PREVIEW: Are Cyclists Too Mean Online?

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, . Are cyclists too mean online? To read some of the headlines about a recent study, you'd think the answer was yes. blared the headline in The Guardian. The subhead said that "toxic" online debates can make officials and other people in government reluctant to pursue cycling-related transportation projects. Adding one and one together, any reader would likely assume that it's those "forceful bike campaigners" who are mostly responsible for the "toxic" online debates. This story spread online and confirmed a lot of people's priors. Those darn cyclists! If only they'd behave they'd deserve safer streets! Not so fast. was a bit more complicated than the headlines and social media posts might have led people to believe. It also offers good lessons for effective engagement to get the change we want at the scale we need, no matter the issue. for access to the entire episode. Pre-order our new book, , coming in October from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. And catch us on tour this fall and beyond, including at our .