Wild Connection

The Animal Crisis with Alice Crary and Lori Gruen

In March of this year The UK government declared that lobsters, crabs, octopuses and related species will be included under the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill. This means that they can finally get  legal protection that protects them from practices like being boiled alive and having the tendons of their pincers cut. All I can say is if you need a law to stop you from engaging in such horrific practices….shame on you.  

Today my guests are two renowned philosophers, Alice Crary and Lori Gruen who have published a new book called Animal Crisis: A New Critical Theory.

Among other important issues they tackle, they invite us to rethink and recalibrate our relationship with other species. Incidentally, hey have a chapter on Octopuses and discuss the film My Octopus Teacher. Personally I was not a fan of the film. However, it put octopuses on the mental map of people. At the same time, many of those same people will happily eat octopuses while raving about the film. This is the depth of our cognitive dissonance when it comes to connecting with individual animals while purchasing a meal made of the very same species. OK, I’m not the philosopher, they are. 

If you want to connect Lori Gruen you can check out her website: http://www.lorigruen.com  where you will find tons of videos, her other books, and interviews. You can also follow her on Twitter @last1000chimps. To keep up with Alice Crary you can visit her website: https://alicecrary.com and check out her other books and links to other interviews. 

You can follow the show on Itunes, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Also follow the show on Twitter: @WildConnectPod

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Into the Wild with Brooke Williams

Hi Everyone, welcome back to a new episode of Wild Connection. You may have noticed there was a short break and that is because I had some traveling to do. I also have some big news that is going to impact the podcast. I will be going to Uganda, to a place called Bwindi Impenetrable Forest soon and I am hoping to bring you new episodes from there. If people in the communities are willing to share their stories and experiences then you will get to hear them. So please support the podcast and spread the word if you are enjoying it. 

This week’s guest is pretty special. Brooke Williams has spent the last thirty years advocating for wilderness. He is the author of four books, including Halflives: Reconciling Work and Wildness. And when he’s not writing books he’s teaching courses and spending time in the desert in Utah, where he lives. You may think the desert has no seasons, but Brooke will be quick to tell you this isn’t true and if you slow down enough you can witness the changing tides out in the desert. But those tides are changing. There is more heat, more fire, more floods. I connected with Brooke to talk about his latest book Mary Jane Wild: Two walks and a Rant. As you will hear, he is inviting you into his experience. 

You can pick up a copy of his latest book 

on Amazon or you may just find it in a local bookstore. Let's support those local bookstores. 

Speaking of support...

You can follow the show on Itunes, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Also follow the show on Twitter: @WildConnectPod

You can also follow me on 

Twitter: @realdrjen

Instagram: @readrjen

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RealDrJen

Warming Up with Dr. Hans Rocha IJzerman

Summer is starting and things are heating up. And in some places temperature is exceeding human capacity for existence. What you may not realize is it is a lot harder to cool down than to warm up. And warming up is something that gets at the heart of human social behavior.

Here to explain more about what this means is Dr. Hans Ijzerman. He is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Universitét Grenoble Alpes and a junior member of the The Institut Universitaire de France. And he wrote a fascinating book, Heartwarming: How Our Inner Thermostat Made Us Human.

We also get a sneak peek into how he and his lab are expanding their research into how temperature is influenced by culture, behavior, and biology.

To keep up with Hans you can follow him on Twitter @hansijzerman and follow what his lab is doing at corelab.io

You can follow the show on Itunes, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Also follow the show on Twitter: @WildConnectPod

You can also follow me on 

Twitter: @realdrjen

Instagram: @readrjen

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RealDrJen

Earth Day 2022

To celebrate Earth Day 2022 I am replaying my interview with author Nathaniel Popkin. We talk about his book,  To Reach the Spring: From Complicity to Consciousness in the Age of the Eco-Crisis, that was released in 2021.

In our conversation we talk about environmental advocacy, the inequality of influence, decolonization, and integration of the messiness of nature back into our lives. 

If you want to cnnect with Nathaniel check out his website, reach out on twitter @NathanielPopkin and get a copy of his new book, To Reach the Spring

If you are digging the show subscribe and share it so others can enjoy it too. You can follow the show on Itunes, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Also follow the show on Twitter: @WildConnectPod

You can also follow me on 

Twitter: @realdrjen

Instagram: @readrjen

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RealDrJen

Of Mice, Humans, and Tails with Dr. Jason Organ

If you’ve been listening for a while you know I have a fascination with bones. I have a rabbit cooking in a bush as we speak. But the truth is that I know so little about bones. That’s about to change because this week’s guest is in the know about bones, muscles, how they work and how they shape what we and other animals can do. 

Jason Organ is an Associate Professor of Anatomy, Cell Biology & Physiology at the Indiana University School of Medicine, where his research examines how the structure of bone and muscle influences how they work. He is also the host of the Science Night Podcast, an exceptional podcast and not just because he had me on a while back. He is also the co-editor of the Science Communication blog at the Public Library of Science. 

You can keep up with Jason on Twitter @OrganJM

You can also listen to his podcast Science Night

and follow the podcast on Twitter @ScienceNight1

To follow us on social media visit @wildconnectpod  and @realDrJen for Twitter & @RealDrJen  and www.jenniferverdolin.com for more. Love the show or simply enjoyed this episode? Give us a like and share so others can find us too. 

