http://www.radiocurious.org Fri, 03 Apr 2026 16:04:31 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.8.1 Welcome to the 20th year of Radio Curious, half hour interviews on a curiously wide variety of topics about life and ideas. All of the almost 400 half-hour archive editions on our website are free for you to enjoy, download, copy, share or rebroadcast as you wish. Please give credit to Radio Curious and let us know what you like about the program. www.radiocurious.org Radio Curious clean Radio Curious curious@radiocurious.org curious@radiocurious.org (Radio Curious) Creative Commons-Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike Radio Curious Radio Curious, Interviews, Environment, Education, Chautauquan, Psychology/Psychaitry, Sex, Mendocino, Law, Religion, Feminism http://www.radiocurious.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/radio-curious-rss-logo.jpg http://www.radiocurious.org/category/animals/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2020/06/17/norse-elliott-trawling-the-ocean-floor/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2020/06/17/norse-elliott-trawling-the-ocean-floor/#comments Wed, 17 Jun 2020 20:24:46 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4528 http://www.radiocurious.org/2020/06/17/norse-elliott-trawling-the-ocean-floor/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - Once, fishes as big as turkeys and sheep swam the seas. Now, most of their few remaining descendants would fit into a frying pan. Dr. Elliot A. Norse, president of the Marine Biology Conservation Institute in Redmond, Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-NORSE_ELLIOTT_6.17.20_IA.mp3) Once, fishes as big as turkeys and sheep swam the seas. Now, most of their few remaining descendants would fit into a frying pan. Dr. Elliot A. Norse, president of the Marine Biology Conservation Institute in Redmond, Washington, believes that this radical reduction in the size and number of the world’s fishes comes not only from over fishing, the catching of fish at a faster rate than they can breed, but also from bottom trawling. Dr. Norse writes that bottom trawling crushes, buries, and exposes marine creatures like lobsters, crustaceans, clams, corals and sponges that live on or in the seabed, damaging or killing them. In August of 1999, Dr. Norse visited with Radio Curious to discuss the effects of bottom trawling, how and where it’s done, and some of the concerns and causes of global warming and the effects it has on the oceans. Elliott Norse recommends “The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinction” by David Quammen. Originally Broadcast: November 27, 1998 LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2019/09/18/coy-gary-the-man-driving-the-dog-team/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2019/09/18/coy-gary-the-man-driving-the-dog-team/#comments Wed, 18 Sep 2019 19:07:06 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4463 http://www.radiocurious.org/2019/09/18/coy-gary-the-man-driving-the-dog-team/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - There is strong historical and anthropological evidence that dogs came across the Bering land bridge with people migrating from Siberia to Alaska. These dogs worked hard to maintain their keep; they werent pets. Instead, Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-COY_GARY_(SLED_DOGS_AT_DENALI)9.17.19_IA.mp3) There is strong historical and anthropological evidence that dogs came across the Bering land bridge with people migrating from Siberia to Alaska. These dogs worked hard to maintain their keep; they werent pets. Instead, they chased and ran down polar bears and located seals hiding beneath the Bering ice. One of the early dog professionals in Alaska was Harry Karstens, who later became the first superintendent of Mount McKinley National Park. As a young man, he pioneered a dog sled route from Fairbanks to Valdez, and hauled mail to the Katishna mining district. Now, at Denali National Park in central Alaska, theres a breeding and training and leadership program for these sled dogs. I spoke with Gary Coy, the director of this remarkable kennel. In his office there is a large sign quoting Harry Karstens. It says: A man driving a dog team is the biggest dog himself. Amid the noise and the chatter of the dog kennels in Denali Park, I asked Gary to explain what that sign means and to tell us a little about this wonderful project. Gary Coy recommends A Dog-Puncher on the Yukon, by Arthur Walden. Originally Broadcast: August 28, 1996 LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2019/07/02/perry-dr-donald-a-ride-through-a-rain-forest-in-costa-rica/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2019/07/02/perry-dr-donald-a-ride-through-a-rain-forest-in-costa-rica/#comments Tue, 02 Jul 2019 18:33:40 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4441 http://www.radiocurious.org/2019/07/02/perry-dr-donald-a-ride-through-a-rain-forest-in-costa-rica/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - Life Above the Jungle Floor In the middle of the Costa Rican rain forest, about an hour west of San Jose, Costa Rica, on the east side of the continental divide, you can find the Rain Forest Aerial Tram located on a pr... Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-1197-1-4-_-95_Dr._Donald_Perry_(7-1-19)IA.mp3) Life Above the Jungle Floor In the middle of the Costa Rican rain forest, about an hour west of San Jose, Costa Rica, on the east side of the continental divide, you can find the Rain Forest Aerial Tram located on a private rain forest reserve. It’s a series of small, open-air cars that hold about five people each held together by a three kilometers long cable. The tramcars carry visitors through, above and below this portion of the Central American rainforest canopy. The Rain Forest Aerial Tram was the brainchild of Dr. Donald Perry, a biologist trained at the University of California at Los Angeles, who, beginning in 1970, has specialized in the study of the flora and fauna of the Central American Rainforest. In April of 1995, I visited the Rain Forest Aerial Tram with Dr. Perry. Dr. Donald Perry recommends “Life Above the Jungle Floor,” by Dr. David Perry. Originally Broadcast: April 1, 1995 LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2019/04/09/la-budde-sam-getting-dolphins-out-of-tuna-nets/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2019/04/09/la-budde-sam-getting-dolphins-out-of-tuna-nets/#comments Tue, 09 Apr 2019 18:05:24 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4417 http://www.radiocurious.org/2019/04/09/la-budde-sam-getting-dolphins-out-of-tuna-nets/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - My guest in this program is Sam La Budde, a catalyst, if not the catalyst, in getting dolphins out of tuna nets. He has been an activist with the Earth Island Institute and a number of other organizations. Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-1197-1-La_Budde_Sam_4-9-19_IA_PUBLISH.mp3) My guest in this program is Sam La Budde, a catalyst, if not the catalyst, in getting dolphins out of tuna nets. He has been an activist with the Earth Island Institute and a number of other organizations. In this conversation, we discussed the history of the dolphins, endangered species in Taiwan, and a potential economic boycott of redwood lumber. This program was originally broadcast in September of 1992, when Radio Curious was called Government, Politics and Ideas. Originally Broadcast: September 14, 1992 LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2018/09/25/dalton-joan-dogs-in-juvenile-hall/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2018/09/25/dalton-joan-dogs-in-juvenile-hall/#comments Wed, 26 Sep 2018 01:47:41 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4365 http://www.radiocurious.org/2018/09/25/dalton-joan-dogs-in-juvenile-hall/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - I once had the good fortune of seeing “If Animals Could Talk,” a movie made by Jane Goodall. A segment was about The MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn, Oregon. Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-Dalton_Joan_9-25-18_Published.mp3) I once had the good fortune of seeing “If Animals Could Talk,” a movie made by Jane Goodall. A segment was about The MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn, Oregon. The boys incarcerated there have committed serious criminal offenses; some of them are given an opportunity to train dogs, develop relationships with the dogs and in doing so learn responsibility, patience and respect for other living creatures. There is a zero recidivism rate among the juvenile inmates who spend time training dogs at MacLaren. Joan Dalton is the founder and executive director of Project Pooch, a non-profit corporation linked with MacLaren, where incarcerated youths train shelter dogs and find them homes. We visited by phone from her home near Portland, Oregon on February 15, 2010 and began our conversation when I asked her to tell us how Project Pooch came about and then about Project Pooch itself. The books that Joan Dalton recommends are “Children And Animals: Exploring The Roots Of Kindness And Cruelty,” by Frank R. Ascione and “Rescue Ink: How Ten Guys Saved Countless Dogs and Cats, Twelve Horses, Five Pigs, One Duck,and a Few Turtles,” by Rescue Ink and Denise Flaim.     LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/06/06/marianchild-kate-the-unique-oak-woodlands-of-california/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/06/06/marianchild-kate-the-unique-oak-woodlands-of-california/#comments Tue, 06 Jun 2017 19:48:36 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4216 http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/06/06/marianchild-kate-the-unique-oak-woodlands-of-california/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - To many of us who live in California, oak woodlands may seem rather ordinary. In reality, that is not the case. Oak woodlands are home to more species of plants, fungi, birds, reptiles, amphibians, Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-Radio_Curious_-_20170606_-_MARIONCHILD.mp3) To many of us who live in California, oak woodlands may seem rather ordinary. In reality, that is not the case. Oak woodlands are home to more species of plants, fungi, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects and mammals than any other terrestrial ecosystem in the California. In this edition of Radio Curious, we visit with Kate Marianchild, author of Secrets of the Oak Woodlands: Plants & Animals Among California’s Oaks. Her book, now in its 4th printing, was a finalist in the Science, Nature and Environment Section of the Indie Next Generation Book Award. Secrets of the Oak Woodlands describes many of the flora, fauna and fungi that inhabit the plentiful oak woodlands in California, and explains their intertwined connections and mutual support systems. More details are available on her website, katemarianchild.com. In this program, Marianchild describes how acorn woodpeckers, manzanita, newts, the western fence lizard, and woodrats, among others, live and survive together in a symbiotic ecosystem. The book she recommends is The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, by Elisabeth Tova Baily. This program was recorded on June 5, 2017. To many of us who live in California, oak woodlands may seem rather ordinary. In reality, that is not the case. Oak woodlands are home to more species of plants, fungi, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects and mammals than any other terrestrial ecosystem in the California. In this edition of Radio Curious, we visit with Kate Marianchild, author of Secrets of the Oak Woodlands: Plants & Animals Among California’s Oaks. Her book, now in its 4th printing, was a finalist in the Science, Nature and Environment Section of the Indie Next Generation Book Award. Secrets of the Oak Woodlands describes many of the flora, fauna and fungi that inhabit the plentiful oak woodlands in California, and explains their intertwined connections and mutual support systems. More details are available on her website, katemarianchild.com. In this program, Marianchild describes how acorn woodpeckers, manzanita, newts, the western fence lizard, and woodrats, among others, live and survive together in a symbiotic ecosystem. The book she recommends is The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, by Elisabeth Tova Baily. This program was recorded on June 5, 2017. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/04/18/grandin-prof-temple-what-autism-can-tell-us-about-animals/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/04/18/grandin-prof-temple-what-autism-can-tell-us-about-animals/#comments Tue, 18 Apr 2017 19:29:49 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4202 http://www.radiocurious.org/2017/04/18/grandin-prof-temple-what-autism-can-tell-us-about-animals/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - What animals think and how their thoughts might be understood is the topic of this edition of Radio Curious. A certain amount of insight into this curious question may be obtained from the book “Animals in Translation: ... Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-Radio_Curious_-_20170418_-_GRANDIN.mp3) What animals think and how their thoughts might be understood is the topic of this edition of Radio Curious. A certain amount of insight into this curious question may be obtained from the book “Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior,” by Professor Temple Grandin. Grandin, born in 1947, was diagnosed with autism at age 2 and did not begin to speak until she was 4 years old. She earned a master's degree and Ph.D. in animal science, and is now a professor of animal science at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, Colorado. In her book “Animals in Translation,” Grandin explores the world of animals; their pain, fear, aggression, relationships and communication. She believes that autistic people at times think the way animals think, putting them in a strong position to translate “animal talk.” We spoke with Professor Grandin from her office in Ft. Collins, Colorado, in March 2006. We began our conversation when I asked her to define autism. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/12/07/darnton-john-galapagos-islands-charles-darwin/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/12/07/darnton-john-galapagos-islands-charles-darwin/#comments Thu, 08 Dec 2016 02:00:32 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4161 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/12/07/darnton-john-galapagos-islands-charles-darwin/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - Who was Charles Darwin and what led him to describe what we now call the theory of evolution? These curious questions are ones that I have been following since I was about ten years old. Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-BROADCAST_JOHN_DARTON_12-5-16.mp3) Who was Charles Darwin and what led him to describe what we now call the theory of evolution? These curious questions are ones that I have been following since I was about ten years old. In 1978 I had the good fortune of visiting the Galapagos Islands, 600 miles west of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean. Charles Darwin visited the Galapagos Islands in 1831 for month as part of a five-year voyage around the world. There he saw birds and animals that helped him formulate some of his ideas about evolution he published The Origin of the Species," 22 years later in 1853. Since then the world, science and religion has not been the same. Now, at a time when concepts of evolution and natural selection are attacked from certain theological and political perspectives, "The Darwin Conspiracy," a novel has been written by John Darnton, a writer and editor for the New York Times. "The Darwin Conspiracy," although fiction, is said by John Darnton to be 90% accurate. It covers Darwin's life and thinking before and after his publication of "The Origin of the Species." I spoke with John Darnton from his home in New York City at the end of October 2005. He began by describing who Charles Darwin was, in his time and place. The book John Darnton recommends is "Snow," by Orhan Pamuk.   LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/10/04/dyer-michael-the-life-of-whalers-in-the-19th-century/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/10/04/dyer-michael-the-life-of-whalers-in-the-19th-century/#comments Wed, 05 Oct 2016 01:36:14 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4144 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/10/04/dyer-michael-the-life-of-whalers-in-the-19th-century/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - Whaling in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the home of Herman Melville, author of “Moby Dick,” is our topic today. Our guest is Michael Dyer, the senior historian at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-DYER_MIKE_P2_2016_CA.mp3) Whaling in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the home of Herman Melville, author of “Moby Dick,” is our topic today. Our guest is Michael Dyer, the senior historian at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The Whaling Museum reveals the lives of the largest mammals on earth. The museum’s social history collection shares the monumental stories of those who spent their human lives whaling at sea between the New England coast and half way around the world, as well as their families who yearned for their return. It explains how the seamen lived at sea, who they were, as well as the captains and owners of the sailing vessels and all those in between. It also explains the economics of the whale oil that lit and lubricated the industrial revolution. In part one of our series on whaling I met with Mike Dyer at the New Bedford Whaling Museum on September 2, 2016. To put matters it into perspective, we began with I asked him to describe the Sperm whale. In this program, part two of our visit with Mike Dyer, we began when he described the lives of the men who went to sea to hunt the whales. The book Mike Dyer recommends is Marine Mammals of the Northwestern Coast of North America, by Charles Melville Scammon. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/09/28/dyer-michael-the-new-england-whale-hunt/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/09/28/dyer-michael-the-new-england-whale-hunt/#comments Thu, 29 Sep 2016 01:34:03 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4142 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/09/28/dyer-michael-the-new-england-whale-hunt/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - Whaling in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the home of Herman Melville, author of “Moby Dick,” is our topic today.  Our guest is Michael Dyer, the senior historian at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-DYER_MIKE_P1_2016_CA_.mp3) Whaling in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the home of Herman Melville, author of “Moby Dick,” is our topic today.  Our guest is Michael Dyer, the senior historian at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The Whaling Museum reveals the lives of the largest mammals on earth.  