Book · 2022 · History
Pests
How Humans Create Animal Villains
Why people recommend it
Pests by Bethany Brookshire is a compelling examination of how human societies define, categorize, and persecute certain animals while embracing others. The book explores the complex social, ecological, and psychological reasons why humans create animal villains out of creatures that happen to cross paths with human interests. Stephen Dubner discussed the author and her newly published book across multiple episodes of Freakonomics Radio. During these broadcasts, Dubner introduced Brookshire to his listeners and explicitly referenced Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains to highlight her work on human-animal conflicts. He pointed out the underlying allegiances and perspectives embedded within her research, drawing attention to the ways in which societal definitions of pests reveal more about human behavior, urban expansion, and agriculture than they do about the animals themselves. Through these discussions, the podcast highlighted how cultural norms and historical contexts shape our daily interactions with wildlife and dictate which species are deemed acceptable or intolerable within shared human ecosystems.
Who recommended it
- Stephen Dubner Discussed
Stephen Dubner — 2 mentions
“She recently published a book called Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains. So, you can see where her allegiance lies.”
“that is Bethany Brookshire we heard from her in part one of the series she's the author of a book called pests how humans create animal villains”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
- Charlotte's Web
- Data for Science and Technology; Proceedings of the Seventh International CODATA Conference; Kyoto, Japan, 8-11 October 1980
Other mentions (1: passing, ad reads, own books)
“I'm the author of the 2022 book Pests, How Humans Create Animal Villains.”