.0 | I'm Doug Gordon. |
| 1:33.0 | In this episode, part two of a series on the creation of America's car culture. |
| 1:38.8 | It's from producer Alana Strauss, who explores the origins and history of the interstate highway system and the |
| 1:46.3 | devastating effects the nation's highway building program had on two neighborhoods, one in New |
| 1:51.8 | Orleans and the other in Syracuse. |
| 1:54.8 | Our hope is that after you listen, you'll have a new perspective on how and why U.S. cities were carved up by highways, |
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