
The Great Hanoi Rat Hunt
Constant Wonder - Radio Archive, Episode 961 , Segment 2
Episode: Parisian Sinkholes
- Apr 15, 2021 6:00 pm
- 22:30 mins
The story of colonial-era French-controlled Hanoi being overrun by rats illustrates how prejudiced, arrogant, and perverse incentives lead to ineffective solutions. Guest: Michael G. Vann, Professor of History at California State University, Sacramento; author of "The Great Hanoi Rat Hunt: Empire, Disease, and Modernity in French Colonial Vietnam"; host, “New Books in History” podcast