Category Archives: Media

The Behind the Wheel Omnibus

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Dispatches from Behind the Wheel: The Omnibus

The Complete Zine Series about Driving for Hire in San Francisco

The Behind the Wheel zine was created by longtime zine maker Kelly Dessaint to document his experiences driving for hire in San Francisco. The first two issues chronicle driving for Uber and Lyft, before he goes to taxi school and becomes a bonafide taxi driver. The third issue features the unexpurgated “I Drive SF,” based on his weekly column for the San Francisco Examiner. The fourth issues contains five long-form essays about driving a taxi in San Francisco while living in Oakland, writing for a newspaper, dealing with a complicated marriage, hostile encounters with Uber/Lyft drivers and the prospect of bringing a child into a world that’s completely out of whack. Combined, this collection presents a vivid, voyeuristic tapestry of The City, which is a constant backdrop throughout the stories – essentially the main star – followed closely by the author himself.


Available directly from the author:

Dispatches from Behind the Wheel: The Omnibus

The complete zine series about driving for hire in San Francisco... This 364 page paperback contains the definitive versions of all four issues of Behind the Wheel, expanded and updated with new illustrations and additional content. Two-tone cover, fully illustrated in black and white. Free shipping via USPS media mail.

$22.00


Also wherever else books are sold…

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Teatime for the insurrection

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The In-Between: Tea Talks

This was a very interesting project I participated in with a few other cab drivers. The idea, as conceived by creator Lexa Walsh, was to have people from diverging points of view get together over tea and hors d’oeuvres and talk things through.

The project gathers artists, writers, tech workers, “sharing economy” laborers (Uber and Lyft drivers, AirBnB hosts) and their critics (taxi drivers, tenants rights activists) together in a hospitable environment so each may share their positions in a safe yet open and critical dialogue. Each position will be respectfully held in the space.

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Besides taxi drivers, there were supposed to be a few Uber/Lyft drivers, but she wasn’t able to find any willing to participate. So we sat around the table, drinking tea and talking about the problems we face because of the onslaught of unregulated/untrained drivers.

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Some of the quotes were commemorated on plates that hung in the backroom gallery at Adobe after the talks.

 

Behind the Wheel 3 Reviewed in Razorcake Magazine

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Behind the Wheel 3 was reviewed in the latest issue of Razorcake magazine. The reviewer particularly liked the Late Night Larry bits.

You can listen to Larry read one of the stories here.

Read the full review on Razorcake’s website.

Self-driving Uber cars and the future of taxis

VIDEO: Here’s my segment on the Will and Willie Show talking with Will Durst and former SF mayor Willie Brown about politics, the future of taxis and self-driving cars. I watched it all the way through without cringing too much, so that’s a good sign I guess…

 

The Will & Willie Show Live at the Marsh Theater

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I’m going to be a guest on the Will & Willie Show on Tuesday, September 13. Here are all the details:

We’d love to have YOU in the audience!

FREE Admission to our Live TV/Radio Show. An hour full of political gossip, insights and laughs from Will Durst & Willie Brown. We had a rockin’ house in August, and things are igniting! It’s the final countdown with 3 more Tuesday evening 6-7pm shows before Election Day: Sept 13, Oct 11, Nov 1.

Don’t miss it!

The Marsh Theater
1062 Valencia St
San Francisco, CA 94110

Facebook event page

“We pack a lot into one hour in this show…”   -Willie Brown

Our 3-Part program opens with Will & Willie riffing on the news of the day. Considering the Donald Trump vs Hillary Clinton Presidential Race, a lot can change by showtime. 

Part 2 is with this month’s guest, Kelly Dessaint, SF taxi driver & writer, who pens a weekly column, I Drive SF, for the San Francisco Examiner. 

Part 3 is a freewheeling Q&A with the audience. 

Your FREE Admission to the Will & Willie Radio/TV Talk Show also entitles you to $10 off tix to Will Durst’s Elect to Laugh Solo performance at 8 pm.

For more info here.

Box Office 415-282-3055 (M-F 1-4pm)

www.willandwillie.com

From the Utne Reader: “To Uber or Not to Uber”

I had a subscription to the Utne Reader all through college. So it was an honor to have my story, “To Uber or Not to Uber” (from the second Behind the Wheel zine), reprinted in the pages of the Winter 2015 issue of the Utne Reader

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Read the printed version online.

Write-up in Adweek on “Lively” I Drive SF Column

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FishbowlNY wrote about my S.F. Examiner column and experiences driving for hire, calling I Drive SF a “lively column.”

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Check it out here.

On the Uber Driver Super Bowl Protest

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Market Street has been renamed Dick Drive for Super Bowl 50

On KPFA 94.1 this morning, I discussed the upcoming Uber protest scheduled during the Super Bowl. There’s a lot of speculation on how this organized action will play out–since the scab mentality is a major part of Uber’s rise–but one this is for certain: it will get people’s attention.

Listen to the archived show here. The Uber protest segment begins 8 minutes into the show.

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What It’s Like Driving for Uber & Lyft

The Drivers Panel at Next:Economy 2015

The full video of the driver panel at the Next:Economy conference on November 12, 2015. Courtesy of O’Reilly Media.

Read my coverage of the event here.