Priscilla Feral—the president of Friends of Animals, an international animal advocacy organization founded in 1957—discusses FoA’s late founder, Alice Herrington, outlining the characteristics that helped account for her pioneering inroads. Feral also addresses her...
Jessica Rubin—a professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law who’s at the forefront of a new law in that state, allowing judges to appoint legal advocates for abused animals in criminal cases—recalls her strong kinship with animals growing up, including...
Anthony Bellotti — founder of the White Coat Waste Project—describes his formative years, and the role animals played in them, highlighting his pivotal experience as a high school student, when he worked as an intern in an animal experimentation lab, and was...
W. Bruce Cameron — the New York Times bestselling author of numerous books, including "A Dog's Purpose," made into a feature film starring Dennis Quaid —discusses how he decided to make Breed Specific Legislation, or BSL (in this case, Denver’s ban on pit bulls) a...
Ginger Kathrens —wild-horse advocate, filmmaker, and executive director of The Cloud Foundation—discusses the mustang, Cloud, who is the focus of three of her films, and the namesake of the Foundation she founded, whose stated mission is dedication “to the...
Stephen Wells—the executive director of the Animal Legal Defense Fund ALDF)—traces his intriguing, sometimes colorful, career path before joining ALDF, particularly his years in Alaska, where, among other developments, he formalized his commitment to becoming a...
Dr. Jennifer Conrad—the veterinarian and founder of The Paw Project, which has long educated the public about the painful and crippling effects of feline declawing, and who, as of this interview, has made more appearances on “Talking Animals” than any other...
Adam Sugalski—executive director of OneProtest, a Florida-based advocacy organization perhaps best known for its high-profile, successful effort to help halt the Florida bear hunt—recalls how he first stepped into the role of advocate when, as a professional...
About once a year, I jettison the chief component 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 periodic effort to rejigger the program, and a parallel desire...
Raymond J. Lesniak—veteran State Senator of New Jersey, who has a distinguished track record of working on behalf of animals and animal welfare—explains that he didn’t really harbor any political ambition while growing up, sort of wandering into that realm after...
