#237 – Steve Viscelli: Trucking and the Decline of the American Dream

Steve Viscelli is a former truck driver and now an economic sociologist at University of Pennsylvania studying freight transportation, including autonomous trucks. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - Shopify: https://shopify.com/lex to get 14-day free trial - ROKA: https://roka.com/ and use code LEX to get 20% off your first order - Sunbasket: https://sunbasket.com/lex and use code LEX to get $35 off - Blinkist: https://blinkist.com/lex and use code LEX to get 25% off premium - BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/lex to get 10% off EPISODE LINKS: Steve's Website: https://www.steveviscelli.com/ Big Rig (book): https://amzn.to/3EbaofP Will Robotic Trucks Be "Sweatshops on Wheels?" (article): https://bit.ly/3vGGgpO Johnny Cash - All I Do Is Drive (song): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEHoagHlqrE Steve's Penn Gazette Interview: https://bit.ly/3nkRPyV More Information on Automated Trucking: http://www.driverlessreport.org/ PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/lexfridman YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/lexclips SUPPORT & CONNECT: - Check out the sponsors above, it's the best way to support this podcast - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman - Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman - Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman OUTLINE: Here's the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. (00:00) - Introduction (07:36) - Ethnography (19:49) - Challenges of driving a truck (38:28) - Trucking industry: State of affairs (1:11:33) - Future of autonomous trucks (1:37:49) - Solving the automated truck dilemma (2:09:44) - Role of society in automated trucking (2:36:53) - Tesla and revolutionizing the trucking industry (2:56:33) - Hope and final thoughts