Talking Animals

James Scott–native Floridian, Executive Committee Chair of the Suncoast Sierra Club, and longtime environmentalist—recounts how he scrapped his original intent to become a veterinarian (noting his lifelong love of animals), graduating from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg with a degree in Environmental Science and Policy. During his college years, Scott accumulated some significant […]

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Renee King-Sonnen, the empress of all things Rowdy Girl—including founding the Sanctuary with that name, writing the memoir “Rowdy Girl: Confessions of a Vegan Cattle Rancher,” and being profiled in the documentary “Rowdy Girl”—discusses her approach to writing the book, receiving input from various folks, and fervent cheerleading from Jane Velez-Mitchell. I explain why I […]

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Max Chesnes–the award-winning environment reporter for The Tampa Bay Times, who appeared on “Talking Animals” in January, discussing some wildlife-related Times stories he’d recently written—returned to the show for a comparable conversation about some of his latest articles. Chesnes, whose beat encompasses public lands, water quality, pollution, wildlife, and related issues, is a 2023 journalism […]

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David Ebert–the founder of Weeping Elephant Project, which, according to its website, “focuses on the awfulness of the use of captive elephants for zoos, circuses and other forms of supposed entertainment,” but has great ambitions for rectifying the plight of these pachyderms—recalls his 33-year career as a commercial litigation attorney, exploring opportunities, as he approached […]

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Gretchen Primack–the poet, teacher, and animal activist who first appeared on “Talking Animals” a dozen years ago, discussing her animal-focused collection of poetry, Kind—catches me up on her undertakings in recent years, including the prison education program she’d decided to step away from after 20 years of teaching, so as to have time for other […]

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Elizabeth Olson–who lives in Palm Harbor, and is the founder of not one, but two animal organizations, with intersecting missions—recalls even as a toddler, making a beeline for any animal she’d see. Over the ensuing years, her passion for animals has remained unwavering, but she’s also clearly cultivated a protective bent for them, too. One […]

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Ron King, co-founder of Oscar’s Place—a California-based nonprofit which rescues, rehabilitates, and rehomes donkeys—discusses not being an animal fan earlier in his life, but having transformed into a veritable donkey zealot, a point underscored by King nuzzling a pair of donkeys: 5-day-old Sherlock and his Mom, Maisy. Tranformation of lives—or, maybe more precisely, reinvented lives—is […]

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Marc Bekoff–professor emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, who’s written or co-written more than 30 books; his latest, “Love in Their Hearts: A Celebration of Animal Emotions and a Guide to Compassionate Action,” features a foreword by the late Jane Goodall—recounts his long friendship and various professional collaborations with […]

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As we’ve done 17 times before—spanning five-plus years–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, mainly behavior or training issues. The Trainer these listeners have an opportunity to consult […]

The post Glen Hatchell, dog trainer, behaviorist–“Ask The Trainer,” 18th edition first appeared on Talking Animals.

Laurie Sumiye–the artist-filmmaker who directed the striking documentary “A Paradise Lost,” a live action/animation hybrid telling the story of the Palila, a small, yellow bird, found only on the Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii, and for whom a landmark lawsuit was filed in 1978 to prevent its extinction—recalls growing up in Hawaii, more interested in […]

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