801: Must Be Rats on the Brain

What It Covers

This American Life examines New York City's rat crisis through Mayor Eric Adams' war on rats, exploring why plastic garbage bags created the problem, how Alberta Canada eliminated rats entirely, and why humans find rats so psychologically disturbing.

Key Questions Answered

• •Plastic bag policy disaster: Mayor John Lindsay's 1969 decision to replace metal trash cans with plastic bags increased NYC rat populations from 11% to 80-90% citywide. The policy prioritized collection efficiency (20% faster) over pest control, despite pest management students immediately predicting catastrophic rat growth.
• •Alberta's eradication success: Alberta Canada maintains rat-free status across 300+ miles of border using just 13 inspectors at $380,000 annually, discovering only 2-5 infestations per year (down from 600 in the 1950s). The program works because they patrol one border, educate citizens, and euthanize illegal pet rats within one week.
• •Container mandate challenges: Mayor Adams' 2023 requirement for 70% of New Yorkers to use latching bins could require 150,000 parking spots, hundreds of millions in specialized trucks, and daily pickups. The city tracks no compliance data and measures success only through 311 complaints, which show 20% reduction in some areas but increases in others.
• •Psychological impact exceeds disease risk: Scientists confirm rats rarely transmit disease to North Americans (NYC rats caught COVID from humans, not vice versa). The primary harm is psychological stress from feeling loss of control. Only 100 New Yorkers get bitten annually in a city of 8 million people.
• •Pet rat intelligence: Domestic rats demonstrate problem-solving abilities including coordinated teamwork to open drawers, deceptive behavior to hide capabilities from owners, and social bonding through grooming. They read human facial expressions, detect stress through smell, and study posture to predict behavior, making them highly perceptive companion animals.