Talking Animals

Marc Bekoff —professor emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder—discusses, in a conversation that traveled from his very latest work backwards, his current research, which involves the way various animals play, and the rules that govern that play. He explains the importance of observing rules, whether it’s a Retriever at the dog park or a coyote in the wild, and how an animal that violates those rules, that doesn’t play fair, quickly earns a reputation as an unfair player. Which, in turn, can lead to that animal being ostracized from that group and this, Bekoff says, can lead to those exiled animals experiencing higher mortality than their counterparts. Bekoff notes along the way what this research teaches us about human behavior and interaction, pointing out that kids engage in similar rituals and follow similar rules on the schoolyard and elsewhere. As one of the featured speakers scheduled to deliver present at the forthcoming Farmed Animal Conference E-Summit (FACES), a free online symposium organized by Animal Place, and including such other prominent figures as Peter Singer, Neal Barnard, and Anita Krajnc, Bekoff offers a sneak of his talk, entitled “Farmed Animal Emotions.” Additionally, as an author or co-author who’s published 31 books, Bekoff outlines the subject matter of “Dogs Gone Wild,” the forthcoming book he co-wrote with occasional collaborator Jessica Pierce, with, he imagines, a publishing date of summer or fall of 2021. (https://marcbekoff.com) ALSO: I spoke briefly with Rob Whitehair, CEO and co-founder of Mammalz, a new app that enables you to use your smart phone to become a nature photographer or filmmaker, who can share your images with like-minded folks anywhere, and they with you. Whitehair responds to my question about how posting to Mammalz differs from someone posting their wildlife photos or videos on their social media pages. He likens Mammalz more to a very nature-specific YouTube with elements of Instagram and Facebook, but adds that in developing Mammalz, he and his colleagues looked to other platforms, like Twitch. A major by-product of that examination, Whitehair says, was arriving at a way to monetize some of the Mammalz users’ images, with so-called “Seeds.” (https://community.mammalz.com, https://www.instagram.com/mammalzpbc/, https://www.facebook.com/mammalzpbc/) COMEDY CORNER:  Robert Schimmel’s  “Punching A Shark In The Nose” MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  We didn’t play “Name That Animal Tune” today. AUDIO ARCHIVE: Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/TAJuly29Final.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Brian Hare —a professor in Evolutionary Anthropology, Psychology, and Neuroscience at Duke University, where he founded the Duke Canine Cognition Center, and co-author (with Vanessa Woods) of “Survival of the Friendliest: Understanding Our Origins and Rediscovering Our Common Humanity”—explains why, as a self-described “dog guy,” creator of the Canine Cognition Center, and who’s previous book (also co-written with Woods) was “The Genius of Dogs,” the new book, in defying reasonable expectations, is not a dog book. From there, Hare recounts how he and Woods pursued and developed a fundamental premise of the new book: examining how an inclination toward friendliness helps allow species to live more successfully with their counterparts. And how the absence of that predisposition—the dark side of it—can lead to dehumanizing others. On a not unrelated note, Hare discusses how they completed the manuscript in October of 2016, but in observing what unfolded in the next few months, and the changes that were occurring in the country, proposed to their editor that they discard the second half of the book, conduct further research, and write a new second half. Later, as part of a discussion about bonobos—arguably, the stars of “Survival of the Friendliest,” and probably the best species (not just because they believe sex solves damn near every problem)—Hare outlines, as a measure of how powerful the inclination toward friendliness can be, examples of how, over generations, that friendliness can play a role in altering an animal’s, or human’s, appearance. We close out the interview with a slightly off-topic conversation about actress-writer-filmmaker Isabella Rossellini–best known in the animal world for “Green Porno,” her series of short films about animals—who provided a blurb for the new book, posted about it recently on her Instagram page, and has become friends with Hare and Woods, before he knew anything about her showbiz career. (http://brianhare.net, https://twitter.com/bharedogguy,  https://www.instagram.com/dukecaninecognition/)   ALSO: I spoke briefly with Scott Trebatoski, director of the Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center, as a follow-up to the conversation we had in April, when he described a significant surge in adoptions, owing to the pandemic—specifically, the lockdown seemed to be behind the dramatic increase in the number of people now willing to provide homes to cats and dogs. In that April conversation, we discussed the prospects of that trend reversing itself, as Covid-19 led to widespread job loss, prompting a serious financial struggle hampering the ability to afford to feed and care for those animals, many of whom would be returned to the shelter—a concern echoed by shelter professionals across the country. But Trebatoski says this has not happened at the Pet Resource Center, in part because they have resources available to provide pet food to those whose households are now facing tighter budgets. (https://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/en/locations/pet-resource-center, https://www.facebook.com/PRCPets/)     COMEDY CORNER:  Dana Gould’s “Snakes & Alligators”  (https://www.danagould.com) MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  We didn’t play “Name That Animal Tune” today. AUDIO ARCHIVE: Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/TAJuly22Final.