Dr. Lori Marino—founder and executive director of the Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy, as well as a neuroscientist and expert in animal behavior and intelligence—explains exactly what a neuroscientist is, and how that academic orientation informs her thinking...
Richard Couto— founder, chief executive director and lead investigator of the Animal Recovery Mission (ARM), the Miami-based organization that made international news recently by leading what’s been called “the largest tactical strike on extreme animal cruelty...
Mark Reinfeld —the celebrated vegan chef and author who was slated to present a cooking demonstration a few days later at the Tampa Bay Veg Fest—discusses what he’s found, over the years, to be the biggest misconception about vegan eating. He addresses some of the...
Once in a while, I set aside the chief element of the “Talking Animals” format—a long form interview with a single guest—to offer a debate or some other multi-guest panel discussion. As part of that effort, and a parallel desire to give voice to a broader array of...
Avalon Theisen—the 14-year-old Tampa environmentalist, animal advocate, and founder of Conserve It Forward—describes what Conserve It Forward is and does, and what prompted her to launch it 2010 (at age nine). She explains how the organization has evolved,...
Cheri Thompson--founder of Healing Species, a South Carolina-based program that plucks rescue dogs from shelters and places them in a school program designed to reduce aggression and bullying, while increasing empathy in those classrooms—discusses her formative...
Dr. Anne Lampru — a Tampa-based holistic veterinarian who has practiced for more than 30 years —discusses the formative stages of her career, including graduating from Auburn University Veterinary School, with an academic emphasis on treating zoo animals and a...
Indra Lahiri — founder of Indraloka Animal Sanctuary in Mehoopany, Pennsylvania, one of the few sanctuaries that houses both farm animals and other species—recalls having a close connection with animals as a child, including being that prototypical neighborhood kid...
Mariesa and Chris Hughes — co-founders of the Mr. Mo Project, which places senior shelter dogs, who are sometimes also ill (and therefore often strong candidates to be euthanized) into ongoing foster homes, underwriting the dogs’ medical and food costs for the...
Dan Piraro—who, for 30 years, has drawn the highly-acclaimed, widely-syndicated comic “Bizarro”—discusses his recently announced plans, over the next two to three years, for retiring “Bizarro,” and how that announcement was initially misunderstood by some, and...
