Robotaxi companies Cruise and Waymo recently scored a big win when California regulators allowed them to expand their services and begin charging fares in San Francisco. But now the companies are hitting some speedbumps.

On the show today: Axios transportation reporter Joann Muller explains where we’re at with self-driving technology, why all eyes are on San Francisco, and who make the rules as robotaxi companies grow. Plus, the human-to-human connection that driverless cars are missing.

Then, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimundo is the next cabinet member in line for a trip to China. We’ll get into why the visit might be a little tense. And, some Americans are finding creative avenues to homeownership in spite of an unfavorable housing market.

Later, our listeners recommend some summer reads. And, this week’s answer to the Make Me Smart question comes from Mark Clouse, President and CEO of Campbell’s Soup.

Here’s everything we talked about today:




“How autonomous vehicles “see” the world around them” from Axios







“Cruise will reduce robotaxi fleet by 50% in San Francisco while California DMV investigates ‘incidents'” from CNBC







“Carmakers Are Pushing Autonomous Tech. This Engineer Wants Limits.” from The New York Times







“How rideshare drivers feel about robot competition” from Marketplace







“The Cost of Self-Driving Cars Will Be the Biggest Barrier to Their Adoption” from Harvard Business Review







“Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to Visit China from The Wall Street Journal







“Goodbye Bathtub and Living Room. America’s Homes Are Shrinking.” from The Wall Street Journal







“The enduring allure of the cheap old house” from  The Washington Post







Summer reading recs from the Make Me Smart team on Goodreads







Summer reading recs from our listeners on Goodreads





We want to hear your answer to the Make Me Smart question. You can reach us at makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.