GUEST: Archele Hundley--a former Ringling Bros. employee on the animal crew who's done PSAs for PETA (though, interestingly, is not a PETA member), has spoken in front of various groups about the plight of circus animals, and testified at the big federal lawsuit against Ringling--discusses her background, including growing up in West Virginia, where her bred horses; addresses her pre-Ringling employment history, including how her work as a federal security guard led to the Ringling job; comments on how quickly, and frequently, Ringling hires its employees, including those on the animal crew; details some of the animal mistreatment and abuse she witnessed, including a horrifying tale of a vicious, prolonged beating of an elephant with a bullhook during a layover in Tulsa; recounts how, as a mother of five, she had often taken her kids to the circus--and stopped once she saw all the animal cruelty, which also prompted her to quit the Ringling stint after two months, and more.

COMEDY CORNER: Fred Klett's "Play Dead" (snippet) (www.FredKlett.com)

MUSIC: Antibalas' "Elephant," EELS' "Little Bird," instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Elton John's "Crocodile Rock"

GUEST: Scott Lope--Director of Operations at Tampa's Big Cat Rescue, one of the largest sanctuaries of its kind in the world, housing more than 100 big cats, spanning more than 40 acres, and recently named Animal Planet's "Hero Of The Year"---discusses his background, including being the kid who was always bringing home sick and injured animals; recounts his path to Big Cat Rescue some 11 years ago; explains more specifically what Big Cat Rescue is, and does, including some of the gambits employed to keep these captive big cats stimulated and enrich their existence; addresses various aspects of winning Animal Planet's "Hero Of The Year" award, which recognizes individuals nationally who have demonstrated extraordinary service for the welfare of animals. [www.BigCatRescue.org]

COMEDY CORNER: Paula Poundstone's "12 Cats" (www.PaulaPoundstone.com)

MUSIC: Donna & Andy's "Computer Cat," Split Lip Rayfield's "Tiger In My Tank," instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Jefferson Starship's "Ride The Tiger"

GUEST: Melanie Joy--a professor who teaches psychology and sociology at the University of Massachusetts, Boston and author, most recently of "Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism"---reprises the hypothetical dinner scene that opens her new book, outlines some of the fundamental tenets of "Carnism" (in many respects, the opposite of vegetarianism), addresses where in the Carnism scheme of things Flexitarians land on the ideological and meat-eating/eschewing continuum, explains the inner discomfort that eating animals creates in some people and the "psychic numbing" used to neutralize that discomfort, assesses the outcomes she anticipates will result from people reading the book, and responds to several listener questions and comments. [www.MelanieJoy.org]

COMEDY CORNER: Tom Papa's "Pet People" (www.TomPapa.com)

MUSIC: The Starlight Mints' "Rhino Stomp," Norah Jones' "Man Of The Hour," instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Prince's "When Doves Cry"

GUEST: Geralyn Pezanoski--a filmmaker whose documentary, "MINE," a powerful and poignant movie (airing Feb. 16 on PBS' "Independent Lens)) that unfolds with both precision and scope as it tracks New Orleans residents who attempt to reunite with their pets after being separated amidst Hurricane Katrina's devastation and with some of the animals being adopted into new homes--discusses the impetus for making the film, how she came to zero in on the people central to "MINE" (including 86-year-old Malvin Cavalier, pictured to the right with his companion, Bandit), the dispute over custody that erupted between the original companions of these animals and the new adoptive families, how those disputes were partly rooted in the larger problematic issue of animals legally being considered property, how she herself fostered and then adopted a dog as a byproduct of this experience, and more. [www.MineTheMovie.com]

COMEDY CORNER: Paul Varghese's "Pets" (www.PaulVarghese.com)

MUSIC: Mary Flower's "Black Dog Rag," Patty Griffin's "I Smell A Rat," instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Rufus Thomas' "Walking The Dog"

GUEST: Martin Deeley--an Orlando-based dog trainer who, during his 30-year career, has developed an international reputation as a gifted and accomplished trainer of dogs (and of dog trainers), as well as educator and author, not to mention Cesar Millan colleague--discusses the factors behind the veritable population explosion of dog trainers over the last decade; outlines the chief traits and criteria to keep in mind when assessing and selecting a trainer to work with your dog; addresses the issues and behaviors that he most often sees (and in some case, strives to undo); describes the International Association of Canine Professionals (IACP, of which Martin is the co-founder, past president and executive director) and the organization's annual conference later this month in Hutto, TX; and responds to a number of listener callers and e-mailers seeking Martin's advice on behavioral problems or other issues with their dogs.
[www.MartinDeeley.com, www.FloridaDogTrainer.com, www.CanineProfessionals.com]

COMEDY CORNER: Todd Glass's "Biting A Puppy" (snippet) (www.ToddGlass.com)

MUSIC: Jeff Beck's "Constipated Duck," Florence & The Machine's "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)," instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Bob Marley's "Buffalo Soldier"

