This week I'm joined by Matthew Heins, author of The Globalization of American Infrastructure: The Shipping Container and Freight Transportation. Matthew talks about how the American highway and rail systems created a global standard for shipping containers, containerization’s effects on labor and relevance to an automated trucking future, and the massive intermodal freight terminals in cities like Chicago.
Streetsblog USA
Talking Headways Podcast: More Than Just a Box
By Jeff Wood
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from Streetsblog California
The Week In Short Videos
Delayed subways, transit measures, dangerous streets, and Alex Pretti rides
January 30, 2026
Friday’s Headlines
We did the headlines stack, but if you can find a way to join the ICE protests today, we encourage you too.
January 30, 2026
Open Letter: Hey BART, You Need to Fire This Driver
You expect people to approve funding measures? Then you can't have employees or contractors behaving like this on our dime.
Alhambra Approves New Pilot Bus Routes
City council knew rerouting wouldn’t please everyone, but eventually it passed 4-0. The bus network reconfiguration is projected to increase ridership 19%.
OpEd: How High-Speed Rail Could Reach LA by 2039…Without Waiting for the Mountains
Chris Jones
January 29, 2026
