More Motornormativity with Marco te Brömmelstroet, aka "The Fietsprofessor"
The War on Cars
NOTE: This episode was originally released as a . For more episodes like this, . 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 , 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 , another friend of The War on Cars — this new study asks where...
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Putting the Trans in Transit with Katelyn Burns
The War on Cars
“Why are so many trans people into urban planning?” That’s the question independent journalist and co-host of the podcast Katelyn Burns asked her Bluesky followers, and she got an overwhelming response. Katelyn wrote up some of those answers in on , the feminist media outlet she recently co-founded and launched. It’s a thought-provoking read. We talked with Katelyn about the safety that trans people can find in dense cities, the “trans on trains” meme, and what the game Cities: Skylines has to do with all of this. And she discusses how the trans perspective can illuminate...
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TEASER: Why Fighting Tesla Matters with Ed Niedermeyer
The War on Cars
This is a preview of a . For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, plus ad-free versions of regular episodes, merch discounts, pre-sale tickets to live shows and more, . This is an excerpt from our interview with Ed Niedermeyer, the author of Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors. Ed has been writing about Elon Musk for years, and he's been one of the billionaire's most astute critics since way back. We talked with Ed for our recent episode "Inside the Tesla Takedown Movement," about his involvement with the protest movement that has sprung up around...
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Inside the Tesla Takedown Protests
The War on Cars
Since early February, a protest phenomenon has been building steadily across the United States, springing up at scores of Tesla dealerships from coast to coast. Organizers call it Tesla Takedown. It's remarkable in part because in today’s United States, we have engineered an environment that prioritizes automotive convenience and speed—and in the process deadens civic life and makes protest difficult. So it’s ironic that Tesla dealerships, many of them located in the worst kind of automotive sprawl, have emerged as crucial nodes in a decentralized network of resistance to Elon Musk and...
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TEASER: More Motonormativity with Marco Te Brommelstroet, aka "The Fietsprofessor."
The War on Cars
This is a preview of a . For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, plus ad-free versions of regular episodes, merch discounts, pre-sale tickets to live shows and more, . You may remember Marco te Brömmelstroet, also known as "The Fietsprofessor," from episode 65, Marco returns for this special bonus episode to discuss a new study he co-authored with , 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 and asks...
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Cars Bad, Tariffs Worse with David Zipper
The War on Cars
Trump’s on-again-off-again tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico are causing chaos across the entire economy, but they’re hitting the auto industry especially hard. The big three U.S. automakers rely on an integrated supply and manufacturing process that sees raw materials and parts crossing international borders multiple times before each finished car rolls off the assembly line. The tariffs come at a time when the cost of car ownership is already sky-high, and when trying to find an affordable sedan from a domestic manufacturer is essentially impossible. David Zipper, a Senior Fellow...
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Riding the UK's Cycle Network with Laura Laker
The War on Cars
Laura Laker is a London-based freelance journalist who specializes in writing about cycling and urban transport. We talked with her about the year she spent riding around Britain on the United Kingdom’s 13,000-mile National Cycle Network—an enlightening and often hilarious odyssey that she documents in her , Potholes and Pavements: A Bumpy Ride on Britain’s National Cycle Network. We also got into her work in formulating and promoting the UK’s first Road Collision Reporting Guidelines, which detail best practices for the media and planning professionals to talk about road crashes and...
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Trump v. Congestion Pricing
The War on Cars
Can you believe this is our about congestion pricing? This time, we’re responding to the Trump administration’s attack on the program, which has been , that policymakers had hoped for. Despite those early signs of success, on Wednesday, February 19th, Sean Duffy, the new US DOT Secretary, sent an email to New York Governor Hochul saying that he was rescinding approval of the tolling plan. President Trump gloated about the move on social media, writing “.” Hochul fired back that New York “hasn't labored under a king in over 250 years” and said she’d . And things have just...
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What's Happening with Federal Transportation Dollars?
The War on Cars
The Trump administration has upended the entire United States government over the last several weeks, sending Elon Musk and his minions into the guts of pretty much every federal department in a crusade for what they’re calling “efficiency.” Funds that were legally appropriated by Congress have been frozen, and in some cases even clawed back. The battle to preserve all sorts of spending is now in the courts. What does this all mean for federal funding of public transit, bike and pedestrian infrastructure, and the transition to EVs? And what is DOT Secretary Sean Duffy’s “Woke...
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TEASER: Live with City Nerd!
The War on Cars
This is a preview of a . For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, plus ad-free versions of regular episodes, merch discounts, pre-sale tickets to live shows and more, . Last month we had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Ray Delahanty, aka , for a live show presented by the Hunter College School of Urban Policy & Planning in New York. Our conversation with Ray covered everything from New York City exceptionalism to the latest data about congestion pricing. Plus, we surveyed the audience about their transportation choices and answered questions from Patreon supporters....
info_outlineWhy do people behave so badly behind the wheel of a car? Why do reporters and the police use passive language to describe automobile crashes and traffic violence? How do the words we use make a difference in street safety? Dr. Tara Goddard, one of the top scholars studying what it is that cars do to our brains and the way we treat each other in the world, has some thoughts — and she’s done the research.
Tara is an associate professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning at Texas A&M University. Her work focuses on creating a just transportation system through safe roadway design and inclusive transportation planning.
We talked with her about “motonormativity,” how race influences how drivers treat pedestrians, and why language matters if we want to change the conversation about whom streets are for.
*** Support The War on Cars on Patreon and receive exclusive access to bonus content, ad-free versions of regular episodes, free stickers, merch discounts, early access to live shows, and more. ***
This episode was produced with support from Cleverhood and Sheyd Bags. Listen for the latest discount codes.
Buy tickets to our live show with CityNerd on January 31, 2025, at Hunter College in New York City.
LINKS:
Follow Tara on Bluesky.
Some of Tara’s studies:
- “Racial Bias in Driver Yielding at Crosswalks” (Transportation Research)
- “Does News Coverage of Traffic Crashes Affect Perceived Blame and Preferred Solutions? Evidence from an Experiment” (Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives)
- “Windshield Bias, Car Brain, Motonormativity: Different Names, Same Obscured Public Health Hazard” (Transport Findings)
Some other things we discuss in the episode:
Dr. Ian Walker’s research and our interview with him (Episode 99: Car Brain with Dr. Ian Walker)
Sarah’s piece, “How I Became an Urban Monster in Just 10 Minutes” (Bloomberg CityLab)
“Death of Cyclist in Paris Lays Bare Divide in Mayor’s War Against Cars” (New York Times)
“The glare of the sun caused the westbound vehicle to jump the curb” (Emily Walters on Bluesky)
Laura Laker’s new “Road Collision Reporting Guidelines”
Get official podcast merch in our store.
This episode was edited by Ali Lemer. It was recorded at Brooklyn Podcasting Studio by Josh Wilcox. Our music is by Nathaniel Goodyear. Our transcriptions are done by Russell Gragg.