More Motornormativity with Marco te Brömmelstroet, aka "The Fietsprofessor"

More Motornormativity with Marco te Brömmelstroet, aka "The Fietsprofessor"

Author: The War on Cars, LLC May 6, 2025 Duration: 1:00:49

NOTE: This episode was originally released as a Patreon-exclusive bonus. For more episodes like this, please join The War on Cars on Patreon. We're an independent podcast and rely on listener support. Thanks!

Marco te Brömmelstroet, also known as "The Fietsprofessor," returns to The War on Cars to discuss a new study he co-authored with Dr. Ian Walker, another former guest of the podcast. The study takes a look at a phenomenon where people accept the harms and risks associated with cars in ways they wouldn't in other areas of life. But unlike Dr. Walker's previoius study — and that of Dr. Tara Goddard, another friend of The War on Cars — this new study asks where motonormativity comes from and examines the ways in which it manifests itself differently depending on factors such as where a person lives or their perceptions of the beliefs of their friends and family. The results are fascinating.

Marco also studies language and how it affects people's perceptions of mobility and had a lot to say about how we can tell better stories about who and what our streets are for.

***Our new book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile, will be published on October 21, 2025 by Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Pre-order now.***

This episode was produced with the generous support of the Helen & William Mazer Foundation.

This episode was also supported by Cleverhood.

Save 15% on the amazing Arclight Pedals and everything from Redshift Sports with code WARONCARS at checkout.

LINKS:

thewaroncars.org / lifeaftercars.com

 


Imagine a world not built around traffic jams and parking lots, but shaped for people. The War on Cars is a dispatch from the front lines of that effort, a collective conversation questioning the automobile’s dominance over our cities, our environment, and our daily lives. Each episode digs into the real-world fight to reclaim public space, examining everything from the politics of a new bike lane to the history of how cars came to rule. You’ll hear from urban planners, activists, historians, and ordinary people pushing back, offering a mix of sharp analysis, on-the-ground reporting, and compelling narratives. This isn’t just about transportation; it’s about the culture and societal choices that have led us here, and the tangible, often inspiring work to create safer, quieter, and more connected communities. Tune in for a thoughtful and necessary critique of the status quo, a podcast dedicated to the idea that our streets can-and should-be for so much more.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

The War on Cars
Podcast Episodes
Superbowl Roundup with Ian Chillag [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:56
Super Bowl LX had everything, from ads for weight loss drugs and male grooming products to spots touting tax prep services and calming fears about our AI overlords. It also had one outstanding halftime performance from B…
PREVIEW: Women Changing Cities with Melissa and Chris Bruntlett [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 9:33
***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, be…
The Importance of Livable Streets with Bruce Appleyard [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:37
We talked with Dr. Bruce Appleyard, who has spent a lifetime thinking about what we mean when we talk about liveable streets—and why it is so important that we build our cities with human beings in mind, first and foremo…
The Creation of America's Car Culture, Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:16
Signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, otherwise known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act, ushered in an unprecedented era of roadbuilding in the United S…
PREVIEW: Hanging Out with Jonathan Maus of Bike Portland [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:29
***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, be…
Dispatches from Book Tour, Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:18:00
We are back home in Brooklyn but we can't stop talking about everything we saw out on the road on our Life After Cars book tour. Listen for our takes on the second leg of our trip, which took us from Providence to Austin…
Dispatches from Book Tour [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:55
The last few weeks have been a whirlwind as we hit the road (not in a car) to promote our new book, Life After Cars, in some of the greatest cities of North America including San Francisco, Washington, DC, Seattle, Vanco…
The Creation of America's Car Culture [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:46
This episode is part of a special series called "Changing American Car Culture" funded with the generous support of The Helen and William Mazer Foundation. As historian Peter Norton documents in his book, Fighting Traffi…
PREVIEW: A Talk with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:14
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, becom…
Welcome to Life After Cars [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:58
Today we celebrate the publication of our new book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves From the Tyranny of the Automobile. In this episode, we serve up a sample of the audiobook and talk about some of the things we learn…