Join Ari as she chats with longtime listener and friend of the podcast Hardy Kern! They chat about Hardy's transition from the Columbus Zoo to his new role at the American Bird Conservancy. Hardy shares all that his new role entails, his thoughts on life working from home, and some great advice about how the skills you learn in the animal care field directly translate to many new things!

Have a question for a topic you'd like us to discuss on the show? Let us know at [email protected]!

Ari sits down with NEI Senior Trainers and mothers-to-be Katie and Lucy to chat about momming in the animal field. They talk about work/life balance, shifts in priorities and expectations, and balancing a family and a career in a tough field on this Mother's Day episode!

Have a question for us to tackle on a future episode? Send it our way at [email protected]!

Ari and Chris convene to talk about what it really means to "see behavior" during a training session. So many nooks and crannies to explore in this one: when your training plan can get in the way of good training, communication between trainers before, during, and after a session, how "training ettiquete" ties into the greater idea of an institutional training culture, building confidence in people that they won't "break their animals," and learning to let go of our preconceptions about our animals - and ourselves - to do a better job of seeing behavior.

Got something you'd like us to talk about on the show? Be like all the cool kids and email us at [email protected]!

Chris is in Minnesota, but through the magic of technology he is joined, live via satellite from Texas, by Ari and NEI Senior Trainer Adam Geltz to talk about the consulting work we're all doing this week and to answer a simple question: what's the coolest thing you saw today? 

Have a question for us? An idea for a future discussion topic? Want to share the coolest thing you saw today? Email us at [email protected]!

After discussing scent-based side hustles and the joys of trusting strangers on the internet, Chris and Ari tackle a common belief in animal training: that you should always end a training session on a positive note. With an outdated edition of Don't Shoot the Dog as our companion, we discuss the ways in which striving to always end on a "good note" can limit an animal's voice in the training dialog, set you back in your shaping plan, and even damage relationships. Luckily, we also discuss how redefining what "a good note" looks like can also increase motivation, shorten training sessions, and improve relationships. Isn't behavior amazing?

Have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss on the show? Let us know at [email protected]!

This is a super exciting episiode - not because Chris and Ari are back together in the same office for the first time in over a month, but because they're joined by a super cool guest, Zoo Miami's Ron Magill! Ron shares a bunch of great stories from his history in the zoo field: meeting and becoming good friends with Jim Fowler, reflecting on the lessons learned from 27 years of being watched by 10 million people a week on the biggest TV show in the world, how an experience breaking zoo policies on live TV lead to him becoming their spokesperson, and how a very special relationship with an incredible couple had a massive impact on Ron and the zoo's conservation efforts. Not even kidding, all three of us were crying!

If you have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss on the show, let us know at [email protected]! 

The Month of Infinite Travel continues as Ari teams up with NEI Senior Trainer Meg Meyer to talk about the two flights, long drive, and boat trip that got them to a consulting project in the Bahamas. 

Yep. That's a real thing. 

In addition to recounting their long day (that almost landed them in jail), they talk about the joy of doing animal stuff with non-animal people, the difference between what we think an animal feels and and we see an animal do, and the difference between what behavior is and what behavior is not. And manta rays!

If you have a question about tortoises or anything else animal related (or not), let us know at [email protected]!

It's another GIRLCAST! This time Ari hangs out with NEI Senior Trainer Lucy Rutt at the Homewood Suites in Tyler, TX, to talk about NEI's ongoing project at Caldwell Zoo. They dive into celebrating your accomplishments with grace, building relationships with supporting departments, and being a good example for taking time off. 

Also, you can be a vegetarian in Texas, believe it or not!

Have a question you'd like us to answer or a topic you'd like us to discuss on the show? Let us know at [email protected]!

We made it! Chris and Ari sit down with Steve Martin to chat about the history of the TEC Talk podcast, to reflect on the special contributions sent in by some of the past presenters from our TEC Talks webinars, and to share our hopes for the future of our industry. 

Big thank yous go out to Ann Brooks, Wouter Stellaard, Rick Hester, Dr Susan Friedman, Amy Fennell, Tim Van Loan, and Marty MacPhee for contributing to this episode!

Have a question or an idea for a topic for one of our next 100 episodes? Drop us a line at [email protected]!

With Chris in California, Ari talks with the attendees of the IAATE 30th Annual Conference as they kick off the week at their Ice Breaker event in this special "half episode" leading up to next week's 100th episode extravaganza! 

Have a question or something you'd like us to discuss on the show? Let us know at [email protected]!