801: Must Be Rats on the Brain - This American Life

Transcript

Ira Glass (0:00)

This message comes from NPR sponsor Capella University. Interested in a quality online education. Capella is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. A different future is closer than you think with Capella University. Learn more at capella. Edu from WBC Chicago. CisAmerican Life. Good morning. And it's a great morning for New Yorkers and a great morning to be in New York City at a press conference in a park in Harlem with New York's Mayor Adams in April 2023. There are two undisputed truths about the Adams administration. Mayor Eric Adams loves his mother. Mayor Eric Adams hates rats. This event was to introduce New Yorkers to their brand new rat czar. This is a position the mayor created, and his job listing called for candidates who were, quote, highly motivated and somewhat bloodthirsty, with a swashbuckling attitude, crafty humor, and general aura of badassery. At the time of this press conference, New York's mayor was not popular. He had huge disapproval ratings on crime and homelessness. Fewer than half of all New Yorkers liked the way he was doing his job. And we're revisiting this moment because Mayor Adams was about to be replaced on January 1st. And this is an episode of ours that he inspired, that we all at our show really loved. Who? Where we tried some funny things that we had never tried before. It's a show about rats in New York and elsewhere. And as a kind of goodbye to Mayor Adams, we thought we would play this now, our last show of this year. Because when this embattled, disliked mayor, Mayor Adams, would talk about rats, it was with a kind of joy. It was like he was a dad whose teenage kids would roll their eyes at everything he said. But then he knew he had this one topic that was like, I don't know, taking them out for ice cream or something. Like, he knew this was at least gonna go over. He made rats a big issue. I hear it all the time. I'm on the trains. I'm walking the streets. People stop me and say, you know, we're with you, man. We hate those damn rats. And, you know, remember Julia? Remember when I came out that rat device? You know, I had a rat device. We caught 96 rats around Brooklyn Borough Hall. 96 rats. And, you know, there were people that were yelling, you know, oh, you murderer. You murderer. You know, this is the kind of cutthroat swagger in a lot of the remarks this day. Next to the podium is a table with all kinds of gear for shooting, poisoning, and trapping rats. Soon, the new rat czar Kathy Karate takes the stage. And if zingers could kill rodents, well, New York's in good hands. You'll be seeing a lot of me.

Bashir Salahuddin (2:45)

And a lot less rats. There's a new sheriff in town and with your help, we'll send those rats packing.

Ira Glass (3:00)

Fully keeping with the giddy mood of the day, the rats are parents are there felling for reporters and telling the story of how at 10, their daughter mobilized her entire neighborhood to fight rats. And so, so proud. They can't stop themselves from talking over each other in a gush of words. I'll be honest with you, there was so many applicants, but then when she started to get down, I was like. I said to my wife, I go, I think they're going to hire her. She's right.

Summary

"Must Be Rats on the Brain"

This American Life, Episode 801
Release Date: December 28, 2025
Host: Ira Glass
Theme: The Power, Presence, and Psychology of Rats in Urban and Personal Life

Episode Overview

In this inventive and character-driven episode, "Must Be Rats on the Brain," This American Life explores the role rats play in our urban landscapes and in our minds—with a mix of fun, empathy, and investigation. United by the impending end of New York Mayor Eric Adams’ rat-fighting tenure, Ira Glass partners with "Reggie and Rachel," two wisecracking New York rats, as co-hosts. The episode uses the ongoing struggle against rats as a lens to examine public policy, social anxieties, personal relationships, and the rare places in the world where rats have been truly vanquished.

