Tony Kushner on The Pushcart War
The War on Cars
The War on Cars, LLC
4.9 • 937 Ratings
🗓️ 17 March 2026
⏱️ 58 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Pushcart War—written by Jean Merrill and illustrated by Ronni Solbert and first published in 1964—is a charming and provocative children's novel that tells the story of a band of pushcart vendors who fight against the organized forces of big trucks on the congested, contested streets of New York City. For Tony Kushner, the Pulitzer-prize-winning playwright, screenwriter, and author, reading the book as a child was a formative experience. "It made opposition, even nonviolent civil disobedience, seem fun and right and necessary and heroic, and something even someone as powerless as a kid can and should undertake," he has said. March 2026 marks the 50th anniversary of the date on which the events described in the book are said to have begun. So we invited Kushner on to talk about The Pushcart War and what it can tell us about how to defend human beauty and agency against the brutal forces of technocratic capitalism.
Get The Pushcart War, plus other great books for kids, at our Bookshop.org page.
Join The War on Cars on Patreon and listen to exclusive ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, Discord access, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers!
Order our new book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile, out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Find us on tour and get tickets at LifeAfterCars.com.
Thanks to Upway for sponsoring this episode. Use this link and save $100 off any order of $800 or more with the code TWOC100.
Thanks also to Cleverhood. Listen to this episode for the latest discount code and get 15% off the best rain gear for walking and cycling.
The War on Cars is produced with support from the Helen and William Mazer Foundation.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | We're in the middle of what can only be described as an e-bike revolution. |
| 0:06.0 | From e-bikes made for the commute to work, carrying kids in cargo, or having some fun, |
| 0:12.0 | e-bikes aren't just having a moment, they've kicked off a new mobility movement. |
| 0:18.0 | If you've been thinking of joining that movement, you'll want to check out Upway. |
| 0:22.3 | Upway is the world's biggest and best place to get new and certified refurbished e-bikes |
| 0:28.0 | from name brands at big discounts. The team at Upway can help you find the perfect bike, |
| 0:34.2 | no matter your experience or what you plan to use yours for. Not only that, |
| 0:40.1 | but the qualified mechanics at Upway tune and inspect each bike, so it's as good as new |
| 0:45.9 | before it's delivered to your door. Plus, Upway offers a one-year warranty on every bike |
| 0:52.4 | it sells, including its pre-owned models. |
| 0:56.1 | Now, through the end of March, listeners of the war on cars can save $100 off your order of $800 |
| 1:03.0 | or more at Upway with code TWOC 100. |
| 1:09.1 | Use the link in the show notes or visit upway.co and enter the code at checkout. |
| 1:15.6 | Again, that's upway.co discount code TWOC 100. |
| 1:23.6 | Get moving and join the movement with a new or certified refurbished e-bike at Upway. |
| 1:33.6 | The business of everything is human, is humanity, as human beings. And it's an endless fight to reassert, whether it's trucks or guns or computers or AI, whatever. |
| 1:47.7 | It's an endless fight to reassert the presence of the human against the commodified technocratic. |
| 1:55.4 | And it's a fight that will probably never end, but it has to be re-engaged in every generation. |
| 2:17.1 | This is the war on cars. I'm Sarah Goodyear. With me is my co-host, Doug Gordon. |
| 2:19.9 | Well, not technically with you because I'm in the studio. You're at home. So we have sort of |
| 2:25.5 | designated survivor rules for the War on Cars. |
| 2:30.1 | Absolutely. Yes. We have a really great episode for you. We are so excited about this one. But real quick, before we get started, you can find us on Patreon at patreon.com slash the War on Cars Pod. You can also order our new book, Life After Cars, Freeing ourselves from the tyranny of the automobile, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The War on Cars, LLC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The War on Cars, LLC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.