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Wendy Clark —the publisher of Bird Watcher’s Digest, which is the name of the 42-year-old flagship magazine, but now really also refers to the multi-media enterprise that includes bird identification guides, publications, podcasts, and events—recounts the history of how the Digest began, founded by Bill and Elsa Thompson, in the living room of their home in Marietta, Ohio, back in 1978. In some detail, Clark describes the Thompsons, their backgrounds, their talents, their family—the Thompsons’ son, Bill III, was Clark’s boyfriend, and the publication’s publisher, until he died of pancreatic cancer in March of 2019. She explains that, having amassed a range of work experience before and after joining the Bird Watcher’s Digest operation, she then stepped into the publisher’s role. Clark recalls her own foray into birdwatching, which as she notes, she came to later in life—the first bird that thrilled her, the so-called “spark bird,” was a Scarlet Tanager, which has a blood-red body and black wings. Clark outlines what someone would need to get started as a birdwatcher, which amounts to an inexpensive pair of binoculars, and a field guide or a birding app—and, she emphasized, you can get going with less: Just being outside and mindful of the birds you see will work at the outset.  (https://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/, https://www.facebook.com/BirdWatchersDigest, https://www.instagram.com/birdwatchersdigest/) ALSO: I spoke briefly with Martha Sullivan, an animal advocate who wrote a smart intriguing opinion piece for the Times of San Diego (https://tinyurl.com/y9btmnku) that dealt chiefly with horse racing, by noting it tends to be the domain of wealthy white men, contrasting that with men of color, who tend to engage in dog fighting, and examining that through the lense of Black Lives Matter. She notes that the apparent increase in horse deaths at tracks does not reflect a rise in the number of horses dying on these tracks, so much as a surge in the media coverage of those deaths. As if that’s not dark enough, Sullivan points out that with track workers, jockeys and others move from track to track as racing seasons end and begin, a number of those people have been exposed to—and diagnosed with–Covid-19.     COMEDY CORNER:  Martha Kelly’s “Horses Hate That We Ride Them” (https://marthakelly.net) MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  We didn’t play “Name That Animal Tune” today. AUDIO ARCHIVE: Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/TAJuly15Final.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

William Neal —writer-director of “Long Gone Wild,” a documentary that focuses on captive orcas, arriving as a cinematic successor to “Blackfish”—provides an overview of his pre-doc career, a mix of all sort of television work, writing books, and, early on, coaching hockey at the college and professional levels.He recounts how he began considering the idea for “Long Gone Wild,” and rather than feeling trepidation at following “Blackfish”—and enormously successful and influential film—he saw the opportunity to update the captive orca saga, including the point that the whales covered in the previous movie were still there, with their status largely unchanged. There was also entirely new information to present, including that the whale wildlife trade has undergone a significant shift, whereby Russia is capturing orcas and then selling them to China, which is amidst a period of building numerous marine parks. Neal addresses the complex perceptions and feelings about Tilikum, the humongous orca who had, over the years, killed three people, famously including Dawn Brancheau, the veteran trainer at SeaWorld Orlando. (Tilikum died in early 2017.)  He also elaborates on the section of his film dealing with China’s aggressive inroads into the marine park business, and the attendant effort to populate the expanding number of parks with freshly-captured orcas; one park alone holds nine orcas. He does correct the misinterpretation I’d developed from watching “Long Gone Wild: that the new marine stadiumsbeing built in China reflect the structures and technology of American parks in the 1960s—turns out, this was an anomaly, not widely characteristic. We also touched on the value of orcas in that emerging Chinese market ($6-7 million per whale), The Whale Sanctuary, and the platforms on which “Long Gone Wild” can be watched, including Amazon Prime. (https://www.longgonewild.com, https://www.facebook.com/longgonewild/, https://www.instagram.com/longgonewild/)   ALSO: I spoke briefly with Debbie Burns, vice-president of the Friends of Largo Nature Park, specifically about the Park’s Bird of Prey exhibit. This involves 22 raptors who were injured at some point, and rehabilitated, but are unable to be released back into the wild. She explains how the pandemic forced the exhibit to close down for three months, it reopened in recent weeks, but some of the educational tours and presentations—at schools, festivals, and so on—they would typically do, and which would ordinarily generate donations and other revenues that would help offset the cost of the birds’ food and care, have been foreclosed by COVID-19. She mentions that there is a way to donate in support of this effort on The Friends of The Largo Nature Park’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/thefriendsoflargonatureparks/     (http://www.natureparkfriends.org/our-parks.html) COMEDY CORNER:  Ron White’s  “Killer Whale”  (https://tatersalad.com) MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  The B-52s’ “Rock Lobster” AUDIO ARCHIVE: Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/TAJuly8Final.