# So . . . What is Handling, Actually?

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-s-not-the-car-6747786/so-what-is-handling-actually
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-s-not-the-car-6747786/so-what-is-handling-actually.md
Podcast: [It's Not the Car](https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-s-not-the-car-6747786)
Published: 2025-09-16T20:19:57+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/its-not-the-car/episodes/So-------What-is-Handling--Actually-e38aggu
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/f02659d0/podcast/play/108396510/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2025-8-17%2Fc091aa69-feae-a3cb-3301-9970af8e738c.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/it-s-not-the-car-6747786/episodes/so-what-is-handling-actually
Duration seconds: 3199

## Resource

Remember the time you almost died because your hotted-up old Camarobird got all loose and stabby up at Dead Man’s Cul de Sac? Or maybe it was Turn 45 at Laguna Merrica. Either way, there you were, boppin’ along like a lap-wreckered Versteppy, when you nearly bought the farm. “She handled like trash that day,” you told the cops/the race steward/that fry cook at Burger Queen. “No idea why.” And the gathered crowd sighed—who hasn’t been there? Few automotive terms are as misunderstood as “handling.” What does it mean? Can “good” or “bad” handling be measured, or show up in data? How do non-engineery types talk about this stuff at places like the Indy 500 or Le Mans? Jeff and Sam have answers. And INTC changes episode formats weekly, because squirrel. We call this format “Racer 101.” This episode was produced by Sam Smith. ** Support the show — get bonus episodes and more! Contribute on Patreon ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/notthecar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ** Who We Are + Spicy Merch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ItsNotTheCar.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ** Topic suggestions, feedback, questions? Let us know what you think! ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠INTCPod@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ** Check out Sam's book! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writing, 2003–2023⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ** Where to find us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/intcpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thatsamsmith/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/j.v.braun/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/rossbentley/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rossbentley.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://speedsecrets.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ** ABOUT THE SHOW: It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people and speed. We tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts. R…

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/it-s-not-the-car-6747786/episodes/so-what-is-handling-actually/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-s-not-the-car-6747786/so-what-is-handling-actually.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.