The museum’s social history collection shares the monumental stories of those who spent their human lives whaling at sea between the New England coast and half way around the world, as well as their families who yearned for their return.  It explains how the seamen lived at sea, who they were, as well as the captains and owners of the sailing vessels and all those in between. It also explains the economics of the whale oil that lit and lubricated the industrial revolution. In part one of our series on whaling I met with Mike Dyer at the New Bedford Whaling Museum on September 2, 2016.  To put matters it into perspective, we began with I asked him to describe the Sperm whale. The book Mike Dyer recommends is Marine Mammals of the Northwestern Coast of North America, by Charles Melville Scammon. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/06/21/maestripier-dario-the-primate-within-us/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/06/21/maestripier-dario-the-primate-within-us/#comments Wed, 22 Jun 2016 00:40:01 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4111 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/06/21/maestripier-dario-the-primate-within-us/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - We humans are a lot like the other primates on earth, but because we don’t associate with them, we often assume that our interpersonal behavior--how we make friends, work together, interact with strangers, Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-MAESTRIPIERI_6-2016_CA.mp3) We humans are a lot like the other primates on earth, but because we don’t associate with them, we often assume that our interpersonal behavior--how we make friends, work together, interact with strangers, relate to our spouse--is the product of our unique personalities and environment. In this edition of Radio Curious we visit with Dario Maestripieri, author of “Games Primate Play: An Undercover Investigation of the Evolution and Economics of Human Relationships.” He’s a professor Comparative Human Development, Evolutionary Biology, Neurobiology and Psychiatry, and Behavior Neuroscience at the University of Chicago. Professor Maestripieri and I visited by phone from his office in Chicago, Illinois on April 16, 2012 and began with his description of the close relationship humans have with other primates. The book Professor Dario Maestripieri recommends is “Auto-da-Fe,” by Elias Canetti. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/04/06/dalton-joan/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/04/06/dalton-joan/#comments Thu, 07 Apr 2016 00:02:21 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=4086 http://www.radiocurious.org/2016/04/06/dalton-joan/feed/ 0 Click here to begin listening - I once had the good fortune of seeing “If Animals Could Talk,” a movie made by Jane Goodall.  A segment was about The MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn, Oregon. Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-DALTON_JOAN__4-3-16__CA.mp3) I once had the good fortune of seeing “If Animals Could Talk,” a movie made by Jane Goodall.  A segment was about The MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn, Oregon. The boys incarcerated there have committed serious criminal offenses; some of them are given an opportunity to train dogs, develop relationships with the dogs and in doing so learn responsibility, patience and respect for other living creatures. There is a zero recidivism rate among the juvenile inmates who spend time training dogs at MacLaren. Joan Dalton is the founder and executive director of Project Pooch, a non-profit corporation linked with MacLaren, where incarcerated youths train shelter dogs and find them homes. We visited by phone from her home near Portland, Oregon on February 15, 2010 and began our conversation when I asked her to tell us how Project Pooch came about and then about Project Pooch itself. The books that Joan Dalton recommends are “Children And Animals: Exploring The Roots Of Kindness And Cruelty,” by Frank R. Ascione and “Rescue Ink: How Ten Guys Saved Countless Dogs and Cats, Twelve Horses, Five Pigs, One Duck,and a Few Turtles,” by Rescue Ink and Denise Flaim. You may visit the Project Pooch website at www.pooch.org. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/09/15/mcpherson-guy-ph-d-near-term-human-extinction-part-one/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/09/15/mcpherson-guy-ph-d-near-term-human-extinction-part-one/#comments Wed, 16 Sep 2015 03:55:00 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3829 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/09/15/mcpherson-guy-ph-d-near-term-human-extinction-part-one/feed/ 0 climate change,global warming Radio Curious discusses human extinction with Dr. Guy McPherson, co-author of “Extinction Dialogs:  How to Live With Death in Mind” and Professor Emeritus of Natural Resources, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona. Imagine the human habitat in which we all live changing so rapidly that life as we know it is extinguished. Temperatures that are getting hotter than ever, decades long droughts, catastrophic fires, melting polar ice, rising sea levels, and unprecedented winter storms are expected to radically limit food production and availability of potable water.  In this, the first of a series on near term extinction of the human species, we visit with Dr. Guy R. McPherson, Professor Emeritus of Natural Resources, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona. Professor McPherson is co-author with Carolyn Baker of “Extinction Dialogs:  How to Live With Death in Mind.”  Together they present what appears to be overwhelming scientific evidence that our environment is headed for swift apocalyptic collapse.  Not only is this extinction likely, it is occurring every day. “How to live with death in mind” is the goal; living with urgency is the practice.  The point from which average global temperature rise is measured dates back to 1750, the beginning of the industrial revolution--the time at which the ever increasing use of fossil fuels began. Since 1750, the planet has warmed by more than 1 degree centigrade.  McPherson's book “Extinction Dialogs:  How to Live With Death in Mind,” explains how this small global rise in temperature is leading to a large scale mass extinction on the planet. When Guy McPherson and I visited by phone on September 14, 2015, while he was traveling near New York, we began our conversation when I asked him to describe the indicators that reveal we're in an era of unstoppable climate change. Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. Click here to listen to part two and here to listen to part three--a conversation with "Extinction Dialogues" coauthor Carolyn Baker. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/06/16/grandin-dr-temple-what-are-your-animals-thinking-2/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/06/16/grandin-dr-temple-what-are-your-animals-thinking-2/#comments Wed, 17 Jun 2015 04:51:04 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3734 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/06/16/grandin-dr-temple-what-are-your-animals-thinking-2/feed/ 0 How to train animals of all sorts. In this edition of Radio Curious we visit with Temple Grandin a person with autism and a Phd in animal science. Autism made school and social life difficult for Dr. Grandin, but it made working with and understanding animals easy. In her book “Animals Make Us Human” Dr. Grandin lays out the emotional needs that all animals share and how we as human beings can respond to their needs. In this interview she explains how a cat can be trained to go through a dog agility course; successful ways for humans to avoid conflict with wild animals and provides insight on how animals brains and thought processes differ to our own. We visited with Temple Grandin by phone from her home in Colorado on August 4th 2009 and began by asking about her experience in observing animal behaviour and using her observations in animal training. Click here to listen or on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/04/07/lawler-andrew-the-chicken-a-mirror-of-humanity/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/04/07/lawler-andrew-the-chicken-a-mirror-of-humanity/#comments Wed, 08 Apr 2015 01:34:49 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3624 http://www.radiocurious.org/2015/04/07/lawler-andrew-the-chicken-a-mirror-of-humanity/feed/ 0 chickens Radio Curious discusses the world history of chickens with Andrew Lawler, author of “Why Did the Chicken Cross the World?  The Epic Saga of the Bird That Powers Civilization.” Where chickens thrive humans are nearby.  Portable and good travelers, chickens have been carried by humans around the world.  Currently there are three chickens alive at any one time for each individual person alive on earth.  Descendants of dinosaurs, chickens are primarily cared for by women, they’re a never ending source of slang and continue to be depicted in religious and/or political symbols around the world.  Americans eat, on average, 80 pounds of chicken per year—four times the world average. But, chickens raised for food are not considered animals under U.S. law and are generally not subject to humane treatment regulations.  Our guest is Andrew Lawler, author of “Why Did the Chicken Cross the World?  The Epic Saga of the Bird That Powers Civilization.”  Andrew Lawler and I visited by phone from his home in the North Carolina hills on March 27, 2015, and began our conversation when I asked him how far back the lineage of the chicken goes in world history. The book Andrew Lawler recommends is “Guns, Germs and Steel:  The Fates of Human Societies,” by Jared M. Diamond.   Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2014/10/21/brandt-roger-the-oregon-caves/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2014/10/21/brandt-roger-the-oregon-caves/#comments Tue, 21 Oct 2014 22:37:38 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3445 http://www.radiocurious.org/2014/10/21/brandt-roger-the-oregon-caves/feed/ 0 Radio Curious visits with Roger Brandt, the manager of visitor services and education at the Oregon Caves National Monument, one of the few marble caves in the world, located in the Siskiyou Mountains of northern California. The Oregon Caves, located about 70 miles northeast of Crescent City, California in the Oregon Caves National Monument, are a place full of interest, mystery, and history.  The caves were located in 1874 when Elijah Davidson chased his dog into the caves. The Oregon Caves are very unique—possibly due to the fact that it is one of the few cave systems located on tectonically active ground, known as a subduction zone.   Their uniqueness may also be due to the fact an old growth Douglas fir forest grows directly above the caves, or the fact that they were created from what used to be a tropical reef that was pushed about 12 miles below the surface of the earth and then brought back up to its current location, and is still rising. I visited the Oregon Caves in 2006 and knew at once it would be a first-time, unique experience. I spoke with Roger Brandt, the manager of visitor services and education of the Oregon Caves in June, 2006.  We began when I asked him about the Oregon Caves and what they represent.   The book Roger Brandt recommends is “Golden Days and Pioneer Ways” by Ruth Phefferle. Click here to listen or on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2014/07/22/bishop-becky-reading-dogs-2/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2014/07/22/bishop-becky-reading-dogs-2/#comments Tue, 22 Jul 2014 16:06:38 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3371 http://www.radiocurious.org/2014/07/22/bishop-becky-reading-dogs-2/feed/ 0 Radio Curious visits with Becky Bishop, founder of Reading with Rover, a non profit organization that helps children learn how to read with the support of animal companions. This radio program is about reading. Learning to read is often confusing and frustrating. Parents and teachers sometimes create stress that flows from their personal angst to the frustration of the child trying to read. Reading to a nonjudgemental creature, who never comments and always appears to pay attention, often helps to create reading fluency. In this edition of Radio Curious we visit with Becky Bishop, founder of Reading With Rover, a program to help children learn to read. Becky Bishop also operates Puppy Manners, a dog training school located in Woodenville, Washington, about thirty miles from Seattle. Becky Bishop relies on the close bond between children and dogs that creates calm moments and encourages a learning environment. Her organization, “Reading With Rover” couples children who have difficulty reading with a dog who has no trouble listening.  