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Dr. Chris Pachel —a veterinary behaviorist who owns, and is the primary clinician at, the Animal Behavior Clinic, in Portland, Oregon—recounts how he’d wanted to be a veterinarian since childhood, though in some of those earliest years, he wasn’t quite sure what a veterinarian was. He describes the impetus for, after graduating from veterinary school, and practicing for two years, embarking on a behavior residency program, later becoming board certified by the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. Pachel underscores that the human(s) in the household represent a central factor in the equation of treating most behavior issues, and outlines some issues that he and his Animal Behavior Clinic colleagues commonly see in their practice, noting many of those issues tend to be rooted in fear and/or anxiety. This segued into a listener question about a cat with a biting issue, and indeed, Pachel fielded a number of listener calls and emails throughout the interview, including questions about whether he tends to identify certain behavioral issues with certain breeds or regions of the country, about the pros and cons of adopting a puppy versus an older dog, about how Pachel feels about the benefits of CBD oils, about a Chihuahua that regularly attacks her bed and other dog beds in the house, among others. (https://animalbehaviorclinic.net, https://www.instagram.com/animalbehaviorclinic, https://www.drpachel.com) ALSO: I spoke briefly with Majid “Magic” Esmaeili, proprietor of Zaksee Bird Sanctuary, a five-acre Tampa facility housing some 200-plus parrots. Owing to a dispute with one of his neighbors, Esmaeili alleges that the access road he and others had used to get in and out of the sanctuary is now blocked, so he’s isolated and struggling to keep the birds fed and cared for, as volunteers who used to help him have stopped coming. He began to outline the details of legal dispute, but because he was initially unreachable at the scheduled interview time, then disconnected the call when we finally reached Esmaeili, we ran out of time for him to provide a fuller explanation. (https://zaksee.com)     COMEDY CORNER:  Max Rosenblum’s  “Dog People”  (http://maxrosenblum.com) MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  We didn’t play “Name That Animal Tune” today. AUDIO ARCHIVE: Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/TAJuly1Final.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Wendy Williams —longtime journalist and author, most recently of  “The Language of Butterflies: How Thieves, Hoarders, Scientists, And Other Obsessives Unlocked The Secrets of The World’s Favorite Insect”—recounts why, with all the things she’s covered as a journalist and all the topics she’s written books about, she focused on butterflies for this book. Williams also outlines what her attitude about butterflies had been before embarking on this project. In a part of the conversation addressing the significant history of butterflies, describes the life and studies of Maria Sibylla Merian, a naturalist and illustrator active during the 1600s in what’s now Germany—a notable figure in butterfly lore, whose work is still viewed and studied centuries later. She also touches on how Charles Darwin figures into the extended butterfly saga. (Mentioned, but not discussed—only because there wasn’t time time to cover everything—was that Vladimir Nabokov, in addition be being an acclaimed novelist, turned out to be a respected butterfly expert. Williams fields a number of questions and comments from listeners, ranging from milkweed to migration. (Photo of Williams: Rich Maclone; of Monarches: Wikicommons) [This was the first show in three-plus months that I was able to produce live at the WMNF studios. Coincidentally, it also marked the 17th anniversary of “Talking Animals.”] (https://wendywilliamsauthor.com, https://www.facebook.com/wendy.williams.731135) COMEDY CORNER:  Brian Regan’s “Flipper and Gentle Ben”  (https://brianregan.com) MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  We didn’t play “Name That Animal Tune” today. AUDIO ARCHIVE: Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/TAJune24Final.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Owing to the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing Stay at Home order, I produced and recorded this show remotely from home, the 10th program prepared this way at the Talking Animals corporate headquarters in Jupiter Farms, Florida, and likely the final one of its kind for now. We’re due back in the studio on June 24, to present the show in its customary, live format. Lori Marino —a neuroscientist who’s the founder and president of The Whale Sanctuary Project, an organization whose chief objective is creating a seaside refuge for orcas, belugas and others that had previously lived in captivity at marine parks—discusses how her training as a neuroscientist informs her work and thinking about animals, particularly ones with more sophisticated brains, and their behavior and cognition. Marino addresses why holding an orca in captivity seems like a particularly egregious fate for those animals. Noting that “Blackfish” and a number of books–not to mention articles, essays, and blogs, etc.