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: 100

The War on Cars
Podcast Episodes
EXTRA: Cars as a Virus with Hermann Knoflacher [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:07
***This is a bonus episode that was previously only available to Patreon supporters of The War on Cars. If you want to hear more bonus episodes like this, please sign up today! We'll taking a very short break to work on…
TEASER: Winnipeg Bike Mayor Patty Wiens [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:37
This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, become a Patreon supporter of The War on Cars. Patty Wiens is the Bike Mayor of Winnipeg in Manitoba, Cana…
Key to the City with Sara Bronin [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:51
Zoning is an invisible force that dictates how and where we can build housing, offices, factories, parks and more. It dictates how we access such places and can reinforce car dependency, often in ways that burden the com…
TEASER: When Athletes Ditch the Car [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 4:04
This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, become a Patreon supporter of The War on Cars. During the recent US Open Tennis Championships in New York…
Project 2025 and the Stakes for Transportation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:20
There's been a lot of talk this election season about Project 2025, the initiative from the Heritage Foundation to prepare for a potential second Trump administration. Understandably, much of the conversation about Proje…
What We Did on Our Summer Vacation, featuring Rick Steves [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:52
Why do Americans spend lots of money to visit walkable, bikeable, transit-friendly European cities, only to come back to the U.S. and oppose all those things where they live? Rick Steves has some thoughts. Countless peop…
TEASER: Voices of Velo-city [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 4:43
This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, become a Patreon supporter of The War on Cars. In June, Doug attended Velo-city, an annual cycling summit…
Listener Origin Stories (Patreon Bonus Re-Release) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:19:35
Episode 133: Listener Origin Stories (Patreon bonus re-release) We're taking a short break to work on our forthcoming book and some of our upcoming fall shows. We'll be back with new free episodes in early September. In…
TEASER: Walking 4,000 Miles with Holden Ringer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:33
This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, become a Patreon supporter of The War on Cars. This month's exclusive Patreon bonus episode is an intervie…
Vehicular Cycling and John Forester, Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:04
NOTE: This is part two of a two-part episode. To hear both parts right now and without ads, become a Patreon supporter of The War on Cars. In part two of our deep dive on John Forester and his 1976 book Effective Cycling…