Don Hardy—co-director of the new documentary feature, “Pick of the Litter,” which tracks a litter of puppies from birth as they travel the challenging path in pursuit of becoming a […]

Marco Adda—part of a team of researchers who conducted a recently-published study of so-called “free-ranging dogs” and pet dogs in Bali, Indonesia—recalls his early years, including being born in Milan, […]

Cameron O’Steen—a photographer who created the Yoga Animalia Project, which involves traveling to farm animal sanctuaries across the country, and shooting portraits of the animal residents there—recalls his earliest experiences […]

Dr. Kerry Kriger—the founder of Save The Frogs!, which describes itself as the world’s leading amphibian conservation organization—reconstructs the distinctive path he traveled academically and geographically (including a mechanical engineering […]

Dr. Bryna Donnelly—the co-founder of Rescue Rebuild, an animal shelter renovation program that travels nationally (sometimes, internationally), remodeling and renovating shelters in need—discusses her academic life that preceded going full-time […]

Jim. Oesterle—an Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington, who, earlier this summer, served as a faculty member for a two-week course on Combating Illegal Wildlife Trafficking […]

Brigid Wasson—the president of Mission Reunite, a nonprofit organization that aims to assist pet owners whose animals are missing—describes her personal and professional involvement with animals, including growing up with […]

Barbara Trask Lovett—the president of Save Nosey Now! (SNN), an organization that helped a high-profile, long-suffering circus elephant (Nosey) win freedom from the neglectful, exploitative treatment of her owner…and seeks […]

Samantha Szesciorka—a Reno-based former U.S. Army journalist whose passion for horses, particularly mustangs, is manifested in some distinctive ways—recalls that she was indeed one of those little girls who loved […]

Matt & Phil Letten—siblings known as The Vegan Bros, and co-authors of “VODKA IS VEGAN: A Manifesto for Better Living and Not Being An Ahole”—recall their formative years, growing up […]

Dr. Eleanor Spicer Rice and Dr. Christopher M. Buddle—a North Carolina writer who holds a PhD in entomology and the author of “Dr. Eleanor’s Book of Common Ants” series, and […]

Ashley Bell—the actress perhaps best known for her acclaimed work in such top horror films as “The Last Exorcism” and “Psychopath”—discusses the elements and interests that led her to directing […]

On this program, we marked the 15th anniversary of “Talking Animals”—almost to the day! I launched the show on June 16, 2003 at KUCI, the campus-community radio station at the […]

Kristen Auerbach—Director of Pima Animal Care Center (PACC), and recognized as a prominent, pioneering figure in the animal shelter world, in part through her previous stints at Austin Animal Center […]

Terry Woodford—who has extensive experience as a songwriter, record producer, and recording engineer, having worked in one capacity or another, with such artists as The Commodores, Hank Williams, Jr., and […]

Ted Leo—the singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, front man of Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and veteran vegan—recounts his path to vegetarianism, in 1988, then after further reading, research, and contemplation, going […]

Lariana Forsythe—interim CEO of Community Action Stops Abuse (CASA), the domestic violence center based in Southern Pinellas County, which, in early March, opened an on-site kennel—explains that “interim” in this […]

Nicole Forsyth—president and CEO of RedRover, a Sacramento-based national nonprofit devoted to rescuing and sheltering animals in crisis—addresses the situation by which there are pockets of people across the country […]

Arin Greenwood—a journalist who specializes in writing about animal welfare, and whose sterling new novel, “Your Robot Dog Will Die,” was published Tuesday (April 17)—offers her synopsis of the book, […]

Erika Abrams—co-founder and president of Animal Aid Unlimited, a rescue operation, hospital, and sanctuary in Udaipur, India—recalls the circumstances under which she, her husband, Jim, and daughter, Claire, began traveling […]

Rachel McCrystal—executive director of Woodstock Farm Sanctuary, which rescues farmed animals and provides refuge for them, now housing around 400 animals—recalls a childhood marked by a houseful of animals, featuring […]

Dr. Jaret C. Daniels—an entomologist and professor at the University of Florida, as well as accomplished nature photographer, whose new book is ‘Vibrant Butterflies: Our Favorite Visitors To Flowers And […]

Al Cecere—founder and president of the American Eagle Foundation (AEF), a Tennessee-based nonprofit dedicated to bald eagle rehabilitation, recovery, and breeding programs—recalls seeing an Associated Press photo showing more than […]

For this edition of “Talking Animals,” I altered the show’s usual format to convene an in-studio panel discussion about Canine Companions For Independence (CCI), pegged to CCI’s then-upcoming third annual […]

Jane O’Hara—the animal advocate and artist whose paintings explore animal issues, depict their plight, and explore our relationships with them–recalls growing up in a family where animals didn’t have much […]

