Talking Animals
Maelezo ya Kituo
Talking Animals
A radio show about animals & animal issues
Vipindi vya Hivi Karibuni
94 vipindi
Paula Poundstone, comedian and cat devotee
NOTE ABOUT THIS SHOW: I’ve had better mornings. As many know, each Wednesday, around dawn, I drive from my home on the east coast of Florida to the we...
Gene Baur, president and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary
Gene Baur–president and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary, considered the world’s first farm animal sanctuary and advocacy organization, now marking its 40...
Michael San Juan, veteran Animal Control Officer
Michael San Juan, a veteran Animal Control Officer with Hillsborough County Animal Control—his career spans 22 years, including initiating it in New J...
Max Chesnes, environment reporter for the Tampa Bay Times
Max Chesnes–the award-winning environment reporter for the Tampa Bay Times—a lifelong Floridian, recalls growing up in Jupiter, where he developed an...
Amy Munns, 2026 Pet Sitter of the Year
Amy Munns–named the 2026 Pet Sitter of the Year by Pet Sitters International, (PSI), considered the world’s leading educational association for profes...
Allison Argo, award-winning documentary filmmaker
Allison Argo–, and writer-producer of “Tusker: Brotherhood of Elephants,” a new episode of the PBS series Nature—recounts how her background in the fa...
Talking Animals Annual Holiday Animal Song Special–2025
‘Tis the season: This morning, I yet again set aside the customary show format to deliver the “Talking Animals Annual Holiday Animal Song Special.” I...
Dawn Barbone, founder of Samadhi Wildlife
Dawn Barbone–founder of Samadhi Wildlife, a nonprofit refuge in Ormond Beach that rehabilitates sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife native to Florida...
Claire Rosen, acclaimed artist-photographer
Artist-photographer-writer Claire Rosen—who’s cultivated a long, lauded career, with much of her work reflecting a longstanding passion for animals, a...
Glen Hatchell: dog trainer, behaviorist–“Ask The Trainer”–15th Edition
As we’ve done 14 times before—spanning the better part of five years–today’s program involved setting aside the usual “Talking Animals” format in orde...
Dr. Holly Dutton, about Holiday-related emergency vet visits
Dr. Holly Dutton–Medical Director at the Tampa and Clearwater locations of VEG ER for Pets, a national operation specializing in around-the-clock emer...
Dr. Jennifer Conrad, veterinarian & founder of The Paw Project
Dr. Jennifer Conrad—veterinarian, founder of The Paw Project, tireless crusader against declawing cats for a quarter century—recalls the initial impet...
Steve Hindi, founder of Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK)
Steve Hindi–founder of SHowing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK), a national animal welfare organization concerned with halting and/or educating th...
Joshua Lisbon, researcher/educator/storyteller central to “Willow: Diary of a Mountain Lion”
Joshua Lisbon–a researcher/educator/storyteller at the center of a new PBS/Nature documentary, “Willow: Diary of a Mountain Lion”—describes his backgr...
Andria Gibbon, founder and president of Protecting Paws for Life
Andria Gibbon–founder and president of Protecting Paws for Life, a nonprofit Florida organization dedicated to helping more domestic violence shelters...
Dr. Crystal Heath, veterinarian and activist
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...
Kirk Johnson, onscreen narrator of “Walrus: Life on Thin Ice”
Kirk Johnson—paleontologist, Sant Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, and onscreen narrator of “Walrus: Life on Thin Ice,”...
Stephanie Boydston, founder and director of Love Life Animal Rescue & Sanctuary
Stephanie Boydston–founder and director of Love Life Animal Rescue & Sanctuary, a refuge in Myakka City, FL devoted to rescuing, rehabilitating and re...
Father Andrew Heyes, Rector of St. Clement’s Episcopal Church in Tampa
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 D...
Dr. Melissa Miller, lead investigator on University of Florida project using AI trap to halt the Argentine Black and White Tegu
Dr. Melissa Miller–a wearer of multiple University of Florida hats: research scientist, wildlife ecologist with the school’s Institute of Food and Agr...
