Among ride sharing, public transportation, vehicle ownership and more, we navigate a jungle of options to get from point A to point B.

You may have noticed that highways are getting back to normal levels of congestion now that more people are returning to work in person. Or you might be keeping a close eye on Biden’s public infrastructure plans. When considering these stories, you may want to reach out to the following sources. 

Saba Waheed is research director of the Labor Center at the University of California, Los Angeles. She has nearly 20 years of research experience developing projects in partnership with community stakeholders. Her expertise includes the gig economy, the service industry, domestic work, and the sharing economy, including Lyft and Uber drivers.

With her team at the Labor Center, she coordinated the first-ever study of domestic work employers and conducted research on the impact of the pandemic on nail salon workers and owners. Her research has informed campaigns and policies in San Francisco such as the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights and the Wage Theft Ordinance.

Carlos Felipe Pardo is a psychologist who serves as a senior advisor to New Urban Mobility Alliance (NUMO), an international group of companies, communities and nonprofits focused on urban mobility issues related to new technologies. He researches urban development, mobility, road safety, public health and climate change in cities throughout the developing world.   

Previously, he founded and served as the executive director of Despacio, a Colombia-based NGO focused on food access, transportation and family life. Pardo has coordinated and delivered more than 70 training courses on topics related to urban development, climate change, rapid buses, non-motorized transportation, demand management, and sustainable transportation. 

Other sources of interest this week.

No, you didn’t imagine it. Elon Musk is attempting to buy Twitter outright for $43 billion. If he does, what would it mean for free speech on the platform?
 
Nat Gyenes is a researcher who focuses on the intersection of the Internet and public health. She leads the Digital Health Lab at Meedan, a technology nonprofit, and studies health and technology as a research affiliate at Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. Gyenes has looked at how epidemics, prolonged public health challenges and digital health misinformation effect societies.
 
Saif Shahin is an assistant professor in the School of Communication at American University in Washington, D.C. An expert in critical data studies and digital culture, Shahin researches technology policy; the implications of disinformation online; media coverage of global politics; diversity and inclusion efforts in digital spaces; and online social movements.

Sources of the Week on the news

Read:

• In The Atlantic, Logan Mohtashami talked about the changing trends in homeownership.
• Some empty offices are being converted into living spaces but as Tracy Hadden Loh explained to Quartz, it’s not simple or cheap.
• The Washington Post highlighted Tiana Epps-Johnson’s leadership at the Center for Tech and Civic Life, which has committed $80 million to upkeep of local election agencies.
• Arjee Restar spoke to NPR about her concerns surrounding states’ "Don’t Say Gay" bills. 
• On CNBC, Chye-Ching Huang explained how large U.S. companies avoid paying federal taxes. 

Watch:

• Jules Gill-Peterson talked with Scientific American about junk science targeting trans children. 
  
• Dr. Oni Blackstock appeared on Democracy Now! describing how the end of free COVID testing is impacting communities of color and the uninsured.

Listen:

• Dorian Warren spoke to WYNC’s The Takeaway about the impact of Constance Baker Motley, the first African American woman to be appointed as a federal judge. 
• On Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s This Working Life, Daisy Auger-Dominguez talked about the importance of belonging and inclusion in the workplace.
• Mark Trahant was on All Things Considered talking about Native American economies that uplift rural communities.