Justin Barker--an anti-captivity activist with a compelling narrative, starting with launching his first organization, Citizens Lobbying for Animals in Zoos, at age 13—recalls the family culture his parents cultivated that yielded a teen activist particularly...
As we’ve done 10 times prior—spanning three-plus years--today’s program involved setting aside the usual “Talking Animals” format in order to present the show-length feature, “Ask The Trainer.” In each instance, listeners are invited to call or email questions...
Peter Singer--the philosopher, professor emeritus of bioethics at Princeton University, and author (including his landmark 1975 work, “Animal Liberation” and the just-published “Consider The Turkey”—explains that his slate of pursuits post-retirement from Princeton...
Jodie Wiederkehr--veteran animal advocate and Founder-Executive Director of the Chicago Alliance for Animals (CAA)—recounts details of how CAA was formed, in 2015. (She has recalled in a previous “Talking Animals” conversation how her earliest professional animal...
Mara Hvistendahl, a The New York Times reporter who wrote “The Panda Factories”--an extraordinary piece of investigative journalism probing the impact of China’s gambit nearly 30 years ago to send pandas to zoos in other countries, hoping the visiting animals would...
Nancy Murrah---President of The Raptor Center of Tampa Bay (RCTB), which rescues, rehabilitates, and releases hundreds of native birds of prey annually—describes the preparations required at RCTB before something like Hurricane Milton, and how the facility fared...
Marion Gwizdala, CEO of Advocates for Service Animal Partners Inc. (ASAP)—a Tampa-based national nonprofit dedicated to securing, protecting, and advancing the rights and responsibilities of service animal handlers and the businesses they patronize—recalls...
Dr. Gregory Berns—author, neuroscientist, professor of psychology at Emory University (and an M.D.)—addresses the change he was seeking when he and his wife decided to buy a farm outside of Atlanta, a saga that’s among the experiences chronicled in Berns’ new book,...
Rebecca Reid--Director of Education at Busch Wildlife Sanctuary, a multifaceted operation (wildlife refuge, veterinary hospital, rehabilitation facility, education center) in Jupiter Farms, Florida—discusses the readily observable love for her job, and its probable...
Journalist Joshua Hammer--author of a captivating piece in the current issue of Smithsonian Magazine, entitled “Pablo Escobar’s Abandoned Hippos are Wreaking Havoc in the Columbian Jungle”—recalls how, having been casually aware of the Escobar/hippo situation, he...
