New York City’s mayor called them “public enemy number one.” History books say they caused the Black Death — although recent scientific evidence disputes that claim. In an updated episode from 2025, we ask: Is the rat a scapegoat? And what does our rat hatred say about us?

 

• SOURCES:
  • Bethany Brookshire, author of Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains.
  • Kathy Corradi, senior vice president of resident services, partnerships, and initiatives at the New York City Housing Authority.
  • Ed Glaeser, professor of economics at Harvard University.
  • Nils Stenseth, professor of ecology and evolution at the University of Oslo.

 

• RESOURCES:
  • "On Patrol With the Rat Czar," by Mark Chiusano (Intelligencer, 2024).
  • "How Rats Took Over North America," by Allison Parshall (Scientific American, 2024).
  • "Where Are the Rats in New York City," by Matt Yan (New York Times, 2024).
  • Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains by Bethany Brookshire (2022).
  • "Human ectoparasites and the spread of plague in Europe during the Second Pandemic," by Nils Stenseth, Katharine Dean, Fabienne Krauer, Lars Walløe, Ole Christian Lingjærde, Barbara Bramanti, and Boris Schmid (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2018).

 

• EXTRAS: 
  • "Freakonomics Radio Live: 'Jesus Could Have Been a Pigeon.'" by Freakonomics Radio (2018).

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