Key Segments & Discussion Points

1. New York's War on Rats—Political Theater and Public Passion

[00:00–04:47]

Mayor Adams’ Rat Crusade: Ira Glass sets up the episode from a 2023 press conference in Harlem, where Adams, notorious for his “swashbuckling, crafty” attitude against rats, introduces the city’s new “rat czar.” The spectacle includes dramatic language and even props: “Next to the podium is a table with all kinds of gear for shooting, poisoning, and trapping rats.”
Adams’ Affection and Bluster: Glass likens Adams' enthusiasm for anti-rat campaigns to a father knowing one thing will get his kids’ attention (“Like, he knew this was...taking them out for ice cream or something”).
Reggie & Rachel Take the Mic: As two fictional but sharply observant rats, Reggie and Rachel are introduced to provide the “rodent perspective” neglected at city hall.

Memorable Quotes

Ira Glass: “Mayor Eric Adams hates rats. This event was to introduce New Yorkers to their brand new rat czar...with a swashbuckling attitude, crafty humor, and general aura of badassery.” [00:51]
Reggie & Rachel: “Everybody don’t hate rats.” [03:38]

2. Front Lines: Darnese Foster and the Rats of Harlem

[05:58–11:50]

Real-Life Impact: Darnese Foster describes the effect of the post-pandemic rat surge on her Harlem block—rats flooding the streets, garbage day becoming a gauntlet, and rats being wielded as a tool by neglectful landlords trying to force tenants out.
Psychological Toll: The segment emphasizes that the menace of rats is less about disease than about the sense of chaos they bring: “When rats are there, it just freaks people out.” [09:38]
Kids vs. Adults: Darnese’s sons are nonchalant, while adults remain rattled—demonstrating generationally different attitudes to urban wildlife.

Memorable Moments

Darnese Foster: “It’s very frustrating. Like, garbage collection day is the absolute worst. There’s really no safe place because they’re running from garbage to garbage to garbage.” [06:30]

3. Rats as Pets—A Pandemic Love Story

Act 1: “51st Rats” – [13:53–35:37]

Unlikely Affection: The story follows Todd, an L.A. man who goes from disinterested to obsessed with pet rats during pandemic isolation—eventually fostering up to 37 rats.
Rat Intelligence & Cunning: Todd’s accounts, supported by a rodent behaviorist, show rats’ cleverness—teamwork, hiding treats, and even “tricking" their human. His GoPro surveillance of their antics is especially charming.
The Social Stigma: Todd’s struggle to reconcile rat ownership with dating captures social fears about being “the rat person,” his journey to acceptance, and the realization that “rats or love” wasn’t an absolute choice after all.

Notable Quotes

Elna Baker (narrator): “If this were a Disney movie, it'd be magical. But if Todd were your Tinder date, you'd report his profile.” [15:37]
Todd (on rats): “They are one of the most loving creatures you could ever have as a pet. They just are obsessed with you.” [27:34]
Todd (on stigma): “I think I was more embarrassed and ashamed of being in general who I was and where I was at that point.…I was using rat ownership as a way of avoiding addressing other problems in life.” [34:19]

4. The Big Bag Theory: Why New York Can’t Beat Rats

Act 2: [37:27–47:59]

The Cause of the Rat Explosion: Ike Sriskandaraja traces New York’s rat boom not to the rats themselves but to a 1969 policy change. Old metal cans were replaced with curbside plastic garbage bags—the “buffet on every block” for rats.
Historical Irony: Even students in Pest Control 101 predicted disaster. Yet it took decades before city officials even acknowledged the connection.
Container Comeback: Mayor Adams’ push for trash containers returns to the old style—but the cost, complexity, and urban compromises (like sacrificing parking spaces) mean “humans are a house divided. Rats, they’re united.” [47:40]

Notable Quotes

Rodentologist Bobby Corrigan: “If we do this, we’re going to be literally as if it was a zoological garden. We’re going to try to grow these animals.” [41:18]
Ira Glass (on plastic bags): “It’s like a buffet on every block. And you’re saying, oh no, don’t eat the buffet food.” [38:31]

5. Alberta, Canada: The Rat-Free Province

Act 3: [49:12–65:09]

The Last Rat-Free Place: The team visits Alberta, Canada—the only large jurisdiction on earth with no wild rats. Achieved through a mix of geography (mountains and cold), early enforcement, community vigilance, and relentless border patrols.
The Rat Patrol: Inspectors like Jory Hoffman lead mostly boring, but vital, inspections. Found infestations are now rare (down from hundreds annually to just two to five per year).
Local Apathy: Despite their success, the average Albertan isn’t particularly proud or even aware—“that’s like thinking why there’s no giraffes walking around here.” [62:45]
New Foe: The end of rats has simply made way for native pests—gophers, which locals wage an even more desperate war against.

