In Tune to Nature Podcast cpfreeman

To honor primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall's 90th birthday (April 3 2024) and her continuing conservation work, I am playing part of a recent Mongabay News interview with her, hosted by Rhett A. Butler, followed by a PBS News Hour interview from 2016 with the late biologist E.O. Wilson where he discussed his final book "Half Earth" which he wrote in his late eighties. He continued working until he passed at age 92 in 2021 and his legacy lives on with his many nature books and his Half Earth Project nonprofit that seeks to protect half of our planet's most biodiverse land and sea spaces to ensure wildlife has access and can thrive there without humans exploiting them or taking over the space -- this protection Wilson explains is necessary to end the mass extinction crisis (other animals cannot thrive living in fragmented isolated parks here and there). I think you'll enjoy hearing from these legends with their hopeful messages and solutions on this 31-minute podcast.
You can find out more about the pioneering and ongoing work of these inspirational lifelong biologists at their nonprofits: The Jane Goodall Institute and the Half-Earth Project. You can also support non-commercial news like Mongabay and the PBS News Hour whose journalistic work was featured on this program...and Radio Free Georgia, my indie station!
"In Tune to Nature" is a weekly radio show airing Wednesdays at 6:30pm Eastern Time on 89.3FM-Atlanta radio and streaming worldwide on wrfg.org (Radio Free Georgia, a nonprofit indie station). Hosted by Carrie Freeman or Melody Paris. The show's website and action items can be found at https://www.facebook.com/InTunetoNature  Please support indie media like Radio Free Georgia at https://wrfg.org/  
Take care of yourself and others, including other emotional animal species.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on In Tune to Nature do not necessarily reflect those of WRFG its board, staff, or volunteers....most of us are volunteers.
Photo Credit: Mongabay News
 

Renowned animal ethologist Dr. Marc Bekoff shares insights from the newly revised edition of his classic book: “The Emotional Lives of Animals: A leading scientist explores animal joy, sorrow, and empathy, -- and why they matter” with a foreword by famed primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall. In April 2024, with the release of the book near Dr. Goodall's 90th birthday, Dr. Bekoff spent 38 minutes with host Carrie Freeman discussing: what it's like working with Dr. Goodall, what has changed in the exploding field of cognitive ethology (the study of animal minds) in the last 20 years, how fairness and justice are a common trait in social animals to maintain cooperation (like with coyotes), why less "charismatic" animals like fish and mice will surprise us with their personalities (as all animals are individuals not just inter-changeable members of their species), how we need to work for animal "wellbeing" not just animal "welfare" for domesticated and wild animals, and ethical choices -- what we all can do to play our part in reducing animal suffering and advocating for animals (whom we should no longer under-estimate or ignore). We end on a hopeful note, thanks to a 4th grader who inspired Marc. 
The Emotional Lives of Animals book chapters cover: the indisputable case for animal emotions; animal minds and hearts;  what animals feel;  wild justice, empathy, and fair play; and a final chapter on why animal wellbeing matters - with lots of recommendations across various fields of animal types and uses (zoos, farms, research labs, etc.).
The author, Marc Bekoff, PhD has been an animal advocate and researcher for close to 50 years, and he’s a prolific author of more than 30 books on nonhuman animals. A professor emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Dr. Bekoff has won many awards for his research on animal behavior, compassionate conservation, animal protection, and animal emotions. He publishes regularly for Psychology Today. His website is https://marcbekoff.com/ 
I’m happy to report that The Emotional Lives of Animals book is printed on 100% recycled paper bc the publisher -- New World Library--  is part of the Green Press Initiative. I wish all book publishers made recycled paper a priority.
 
"In Tune to Nature" is a weekly radio show airing Wednesdays at 6:30pm Eastern Time on 89.3FM-Atlanta radio and streaming worldwide on wrfg.org (Radio Free Georgia, a nonprofit indie station). Hosted by Carrie Freeman or Melody Paris. The show's website and action items can be found at https://www.facebook.com/InTunetoNature  Please support indie media like Radio Free Georgia at https://wrfg.org/  
Take care of yourself and others, including other emotional animal species.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on In Tune to Nature do not necessarily reflect those of WRFG its board, staff, or volunteers....most of us are volunteers.
 

