Why Does Everyone Hate Rats? (Update)

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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