In the Barn with Dr. Marty Edwards

This week we are celebrating National Farm Animal Day and it's going to be a party. We are talking horses, pigs, cows, goats, and even sheep. Joining us for this celebration is the incredible Dr. Marty Edwards. You may recall from last week’s episode she promised us some stories from her time learning about farm animals.

So hang on, it's going to be a wild ride. 

To follow us on social media visit @wildconnectpod  and @realDrJen for Twitter & @RealDrJen  and www.jenniferverdolin.com for more. Love the show or simply enjoyed this episode? Give us a like and share so others can find us too. 

On the Road with Dr. Marty Edwards

This weeks episode features someone near and dear to me. She was my vet who helped me take care of my beloved Senor Antonio Buttones in his final weeks. In fact I am dedicating this episode to him.

As you will hear in the Show veterinarians have one of the highest suicide rates by profession so be sure to check out the show notes for links to help support veterinarians. Dr. Marty Edwards is more than just a veterinarian, shes also a humanitarian as far as I’m concerned. She also is a veterinarian that comes to you which means she has had some experiences. I got to sit down with her to learn more about how she got interested in veterinary medicine, get a sneak peak into some of her home visit adventures, and learn about her volunteer work spaying and neutering cats on Hatteras Island in NC.  

If you want to support veterinarians please visit Not One More Vet

If you want more information on trap, neuter, return projects in NC check out the organizations we talked about on the show

Friends of Felines

Alleycat Allies

To follow us on social media visit @wildconnectpod  and @realDrJen for Twitter & @RealDrJen  and www.jenniferverdolin.com for more. Love the show or simply enjoyed this episode? Give us a like and share so others can find us too. 

Shifting Seas with Lela Schlenker

March is Women’s History Month, at least in the United States so I am continuing to feature women scientists on the podcast all month. I thought I would start off with a little history about women in Stem. We women have a way of persisting and despite continuing to face barriers to professional advancement, we just will not stop. What lengths have we gone to? Like Rosalind, of Shakepeare’s As You Like It, who disguised herself  as a young man in an effort to travel through the forest without fear of harm, Women have altered their appearance and behavior throughout history to succeed in STEM fields dominated by men. While some, like  military surgeon James Barry, whose real name was Margaret Ann Bulkley, went to  extraordinary measures that lasted a lifetime, others like Jeanne Baret disguised herself as a  man to get onboard a scientific expedition well before Darwin ever set foot on the Beagle. It  would take until 1959 before women, presented as women, were even permitted on scientific  expeditions. Fast forward to today when my guest Dr. Lela Schlenker spends most of her time asking if she can come aboard a commercial fishing boat. 

Dr. Lela Schlenker is a marine scientist with a fascinating background. She is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Williams Mystic Program. This is a really special program run by Williams College in collaboration with Mystic seaport. This is an important program to Dr. Lela Schlenker and you’ll find out why in the episode.

You can keep up with Dr. Lela Schlenker on her website 

lelaschlenker.com

and on Twitter @LelaSchlenker

To follow us on social media visit @wildconnectpod  and @realDrJen for Twitter & @RealDrJen  and www.jenniferverdolin.com for more. Love the show or simply enjoyed this episode? Give us a like and share so others can find us too. 

Community Led Conservation with Samantha Farquhar

This week’s guest is Samantha Farquhar. She is a dynamic interdisciplinary researcher with a focus on coastal systems in the Integrated Coastal Science Program at East Carolina University working on her doctorate. I got to talk to her about her past and present work and the importance of community led conservation initiatives. 

Here are links to some of Samantha's work that we cover on the podcast

https://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/2021/12/industrial-fishing-distant-waters

Nepal Aquaculture

Madagascar Octopus Project

In this episode we are also celebrating International Day of Women and Girls in Science which was on February 11th. 

To follow us on social media visit @wildconnectpod  and @realDrJen for Twitter & @RealDrJen  and www.jenniferverdolin.com for more. Love the show or simply enjoyed this episode? Give us a like and share so others can find us too. 

In the Bone Room With Dr. Ann Ross

In another life I would have been a forensic anthropologist. I devoured books by Iris Johanson and her main character forensic specialist Eve Duncan. The truth is I like to solve puzzles and becoming a police detective or forensic anthropologist was high on my list. I still love crime/mystery novels and as you’ll here, who knows maybe there is a career change in my future. It is this love of forensics and solving of mysteries that drove this week’s guest to become a Forensic anthropologist. Dr. Ann Ross. She is a Professor at NC State University and works with the NC Medical Examiner to identify human remains and shed light on what happened to someone’s bones. 

She is a Professor at NC State University and works with the NC Medical Examiner to identify human remains and shed light on what happened to someone’s bones. 

Dr. Ann Ross' Lab: https://sites.google.com/ncsu.edu/forensicanthropology/

An article featuring Dr. Ross: https://raleighmag.com/2016/10/the-bone-doctor/

To follow us on social media visit @wildconnectpod  and @realDrJen for Twitter & @RealDrJen  and www.jenniferverdolin.com for more. Love the show or simply enjoyed this episode? Give us a like and share so others can find us too.