10 years of the long read: Man v rat: could the long war soon be over? (2016)

The Audio Long Read

The Guardian

Society & Culture

4.3 • 2.4K Ratings

🗓️ 16 October 2024

⏱️ 43 minutes

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Summary

As the Long Read turns 10 we are raiding the archives to bring you a favourite piece from each year since 2014, with new introductions from the authors. This week from 2016: Rats spread disease, decimate crops and very occasionally eat people alive. For centuries, we have struggled to find an effective way of controlling their numbers. Until now… By Jordan Kisner. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is the Guardian.
0:09.0	Imagine sweeping through green fields, floating five feet above ground, sun on your face as you slide by
0:18.0	on track to your destination, not a care in the world as you simply lean back and before you know it.
0:24.8	You're there.
0:25.8	London to Manchester from just 32 pounds each way.
0:29.6	Avanti West Coast.
0:31.2	Feel good travel. Exclusions and limitations apply.
0:34.8	Four terms and conditions can be found at
0:36.4	vantuouscoast.co.k.k. UK forward slash plan. The Guardian Archive Longree.
0:45.0	The Guardian Archive Longree. Hi, my name is Jordan Kistner, and I'm the author of Man versus Rat,
1:00.0	Will the Long War soon be over, which was published as a Guardian Long Reed in 2016.
1:05.2	This piece has been selected as a featured archive to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the
1:09.2	Long Reed.
1:10.8	Every week the Audio Long Reed Archive will feature a piece from each year of the past decade.
1:15.0	I was not myself initially drawn to this story personally.
1:21.0	My editor David Wolf wrote to me saying that he'd never seen the definitive
1:25.9	piece on why mankind seems to have been losing its war against the rat population for
1:31.7	hundreds and hundreds of years and did I want to get into it.
1:34.8	And my first thought was God, no, no.
1:38.1	I live in New York City and living in New York City is enough rat exposure for a lifetime.
1:45.0	These pieces take months to research and report and you really spend so much time steeping
1:50.3	in the topic and I really wasn't sure that I wanted to spend that much time
	...

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