—have made it clear among a growing contingent of folks that captivity wreaks havoc on the health and psyche of orcas, that SeaWorld and other marine parks are no place for killer whales, but there didn’t seem to be a practical solution: Where could orcas otherwise go? The Whale Sanctuary aims to answer that very question, Marino explains, drawing a parallel to sanctuaries for such animals as elephants, tigers, and chimpanzees. She outlines the primary challenges in creating a whale sanctuary, and what traits she and her colleagues felt such a sanctuary would require. Marino describes the search for a location they conducted, concentrating in the San Juan Islands, British Columbia, and Nova Scottia—and how, thanks chiefly to residents in and around the area, they landed on Port Hilford, Nova Scottia…which hit the key criteria: large (it’s expected that the Sanctuary will have 300 times the water space of the biggest captive tank), deep, excellent water quality, including temperature and salinity. She goes on to address the costs, both in building and annually maintaining the Sanctuary, and the importance of fundraising, which has been temporarily thwarted by the restrictions of COVID-19. Marino says the projected opening date of the Sanctuary, with the first two whale residents, by the end of 2021. It may be belugas initially, and the Sanctuary may also house orcas; those specifics are situational and a bit unclear at the moment, according to Marino. They do hope it becomes “a model sanctuary,” reproduced by others elsewhere in the world.  (https://whalesanctuaryproject.org, https://www.facebook.com/whalesanctuaryproject/, https://www.instagram.com/whalesanctuaryproject/)   ALSO: As part of recognizing Juneteenth, I aired excerpts of an interview I conducted last year with Jasmine Leyva, an actress and filmmaker who directed “The Invisible Vegan,” a documentary that explores various cultural challenges and implications within black communities when some decide to go vegan, or contemplate doing so. Leyva touches on the not uncommon attitude that going vegan is “a white people thing”—an attitude she admits in the film she wasn’t immune to herself, before she did go vegan. Other topics covered in these excerpts include myths and misconceptions, and the financial—and sometime logistical/mass transportation—challenges that can be posed by embracing veganism. (https://www.theinvisiblevegan.com, https://www.facebook.com/theinvisiblevegan/, https://www.instagram.com/theinvisiblevegan/) COMEDY CORNER:  Wanda Sykes’ “Cooking Dinner”  (https://www.wandasykes.com) MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,”  instrumentals NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  Miles Davis’s version of  “Bye Bye Blackbird” AUDIO ARCHIVE: Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/TAJune17ForArchive.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Owing to the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing Stay at Home order, I produced and recorded this show remotely from home, the ninth program prepared this way at the Talking Animals corporate headquarters in Jupiter Farms, Florida, and likely the way the broadcasts will come together thru mid-June. Tentatively, we’re due back in studio on June 24. Carl Safina —the ecologist and author of several books, most recently “Becoming Wild: How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace”—addresses the relationship between the new book, and his previous one, “Beyond Words.” He goes on to elaborate on the inspiration for “Becoming Wild,” and the research and observations that generated the core material of this new book. Safina discusses the short section where he notes a distinctive cultural trait of humpback whales: that all humpbacks within the same ocean sing the same song, but that the song is different in each ocean, and each year, the song changes—but never ends up the same within an ocean, the humpbacks in the Pacific continue to sing a song distinctive from the one sung by humpbacks in the Atlantic, and so on. As a measure of how deep and wide Safina goes in “Becoming Wild,” this fascinating observation is almost an aside in an extensive section ostensibly devoted to sperm whales. Spurred by my question, Safina speaks to the virtues of matriarchal animal societies, hooked most directly to contrasting them with the way he became weary of the way the Uganda chimps he profiled were often doing battle, jockeying for position, seeking to become the alpha male (or recognize who is)…responding to hearing back something he wrote, suggesting that the chimps create problems for themselves—they’re vain “and vanity is male.” The chimps’ aggressiveness and violence is connected, conversationally, with the violence that has erupted across the streets nationally, in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. In contrast, Safina explains the importance of play across species, the point he makes in the book that “animals play because it feels good,” how scarlet macaws view and create beauty, and the delightfully singular courtship ritual of the Bowerbird. (https://www.carlsafina.org, https://www.safinacenter.org, https://www.facebook.com/CarlSafinaAuthor/, https://www.facebook.com/The-Safina-Center-79028225328/, https://www.instagram.com/safinacenter/) ALSO: I aired an interview with Gail Carroll, who, with her husband, Paul, is a longtime puppy raiser, helping these canines prepare to become guide dogs under the umbrella of Southeastern Guide Dogs. (Disclosure: the Carrols also maintain a longtime affiliation with WMNF.) The impetus for this conversation was I got to wondering recently that, given a central aspect of being a puppy raiser is taking the dog to a wide range of places—stores, restaurants, ballgames, airports, etc.—what happens when the COVID-19 restrictions prevent puppy raisers from taking their assigned dog to almost all of those locations? Carroll answers this question, noting there’s a lot of improvising with their latest pup, Zappa (pictured, with Gail), and the Carrolls’ puppy raising counterparts, mostly suggested by the folks at Southeastern. Carroll also underscores that Southeastern always welcomes new puppy raisers, and that expertise with dogs is not required.  (https://www.guidedogs.org, https://www.facebook.com/southeasternguidedogs, https://www.instagram.com/seguidedogs/) COMEDY CORNER:  Tom Shillue’s “Animal Shows”  (http://www.tomshillue.com) MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  Norma Tanega’s  “Walkin’ My Cat Named Dog” AUDIO ARCHIVE: Part 1: Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/TAJune10ArchivePart1.mp3 | Open Player in New Window Part 2: Listen Online Now: [...]

