Boston Needs Tradeoff Data and Compromise

In blue cities across the country, unions and politicians want to ban self-driving cars. In this episode from the Search Engine podcast, PJ Vogt visits Boston to sort the facts from the propaganda. (Part two of a two-part series.)

• SOURCES:
  • Carl Richardson, ADA coordinator for the Massachusetts State House, president of the Guide Dog Users of Massachusetts.
  • Gabriela Coletta Zapata, Boston City councilor from District 1.
  • Julia Mejia, Boston City councilor at-large.
  • Timothy B. Lee, author of Understanding AI newsletter.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Waymo Hits a Rough Patch in Washington, DC," by Aarian Marshall (WIRED, 2026).
  • "New York drops plan to legalize robotaxis in setback for Waymo," by Andrew J. Hawkins (The Verge, 2026).
  • "Waymo’s next five cities are all in red states," by Timothy B. Lee and Kai Williams (Understanding AI, 2025).
  • "What Waymo could mean for Bostonians with disabilities: independence at their fingertips," by Carl Richardson (Boston Globe, 2025).
  • "Planning, Development and Transportation on July 24, 2025," (Boston City Council, 2025).
  • "Ride-Hailing Drivers in Massachusetts Win Right to Unionize," by Eli Tan (The New York Times, 2024).
  • "East Coast Longshore Workers May Soon Strike," by Joe Demanuelle-Hall (Jacobin, 2024).

• EXTRAS:
  • "The Fascinatingly Mundane Secrets of the World’s Most Exclusive Nightclub," by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
  • Search Engine, podcast by PJ Vogt.

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