Comedians | Talking Animals

Paula Poundstone, comedian and cat devotee

Duncan — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 17:09:49 +0000

NOTE ABOUT THIS SHOW: I’ve had better mornings. As many know, each Wednesday, around dawn, I drive from my home on the east coast of Florida to the west coast, landing at WMNF in Tampa, where I broadcast “Talking Animals.” The trek is long (later, I reverse course, and drive home), but usually uneventful. Today, […]

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20th Anniversary Show (sort of)

Duncan — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 04:00:44 +0000

We did things a little differently on today’s show—an understated, somewhat belated, acknowledgment that June marks the 20th anniversary of “Talking Animals.” I launched the program in June of 2003 at KUCI in Irvine, CA, moving to WMNF not quite three years later. Twenty seems like kind of a big anniversary. But owing to a […]

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Nellie McKay, singer-songwriter-activist + Triumph The Insult Comic Dog: 15th Anniversary Show

Duncan — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 04:00:22 +0000

On this program, we marked the 15th anniversary of “Talking Animals”—almost to the day! I launched the show on June 16, 2003 at KUCI, the campus-community radio station at the University of California at Irvine. At the tail end of 2005, “Talking Animals” found a home at WMNF, not long after my family and I […]

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Scott Hardy, co-founder of Hardy Hayes Refuge

Duncan — Wed, 13 Dec 2017 05:00:50 +0000

Scott Hardy—co-founder of Hardy Hayes Refuge, a mom-and-pop rescue-rehab operation with sizable ambitions, and accomplishments to match—outlines his lifelong love of animals, describing a childhood where the insights gleaned from trying to treat a locust as a pet helped shape his sensibilities more than the family’s beloved beagle. Hardy (the “mom” to his “pop” is […]

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Paula Poundstone, comic and cat devotee

Duncan — Wed, 13 Apr 2016 04:00:25 +0000

Paula Poundstone—the veteran comedian perhaps best known these days as a regular panelist on NPR’s quiz show “Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me”—returns for her third appearance on “Talking Animals,” and we engage in a sprawling conversation that touched on a slew of topics, including ones you would expect (cats and comedy), as well as ones you […]

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Dan Piraro, “Bizarro” cartoonist

Duncan — Wed, 27 May 2015 04:00:26 +0000

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 triggered an uproar in others. He elaborates on the reasons behind those plans, including devoting much more time to […]

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Allan Havey, comedian, actor, animal guy

Duncan — Wed, 21 May 2014 04:00:57 +0000

Allan Havey—the comedian and actor best known at the moment as Lou Avery on “Mad Men”—recalls his formative years as a budding animal lover with the family dachshund Peanuts. He describes something of a kinship with animals, always liking them and enjoying being around them, but noted that work on the road as comic, as […]

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Joey Camen: Comic, Voiceover Actor, Author

Duncan — Wed, 08 Jan 2014 05:00:57 +0000

Joey Camen—a veteran comedian and voiceover actor who has just published his first book, “My Life With Snoopy: How One Shelter Dog’s Love Changed A Man’s Life And Other Tails Of Adventure”—begins the interview doing the voice of Arnold Schwarzenegger. He elaborates on his voiceover work, before describing his formative years growing up in Detroit, […]

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Fred Willard, comedian, actor, animal guy

Duncan — Wed, 18 Sep 2013 04:00:36 +0000

Comedian, actor and improviser Fred Willard—who delivered a legendary performance as TV commentator Buck Laughlin in “Best In Show,’ the classic Christopher Guest-directed mockumentary set in a canine competition not unlike the Westminster Dog Show—discusses an array of topics, including animals, “Best In Show,” animal welfare organizations, comedy, Twitter, his birthday, his cat Mittenz, Hawaii, […]

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Tom Kenny, voice of SpongeBob SquarePants & other talking animals

Duncan — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 15:02:24 +0000

Tom Kenny–actor, comedian, musician and voiceover actor extraordinaire, perhaps best known as the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants–discusses how, unlike some stand-up comedians, who wander into voiceover or do it as a peripheral activity while pursuing TV/film roles or greater heights in stand-up, he was always passionate about voiceover and animation. He revisits a conversation […]

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Paula Poundstone, Comedian & Cat Fancier Extraordinaire

Duncan — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 15:00:33 +0000

Paula Poundstone–veteran comedian perhaps best known as a regular panelist on NPR’s popular weekly quiz show, “Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me” and cat fancier extraordinaire–provides an update on her family’s current feline population (holding steady at 16), recent behavioral challenges amidst the brood, and more. She also addresses the all-important litter box topic–including that they have […]

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Kevin Nealon, comedian-actor-animal advocate

