The Great Hanoi Rat Hunt

The Great Hanoi Rat Hunt

Constant Wonder

Parisian Sinkholes

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