We discuss the latest in the 2024 fight against environmental racism and stream water degradation as part of the "Save The Atlanta Forest" movement also knowns as the "Stop Cop City" movement, in Southeast Atlanta, comprised of many allied groups of citizens who over the last several years are working to stop/discontinue the building of a multi-million dollar mega law enforcement training center in a forested watershed area, where it is unwanted by the adjacent human community of many Black residents, and by the wildlife who (used to) live there too.
To tell us about the ongoing legal efforts is Dr. Jacqueline Echols, Board President of the South River Watershed Alliance. @southriverGA #southriverGA  In this 28-minute Feb. 2024 interview, host Carrie Freeman asks Dr. Echols to explain the civil rights act administrative complaint her organization filed, alleging the origins of the copy city installation constitute intentional harm and qualify as environmental racism. And she discusses another pending legal case alleging violations of the clean water act from increased sediment deposits harming the already polluted streams and river that may not be able to sustain life. Dr. Echols notes that stalling/delay by the courts and government officials seems to be a tactic used throughout this project to get the facility built under the radar before the city is officially told they legally cannot. Construction of the facility and destruction of many trees has already taken place. 
The "Save the forest" image of the sad rabbit painting on the bridge on the South River Trail taken by host Carrie Freeman. See cement barricade there.  Note: you never see any "tear down the Atlanta forest" or "build cop city" artwork around the city. There was a lot of helicopter noise that was in the area too at that cop city building site, and noise like that scares away a lot of the wild/free animal residents. Carrie didn't get audio of the copters but she does play an audio clip several times of the frog serenade along the South River trail wetland.
"In Tune to Nature" is a weekly radio show airing Wednesdays at 6:30pm Eastern Time on 89.3FM-Atlanta radio and streaming worldwide on wrfg.org (Radio Free Georgia, a nonprofit indie station). Hosted by Carrie Freeman or Melody Paris. The show's website and action items can be found at https://www.facebook.com/InTunetoNature  Please support indie media like Radio Free Georgia at https://wrfg.org/  
Take care of yourself and others, including other species, like the wetland frogs you hear in this podcast.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on In Tune to Nature do not necessarily reflect those of WRFG its board, staff, or volunteers....most of us are volunteers.

In this double-show we explore problems and solutions for transforming America’s flawed model of wildlife management that is oddly human-centric (hunter-centric), undemocratic, and often cruel, by speaking with wildlife advocate and author Anja Heister, PhD, about her recent book “Beyond the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation: From Lethal to Compassionate Conservation,” published by the academic press Palgrave Macmillan as part of their Animal Ethics Series.
Founder of Footloose Montana, an anti-trapping organization, and decades long advocate for animals, Dr. Heister wrote a book that provides a nuanced analysis of the wildlife management system and its faults in the U.S. and a vision for what could be a compassionate conservation alternative that is nonviolent, and more democratic and representative of the interests of all Americans (not primarily hunters and trappers), including the interests of all of America’s wild animals, not just endangered species or the so-called “game species.” We can’t keep leaving wildlife to be at the mercy of management by a small group of Americans, namely hunters and trappers, sporting and ranching industries, and rural residents, and instead let all of us put wildlife first in wildlife policies.
In this 54-minute episode, hosted by Carrie Freeman, she and Dr. Heister discuss:
misconceptions many Americans have about the way wildlife is managed,
challenging historic myths of hunting and/as conservation,
how our wildlife system is funded by hunting licenses and gun sales providing misguided incentives, and Governors having more control than citizens in policymaking,
examples of cruel policies towards wolves in Montana, 
how many laws protect hunters and trappers more than animals, enabling cruelty,
how empathy and emotion should play a larger role with rationality in wildlife management, and
a vision to transform our U.S. wildlife management agencies based on compassionate conservation principles that value individual animal lives and promote all Americans' input in protecting and supporting our wild animal neighbors.
Consider supporting nonprofit conservation groups who advocate for change, like Wildlife For All. https://wildlifeforall.us/ 
"In Tune to Nature" is a weekly radio show airing Wednesdays at 6:30pm Eastern Time on 89.3FM-Atlanta radio and streaming worldwide on wrfg.org (Radio Free Georgia, a nonprofit indie station). Hosted by Carrie Freeman or Melody Paris. The show's website and action items can be found at https://www.facebook.com/InTunetoNature  Please support indie media like Radio Free Georgia at https://wrfg.org/  
Take care of yourself and others, including other species, like the free-living animals who share our land and waters.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on In Tune to Nature do not necessarily reflect those of WRFG its board, staff, or volunteers....most of us are volunteers.

