Episode 103: Pest-o, change-o: how culture shapes our view of animal commensals (with Bethany Brookshire)

Creators

Art Woods, University of Montana, Missoula
Marty Martin, University of South Florida

Files

Interviewer(s)

Art Woods, Marty Martin

Interviewee(s)

Bethany Brookshire

Description

What makes a pest? Why are some animals revered in one culture and vilified in another? How do our ways of life bring us into conflict versus companionship, and what do these interactions mean for us and them?

Rats, squirrels, coyotes, pigeons...often, we view animals like these as pests. We usually don't like them, even try to get rid of them…but what makes a species a pest? On this episode, we talk with Bethany Brookshire about her new book, Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains. Bethany is a science journalist interested in human-animal conflict, and in the book, she tells the story of how both historical and cultural context explains why the same animal species can be viewed as a friend or foe.

Cover photo: Keating Shahmehri

Date Published

6-1-2023

Language

eng

Length of Episode

1 hour

Digital File Format

audio/mp3

Document Type

Podcast

Recommended Citation

Woods, Art and Martin, Marty, "Episode 103: Pest-o, change-o: how culture shapes our view of animal commensals (with Bethany Brookshire)" (2023). BigBiology Podcasts. 105.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/bigbiology_podcasts/105