Talking Animals

Dr. Crystal Heath–a veterinarian who’s bristled at inhumane treatment of animals throughout her career, and before, dating back to her childhood as a 4-H kid discovering the goats she’d raised would be slaughtered—recalls growing up in a rural part of Northern California, adoring animals and riding horses. Dr. Heath, a speaker at the Tampa Bay […]

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Kirk Johnson—paleontologist, Sant Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, and onscreen narrator of “Walrus: Life on Thin Ice,” a documentary that airs Oct. 22 in the season premiere of the PBS series “Nature”—recalls a research opportunity as a grad student some 40 years ago, involving walruses. It was, he says in the […]

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Stephanie Boydston–founder and director of Love Life Animal Rescue & Sanctuary, a refuge in Myakka City, FL devoted to rescuing, rehabilitating and re-homing farmed animals—recalls a childhood in Long Island, NY amidst a string of foster animals, reflecting her father’s belief that family members should become accustomed to saying goodbye to animals. These were mostly […]

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Father Andrew Heyes, Rector of St. Clement’s Episcopal Church in Tampa—a uniquely canine-centric man of the cloth, rarely going anywhere without his Doberman, Humphrey, at his side, sometimes including the altar—recalls growing up in Northwest England with the first of a lifelong string of dogs. He remembers a decidedly pro-animal ethos amidst his family (he […]

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Dr. Melissa Miller–a wearer of multiple University of Florida hats: research scientist, wildlife ecologist with the school’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, lead investigator on a project that employs Artificial Intelligence technology seeking to halt the growing population of yet another invasive species, the Argentine Black and White Tegu—describes some of the tasks associated […]

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Please Note: Owing to a major accident that closed down Highway 60—a central route I take in commuting to WMNF each Wednesday—I was unable to make it to the radio station to broadcast ‘Talking Animals,” having to deliver an improvised version of this show from my car, with enormous (& much-appreciated!) production assistance from Jessica […]

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Joshua Zeman–award-winning filmmaker whose new documentary, “Checkpoint Zoo,” arrives in timely fashion, providing a distinctive window into the Russian-Ukraine war, chronicling efforts to care for, then evacuate, some 5000 animals at a Ukrainian zoo called Feldman Ecopark, while bombing was underway—recounts the path from his previous doc, “The Loneliest Whale” to his new film. Zeman […]

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Elaine West–the founder of Rooterville Animal Sanctuary, a refuge housing rescued farm animals she launched in Melrose, Florida, more than two decades ago—explains the origin of her lifelong love of pigs. West pinpoints a particular pig that a local Humane Society was about to send home with “adopters” she felt certain were planning to eat […]

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As we’ve done 13 times prior—spanning more than four years now!-–today’s program involved setting aside the usual “Talking Animals” format in order to present the show-length feature, “Ask The Trainer.”  In each session of ATT, listeners are invited to call or email (or text) questions about their dogs or cats. The Trainer these listeners have an opportunity […]

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Dr. Eleanor Spicer Rice–an entomologist by training, and author whose books have tackled topics ranging from spiders to microbes—responds to my observation that her new set of books, “The Deadliest Series,” appears to represent a redoubling of her commitment to writing for young readers. It felt worth exploring, in part because Spicer Rice holds a […]

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