Owing to the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing (though loosening) Stay at Home order, I produced and recorded this show remotely from home, the eighth program prepared this way at the Talking Animals corporate headquarters in Jupiter Farms, Florida, and likely the way our broadcasts will come together thru mid-June. Tentatively, we’re due back in studio on June 24. Jessica Janson —East Coast Coordinator of Animal Place’s Food for Thought program, which seeks to help animal welfare, social justice, and environmental organizations adopt animal- and earth-friendly menu policies for their events—outlines some information about Animal Place, a farmed animal sanctuary in Northern California, one of the country’s oldest and largest. She touches on the impact of COVID-19 on Animal Place, and how the sanctuary has adapted to those restrictions and changes. Before we ease into the crux of the conversation—about Food for Thought, how it works, what it can provide in terms of guidance, and even financial assistance—I recount two germane experiences of mine: About 13-14 years ago, having been asked to emcee a lunch event for a greyhound rescue group, I was startled to see that the meal was Swiss steak; and a decade plus-ago, when I launched the Talking Animals Festival—a sprawling event with 60 vendors, rescues and other nonprofits, a dozen bands, speakers, other elements—I delegated as many things as I could, including lining up food vendors…and was shocked, on the day of the festival, to find that one of the vendors was serving gator tail. Totally my responsibility, I assumed given the nature of the radio show that nothing like that would be served at the Festival, and the person I put in charge would understand that. Basically, poor leadership on my part. Janson explains that more and more organizations have started realizing they want to shift away from the kind of menu (and significant disconnect) offered in the first example, while noting that the one-time mistake in the second example is not an uncommon scenario—but leaders of organizations there, too, are looking to embrace plant-based menus at their receptions, fundraisers, adoption events, awards banquets and so on, in order to closely align their menus with their missions. Janson covers the ways they can help these organizations make that transition, from suggesting companies that might donate food to that event, to Food for Thought itself offering grants. (https://www.foodforthoughtcampaign.org, https://www.facebook.com/foodforthoughtcampaign,   https://www.instagram.com/foodforthoughtcampaign/) ALSO: I aired an interview with Dara Eckart, the CEO of Friends of Strays, one of the most venerable shelters in the Tampa Bay Area (it was founded in 1978), with a mission dedicated to the care and adoption of homeless pets. We discuss what impact COVID-19 has had on Friends of Strays, including—as has been generally experienced at shelters nationwide—a tremendous number of adoptions, all but clearing out all the adoptable animals, a phenomenon she hopes continues now that we’re in kitten season. Noting that Friends of Strays wasn’t exactly operating at the height of its powers when she arrived 3 ½ years ago, Eckart describes some of the innovations and improvements (including new programs) implemented under her leadership. (https://www.friendsofstrays.org, https://www.facebook.com/FriendsofStraysAnimalShelter, https://www.instagram.com/friendsofstrays/) COMEDY CORNER:  John Mulaney’s “Baby Grandma” (http://www.johnmulaney.com) MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,”  instrumentals NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  Henry Mancini’s “Baby Elephant Walk” AUDIO ARCHIVE: Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/TAJune3FinalArchive.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Owing to the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing Stay at Home order, I produced and recorded this show remotely from home, the seventh program prepared this way at the Talking Animals corporate headquarters in Jupiter Farms, Florida, and likely the way the broadcasts will come together thru mid-June. Tentatively, we’re due back in studio on June 24. Jo-Anne McArthur —an acclaimed photojournalist who served as creator, co-editor, and photographer for the forthcoming book, “Hidden: Animals in the Anthropocene”—responds to my beginning the interview in a different way (chiefly because McArthur has previously been a guest multiple times), starting with my questions about how she, as a photographer who’s specialized for years in documenting the often-awful plights of animals, staves of burnout or worse. She addresses counterparts photographically, as well as other measures that, for her, constitute self-care. McArthur explains that “Hidden” examines out relationship with the invisible, or hidden, animals in our lives—meaning, the animals we eat, we wear, we use in research and for entertainment, and those we sacrifice in the name of tradition and religion. She talks about the way the team of contributing photographers—30, scattered across the globe—generating what McArthur estimates will be about 250 images when the book is finished. She describes some images she feels are particularly representative of the “Hidden” mission, including one shot by Aitor Garamendia, resembling a family portrait, with four kids flanking…a giant circus bear. McArthur sets forth information about “Anthropocene,” and also notes there’s a crowdfunding campaign underway, through Dec. 7, primarily to cover the publication and distribution costs (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/hidden-animals-in-the-anthropocene-by-we-animals#/  also the site for those who’d like to pre-order the book). She also enthuses over the news