Elaine West—the founder of Rooterville Animal Sanctuary, a haven housing about 300 rescued farm animals, predominantly pigs, located in Melrose, FL—recalls the first pig she met, as a kid at […]

Maria McKee—the singer-songwriter who burst onto the music scene some 35 years ago, fronting the band Lone Justice, going on to a storied solo career—discusses her lifelong love of dogs, […]

Jodie Wiederkehr—campaign director for Chicago Alliance For Animals (CAA), she’s spearheading CAA’s campaign to ban horse carriages in Chicago—recalls how her earliest professional animal advocacy work began in 1997, but […]

Amy Kight—newly named executive director of Busch Wildlife Sanctuary (though she’s worked at the Jupiter, FL wildlife refuge, hospital, rehabilitation facility, and educational center since 2004)—discusses being so passionate about […]

Dr. Peter Rork—a retired orthopedic surgeon and pilot who co-founded Dog Is My CoPilot, an organization that flys shelter animals to different parts of the country, boosting their prospects of […]

Dr. Ann Weaver—an animal behaviorist conducting a long-term study of bottlenose dolphins off the coast of St. Petersburg, Florida—talks about the enormous array of species she has worked with directly […]

Christophe Cox—co-founder and CEO of APOPO, a Tanzania-based nonprofit organization that trains African giant pouched rats to detect landmines and to detect tuberculosis—recounts the genesis of the organization, when co-founder […]

This morning, I once again tabled the usual “Talking Animals” format to present my Annual Christmas Animal Song special—that is, a show entirely devoted to Holiday-oriented animal tunes. Once again, […]

Scott Hardy—co-founder of Hardy Hayes Refuge, a mom-and-pop rescue-rehab operation with sizable ambitions, and accomplishments to match—outlines his lifelong love of animals, describing a childhood where the insights gleaned from […]

Kathy Stevens—founder and director of Catskill Animal Sanctuary, which sprawls over 148 acres in New York’s Hudson Valley, providing refuge to about 300 farmed animals rescued from cruelty, neglect, and abandonment—recalls […]

Ronnie Graves—owner of Veterinary Inclusive Prosthetics And Orthotics, in Bushnell, Florida, which, for more than 20 years, has created custom prosthetic limbs for animals suffering from injuries, illnesses, or birth […]

For this edition of “Talking Animals,” I scrapped the usual format to present two discussions about sexism, sexual harassment and misconduct within the animal welfare world—against the backdrop of what […]

Arin Greenwood and Lee Greenwood—siblings who are both lawyers, skillful writers, and engaged in promoting animal welfare, from different platforms—recount growing up in a house that was, unsurprisingly, brimming with […]

Dr. Gregory Berns—author of multiple books, including The New York Times bestseller “How Dogs Love Us”—discusses his new book, “What It’s Like To Be A Dog: And Other Adventures In […]

John Corry—a veteran filmmaker and producer whose credits include “Forks Over Knives”; he also produced “PlantPure Nation,” a documentary screening at the 8th Annual Tampa Bay Veg Fest, Nov. 4 […]

Dr. Jillian Johnson—a chiropractor and owner of Farmhouse Chiropractic, a Tampa-based mobile practice that involves treating humans and animals (her slogan is “chiropractic care for you and the horse you […]

Dr. Eleanor Spicer Rice—an entomologist and writer who lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, and who just published four new guides on ants—recalls growing up having a fascination with ants (and […]

Tracy Voss—the co-founder of TracysDogs, a San Antonio, Texas-based organization that pulls dogs from high-kill shelters, rehabilitates them, then adopts them out to families across the country, transporting the dogs […]

For this edition of “Talking Animals,” we broke format and did something a little different: Setting aside our customary approach of a long-form guest interview and, often, a shorter second […]

Patti Ragan—the founder of The Center For Great Apes, a 120-acre sanctuary in Wauchula, FL that houses nearly 50 chimpanzees and orangutans—recalls how she first became interested in great apes. […]

Dr. Keith Lindsay—the conservation biologist whose career reflects a longstanding dedication to studying elephants—recalls how he got started in 1977 at the Amboseli Elephants Research Project, in southern Kenya, by […]

Jo-Anne McArthur—the acclaimed photojournalist who specializes in documenting animals and their stories—explains how her work, compared with that of most other photographers with similar specialties, is informed by more than […]

Jason Meltzer—co-founder and Chief Dog Officer of Wag, the on-demand dog walking app—describes being a dog guy since childhood, growing with dogs around and, foreshadowing his later adult careers, making […]

Yuan Wang—co-founder of American Marine Research Company, essentially a quartet of young engineers (recent graduates from M.I.T., Cornell, and Olin College of Engineering; Wang is a young mathematician from Princeton) […]

Shawn Flynn—author of “THE KITTY Who Rescued Me After I Rescued Him”—recalls growing up in a household that had dogs, but not cats, and how he really didn’t have prolonged […]