Dr. Temple Grandin--who truly wears multiple hats: fervent activist for autistic people, longtime professor of animal science at Colorado State University, expert on animal behavior, prolific author, tireless lecturer—discusses her forthcoming book, “The Grandin...
Gene Baur--co-founder and president of Farm Sanctuary, which Baur helped launch in 1986—responds to the observation that, nearly 40 years later, he could be excused if some days felt “same old, old,” recounting some of the activities that currently most invigorate...
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....
Valerie Benka--the Director of Programs for the Alliance for Contraception in Cats and Dogs (ACC&D)—recalls being someone who was nuts about animals from the time she was a kid, growing up in a family amidst a veritable menagerie. This early pet passion created...
pattrice jones--co-founder of VINE Sanctuary, sprawling across 100 acres in Springfield, Vermont, and a self-described “LGBTQ-led farmed animal sanctuary”—spontaneously describes instances of talking animals’ activity by resident roosters that very morning. jones...
Donna Kalil--a python removal contractor (aka “python hunter”)—recalls growing up in Venezuela, with close proximity to the jungle helping cultivate a lifelong passion for snakes and other wildlife. In 1969, Kalil explains, the family moved to Florida, landing...
Jane O’Hara, the animal advocate and artist--whose paintings tend to celebrate animals or explore animal issues—recalls a regular upbringing, amidst conventional companion animals. Only some years later, O’Hara adds, did she start researching animals, reading some...
Susan Tellem--executive director of American Tortoise Rescue (ATR), a nonprofit established in 1990 for the protection of all species of turtles and tortoises—recalls that she began helping animals in cat rescue. Some years later, she recounts, she and her husband...
Diana Goodrich--co-director of the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, located not far from Seattle, and housing 15 chimps—says she can’t recall a time she didn’t want to work with animals. Goodrich traces the winding path, academically and professionally, that led her...
Eleanor Spicer Rice, PhD--an entomologist by training, and the author of multiple books, focused on ants and spiders—recounts how she came to write a book about microbes, “Unseen Jungle: The Microbes That Secretly Control Our World.” Spicer Rice explains that a...