that Joaquin Phoenix had signed on to write the book’s foreword. [Photo of kids and bear: Aitor Garamendia. Of Jo-Anne: Josee Van Wissen] (https://weanimalsmedia.org, https://joannemcarthur.com,  https://www.facebook.com/joanne.mcarthur.35,  https://www.facebook.com/WeAnimals/ https://www.instagram.com/weanimals/) ALSO: I aired an interview with Glen Hatchell, a former WMNF programmer (and occasional guest host of “Talking Animals”), who is the Behavior Manager at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, where in 2012, he started conducting playgroups for the dogs awaiting adoption at the shelter. We discuss the playgroups, how they work, how they benefit the dogs. We also touch on the impact of COVID-19 on the shelter, and on the playgroups. (https://humanesocietytampa.org, https://mydogtrainer.com/about/,  https://www.facebook.com/glen.hatchell) COMEDY CORNER:  Mike Birbiglia’s “I’m A Bear”  (https://www.birbigs.com) MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” Bishop Briggs’ “Wild Horses,” instrumentals NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  Los Lobos’ “Will The Wolf Survive?”   AUDIO ARCHIVE: Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TAMay27archive.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Owing to the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing Stay at Home order, I produced and recorded this show remotely from home, the sixth program prepared this way at the Talking Animals corporate headquarters in Jupiter Farms, Florida, and likely the way the broadcasts will come together until mid-June. Alison Eastwood—co-founder of Eastwood Ranch Foundation (ERF), a Southern California-based animal welfare and rescue organization, whose efforts extend nationally—outlines what ERF is, what it does, what its mission is. Eastwood notes that the organization’s focus is plucking cats and dogs from high-kill shelters, and finding them foster or adoptive homes. She cites examples of ERF’s broader animal welfare mandate, including creating crowdfunding campaigns for fellow animal organizations, and offering them support in other ways. Eastwood also enthusiastically describes breaking ground a few days before the interview was recorded on a new facility, ERF’s first, which will include a dog room and cat room, administrative office, a swimming pool for the dogs—adding that the new building, which will sit on approximately an acre of land, will enable Eastwood Ranch Foundation to broaden its efforts to find foster and adoptive homes for those efforts. Having largely set aside her acting-directing career (she touches on making the 2018 film “The Mule” with her Dad, Clint Eastwood, as her “swan song”) and devoted herself to helping animals, I ask her what it is about her work on behalf of animals that speaks to her, and she responds. We also spend a few minutes on Foster Fur Kids, the program to cultivate foster homes for animals across the country, which Eastwood Ranch Foundation had just launched when she previously appeared on the show. As has been customary in many of my interviews in recent weeks, I asked Eastwood about the impact of COVID-19 on ERF, and she says they, too, have experienced the general phenomenon of dramatically increased adoptions and fosters, while pointing out that they had to postpone a big fundraising event. This conversation was a few days prior to her birthday, and she was encouraging ERF supporters to send her a gift by way of making a donation to Eastwood Ranch Foundation. We also talk briefly about Clint Eastwood, a longtime animal lover, and a surprising detail she revealed about him last time we spoke….(https://www.eastwoodranch.org, https://www.facebook.com/eastwoodranch/, https://www.instagram.com/eastwoodranch/) ALSO: I aired an interview with Gary Busey, the veteran actor who’s appeared in over 150 films, picking up an Oscar nomination along the way for portraying Buddy Holly in “The Buddy Holly Story.” He has a new show “Gary Busey: Pet Judge,” which premiered May 25 on Amazon Prime. To describe the interview wouldn’t really do it justice—other than maybe suggesting it’s a doozy—it’s really a conversation that needs to be experienced, to be heard.  (https://www.garybuseypetjudge.com, https://www.facebook.com/PetJudge, https://www.instagram.com/petjudge/) COMEDY CORNER:  Josh Gondelman’s “The Pug” (http://www.joshgondelman.com) MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” Joe Ely’s “A Man and His Dog,” instrumentals NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Nashville Cats” AUDIO ARCHIVE: Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TAMay20Archive.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Owing to the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing Stay at Home order, I produced and recorded this show remotely from home, the fifth program prepared this way at the Talking Animals corporate headquarters in Jupiter Farms, Florida, and likely the way the broadcast will come together for the next few weeks. Patti Ragan—the founder of The Center for Great Apes, the sanctuary in Wauchula, Florida Ragan started 27 years ago that houses chimpanzees and orangutans—provides some updates on the facility, having been a guest on the show twice before. Because over the last few weeks I’ve been checking in with various animal-oriented operations—shelters, clinics, businesses and so on—to see how they’ve been affected by COVID-19, I raised that question with Ragan. She immediately expresses her concern for the safety of her staff and volunteers, and outlines the changes and accommodations she’s made at The Center, noting that the apes seem baffled about where the volunteers they’d routinely see had vanished to. I mentioned that science-based articles and journal pieces have indicated that COVID-19 posed a considerable risk to great apes, both in the wild and in captivity. As with most nonprofits, the coronavirus-related restrictions have yielded considerable impact on The Center for Great Apes’ fundraising, with events postponed (though they generated a terrific response on Giving Tuesday).  