Neko Case—the acclaimed singer-songwriter-guardian who’s long incorporated nature and animal themes into her work—discusses Marty, the cat that owned her heart (Case is famously a dog nut) when we spoke on the show in 2015.
Sadly, it turns out Marty has passed, but Case observes that the way Marty lived—projecting an I’m-super-comfortable-with-myself joie de vivre—served as a powerful role model, and still resonates. She touches on the slow restoration progress at her Vermont farmhouse after being seriously damaged in a 2017 fire. As someone who has adopted several retired racing greyhounds over the years, Case enthused about Florida having passed the constitutional amendment that phases out greyhound racing in the state by 2020. She talks about how the current tour is going, and explains why her previous tours have so rarely included any Florida dates (the then-forthcoming stint included five shows in Florida). We address her Twitter feed, which is particularly rich, varied, and great—which leads us to a pretty serious conversations about the multiple virtues of Twitter, especially when used the way Case does, as “a listening tool,” as a means to learn, as a way to hear and amplify important voices, etc. The Neko Case interview aired in the latter half of the show, while the first half was mostly devoted to “Callers As Guests,” a break from format that I pursue once every year or so, in which listeners are invited to call in and talk briefly about their animal organization, an adoption event or fundraiser, developments in animal news or welfare, etc. (https://nekocase.com)
COMEDY CORNER: Jen Grant’s “Pet Chimp” (portion) (http://www.jengrant.com)
MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” Neko Case’s “Last Lion Of Albion,” Neko Case’s “People Got A Lotta Nerve,” instrumentals
NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: We didn’t play “Name That Animal Tune” today.
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