November 18, 2022. New York City is at war... with rats. And today, Mayor Eric Adams is set to announce four new pieces of legislation aimed at combating this scurrying problem.Two of these laws will target garbage, the rats' main source of food. If you put trash in places the rats can't get, their population will plummet, and New York will get a major victo ... Show More
Sep 28
How Did Nixon Fumble the First TV Debate?
September 26, 1960. John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon meet in a CBS studio in Chicago for the first televised debate between presidential nominees. Kennedy arrives tan, relaxed, and fully prepped. Nixon arrives with a fever and a bad knee, turns down the studio makeup, and goes o ... Show More
31m 25s
Feb 2025
623. Can New York City Win Its War on Rats?
<p>Even with a new rat czar, an arsenal of poisons, and a fleet of new garbage trucks, it won’t be easy — because, at root, the enemy is us. (Part two of <a href="https://freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/sympathy-for-the-rat/">a three-part series</a>, “Sympathy for the Rat.”)</p><p> ... Show More
50m 23s
Mar 2023
Martha & The Mayor (of Swagger)
Eric Adams, the 110th Mayor of NYC, oversees 320,000 employees and a $101-billion dollar budget. He sits down with Martha to talk about the challenges of running what he calls the greatest city in the world - from crime, to homelessness, to his plans to hire a “rat czar.” Martha ... Show More
36m 53s
Aug 2024
Oh rats! How cities from New York to Mombasa are taking on pests
Animals are essential in maintaining ecosystem balance, but in some cases they can have the opposite effect. In the coastal city of Mombasa, Kenya, authorities are looking to cull 1 million Indian house crows. Conservationists say they are becoming a nuisance and have significant ... Show More
12m 14s
Jan 2024
From the Archives: Brilliant Minds of Trash and Sewage
As we prepare to launch our fourth season at iHeartRadio, we’re revisiting some of host Alec Baldwin’s favorite episodes from the archives. In this episode, Alec digs into the minds behind the processing of the 1.3 billion gallons of wastewater, 16 million pounds of trash and eig ... Show More
39m 7s