Month: December 2024

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1A - The Problems And Possibilities Of Rats

If you live in a U.S. city, you've likely seen a rat or two running around. According to the pest control company, Orkin, an estimated 21 million U.S. homes face rodent invasions, each fall.

But rats play a much larger role in human history. These creatures have been sacrificed for the advancement of scientific research.

Rats are complicated — and it inspire equally complicated feelings in us.

This year, New York City held its first ever annual national urban rat summit to address the city's chronic rat problems.

Rats pose real health and safety risks to human, we discuss what we lose by only seeing them as pests.

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Short Wave - Why These Squirrels Are Eating Meat

In pop culture, squirrels are often seen as jerky, excited critters on the hunt for nuts to stuff themselves with and tuck away for later. But squirrels are on the hunt for something a bit meatier in the California Bay Area. Their target: local voles. The entire process — from hunt to kill — was captured on video.

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NPR's Book of the Day - ‘Gather Me’ and ‘Subculture Vulture’ are memoirs told through books and subcultures

Memoirs from authors Glory Edim and Moshe Kasher narrate their lives through cultural objects: books and subcultures. First, Edim, the founder of the Well-Read Black Girl book club, grew up as the child of Nigerian immigrant parents searching for their way into American identity. As part of that journey, Edim found herself through reading. Her memoir, Gather Me, is a coming-of-age story told through her encounters with books. In today's episode, Edim speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about the early influence of stories such as Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, reading as an act of defiance, and a trove of letters that helped the author reconnect with her father. We then hear from comedian Moshe Kasher, whose memoir Subculture Vulture is organized around six scenes he's inhabited throughout his life. After deciding to get sober, Kasher accessed community and recovery in expected and unexpected places, from Alcoholics Anonymous to the rave scene. In today's episode, he joins NPR's Rachel Martin to discuss healing core wounds, the relationship between Burning Man and the Jewish Days of Awe, and the responsibility of being a comedian today.

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The Indicator from Planet Money - Half a billion people need reading glasses. Why can’t they get them? (Encore)

If you need some reading glasses in the United States, you don't have to break the bank to pick some up. That's important for older folks who need a little extra magnification. But in some parts of the world, people who need readers don't have that privilege. Today on the show, we'll find out why that is and learn the economic solution to the reading glasses shortage.

This piece originally aired October 9, 2024.

Related episodes:
Two indicators: supply chain solutions (Apple / Spotify)

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CBS News Roundup - 12/26/2024 | World News Roundup Late Edition

Parts of Texas are facing severe weather. Israel launched strikes against the Houthis in Yemen. Investigators are looking into whether Russian anti-aircraft defenses may have played a role in the deadly plane crash in Kazakhstan. CBS News Correspondent Jennifer Keiper with tonight's World News Roundup.

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