The War on Rats (1977)

It’s September 26th. This day in 1977, a Chicago alderman offered a $1 bounty to every one of his constituents who presented him with a severed rat tail.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how bad the rat problem got in Chicago in other cities throughout the 1970s, and how rodent infestations reflect larger questions of local government and services. Plus: everyone shares their most traumatizing rat stories.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Julie Shapiro, Executive Producer at Radiotopia