GUEST: Patti Ragan--founder of The Center For Great Apes, a 100-acre sanctuary in Wauchula, FL which houses 40+ chimpanzees (including Michael Jackon's old pal Bubbles) and the country's largest gathering of orangutans--discusses some of the actual traits and stories attendant to captive apes as opposed to the sometimes sensationalized or otherwise warped media accounts about them; explains the protocol for when new chimps or orangutans arrive at the Center, including an initial period of quarantine; recounts her unlikely path to founding the Center nearly two decades ago; describes a typical day for the Center apes, which includes lots of fruits, vegetables, enrichment and fresh linens!; annual costs involved in feeding and caring for the animals, and more. [www.CenterForGreatApes.org]

COMEDY CORNER: Eddie Izzard's "Birds" (snippet) (www.EddieIzzard.com)

MUSIC: The Bad Plus' "Rhinoceros Is My Profession," Franz Ferdinand's "The Lobster Quadrille," instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Jerry Goldsmith's "Theme From Planet Of The Apes"

GUEST: Joan Jett--the singer-songwriter-guitarist who's portrayed by Kristen Stewart in the new feature bio-pic "The Runaways," for which Joan also served as an executive producer; there's also a pictorial-based bio by Todd Oldham now available, "Joan Jett"--discusses being a lifelong animal advocate and the confluence of factors that led her some twenty years ago to become a vegetarian; addresses how she feels about using her platform as a long-admired rock figure (and, lately, multimedia figure) to call attention to certain animal issues or the virtues of embracing a vegetarian diet; explains why she thinks much of the anti-pitbull sentiment seems like a knee jerk reaction and how those dogs get a bum rap; talks about the cats she shares her home with and the struggle of being away from them when she's on tour, outlines a bit about her experience working on "The Runaways" and more. JoanJett.com

COMEDY CORNER: Sean Cullen's "Cats" (snippet) (www.SeanCullen.com)

MUSIC: Jean-Luc Ponty's "Tarantula," Ted Leo & The Pharmacists' "The Mighty Sparrow," instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: The Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog"

GUEST: Matt Ellerbeck--a snake expert, advocate and conservationist based in Kingston, Canada--discusses how a childhood fascination became, in his case, an adult passion and occupation, having now given countless presentations on snakes and snake issues and written a number of articles along the same lines; addresses some of the pitfalls and ripple effects of the exotic pet (especially, snake) trade by way of examining the problem of numerous Burmese pythons living in the Florida Everglades, suggesting alternatives to both the official killings of those pythons now underway and some possible methods to prevent or minimize such crises from arising in the future; speculates on why there's such a widespread, often irrational fear of snakes, and how that fear shapes responses to various snake-oriented predicaments, even something as basic as a snake entering someone's backyard, in contrast to responses to "charismatic mammals"; explains why he feels that snakes should not be bought or sold, but if they are to find homes with humans, the emphasis should be placed on advocating adoption as we do with dogs, cats and other such companion animals, and more. [snakeconserve101.weebly.com]

COMEDY CORNER: Brian Regan's "Whale Noises" (www.BrianRegan.com)

MUSIC: Mary Flower's "Black Dog Rag," Iron & Wine's "Serpent Charmer," instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: The Doors' version of "Crawling King Snake"

GUEST: Shelley Thayer--Executive Director of Sarasota's Cat Depot, one of the largest non-profit, no-kill feline rescue and adoption centers in the country based in Kingston, Canada--discusses some of the traits that distinguish the organization, including its 10,000-feet, state-of-the-art facility (with recessed litter boxes); and the lifetime guarantee for any cat they adopt out; outlines the history of how Cat Depot was founded; describes her unlikely path from high-level marketing executive to the animal rescue world (her canine companion and Cat Depot colleague, Beignet, entered her life in the wake of Shelley's post Hurricane Katrina work) to the Executive Director post at Cat Depot; and, less than a year into the job, touches on her hopes--and mandate--for Cat Depot moving forward, and more. [www.CatDepot.org]

COMEDY CORNER: Matt Braunger's "Dalmatian" (www.MattBraunger.com)

MUSIC: Bill Frisell's "Raccoon Cat" Dandelion Collective's "The Bear Who Wanted To Fly," instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: B-52s' "Rock Lobster"

GUEST: Joyce Poole--co-founder of ElephantVoices and considered one of the world's foremost elephant experts--discusses some of her pioneering work in the realm of elephant communication, including identifying and decoding their vocalizations; addresses some of the techniques for moving unobtrusively close to elephants over more than 30 years of studying them, often in East Africa, perhaps most notably in Amboseli National Park (which, as someone enormously passionate about elephants, I was fortunate enough to visit several years ago); outlines the history and mission of ElephantVoices and touches on the organization's immensely deep, rich website; opines on how kids and others might appreciate elephants without experiencing them in a captive setting like a zoo--suggesting zoos could present multi-media exhibits about elephants as opposed to the pachyderms themselves; offers her opinion about the prospects of elephant-free circuses in the coming years, and more. [www.ElephantVoices.org]

COMEDY CORNER: Myq Kaplan's "Ducks And Vegetarianism" (www.MyqKaplan.com)

MUSIC: Earl Van Dyke & The Soul Brother's version of "Too Many Fish In The Sea," Minus The Bear's "Animal Backwards," instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: King Crimson's "Elephant Talk"

Elephants in Amboseli National Park
Photo by Duncan Strauss