Ragan and I also discuss a momentous development, something that had never happened in the Center’s 27-year history: the birth of a baby ape! Orangutan, to be precise. Mother (Sunshine) and baby (Cahaya) are doing fine, as is Father (Archie). Ragan makes a point of clarifying that are reasons that breeding does not take place at an accredited, top-tier sanctuary—indeed no breeding is part of the criteria that’s considered for a sanctuary to become accredited. Ragan explained that they provide vasectomies to some apes there, other forms of birth control to others—and that Sunshine getting pregnant was a totally anomaly, but that they’ve warmly welcomed little Cahaya, and her arrival has brought joy and happiness amidst an often-tough time. (https://www.centerforgreatapes.org, https://www.facebook.com/CenterForGreatApes, https://www.instagram.com/centerforgreatapes/) COMEDY CORNER:  Ellen DeGeneres’ “Nature and Insects” (https://www.warnerbros.com/tv/ellen-degeneres-show) MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” The Kink’s “Ape Man,” Ray Wylie Hubbard’s “Snake Farm,” Damien Jurado’s “Birds Tricked into the Tree,” EELS’ “Dog-Faced Boy” (alternate version), Sonny Landreth’s “Mule,”  Cucumber’s “It’s Hippotime,” instrumentals NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  Bobby Day’s  “Rockin’ Robin” AUDIO ARCHIVE: Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TAMay13FinalArchive.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Owing to the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing Stay at Home order, I produced and recorded this show remotely from home, the fourth program prepared this way at the Talking Animals corporate headquarters in Jupiter Farms, Florida, and likely the way the broadcast will come together for the next few weeks. Jodie Wiederkehr—who, as executive director of the Chicago Alliance for Animals (CAA), spearheaded the campaign to ban horse-drawn carriages in Chicago, which mere days before this interview, succeeded—describes what CAA is and some of its other campaigns in Chicago, and ones they assisted with in other parts of the country. Wiederkehr addresses why and how the horse carriage issue became CAA’s central focus, noting a factor, for her, is the personal kinship she feels with horses. She outlines the intricacies of the  campaign, brimming with painstaking tasks (including documenting that the horses were being worked far more than the allowed number of daily hours, which involved CAA members—all volunteers—spending 12 or more hours per day on site), political machinations aplenty, encouraging developments, tentative agreements, dashed hopes…and, finally, the horse-carriage ban that the Chicago City Council voted April 24 to approve in a lopsided victory for CAA, others who supported the ban, and the horses. Wiederkehr refutes the slice of criticism from opponents—mostly, owners of horse-carriage businesses—that the ban, which goes into effect beginning next year—will mean the horses being sent to slaughter. The conversation also touches on the other cities that, like Chicago now, have banned horse-drawn carriages…and analyzing the prospects of New York City passing a ban. Wiederkehr also briefly mentions The Partnership to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages Worldwide, which offers guidance, resources, and support for those worldwide seeking to pursue bans in their cities.  (https://www.chicagoallianceforanimals.org, https://www.facebook.com/groups/829395790557306/, http://www.partnershiptobanhorsecarriages.com, https://twitter.com/BanHorseCariage) ALSO: I spoke with John Doe, singer-songwriter-cofounder of the band X, which just released a new album, “Alphabetland,” the first by the original line-up in 35 years. Doe talks about why he thinks the new record turned out to be a barn-burning bonanza, including a shift in how the band handles songwriting credits, sharing them equally among the four members.  We discussed the sudden (well, expedited) release of “Alphabetland,” the making of the album’s first video, “Water & Wine,” tentative touring plans, and horses. (https://www.xtheband.com, http://www.theejohndoe.com/live https://www.facebook.com/theejohndoe/, https://www.instagram.com/theejohndoe/)     COMEDY CORNER:  Tim Harmston’s “Seagull” (https://www.timharmston.com) MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” Fela Kuti’s “No Agreement” (portion…R.I.P., Tony Allen), instrumentals NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  The Rolling Stones’ “Monkey Man” AUDIO ARCHIVE: Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TAMay6FinalArchive.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Owing to the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing Stay at Home order, I produced and recorded this show remotely from home, the third program prepared this way at the Talking Animals corporate headquarters in Jupiter Farms, Florida, and likely the way the broadcast will come together for the foreseeable future. Karen Davis—founder of United Poultry Concerns (UPC), a nonprofit founded in 1990 that promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic foul—recalls growing up in Altoona, Pennsylvania as a sensitive girl highly attuned to animals, which made it all the more difficult that hunting was a central activity of her family. (She additionally notes that the hunting dogs were treated quite differently from how the family dogs were.) Davis tells the story of the time, in the summer 30-plus years ago, when she and her husband rented a small house in Maryland, discovered the landlady was raising a flock of chicken, whom David visited daily, until they disappeared. One was accidentally left behind, a “broiler” chicken whose bred-in traits left her deformed. Davis and her husband took in the chicken, he named her Viva (“because she lived”). She describes how this experience changed her, putting Davis on the path to launch UPC, which this year marks its 30th anniversary. This interview was tied to another important UPC milestone: the 15th anniversary of International Respect for Chickens Day, held on May 4. She recounts the pivotal role in the creation of the event played by Harry Shearer, longtime host of the radio program, “Le Show,” veteran voice actor on “The Simpsons,” and star of “This Is Spinal Tap.”  