Memorable Quotes

Karen Wickerson (rat control): “Albertans don't know if you've lived in Alberta your whole life, you've never seen a rat, so identifying it is pretty hard.” [58:59]
Jory Hoffman (inspector): “It was a ton of fun. Four good friends and four shotguns, and, yeah, that was a good, great day.” [57:16]
Teenager at the zoo: “That's like thinking why there's no giraffes walking around here.” [62:45]

6. Inside the Rat’s Nest: A Satirical Drama

Act 4: [66:15–70:25]

Rats as Dramatis Personae: In a delightfully weird and self-aware finale, Reggie and Rachel play an unvarnished recording of “private” rat conversations under Delancey Street—touching on topics like rat sex, survival strategy, and baby-eating with comic candor and unexpected tenderness.
Pointed Parody: The bit fuses animal behavior research with sitcom banter, using humor to highlight both the alienness and the relatability of rats.

Notable Quotes

Reggie & Rachel: “When we step in the room, all eyes on us. You know, we’re special.” [11:29]
Reggie & Rachel (on rat parenthood): “I would say that there's a slim chance I would eat more than a couple of these babies, but I'm so psyched.” [68:18]

Notable Quotes & Moments by Timestamp

On the politics of rats
Ira Glass: “He made rats a big issue. I hear it all the time. I'm on the trains...People stop me and say, you know, we're with you, man. We hate those damn rats.” [01:18]
On rats as scapegoats
Reggie & Rachel: “If I had made the same budget cuts that that guy was pitching, I'd also be trying to throw little smoke and mirrors in the air. A little confusion.” [04:24]
On the psychology of rats
Ira Glass: “The bigger problem with rats is the very thing that Darnese is experiencing. The stress feeling of everything being out of control.” [09:38]
On the pet rat dilemma
Todd: “There is no way to explain having 12 rats in your apartment.” [30:33]
On urban infrastructure
Ike Sriskandaraja: “So are New Yorkers willing to give up their parking in order to beat back rats?...Humans are a house divided. Rats, they’re united. That’s why they’re winning.” [46:41–47:40]
On Alberta’s indifference
Local teenager: “That's like thinking why there's no giraffes walking around here.” [62:45]

Episode Tone & Style

Playful, Self-Referential, and Thoughtful: The use of "rat co-hosts" and their banter infuses comedy and satire throughout, while remaining investigative and grounded in the real anxieties and consequences of urban rat life.
Mix of Documentary and Character: The show balances newsy reporting (public policy, city history, rare natural history) with very personal, human—and rodent—stories, sometimes venturing into sympathetic or comic anthropomorphism.

Conclusion

"Must Be Rats on the Brain" cleverly links city politics, public health, personal psychology, love lives, and even continental epidemiology to reveal why rats both fascinate and unnerve us. With sharp storytelling, humor, and bracing honesty (from humans and rats), the episode asks: are we really at war with rats, or just with our own sense of disorder?

Final Moments:

Darnese Foster’s landlord finally deals with the rats in her building.
Todd, the rat rescuer, manages at last to give up his rats (but is still open to future rat companionship).

For Further Listening

This American Life’s website: thisamericanlife.org
Other episodes referenced: Stories about New York, public health, and urban life.

Summary compiled and structured for rich, engaging reading—skip to any segment using timestamps for more details or memorable moments from the episode.