Hanoi Rat Massacre
What a Failed Rat Hunt Says About Colonialism
Guest: Mike Vann, associate professor of history at California State University, Sacramento. Author of "The Great Hanoi Rat Hunt: Empire, Disease, and Modernity in French Colonial Vietnam." Host of “New Books in History” Podcast, New Books Network
The story of colonial-era French-controlled Hanoi being overrun by rats explains how prejudiced arrogant and perverse incentives lead to ineffective solutions.
The Great American Hog War
Guest: John J. ("Jack") Mayer, research scientist and manager, Savannah River National Laboratory
A combination of feral pigs and wild Eurasian Boars is destroying crops and ecosystems across America despite culling attempts. Hunters bring in the big guns, and a few helicopters. The stakes are high for the pork industry.