Speaking of cultural figures and radio masters, she also discusses how “This American Life” host Ira Glass underwent a major transformation after visiting Davis at the UPC sanctuary—and talked about it on “Late Show with David Letterman” with Dave–giving UPC a significant boost.  (https://www.upc-online.org,   https://www.facebook.com/UnitedPoultryConcerns)     ALSO: I spoke with Natalia Lima, who owns The Curious Cat Bakery, a St. Petersburg vegan bakery she decided to devote full time to, leaving a job at the Animal Legal Defense Fund—not long before the pandemic hit. The conversation touches on an array of topics, from how she got into baking, some of her bakery’s specialties, how she’s had to adapt her business in the COVID-19 era—including offering online baking classes and “Vegan Baking 101” eBooks (https://curiouscatbakery.com,   https://www.instagram.com/curiouscatbakery/, https://www.facebook.com/curiouscatbakery/) COMEDY CORNER:  Maria Bamford’s “Vegetarian Oskar Schindler” (https://www.mariabamford.com) MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  We didn’t play “Name That Animal Tune” today. AUDIO ARCHIVE: Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/TAApril29complete.mp3 | Open Player in New Window  

Owing to the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing Stay at Home order, I produced and recorded this show remotely from home, the second program prepared this way at the Talking Animals corporate headquarters in Jupiter Farms, Florida, and likely the way the broadcast will be assembled for the foreseeable future. William Nimmo—founder of  Tigers in America, a rescue network that has relocated more than 250 tigers from private owners, roadside zoos, and other nefarious operations, to top-tier sanctuaries—recalls his first expedition to pull tigers from a facility that had gone bankrupt, closed and planned to euthanize all the animals. He was then working as a Wall Street investment banker, had no experience with animal rescue, but plucking and placing the seven tigers in two sanctuaries was a success. Some months later, he says, he got another call about a different situation, where both tigers and people were in peril, including the desperate owner of the tigers. Again, Nimmo and colleagues successfully intervened, and the calls kept coming—and haven’t stopped. But the chief reason for the conversation was to ask Nimmo, arguably the country’s top expert on captive tigers, to assess “Tiger King”–the Netflix docu-series that generated tons of chatter on social media, countless instant experts, a long string of think pieces (and, unfortunately, an equal number of  non-think pieces)—with an eye toward what the series got right, got wrong, and missed altogether. So, he addresses, among other, what Joe Exotic represents, the way the world of black market buying and selling of tigers works, cub petting ventures, and tiger mills. Nimmo also responds to my observation (noted by many others) that “Tiger King” seemed to suggest an equivalency between Joe Exotic, Doc Antle, and others of that ilk and Big Cat Rescue founder Carole Baskin—agreeing that this was really a false equivalency. (And agreeing that Baskin, whom I’ve interviewed five times on “Talking Animals” since 2006, was depicted very poorly, a portrayal permeated by more than a little misogyny.) Nimmo also outlines the criteria for a top-tier tiger sanctuary, describes an encounter with Eric Goode, half the “Tiger King” filmmaking team, who invited Nimmo to be interviewed for the film (an invitation he declined), and recounts the story of buying a zoo—really just a breeding facility—expressly with the purpose, after finding homes for the animals, of shutting the place down. (https://www.tigersinamerica.org/, https://www.facebook.com/TigersInAmerica) ALSO: I spoke with Scott Trebatoski, director of the Hillsborough County Pet Resources Center, who explained how COVID-19 has affected the shelter, and how it has adapted amidst virus concerns and restrictions, notably the Stay at Home order. This includes altering employees’ schedules (one team spending half the week at the shelter—to care for the animals—while the other team works from home, then switching), offering “Curbside Adoption” of dogs and cats, and noting the tremendous surge in the number of folks who are fostering and adopting…and the corresponding dramatic decline in the shelter’s current animal population. (https://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/en/locations/pet-resource-center, https://www.facebook.com/PRCPets/)     COMEDY CORNER:  Paul F. Tompkins’ “Apologize For Your Dog”  (https://paulftompkins.com) MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” Stephanie Seymour’s “Ruby-crowned Kinglet,” instrumentals NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  Joni Mitchell’s  “Black Crow” AUDIO ARCHIVE: Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/TAApril22.mp3 | Open Player in New Window