Tom Junod, Esquire writer and author of “The State Of The American Dog”

by | Aug 6, 2014

Tom Junod—two-time National Magazine Award-winning journalist and Esquire writer-at-large—discusses the impetus for writing “The State Of The American Dog,” his extended examination of the plight and perception of the pit bull that appears in the August issue of Esquire.pitbull-fb-intro-01-large_new-3 Drawing on a wealth of reporting and research for the story, Junod also wove in his personal experience with pit bulls, and in this “Talking Animals” interview addresses two pivotal scenes in the piece involving his pit Dexter, including what he and his family learned from those episodes, and how they connect to some of the article’s key themes. He also responds to some of the other significant elements presented in “The State Of The cameron-diaz-esquire-magazine-august-2014-issue_1 American Dog,” including the sobering statistics (among them: that in American shelters, as many as 3000 pit bulls are killed per day), the serious challenge—folly, really—of identifying which dogs actually are pit bulls, how the irresponsible behavior of a relatively small contingent of pit 4-Tom-Junod-937x623bull owners have greatly complicated the lives of other pit bull owners, such as making homeowner’s insurance policies far more expensive or impossible to get, etc. Junod explains the thinking behind his editors’ decision to include with his article the gallery of photos of pitbulls, acknowledging the stellar work of photographer Michael Friberg and noting that many of the dogs pictured ended up adopted. (www.esquire.com/features/american-dog-0814)

COMEDY CORNER: Aziz Ansari’s “Lady With The Puppies”   (http://azizansari.com)

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” Steely Dan’s “Monkey In Your Soul,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Willie Dixon’s “Little Red Rooster”

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now:


 

| Open Player in New Window

Sign up for Updates

Get weekly updates about upcoming shows and events!


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Talking Animals. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact

Archives by Date

In Memoriam



Otis McGarr
(Nov. 1989 – Jan. 4, 2006)



John Taylor
(Sept. 29, 1961-Aug. 20, 2011)

%d