Cockroach
Brett Westwood explores how the cockroach has influenced society, satire and tourism
For as long as humans have been around, we鈥檝e had the cockroach as an uninvited house guest. No other creepy-crawly has the power to elicit such strong feelings: the horror of uncleanliness and the involuntary shudder that only a scuttling cockroach can bring, as it vanishing behind the bread bin.
But they鈥檝e entered our imaginations as well as our living spaces. We may have given the cockroach its dark reputation, but this insect is a survivor. Disgusting and revolting are some of the more polite descriptions we use for cockroaches. Is that because we associate them with squalor and poor hygiene, or because they hold a mirror up to the less savoury side of human nature?
But there is a different side to this great survivor. Probably the most famous cockroach in literature is Franz Kafka鈥檚 novella The Metamorphosis. Films such as Men in Black use the cockroach as a metaphor for alien arrivals. The cockroach can feed our imagination in other ways too. Its reputation can also be turned inward to explore humanity, satirically described by Archy the cockroach early in the last Century.
This episode is a shortened revised repeat of the 2015 episode
Original Producer Andrew Dawes
Archive Producer Andrew Dawes
Last on
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From the rhinoceros roach to robo-roach, read our 10 facts about cockroaches.
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The World According to Cockroach
COMEDY: An Australian cockroach struggles to arrange a family reunion for 4500 relatives.
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Remote control cockroaches
Engineers in Texas have fused a live cockroach with a mini computer to help humans.
Clips
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The World According to Cockroach
Duration: 02:01
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How it feels to eat a live cockroach
Duration: 02:21
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Why are we so disgusted by cockroaches?
Duration: 02:30
Dr George Beccaloni
In 1999, he set up the聽聽and in 2002 he played a key role in helping the Natural History Museum鈥檚 library acquire the world's largest and most important collection of Wallace鈥檚 manuscripts, books and insect specimens from his grandsons, made up of more than 6,000 items.聽He is also the director of the聽
Jilly Goolden
A new generation took to her after her stint in the jungle for ITV鈥檚
She also presented 大象传媒 One's聽 and Going, Going, Gone, and featured as a regular presenter on the 大象传媒's Holiday programme.
Professor Jeff Lockwood
He teaches courses in natural resource ethics, environmental justice and the philosophy of ecology, along with creative non-fiction writing workshops. He is the author of award-winning books including聽.
Dr Tom Turpin
He started the聽聽and an insect knowledge quiz bowl for students called the聽Linnaean Games. He writes a regular popular column on insects for newspapers entitled 鈥淥n 6 Legs鈥�,聽聽and transcription, and is the author of two popular books and one textbook on insects.
Paul Williams
Before joining the 大象传媒 Natural History Unit Paul studied palaeontology at the Natural History Museum in London following his childhood obsession for all things prehistoric.
Dr Susan Villarreal
In her free time, she runs her website , which is focused on educating children about insect biology and behavior through humorous one-on-one interviews with the bugs themselves.
Broadcasts
- Tue 3 Nov 2015 11:00大象传媒 Radio 4 FM
- Mon 9 Nov 2015 21:00大象传媒 Radio 4
- Sun 7 Jun 2020 06:35大象传媒 Radio 4
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