Manifest Discography: Sympathy for the Weevil

By: Katarina Schroeter, Sabrina Aguilar, Mitchell Stevens, Chloe EzeuduIn today's episode, Sympathy for the Weevil, we take a closer look at an insect that most people have never heard of, but one that changed the trajectory of American history: the cotton boll weevil.Inspired by the Rolling Stones' hit song Sympathy for the Devil, a song that pushes listeners to reconsider who we label as the source of evil and why, this episode explores the legacy of a tiny insect that is often blamed for one of the largest agricultural disasters in United States history. The boll weevil, an insect the size of a fingernail, devastated cotton crops and disrupted economies across the American South. But there’s more to the boll weevil’s story beyond simply being a destructive pest.From the Blues songs of Black farmers to later compositions that showed a return to racist agricultural practices, we use archival and modern-day music to examine how different communities understood, represented, and valued the boll weevil. Over the course of this episode, we explore how the boll weevil infestation, lasting from 1892-2011, reshaped the migration patterns, education, and family dynamics within Black populations.After being presented with the scientific and historical facts, we challenge listeners to see the boll weevil not solely as a pest that caused widespread economic devastation, but to see this insect as a catalyst for change, uncovering oppressive labor dynamics that persist today.Suggestions for Further ReadingCohen, Z. P., Bredeson, J. V., Haro, J. G., Benavides, C. E., Dotray, P. A., Raszick, T. J., Roe, R. M., & Campbell, M. S. (2023). Insight into weevil biology from a reference quality genome of the boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics, 13(2), jkac309. https://doi.org/10.1093/g3journal/jkac309Gilliland, F. R., & McCoy, C. E. (1969). The behavior of newly emerged boll weevils. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 62(3), 602–605. https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/62.3.602 Fligstein, N. (1983). The transformation of southern agriculture and the migration of Blacks and Whites, 1930–1940. International Migration Review, 17(2), 268–290. https://doi.org/10.2307/2545978U.S. Congress, House. (1974). Review of the boll weevil eradication program (93rd Cong.). U.S. Government Publishing Office. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-93hhrg26355/pdf/CHRG-93hhrg26355.pdfShipman, M. (2017, May 17). The boll weevil war, or how farmers and scientists saved cotton in the South. NC State News. https://news.ncsu.edu/2017/05/boll-weevil-war-2017/ Pests and Prejudice is a podcast series created by UCLA undergraduates in the spring of 2026.  Each episode is a story of a messy relationship, one in which people seduced pests, and then decided to break up with them... and it usually goes about as well as you would expect...