Ted Leo—the singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, front man of Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and veteran vegan—recounts his path to vegetarianism, in 1988, then after further reading, research, and contemplation, going vegan in 1998. That journey was shaped...
Maria McKee—the singer-songwriter who burst onto the music scene some 35 years ago, fronting the band Lone Justice, going on to a storied solo career—discusses her lifelong love of dogs, while noting, early on, there was an incident that so traumatized her that she...
Moshow—the Portland, Oregon-based artist and online phenomenon who specializes in rapping about cats—recounts starting to rap at 16, but stopped because, although he grew up in the projects of Baltimore, felt his raps (heavily influenced by gangsta rap) were...
This morning, I once again set aside the usual “Talking Animals” format to present my Annual Christmas Animal Song special—that is, a show entirely devoted to Christmas-oriented animal tunes. Sure, as in the past, to pull off this conceit, I fashioned the program...
John Doe—co-founder of punk band extraordinaire X, the singer-songwriter released a new solo album, “The Westerner,” and just published his first book, “Under The Big Black Sun: A Personal History of L.A. Punk”—starts our conversation addressing what horses mean to...
This morning, I once again set aside the usual “Talking Animals” format to present my Annual Christmas Animal Song special—that is, a show entirely devoted to Christmas-oriented animal tunes. Sure, as in the past, to pull off this slightly shaky conceit, I...
Laurie Anderson— the long-celebrated artist and musician, who recently made an acclaimed film, “Heart of a Dog”—discusses the genesis of the movie. She also addresses the scope of ideas, feelings and themes coursing through the movie: “Heart of a Dog” is a visually...
Neko Case—the singer-songwriter who has created a large, revered body of work, much of it laced with nature and animal themes—recalls how her lifelong kinship with animals began as a kid whose parents were infrequently present, so she spent a great deal of time...
Harry Hmura —musician-composer whose album “I Am, I Am” integrates original songs and instrumental pieces with the vocalizations of great apes—discusses his formative years as a musician, including a pivotal backstage meeting with B. B. King as a 15-year-old and...
Nellie McKay — singer-songwriter-activist and true Renaissance woman—discusses her adopted pit bull, Bessie, which gives way to addressing her longstanding zeal for the importance of adopting shelter dogs over buying or breeding dogs. Noting that she had just sat...