Patrick Hardy, founder of Bee Platoon
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...
Joshua Zeman, director of “Checkpoint Zoo”
Joshua Zeman–award-winning filmmaker whose new documentary, “Checkpoint Zoo,” arrives in timely fashion, providing a distinctive window into the Russi...
Elaine West, founder of Rooterville Animal Sanctuary
Elaine West–the founder of Rooterville Animal Sanctuary, a refuge housing rescued farm animals she launched in Melrose, Florida, more than two decades...
Glen Hatchell: dog trainer, behaviorist–“Ask The Trainer”–14th Edition
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...
Dr. Eleanor Spicer Rice, entomologist and author of “The Deadliest Series”
Dr. Eleanor Spicer Rice–an entomologist by training, and author whose books have tackled topics ranging from spiders to microbes—responds to my observ...
Marsha Panuce, founder of Donte’s Den
Marsha Panuce—founder of Donte’s Den, a distinctive sanctuary in multiple ways, including that it extends across 50 acres (in Myakka City, FL), and pr...
Nicci Wright, co-founder of the African Pangolin Working Group
Nicci Wright–co-founder and co-chairperson of the African Pangolin Working Group (APWG), dedicated to the protection and the conservation of the pango...
Adam Sugalski, veteran advocate opposing bear hunt
Adam Sugalski–who leads the efforts of Bear Defenders, a coalition dedicated to ending bear hunting across the United States; their singular focus cur...
C. Annie Peters, president and CEO of Pet Partners
C. Annie Peters, president and CEO of Pet Partners—a Bellevue, Wash.-based national therapy animal organization focusing on improving human health and...
Dr. Holly Dutton, Medical Director VEG ER for Pets
Dr. Holly Dutton, Medical Director at the Tampa and Clearwater locations of VEG ER for Pets–a national enterprise that specializes in providing around...
Tanya Smith, founder & president of Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge
Tanya Smith–Founder and President of Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, a 459-acre sanctuary in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, chiefly housing abused, aband...
Glen Hatchell: dog trainer, behaviorist–“Ask The Trainer”–13th Edition
As we’ve done 12 times prior—spanning just over four years now!–today’s program involved setting aside the usual “Talking Animals” format in order to...
Jamie Katz, pet detective, creator of Rosie app
Jamie Katz–who’s worked as a Fort Lauderdale-based real-life pet detective for a decade—recalls growing up amidst a family that always lived with cats...
Katrina Shadix, founder of Bear Warriors United, advocate extraordinaire
Katrina Shadix–founder and executive director of Bear Warriors United (BWU), whose stated mission is to preserve and protect bears, and all of Florida...
Callers & Emailers Are The Guests
Occasionally, I jettison the chief component of the “Talking Animals” format–a long form interview with a single guest–to give voice to a broader arra...
Stephen S. Hall, author of “Slither: How Nature’s Most Maligned Creatures Illuminate Our World”
Veteran science journalist Stephen S. Hall–the author of several books, most recently, Slither: How Nature’s Most Maligned Creatures Illuminate Our Wo...
Kate MacFall & Katherine McGill, discuss FWC’s possible rule changes for trapping
Kate MacFall and Katherine McGill—longtime wildlife experts joining me for a discussion devoted to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commissi...
Kari Bagnall, founder of Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary
Kari Bagnall–founder and executive director of Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary, which offers permanent care to nearly 200 monkeys retired from labora...
Kelly McCormick and Glenn Maresca, co-founders of Florida Rescue Farm
Kelly McCormick and Glenn Maresca–co-founders of Florida Rescue Farm, a sanctuary in Duette, FL, devoted to rescuing, rehabilitating, and housing pigs...
Jocelyn Stokes and Katie Schuler, co-creators of “In Her Nature”
Jocelyn Stokes and Katie Schuler—co-creators of “In Her Nature,” a new digital series carried on the YouTube channel for the longstanding PBS program,...