Hannah Shaw–recognized as an influential humane educator, her specialty is providing instruction in caring for neonatal kittens; she’s also a NYT bestselling author whose latest book “Cats Of The World,” is a collaboration with her husband, photographer Andrew Marttila—recounts how she developed the expertise in caring for neonatal kittens and, along the way, built a humongous […]

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Steve Nesbitt–a retired Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission wildlife biologist, who over a FWC stint of some 35 years, developed a reputation for extensive knowledge about a slew of species—recalls his interest in birds was cultivated as a kid by his grandfather, a passionate birder. Nesbitt elaborates, noting that his childhood was marked by […]

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Dr. Marcie Fallek–a veteran veterinarian and author of the memoir, “Little Miracles Everywhere: My Unorthodox Path to Holistic Veterinary Medicine”—recalls what prompted her to attend veterinary school in Italy. Fallek enumerates the significant challenges of being a vet student there, most notably that she didn’t speak any Italian when she started—meaning that studying her notes […]

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This morning, I once again set aside the customary show format to deliver the “Talking Animals Annual Holiday Animal Song Special.” I noted the title is intentionally unwieldy, which I enjoy in an odd way, in the same way I enjoy over-explaining the premise on-aIr: a show entirely devoted to Holiday-oriented animal tunes. Elaborating, I […]

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Bobbi Brink–founder and director of Lions, Tigers & Bears (LT&B), a 140-acre animal sanctuary in east San Diego she launched in 2002—recalls living in Texas, planning to open a restaurant (she’s from San Diego), and seeing her first advertisement offering the sale of big cats. She responded to the ad, she explained, not to make […]

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Michael Hingson–blind since birth,  acclaimed speaker, and best-selling author whose new book is “Live Like A Guide Dog: True Stories from a Blind Man and His Dogs about Being Brave, Overcoming Adversity, and Moving Forward in Faith”—recounts how the pandemic precluded his then-regular routine of traveling and lecturing, spurring the idea for writing the new […]

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Justin Barker–an anti-captivity activist with a compelling narrative, starting with launching his first organization, Citizens Lobbying for Animals in Zoos, at age 13—recalls the family culture his parents cultivated that yielded a teen activist particularly empathetic to zoo animals and other captive wildlife. Barker further notes that a key step in his journey toward becoming […]

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As we’ve done 10 times prior—spanning three-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 instance, listeners are invited to call or email questions about their dogs or cats, particularly involving behavioral issues or training concerns. The Trainer these listeners have an […]

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Peter Singer–the philosopher, professor emeritus of bioethics at Princeton University, and author (including his landmark 1975 work, “Animal Liberation” and the just-published “Consider The Turkey”—explains that his slate of pursuits post-retirement from Princeton includes a stint as visiting professor at the National University of Singapore. He goes on to clarify that while, yes, he did […]

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Jodie Wiederkehr–veteran animal advocate and Founder-Executive Director of the Chicago Alliance for Animals (CAA)—recounts details of how CAA was formed, in 2015. (She has recalled in a previous “Talking Animals” conversation how her earliest professional animal advocacy work began in 1997.) Wiederkehr explained that she and her initial CAA cohort decided that aiming to ban […]

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Mara Hvistendahl, a The New York Times reporter who wrote “The Panda Factories”–an extraordinary piece of investigative journalism probing the impact of China’s gambit nearly 30 years ago to send pandas to zoos in other countries, hoping the visiting animals would breed, ultimately resulting in pandas that could be returned to the wild–recounts the genesis […]

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