When Becky Bishop and I visited by phone from her home in Washington on February 22, 2010, we discussed why dogs are better listeners than teachers or parents, and we began with Becky explaining how dogs help children to read. The books Becky Bishop recommends are “Living Life As A Thank You: The Transformative Power Of Daily Gratitude,” by Nina Lesowitz and Mary Beth Sammon, and “Walter the Farting Dog,” by William Kotzwinkle, Glenn Murray, Elizabeth Gundy, and Audrey Coleman.  Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2014/06/17/feigin-keith-liquid-gold-on-lovers-lane/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2014/06/17/feigin-keith-liquid-gold-on-lovers-lane/#comments Tue, 17 Jun 2014 19:18:07 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=3337 http://www.radiocurious.org/2014/06/17/feigin-keith-liquid-gold-on-lovers-lane/feed/ 0 Radio Curious visits with Keith Feigin, owner of Lovers Lane Farm, at his bee keeping center in Ukiah, California. We discuss bees on the loose, how they orient themselves to a new location, communicate with each other and how Keith harvests the “liqui... This program is about honey. We visit with Keith Feigin, owner of Lovers Lane Farm, at his bee keeping center in Ukiah, California. We discuss bees on the loose, how they orient themselves to a new location, communicate with each other and how Keith harvests the “liquid gold.”  Keith was just leaving to catch up with some bees on the loose when I arrived, and that’s when our conversation began in mid August, 2011. The book that Keith Feigin recommends is the “Secret Life of Bees,” by Sue Monk Kidd. Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/05/06/samuelson-kristine-20000-crows-in-tokyo/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/05/06/samuelson-kristine-20000-crows-in-tokyo/#comments Mon, 06 May 2013 18:02:20 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=2806 http://www.radiocurious.org/2013/05/06/samuelson-kristine-20000-crows-in-tokyo/feed/ 0 Radio Curious visits with filmmaker Kristine Samuelson, co-creator of the documentary film, “Tokyo Waka: A City Poem” about the 20,000 crows that inhabit the city of Tokyo, Japan and the human relationships with them. The more than 20,000 crows that inhabit the largest metropolis in the world, have come to be an imposing and sometimes harassing influence on the daily lives of the people with whom these clever birds share the city of Tokyo, Japan. "Tokyo Waka: A City Poem” is a film poem about these crows and their people. In this edition of Radio Curious we visit with filmmaker Kristine Samuelson, a Professor of Humanistic Studies in the Department of Art and Art History at Stanford University. She is the co-creator, along with her husband John Haptas, of the film “Tokyo Waka.”  Their website is Stylofilms. Our visit with Kristine Samuelson from her home in Berkeley, California on May 3, 2013 began when I asked her to describe the nature of their film poem. Kristine Samuelson recommends two films: “Oblivion,” and “Underground Orchestra,” by Heddy Honigmann, a Peruvian born Dutch filmmaker. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-SAMUELSON_INTERVIEW_CA_5-3-13.mp3) to listen or on the media player below. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=68243&version_id=75684&version=1) to download the podcast. LeGov clean 29:01 http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/09/18/meese-mike-the-buffalo-kill/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/09/18/meese-mike-the-buffalo-kill/#comments Tue, 18 Sep 2012 17:42:56 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=2493 http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/09/18/meese-mike-the-buffalo-kill/feed/ 0 Buffalo,Buffalo Field Campaign,Mike Mease,Montana The current plight of approximately 4000 Montana Buffalo, related to the tens of millions of buffalo who roamed North America 160 years ago, is the topic of this edition of Radio Curious, in conversation with Mike Meese, The buffalo that for most of the year inhabit Yellowstone National Park may be the only genetically pure buffalo population in North America.  They still follow their migratory instincts and are the only buffalo to have continuously lived on their historic habitat since prehistoric times.  Until the mass slaughter of buffalo that began in the mid-nineteenth century, tens of millions of these creatures roamed North America.  Today the fewer than 4,000 wild buffalo that exist are under constant attack by livestock interests. In this edition of Radio Curious, we visit with Mike Mease, the coordinator of the Buffalo Field Campaign, based on West Yellowstone, Montana, at the front end of his journey to Oregon and California in the fall of 2012.  Mike Mease and others from the Buffalo Field Campaign are prepared with stories, video, music and activism inspired by the Yellowstone Bison in their efforts to protect America's remaining buffalo.  Mike Mease and I spoke by phone during the campaign’s first stop in Newport, Oregon, on September 17, 2012, and began our visit when I asked him to describe the current circumstances of buffalo in Montana. The Buffalo Field Campaign will visit the Mendocino Recreation Center, 998 School Street, in the Village of Mendocino beginning at 7 p.m. on September 27, 2012.  For more information call 707 937 4295. The book Mike Mease recommends is “Confederacy of Dunces,” by John Kennedy Toole and Walter Percy. You may contact the Buffalo Field Campaign at PO Box 957, West Yellowstone, MT 59758, telephone (406) 646-0070. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-MEESE_MIKE_INTERVIEW_9-17-12_CA.mp3) to listen to the program or on the media player below. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=63008&version_id=70087&version=1) to download the podcast. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/04/30/maestripieri-dario-the-primate-within-us/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/04/30/maestripieri-dario-the-primate-within-us/#comments Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:47:28 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=2304 http://www.radiocurious.org/2012/04/30/maestripieri-dario-the-primate-within-us/feed/ 0 primates, with Dario Maestriprieri, author of “Games Primate Play: An Undercover Investigation of the Evolution and Economics of Human Relationships.” We humans are a lot like the other primates on earth, but because we don’t associate with them, we often assume that our interpersonal behavior, how we make friends, work together, interact with strangers, relate to our spouse is the produce of our unique personalities and environment. In this edition of Radio Curious we visit with Dario Maestripieri, author of “Games Primate Play: An Undercover Investigation of the Evolution and Economics of Human Relationships.”  