Departure Board

We're keeping it casual this week on Departure Board! Evan and Dylan sit down with two veteran CTA operators; train operator Larry Rome, and CTA rail instructor John Zupko, to talk about what it's like working in the beating heart of one of the largest transit networks in the country. Kick back and enjoy this casual chat, and be sure to give Sha Na Na a listen when you're finished.Pictured: the St. Mary's (formerly Medusa) Challenger, a 551 foot long boat John mentions when talking about the bridge lifts in downtown Chicago.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/DepartureBoardFind us on twitter: https://twitter.com/departurepodEvan's Twitter: @not12xDylan's on IG: @DylDraws4WhiskeyRobby's on IG too!: @RobertJMartineau

Time to wrap this arc up! We've talked about the Whitney Bros, we've talked about Steinway and the Rapid Transit Commissions, we've talked about Boston and digging up old graves, now it's time for the big one: New York City, the IRT, and the creation of the Subway in Manhattan. It's a wild one, you better strap in.Special music shout-out goes to 65daysofstatic, whose unlicensed remix of 'Face Of The Earth' by The Dismemberment Plan makes up our intro/outro music for this four episode arc. We love you, 65dos. Stumble.Stop.Repeat.Donate to the Lebanese Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org.lb/Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/DepartureBoardFollow us on Twitter: @DeparturePodEvan's Twitter: @not12xDylan's on IG: @DylDraws4WhiskeyRobby's on IG too!: @RobertJMartineau

The penultimate episode of our first multi-episode arc covering the creation of the first U.S. Subways. Boston's got a real Tragedy on the Common as the oldest public park in the United States gets torn apart to lay what would become the oldest subway in the United States. Plus, too many people get on board a streetcar. All this, and more!Special music shout-out goes to 65daysofstatic, whose unlicensed remix of 'Face Of The Earth' by The Dismemberment Plan makes up our intro/outro music for this four episode arc. We love you, 65dos. Stumble.Stop.Repeat.Donate to the Lebanese Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org.lb/Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/DepartureBoardFollow us on Twitter: @DeparturePodEvan's Twitter: @not12xDylan's on IG: @DylDraws4WhiskeyRobby's on IG too!: @RobertJMartineau

Part Two, baybee! Our first multi-episode arc covering the creation of the first U.S. Subways. This time we talk politics and pianos, covering everything from the Great Blizzard of 1888 to John 'HoneyFitz' Fitzgerald to William Steinway. There's some good meat on these wings, let's dig in.Special music shout-out goes to 65daysofstatic, whose unlicensed remix of 'Face Of The Earth' by The Dismemberment Plan makes up our intro/outro music for this four episode arc. We love you, 65dos. Stumble.Stop.Repeat.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/DepartureBoardNot A Boss? Join the One Big Union! www.iww.org/membershipFollow us on Twitter: @DeparturePodEvan's Twitter: @not12xDylan's on IG: @DylDraws4WhiskeyRobby's on IG too!: @RobertJMartineau

A GAFFE ISN'T A BUG, IT'S A FEATURE!Part one in our first multi-episode arc covering the creation of the first U.S. Subways! Today we lay some groundwork talking about Henry and William Whitney, two brothers you probably didn't know about but who both individually shaped their cities in dramatic ways. Also: Evan screws up a bunch, everyone laughs at each other, and holy shit Grover Cleveland really loved his nepotism.Special music shout-out goes to 65daysofstatic, whose unlicensed remix of 'Face Of The Earth' by The Dismemberment Plan makes up our intro/outro music for this four episode arc. We love you, 65dos. Stumble.Stop.Repeat.Assata's Daughters can be supported here: https://www.assatasdaughters.org/Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/DepartureBoardFollow us on Twitter: @DeparturePodEvan's Twitter: @not12xDylan's on IG: @DylDraws4WhiskeyRobby's on IG too!: @RobertJMartineau

Transit networks across the country are beginning to permanently slash service in their networks, as the economic impact from Covid-19 grows. Friend of the pod Cara joins Evan to talk about these cuts, and the socio-economic impacts that these cuts have on vulnerable communities.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/DepartureBoardFollow us on Twitter: @DeparturePodEvan's Twitter: @not12xCara's Twitter: @caraesten

