The Problems And Possibilities Of Rats

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4.4 • 4.3K Ratings

🗓️ 27 December 2024

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

If you live in a U.S. city, you've likely seen a rat or two running around. According to the pest control company, Orkin, an estimated 21 million U.S. homes face rodent invasions, each fall.

But rats play a much larger role in human history. These creatures have been sacrificed for the advancement of scientific research.

Rats are complicated — and it inspire equally complicated feelings in us.

This year, New York City held its first ever annual national urban rat summit to address the city's chronic rat problems.

Rats pose real health and safety risks to human, we discuss what we lose by only seeing them as pests.

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0:20.4	Listen to The Indicator, the Daily Economics podcast from NPR.
0:27.8	They shimmy through cracks and root through trash.
0:35.0	They scurry across alleyways and hide in metro tunnels. Sometimes they even
0:39.0	dart right in front of your feet. These creatures have also been sacrificed for the advancement of
0:44.7	scientific research, and they love to play hide and seek for fun. The animal we're discussing
0:49.5	today is complicated, and they inspire equally complicated feelings in us.
0:54.2	Hey, I'm calling about rats. I live in Washington, D.C., which I believe is the fourth,
1:00.9	ratiest city in the United States. And I grew up in New York City, which is also right up there
1:06.9	in terms of rattyness. Like a lot of people, I'm pretty grossed out by rats, but I'm also
1:12.1	pretty fascinated as well. I observed them a lot in the course of my daily life and can see
1:18.4	them running and jumping, often negotiating some pretty tight spots, and I've seen them fly through
1:26.5	the air as they jump. They're pretty nimble, and they seem
1:33.0	very smart, so I'm both grossed out and fascinated by rats. If you live in a U.S. city, you've
1:39.2	likely seen a rat or two running around. Each fall, an estimated 21 million U.S. homes face rodent invasions.
1:45.9	That's according to Orkin, the pest control company.
1:48.6	This year, New York City held its first ever national urban rat summit to address the city's
	...

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