Duncan — Wed, 02 May 2012 15:00:57 +0000

Kevin Nealon–the comedian, actor and longtime animal advocate who stars as pot-loving accountant Doug Wilson in the Showtime series “Weeds,” and earlier in his career, enjoyed nearly a decade stint on “Saturday Night Live”–discusses starting to shoot the eighth and what may be the final season of “Weeds,” and why the series may have been […]

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Dean Stefan, veteran animation writer

Duncan — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:00:05 +0000

Dean Stefan–who, for the better part of 25 years, has enjoyed an illustrious career as a television animation writer, penning episodes of shows ranging from “Dragon Tales” to “CatDog” to “The Penguins of Madagascar” to new programs like ‘The Octonauts”–discusses how he got into writing animation, what drew him to the field, and how, once […]

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Paula Poundstone, Comedian and Serious Cat Enthusiast

Duncan — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 15:00:04 +0000

Paula Poundstone — The singular comedian who for much of her 30+ year career has laced her routines with cat tales, often based on observations and misadventures with the sizable flock of felines sharing her home–discusses the current household cat population (16), and how the tally got that high. She also mentions some […]

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Marc Maron, a veteran comedian, cat fanatic and host of the immensely popular and celebrated podcast, “WTF”

Duncan — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 16:00:21 +0000

Marc Maron, a veteran, highly accomplished comedian and cat fanatic whose podcast, “WTF,” has become enormously popular and celebrated–its profile ratcheting up several notches in the wake of a major Sunday New York Times feature and a spotlight in Rolling Stone–discusses the cats that live in and around his, the fabled “Cat Ranch,” from which […]

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Carol Leifer–comedian and writer

Duncan — Wed, 06 May 2009 15:00:50 +0000

Carol Leifer–the veteran, top-notch comedian and Emmy-nominated writer who’s worked on such shows as “Seinfeld,” “Saturday Night Live” and the Academy Awards–discusses her new book, “When You Lie About Your Age, The Terrorists Win,” a memoir-cum-collection of humorous essays in which she opines about a host of topics while revealing some significant changes she’s undergone […]

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Richard Belzer–Detective John Munch on “Law & Order SVU”

Duncan — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:00:12 +0000

Richard Belzer–the veteran comedian-actor perhaps best known as Detective John Munch on “Law & Order SVU,” also seen earlier this summer as a celebrity judge on “Last Comic Standing”–discusses his role as spokesperson for the North Shore Animal League America (based in Port Washington, NY, NSALA is the largest no-kill animal rescue and adoption organization […]

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Janeane Garofalo–comedian-actress-activist

libby — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:00:30 +0000

Janeane Garofalo–the comedian-actress-activist and former Air America radio host who’s also a longtime animal lover and advocate (with a particular emphasis on rescue dogs)–discusses the rescue dogs she’s adopted, how she decided to no longer put them through the stresses of traveling with her to movie locations and other shoots, her adventures and misadventures with […]

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Kevin Nealon of “Saturday Night Live”

libby — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 16:30:27 +0000

Comedian-actor and veteran animal advocate Kevin Nealon–perhaps best known for his lengthy stint on “Saturday Night Live” (1986-1995), but who’s more recently earned some of the best reviews of his career in his role as Doug Wilson, the pot-loving and increasingly conniving accountant on the acclaimed Showtime series “Weeds”–discusses the animal issues he considers most […]

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Margaret Cho–Comedian and animal rights activist

libby — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 15:00:22 +0000

Comedian Margaret Cho–who’s not only a vocal activist in the areas of gay rights and women’s rights, but also passionate about animal rights and animal rescue–discusses the newest rescue dog to join the Cho household (and how this tiny, new member has affected the canine dynamic: by being in charge), the healing powers of animals […]

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Elayne Boosler–veteran comedian

libby — Mon, 13 Sep 2004 13:00:26 +0000

Elayne Boosler–the veteran comedian, longtime animal advocate and host of the new Pax TV game show “Balderdash”–discusses her longstanding passion for animals, and how it (and her years of rescue experience, among other factors) led to creating her own multi-faceted non-profit animal organization, Tails of Joy, which offers such services as assisting with educational outreach, […]

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Janeane Garofalo–comedian, actress, activist and longtime animal lover

libby — Mon, 02 Feb 2004 14:00:28 +0000

Janeane Garofalo–comedian, actress, activist and longtime animal lover–discusses the dogs in her life, two NYC animal rescue organizations, the pros and perils of high-profile activism, her move into hosting a show on the liberal radio network (Central Air), and a number of other topics. COMEDY CORNER: Brian Regan’s “Animals” [www.BrianRegan.com] MUSIC: The Eels’ “I Like Birds,” […]

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