Just over a century ago, the City of Cincinnati voted to build a subway underneath their city. Today, there is no subway you can ride. On this episode, we go into what happened and why, while taking a few digs out at Ohio's expense along the way.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/DepartureBoardFollow us on Twitter: @DeparturePodEvan's twitter: @not12xDylan's IG: @DylDraws4WhiskeyRobby's IG: @RobertJMartineauHelpful sources: Cincinnati's Incomplete Subway by Jacob Mecklenborg

A bit of an odd episode this week: we're talking policy and personal preferences. What makes a transit system good, and what aspects matter the most to each of us? Hopefully these questions can help you rethink the way you understand your own city's transit network, and what changes you'd like to see made to improve it.Producer's Note: Dylan recorded all three of our audio tracks mashed into one; Robby and Evan did their best to cut out all the parts where our talking bled over into his track, but a few rough spots still remain. Oops.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/DepartureBoardFind us on twitter: https://twitter.com/departurepodHelpful sources: “Human Transit” by Jarrett Walker

The Evasión Masiva movement in Chile started off as a spontaneous fare strike protesting the Santiago Metro's fourth fare hike in less than two years. Nine months later, protests have overtaken the whole country and the government has called a Constitutional Referendum. In this episode, Evan and Nikola have a conversation about the protest, how it grew into a national movement for justice and dignity, and how fare strikes work as a tool of working class revolt.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/DepartureBoardNikola's article in Commune is available here:https://communemag.com/living-through-the-social-explosion/

On May 31, 2020, Chicago and its surrounding communities shut down their public transit systems entirely in an unprecedented move to suppress Black Lives Matter protesters' free right to assemble. In this unscheduled, emergency episode we talk about what happened, why the city did it, and how you can continue to protest despite attempts made to break solidarity.Intro to this episode is the poem “Look How They Treat Us” by Saul WilliamsWhere Financial Aid is needed:Chicago Community Bond Fund: https://chicagobond.org/Black Visions Collective: https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/Reclaim The Block: https://www.reclaimtheblock.org/homeMy Block, My Hood, My City: https://www.formyblock.org/NAARP (National Alliance Against Racism & Political Repression): https://naarpr.org/

2020 brought a global pandemic in the form of Covid-19 and, with it, a radical change in how we percieve and use public transit. In this episode, we talk about good practices and resources for public transit during a pandemic, and discuss some of the changes transit has made to adapt to a Covid-19 world.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/DepartureBoardHelpful sources: In A Pandemic, We're All 'Transit Dependent' – Jarrett Walker, Citylabhttps://www.citylab.com/perspective/2020/04/coronavirus-public-transit-subway-bus-ridership-revenue/609556/

Harry Beck created the worldwide standard on diagrammatic mapping, and he did it by being the most persistent annoyance in the history of the London Underground. Plus, some Italian guy named Massimo Vignelli made one of the prettiest maps ever, and New York roundly rejected it.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/DepartureBoardHelpful sources: “Transit Maps of the World” by Mark Ovenden“What Your Design Looks Like To Peripheral Vision”, Ruth Rosenholtz: https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/1836248.1836264Design Culture's 2013 interview with Massimo Vignelli

Back in 1894, Eugene Debs and the American Railway Union squared off against President Grover Cleveland. One would win, the other would shape history forever.Our first episode in the era of Covid! Sorry for the two painful re-recording corrections; Robby promises he did his best to fix them.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/DepartureBoardFind Cara on twitter! @CaraestenHelpful sources: Understanding the Pullman Strike, A.P. WinstonGuarding the Switch: Cultivating Nationalism during the Pullman Strike, Troy RondinonePaternalism and the Pullman Strike, Almont Lindsey

Frank Sprague started his career in the Navy, and ended his career in the Navy, but in between he revolutionized Public Transit forever.(Yes, I know I said that Manhattan never had elevated rail and yes I know that they did, please don't yell at me, it was a mistake.)Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/DepartureBoardHelpful sources: Engineering Invention by Frederick DalzellFrank Julian Sprague by William Middleton I & III

Departure Board is a podcast all about the history, politics, and oddities surrounding Public Transportation, with some jokes thrown in for good measure. If you've ever wanted to learn more about the way the world moves, give us a listen. It's cheaper than a single ride fare.