ANIMAL BEHAVIOR: July 2023 podcast playlist

Humans and animals interact on a day-to-day basis. This playlist showcases how those interactions can lead to insight and understanding, but how it can also be harmful.

Podcast Playlist on ANIMAL BEHAVIOR

Get the full playlist on your podcast player of choice using these platforms:

Radiolab: “Animal Minds” (November 2021, 59 min)
When we gaze into the eyes of a wild animal, or even a beloved pet, can we ever really know what they might be thinking? Is it naive to assume they’re experiencing something close to human emotions? Or is it ridiculous to assume that they AREN’T feeling something like that? We get the story of a rescued whale that may have found a way to say thanks, ask whether dogs feel guilt, and wonder if a successful predator may have fallen in love with a photographer.
Unexplainable: “My octopus friend?” (April 2022, 25 min)
Octopuses are largely solitary animals, but there have been rare times — notably in the movie My Octopus Teacher — where they seem to have become comfortable around humans. But is it really possible to be friends with an octopus?
We Don’t Deserve Dogs: “Ep. 76: Christina Hunger” (May 2021, 47 min)
From the amazingly popular IG page @hunger4words, it’s speech/language pathologist Christina Hunger! You might know her as the lady that TAUGHT HER DOG TO TALK! She tells us all about her process and her upcoming book “How Stella Learned To Talk.” Dr. Lisa talks doggy diets and Richie judges Chloe for not talking.
This is Love: “Episode 46: The Visitor” (April 2022, 25 min)
Many years ago, Cathy Raven decided to build herself a small house on a large piece of land in rural Montana. She’s said, “I saw myself alone in the furthest future that I could imagine.”
Then a red fox began to arrive, at the same time every day.
The Big Story: “Why are some orcas suddenly attacking boats?” (June 2023, 19 min)
For the past few years, orcas off the coast of Portugal and Spain have been attacking, and sinking, small boats. At least three boats have been completely sunk, and many more have needed urgent rescue. This behaviour doesn’t occur in other orcas, and nobody can figure out exactly what’s changed.

There are some theories regarding trauma, or differences in their habitat. There are very real things called “orca fads”—like that time they wore dead salmon on their heads. And there is, always, humanity’s endless desire to use our own narratives to explain animal motives—which is why you see people asking if the orcas are fighting back. But what’s really at the heart of this behaviour? And what happens if it spreads?

Bonus podcast episodes:

• Outside/In: “Can an Animal be a Criminal?” (November 2021, 36 min)
  In Aspen, Colorado, bears descend from the mountains to gorge on unlocked restaurant dumpsters. In India, drunk elephants crash into bodegas searching for food. And behind these human-wildlife conflicts are the researchers and scientists who are trying to prevent us from killing each other.
  Author Mary Roach is no stranger to squirmy subjects: she’s written about the science of decomposition, digestion, and sex. By comparison, her latest book sounds almost cute: It’s called Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law. But don’t be fooled, because this book is “wilder” than anything else she’s ever written.
• Snap Judgment: “Not So Tiny Dancer” (March 2023, 33 min)
  On the frozen tundra, a polar bear guide wakes up to a loud THUMP on the side of his ice buggy. It’s his 1,000 pound buddy, Dancer. And he wants a cup of coffee.
• This is Love: “Episode 2: Something Large and Wild” (February 2018, 27 min)
  An unconventional love story about a teenager, the Pacific Ocean, and an encounter with something wild.
• Radiolab: “Hello” (February 2022, 46 min)
  In this episode, we get to eavesdrop on some human-dolphin conversations, from a studio apartment in the Virgin Islands to a research vessel in the Bermuda Triangle.

Conversation Starter Questions:

1. Have you had any notable encounters with wild animals?
2. Do you have pets? If so, how do you communicate with them?
3. Do you think humans should interact with animals more or less?