624. The Animal No One Loves, Until They Do

Friday 28 February 2025
00:00
45:19

To most people, the rat is vile and villainous. But not to everyone! We hear from a scientist who befriended rats and another who worked with them in the lab — and from the animator who made one the hero of a Pixar blockbuster. (Part three of a three-part series, “Sympathy for the Rat.”)

 

  • SOURCES:
    • Bethany Brookshire, author of Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains
    • Jan Pinkava, creator and co-writer of "Ratatouille," and director of the Animation Institute at the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg.
    • Julia Zichello, evolutionary biologist at Hunter College.

 

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