The Viral Outrage Over Peanut the Squirrel

On the Media

WNYC Studios

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4.6 • 8.7K Ratings

🗓️ 3 September 2025

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Mistaken identity and the power of online fury.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, you're listening to the On the Media Midweek podcast. I'm Michael Owinger.
0:04.1	We're bringing you a story this week that millions watched unfold online.
0:09.1	The protagonist, a beloved squirrel named Peanut, who was seized in a raid by New York
0:14.8	Environmental Conservation Officers last year. From there, a maelstrom of outrage ensued.
0:23.7	The likes of Joe Rogan and Elon Musk even commented on the case, and New York wildlife enforcement was upended in the process. Our colleagues
0:29.9	from the WNYC Newsroom recently unraveled the saga on an episode of NYC Now, our station's
0:37.1	Daily News podcast.
0:38.8	Here's host Jene Pierre and WNYC reporter John Campbell.
0:43.7	Jeney, how do you feel about squirrels, like scale of one to ten?
0:48.3	I'm going to say five.
0:49.5	I have nothing against them, but they're no friend of mine.
0:52.7	Why?
0:53.0	What's up?
0:53.7	Well, I want to tell you about a
0:55.1	woman and a squirrel that totally upended her life. Hello, this is John. Her name's Monica.
1:02.9	Hey, John. This is Monica Hector with Monica in photography. She is a photographer. In Missouri,
1:09.0	she takes photos of weddings and graduations. Been in business for
1:13.8	about 10 years. And one morning she woke up to a barrage of messages from people on her
1:21.3	Facebook page for business. Probably 500 different messages, whether on my page or a personal message to my page.
1:28.9	Messages from who?
1:30.3	She didn't know.
1:31.1	She had no clue who they were.
	...

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