He’s a professor Comparative Human Development, Evolutionary Biology, Neurobiology and Psychiatry, and Behavior Neuroscience at the University of Chicago. Professor Maestripieri and I visited by phone from his office in Chicago, Illinois on April 16, 2012 and began with a description of the close relationship human have with other primates. The book he recommends is “Auto-Da-Fe,” by Elias Canetti. Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. Click here to download the podcast. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2011/09/06/liquid-gold-on-lovers-lane-feigin-keith/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2011/09/06/liquid-gold-on-lovers-lane-feigin-keith/#comments Tue, 06 Sep 2011 19:32:52 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=1957 http://www.radiocurious.org/2011/09/06/liquid-gold-on-lovers-lane-feigin-keith/feed/ 1 Radio Curious visits with Keith Feigin, owner of Lovers Lane Farm, at his bee keeping center in Ukiah, California. We discuss bees on the loose, how they orient themselves to a new location, communicate with each other and how Keith harvests the “liqui... This program is about honey. We visit with Keith Feigin, owner of Lovers Lane Farm, at his bee keeping center in Ukiah, California. We discuss bees on the loose, how they orient themselves to a new location, communicate with each other and how Keith harvests the “liquid gold.”  Keith was just leaving to catch up with some bees on the loose when I arrived, and that’s when our conversation began in mid August 2011. The book that Keith Feigin recommends is the “Secret Life of Bees,” by Sue Monk Kidd.  You may contact Keith Feigin via email at loverslanefarm@gmail.com. This interview was recorded on the streets of Ukiah and at Lovers Lane Farm in Ukiah, California on August 15, 2011. Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=54218&version_id=60629&version=1) to download and subscribe to our podcast. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2011/06/22/most-stephen-river-of-renewal-myth-history-in-the-klamath-basin/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2011/06/22/most-stephen-river-of-renewal-myth-history-in-the-klamath-basin/#comments Wed, 22 Jun 2011 20:59:16 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=1872 http://www.radiocurious.org/2011/06/22/most-stephen-river-of-renewal-myth-history-in-the-klamath-basin/feed/ 0 In this edition of Radio Curious we have an archived visit with Steve Most, author of “River of Renewal, Myth & History in the Klamath Basin,” a book about the history of the Klamath River and the people who have lived there for the past 12,000 years. Since the last Ice Age ended about 12,000 years ago, human beings have traveled along the Klamath River and it tributaries in the northwest corner of California and the coast of southern Oregon.  Many people finding an abundance of food, have stayed. The main source of their food was salmon. The power of the myth of the salmon may derive from the fact that wild salmon spread out across the Pacific Northwest about the same time that human beings did, at the end of the last Ice Age. In this edition of Radio Curious we have an archived visit with Steve Most, author of “River of Renewal, Myth & History in the Klamath Basin,” a book that tells the story of the history of the Klamath River and the people who have continuously lived there for the past 12,000 years. Steve Most is a playwright and documentary storyteller. Among many other works, he wrote the texts of the audio voices and videos for the permanent exhibit of the Washington State History Museum. In this interview recorded in mid-March 2007, I spoke with Steve Most from his home in Berkeley, California. We began our conversation when I asked him to give a perspective of the geological and human aspects of the Klamath River and its place in history. Stephen Most recommends the "Essays and Letters of Ralph Waldo Emerson." Originally Broadcast: March 21, 2007 Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-MOST_STEVE_INTERVIEW-CA_6-22-11.mp3)to listen to the program or on the media player below. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=52622&version_id=58919&version=1) to download and subscribe to our podcast. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/12/13/joy-melanie-ph-d-why-we-eat-some-animals-and-not-others/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/12/13/joy-melanie-ph-d-why-we-eat-some-animals-and-not-others/#comments Mon, 13 Dec 2010 21:46:07 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=1553 http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/12/13/joy-melanie-ph-d-why-we-eat-some-animals-and-not-others/feed/ 0 Why do we eat some animals and not others? That is the topic of this conversation with Melanie Joy, Ph.D. She is the author or Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism. Carnism is the invisible belief system, or ideology, that conditions people to eat certain animals. It is the opposite of vegetarianism or veganism; “carn” means “flesh” or “of the flesh” and “ism” denotes a belief system. Most people view eating animals as a given, rather than a choice; in meat-eating cultures around the world people typically don’t think about why they find the meat of some animals disgusting and the meat of other animals appetizing, or why they eat any animals at all.  This is the topic of a conversation with Melanie Joy, Ph.D., author of , "Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows, an Introduction to Carnism." The interview with Melanie Joy, Ph.D. was recorded in Ukiah, California on November 29, 2010.  Joy's website is www.carnism.com (http://www.carnism.com) (http://www.carnism.com) The book she recommends is, "Food Revolution: How your diet can save your life and our world," by John Robbins. Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. Click here (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=47883&version_id=53825&version=1) to download and subscribe to our podcasts. LeGov clean 29:00 http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/03/23/raffles-hugh-insects-galore/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/03/23/raffles-hugh-insects-galore/#comments Wed, 24 Mar 2010 04:52:31 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=1082 http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/03/23/raffles-hugh-insects-galore/feed/ 0 Insects and the world we humans share with them is the topic of this edition of Radio Curious.  Our guest is anthropologist Hugh Raffles, the author of “Insectopedia,” an exploration of some of the most beautiful creatures in the world, Insects and the world we humans share with them is the topic of this edition of Radio Curious.  Our guest is anthropologist Hugh Raffles, the author of “Insectopedia,” an exploration of some of the most beautiful creatures in the world, or depending on one’s personal and cultural perspective, some of the most scary. I spoke with Hugh Raffles by phone from his home in New York City, on March 22, 2010, and began by asking him, “What is an insect.” The books Hugh Raffles recommends are both by Roberto Bolano: “The Savage Detectives,” and “2666.” Click here to begin listening. (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/download/40904/46485/63208/?url=http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-raffles,_hugh_3-22-10_hb__wvhr_2.mp3) Click here to download the podcast of this program. (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=40904&version_id=46485&version=1) LeGov clean http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/03/12/bishop-becky-reading-dogs/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/03/12/bishop-becky-reading-dogs/#comments Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:17:51 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=1065 http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/03/12/bishop-becky-reading-dogs/feed/ 0 Learning to read is often a confusing and frustrating experience.  Parents and teachers sometimes create stress flowing from their personal angst to the frustration of the learner.  Reading to a non-judgemental creature, Learning to read is often a confusing and frustrating experience.  Parents and teachers sometimes create stress flowing from their personal angst to the frustration of the learner.  Reading to a non-judgemental creature, who never comments and always appears to pay attention helps to create reading fluency.  In the second of a series inspired by Jane Goodall’s movie “When Animals Talk,” we visit with Becky Bishop, founder of Reading With Rover, (www.readingwithrover.org (http://www.readingwithrover.org/)), a program to help children learn to read, and Puppy Manners, (www.puppymanners.com) a dog training school located in Woodenville, Washington, about thirty miles from Seattle.  Becky Bishop relies on the close bond between children and dogs creating calm moments and encouraging a learning environment. “Reading With Rover” couples children who have difficulty reading with a dog who listens.  Becky Bishop joined us by phone from her home in Washington on February 22, 2010, began by explaining why dogs are better listeners than a teacher or parent and what methods Becky uses to train these pets. The books Becky Bishop recommends are “Living Life As A Thank You: The Transformative Power Of Daily Gratitude,” by Nina Lesowitz and Mary Beth Sammon, and (http://www.amazon.com/Walter-Farting-Dog-Goes-Cruise/dp/0142411426/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266873328&sr=1-4)“Walter the Farting Dog,” by William Kotzwinkle, Glenn Murray, Elizabeth Gundy, and Audrey Coleman. Click here to begin listening (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/download/40515/45907/62553/?url=http://www.radio4all.net/files/curious@radiocurious.org/1197-1-bishop,_becky_interview_02-22-10_hb_mono.mp3) Click here to download the podcast of this program (http://www.radio4all.net/responder.php/podcast/podcast.xml?program_id=40515&version_id=45907&version=1) LeGov clean http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/02/16/project-pooch-dogs-in-juvenile-hall/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/02/16/project-pooch-dogs-in-juvenile-hall/#comments Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:48:17 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=987 http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/02/16/project-pooch-dogs-in-juvenile-hall/feed/ 0 http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/02/09/menasian-helen-no-child-left-inside/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/02/09/menasian-helen-no-child-left-inside/#comments Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:01:13 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=973 http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/02/09/menasian-helen-no-child-left-inside/feed/ 0 http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/01/26/freed-charlie-a-vets-life/ http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/01/26/freed-charlie-a-vets-life/#comments Tue, 26 Jan 2010 22:50:37 +0000 http://www.radiocurious.org/?p=961 http://www.radiocurious.org/2010/01/26/freed-charlie-a-vets-life/feed/ 0 Radio Curious brings you an archived conversation with the late Dr. Frank Grasse, a local veterinarian in Willits, California, who under the pen name, Charlie Freed authored, "Vet Tails: Small Stories, From A Small Town, Small Animal Veterinarian." Our animal friends and companions often fill important roles in our lives as we do in theirs. And when a beloved pet falls sick it is a veterinarian to whom we look to help make the lives of our pets, and ourselves, more healthy and happy. Frank Grasse practiced veterinary medicine in Willits, California, and under the pen name, Charlie Freed, authored "Vet Tails: Small Stories, From A Small Town, Small Animal Veterinarian." Freed described the daily emotional roller coaster of his 35 years of large and small animal medicine and shared what he  learned about the bond between us and our animals. Hannah Bird, Assistant Producer at Radio Curious visited with 'Charlie Freed' on January 18th, 2010 and began by asking him to describe the special relationship between people and their animal pets. Dr. Frank Grasse passed away in 2011. The book that 'Charlie Freed' recommends is "Marnie," by Winston Graham. Click here to listen to the program or on the media player below. Click here to download the podcast. LeGov clean 29:00