The E-Bike Radicalization of Jessica Valenti
The War on Cars
The War on Cars, LLC
4.9 • 937 Ratings
🗓️ 21 September 2021
⏱️ 41 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Jessica Valenti, the noted feminist writer, was curious about e-bikes. So, as one does, she posted a question about them to Twitter. Thus began her path to radicalization. After buying an e-bike of her own, she quickly found how life-changing it was — a not uncommon feeling among the converted. A lifelong New Yorkers, Jessica found that riding an e-bike changed her perspective on the city and offered her new insight on being a woman in public space. In this spirited and far-reaching conversation, Jessica talks about e-bikes as vehicles of feminist empowerment, means of escaping harassment and good plain fun. Plus, we dig into history and discuss the similarities between the "resting bitch face" of today and the "bicycle face" of the late 1800s.
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SHOW NOTES:
Learn more about Jessica Valenti. (JessicaValenti.com)
Thanks to riding an e-bike, Jessica Valenti's road rage "has ascended." (Twitter)
"Bicycle face": a 19th-century health problem made up to scare women away from biking. (Vox)
Check out the work of Bekka Wright, the artist also known as "Bikeyface. (Bikeface)
Episode 7: Nice Legs, Dude (The War on Cars)
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This episode was edited by Ali Lemer and engineered by Josh Wilcox at the Brooklyn Podcasting Studio. Our music is by Nathaniel Goodyear. Our logo is by Dani Finkel of Crucial D.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Just a quick heads up for sensitive listeners. We kind of cussed a lot in this episode. There's some strong language. So just be aware. This is the war on cars. The podcast about the terrible ways in which drivers, but mostly men, treat people, but mostly women. |
| 0:27.6 | I am here with my co-hosts, Aaron Napa Steck, and Sarah Goodyear. |
| 0:31.8 | What's up? |
| 0:33.0 | You know, yes, here we are. |
| 0:35.0 | We're actually here. |
| 0:36.0 | We're looking at each other real life. |
| 0:38.0 | It's a good thing. |
| 0:39.0 | We're in the studio again, and we are not alone. |
| 0:41.0 | We have a special guest Jessica Valenti. |
| 0:43.4 | Hello. If you don't know Jessica, she is an awesome writer. |
| 0:47.9 | She written a bunch of books. She is the founder of the blog Feministing.com, real pioneering blog. |
| 0:55.0 | She's written for the New York Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian. |
| 0:58.0 | She is also a Brooklynite and a newly radicalized e-bike mom, which we're going to get to in a little bit. |
| 1:06.0 | Welcome to the War on Cars. |
| 1:08.0 | Thank you. |
| 1:09.0 | But before we get to that, let's have a word from our sponsor. |
| 1:13.0 | Starting right now, it's Cleverhood's fall sale, |
| 1:20.0 | and we have a brand new discount code for war on cars listeners. |
| 1:23.7 | Cleverhood makes rain gear for people who walk and ride bicycles. |
| 1:27.3 | Stylish and functional, looks great, keeps you dry, and your money is well spent. |
| 1:33.0 | Cleverhood supports environmentally friendly manufacturing, fair labor practices, small |
| 1:37.1 | suppliers, and for every rover Cape they sell. |
... |
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