Why Do Animals Talk?

Animal Communication Science (start time: 2:57)  Whether you own a dog or horse, or have listened to dolphins, wolves, chimpanzees or other wild animals, you’ve probably wondered what they’re saying when they communicate vocally – and why do they communicate the way they do? Our guest, zoologist Arik Kershenbaum, explores recent scientific discoveries in animal vocal communication in his new book Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication (Penguin Press). His exploration of wolves howling, dolphins whistling, gibbons warbling, and far more, poses more questions than answers about the natural world, including our place in it. In this week’s science show (listen here or download the podcast) host Susan Moran interviews Dr. Kershenbaum, a lecturer and fellow at Girton College, University of Cambridge, where he is a member of the Bioacoustics Research Group. Previously he wrote the book The Zoologist’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Hosts: Susan Moran, Joel Parker
Show Producer/Executive Producer: Susan Moran
Engineer: Joel Parker

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The Goodness Paradox – Full Interview

cover-Goodness ParadoxThe Goodness Paradox (Starts 5:22): On this week’s show we play the full interview with Richard Wrangham, a primatologist at Harvard University, about his new book, The Goodness Paradox: The Strange Relationship Between Virtue and Violence in Human Evolution.  Wrangham discusses with How On Earth hosts Susan Moran and Chip Grandits how, and why, homo sapiens evolved to be both peaceful and violent (less reactively aggressive and more proactively aggressive, like our bonobo ancestors), and what it bodes for the future of human civilization. On the pledge-drive show last week we played short snippets of the interview. And thanks to our listeners who pledged, some of whom received a copy of The Goodness Paradox. And thanks again to Pantheon Books for donating them.

Hosts: Shelley Schlender, Susan Moran
Producer: Shelley Schlender
Engineer: Shelley Schlender
Executive Producer: Beth Bennett

Listen to the show here:

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