PREVIEW: Sean Duffy's Great American Road Grift

About this episode

This episode previews a discussion on Sean Duffy's reality-style online series and the associated conflicts of interest.

This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode . For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, plus ad-free versions of regular episodes, merch discounts, presale tickets to live shows, and more, become a Patreon supporter of The War on Cars . See the USA in your... Toyota? That's what US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and his family have done with their reality-style online series, The Great American Road Trip . The way Secretary Duffy explains it, the show is a celebration of the country's 250th birthday. Duffy has told interviewers that "To love America is to see America," so he's packed up the family SUV and hit the road. This being the Trump administration, the trip isn't just an exercise in patriotism but a giant conflict of interest packaged as a reality TV show. That's hardly surprising given Duffy's history with reality TV—Sean Duffy met his wife Rachel Campos-Duffy while shooting MTV's Road Rules in the late 1990s—but it is concerning given that the series is sponsored by nearly a dozen companies that have business before USDOT. Reporter Henry Burke—a senior researcher at the Revolving Door Project—breaks down the many questionable and…

People in this episode

Guest: Henry Burke

Topics covered

• politics
• transportation
• conflict of interest
• reality TV
• patriotism

Keywords

• Sean Duffy
• Great American Road Trip
• USDOT
• conflict of interest
• reality TV
• patriotism
• Henry Burke

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: USDOT, Revolving Door Project

Books & works: Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile

Places: USA

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