It's official – the U.S. has welcomed a new pair of giant pandas for the first time in more than two decades, making their debut at the San Diego Zoo this week. Of course, the pandas are incredibly cute, but they represent so much more.

Later in this episode – we're talking about so-called "panda diplomacy." How did the animals become such an important symbol on the global stage? Our guest Yun Sun is a senior fellow at the Stimson Center and an expert on Chinese foreign policy.

But first – are American zoos ultimately good or bad for animals? And is it ethical to visit zoos? We're discussing all this and more with wildlife biologist and host of the "Fancy Scientist" podcast, Dr. Stephanie Manka.

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#Zoos #Pandas #Animals