Listen now | Essential elements in the story of US passenger rail; how the US experiment in private railroads was derailed by public investment in competing modes; and why Amtrak was created to bail them out.
I love solutionary rail! One thing has given me pause, I went back and listened to the first episode of the podcast, and I’m reheartened. One of the reasons the railroad hasn’t expanded in the US, in my opinion, is due to the lack of solidarity with indigenous communities. I mean, sure, in Europe and China, railroads are thriving, but neither at the gross and systemic expense of their indigenous populations. I’m so happy to hear of the involvement of indigenous peoples as necessary for success!
Beyond this, some more general points. Just prior to hearing this, I sent my annual gift of support in the mail. As I did, I pondered why I’ve been missing the podcast. I listen to several but almost never Solutionary Rail. I’m discovering that this podcast takes months as opposed to days to generate episodes. Every other podcast i listen to is weekly or more frequent. I say this not to criticize but so you understand what has governed my expectations. I bet I’m not alone among those who thought they weren’t getting access to all of the podcasts.
As for the quality and format, including prefacing content with actual quotes, the work is brilliantly done! I imagine it takes time to do this—certainly more than a weekly offering will afford.
Also, nice musical/percussion accompaniment! I miss your percussion during rallies. Currently, a group of us rally in support of Palestine. We have accompanying percussion, and it makes a big difference.
I knew my support was worth it. Keep this train moving!
You are correct Paul, though we hope to churn these out more regularly, we also want to make sure that the resulting work can function as a curriculum that endures the test of time.
That means that even though we've conducted around 40 interviews, we are weaving those together very carefully. We edited and reedited this piece, eliminating some points that were interesting but not essential, and sought additional input from experts to clarify other points. We want to provide people an unassailable and understandable story that provides a foundation for the information that we'll subsequently provide.
Sequencing the information, building chronologically so as to illuminate not confuse meant that we actually changed the order of our subject of E2 from rural service to passenger service, and addressed passenger service by starting at the beginnings of US rail in order to better explain the current situation.
I would love to churn out weekly episodes, but for this initial batch of ~12, the limited capacity of our organization demands that we prioritize quality over velocity.
Another wonderful production by the Solutionary Rail! This is such important work and done with great skill, the music is fantastic!
I love solutionary rail! One thing has given me pause, I went back and listened to the first episode of the podcast, and I’m reheartened. One of the reasons the railroad hasn’t expanded in the US, in my opinion, is due to the lack of solidarity with indigenous communities. I mean, sure, in Europe and China, railroads are thriving, but neither at the gross and systemic expense of their indigenous populations. I’m so happy to hear of the involvement of indigenous peoples as necessary for success!
Beyond this, some more general points. Just prior to hearing this, I sent my annual gift of support in the mail. As I did, I pondered why I’ve been missing the podcast. I listen to several but almost never Solutionary Rail. I’m discovering that this podcast takes months as opposed to days to generate episodes. Every other podcast i listen to is weekly or more frequent. I say this not to criticize but so you understand what has governed my expectations. I bet I’m not alone among those who thought they weren’t getting access to all of the podcasts.
As for the quality and format, including prefacing content with actual quotes, the work is brilliantly done! I imagine it takes time to do this—certainly more than a weekly offering will afford.
Also, nice musical/percussion accompaniment! I miss your percussion during rallies. Currently, a group of us rally in support of Palestine. We have accompanying percussion, and it makes a big difference.
I knew my support was worth it. Keep this train moving!
You are correct Paul, though we hope to churn these out more regularly, we also want to make sure that the resulting work can function as a curriculum that endures the test of time.
That means that even though we've conducted around 40 interviews, we are weaving those together very carefully. We edited and reedited this piece, eliminating some points that were interesting but not essential, and sought additional input from experts to clarify other points. We want to provide people an unassailable and understandable story that provides a foundation for the information that we'll subsequently provide.
Sequencing the information, building chronologically so as to illuminate not confuse meant that we actually changed the order of our subject of E2 from rural service to passenger service, and addressed passenger service by starting at the beginnings of US rail in order to better explain the current situation.
I would love to churn out weekly episodes, but for this initial batch of ~12, the limited capacity of our organization demands that we prioritize quality over velocity.
Happy New Year!
Bill
That's awesome Bill!