About this episode

The episode explores the origins of jaywalking in Kansas City and its impact on urban design and law enforcement.

Kansas City was not only the birthplace of the term “jaywalking,” it also became the first city in the U.S. to arrest people for such a crime. Fueled by auto industry propaganda, this decision set off a nationwide trend to redesign our roads for the car — at the expense of everyone else. Mackenzie Martin reports in the first of our two-part series.

People in this episode

Host: Mackenzie Martin

Topics covered

• jaywalking
• history
• automobile industry
• urban design
• law enforcement

Keywords

• jaywalking
• Kansas City
• auto industry
• road design
• law enforcement
• history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: auto industry

Places: Kansas City, U.S.

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• Why Kansas City won the World Cup · May 27, 2026 · 39 min
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• How women made the U.S. a soccer powerhouse · March 25, 2026 · 42 min

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