This American Roach

What It Covers

RadioLab reporter Alex Neeson documents her multi-month attempt to overcome a severe cockroach phobia through three escalating strategies: shadowing New York City exterminators, attempting to eat American cockroaches prepared by edible insect chef Joseph Yoon, and researching the species' history with entomologist Sammy Ramsey and science writer Bethany Brookshire.

Key Questions Answered

• •Fear exposure limits: Spending time with professional exterminators Lakeisha Fulcher and Cedric Simmons reduced fear enough to observe roaches calmly in public spaces like Grand Central Station, but the effect collapsed entirely when a roach appeared in a familiar home environment — suggesting exposure therapy requires confronting the specific context triggering the fear response, not just the stimulus itself.
• •Disgust as a category, not a fact: Science writer Bethany Brookshire argues the label "pest" strips animals of inherent value and pre-authorizes any elimination method. Reframing animals as creatures that succeed near humans — rather than as objects to destroy — can interrupt the automatic disgust-to-action pipeline and create space for more considered responses to unwanted wildlife encounters.
• •American cockroach origin: The species Periplaneta americana is native to Africa, not the Americas. It arrived in North America aboard transatlantic slave ships, exploiting low sanitation conditions and wooden hull crevices. Understanding that the roach had no agency in its relocation reframes it as a displaced organism rather than an inherent urban invader, which can shift emotional responses.
• •Cockroach biology reframe: American cockroaches are naturally forest decomposers that eat leaf litter, decaying wood, and dead organic matter in tropical environments like the Congo Basin. They are compulsive self-cleaners, grooming antennae similarly to cats. Their association with filth is entirely a product of human infrastructure — sewer systems and street-level garbage — not the animal's inherent nature.
• •Inedibility as a defense mechanism: Chef Joseph Yoon, who regularly prepares crickets, ants, mealworms, and cicadas, found American cockroaches genuinely inedible even after sautéing with garlic and aromatics. Entomologist Sammy Ramsey explains the distinctive medicinal-sour odor functions as an active chemical deterrent — a biological warning signal evolved to discourage predation, making the roach's repulsiveness a measurable survival adaptation.