Today it's one of my favorite topics -- the benefits of humans starting to embrace our animality and kinship with other animals, instead of falsely repressing our animality and continuing to think of ourselves as exceptional and above all animal life. We’ll talk about how we human animals can productively change our self narrative to be more honest with author and environmental philosopher Melanie Challenger who wrote the fascinating book “How to be animal: A New History of What it Means to be Human.” As she phrases is, “It's an invitation to refresh in our minds the loveliness of being animal.” You can find out more at her website https://www.melaniechallenger.com/ 
In this half hour "In Tune to Nature" radio podcast, host Carrie Freeman talks with award-winning author Melanie Challenger about:
what drew her to the conclusion that the fundamental issue of humanity is that we don’t want to admit we are an animal, but should;
the false mind/body dualism and the struggle for us humans to accept our vulnerable bodily selves (we are not just our brains);
what we gain and share with other animals in these bodies that is a lovely part of being human; how we can recognize "the world is alive with intelligence" and "if we matter, so does everything else" (p.217); and
ways that we can collectively help create a more truthful and productive narrative on humanity that embeds us within the broader, rich animal community.
and she ends by telling us how her "How to be Animal" book sets up her latest book on the topic of Animal Dignity and the role of respect.
"In Tune to Nature" is a weekly radio show airing Wednesdays at 6:30pm Eastern Time on 89.3FM-Atlanta radio and streaming worldwide on wrfg.org (Radio Free Georgia, a nonprofit indie station). Hosted by Carrie Freeman or Melody Paris. The show's website and action items can be found at https://www.facebook.com/InTunetoNature  Please support indie media like Radio Free Georgia at https://wrfg.org/  
Take care of yourself and others, including human and nonhuman animals.

We focus on the creative process of several artists in the road ecology movement who have promoted safe passageways for wildlife to cross over and under human highways, via song, children’s literature, and documentary film. Our guests are writer Frances Figart of Asheville, NC and filmmaker Ted Grudowski of Seattle, WA, interviewed in this 30-minute podcast by host Carrie Freeman.
Our discussion explores creative ways these artists have inspired humans to more safely and fairly share land with free-living nonhuman animals, specifically to promote the design and build of wildlife road crossings to enable safe passage for animals across human highways --  like Highway I-40, North of Asheville NC near the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, where there are lots of bears, elk, deer, and other animals needing to migrate to feed and mate, and that highway is a dangerous barrier to their livelihood, causing vehicle collisions. You can find out more about that ongoing safe passage project and its coalition of conservation supporters at the Smokies Safe Passage website: https://smokiessafepassage.org/
In this podcast, Frances Figart tells us about her children's book (for ages 7 - 13) "A Search for Safe Passage" (illustrated by Emma Dufort) about a council of 19 animal species who work together to find an underpass that allows them to safely get to the other side of a scary and loud human road in their mountain forest. That also inspired her song "Safe Passage: Animals Need a Hand." You can see and share a cool music video of this song by Asheville band The Fates in a celtic/bluegrass style on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLbyQB5mqtU (we play a portion of this song in the podcast).
Filmmaker and photographer Ted Grudowski also tells us about "Cascade Crossroads" the award-winning half-hour documentary he co-produced that chronicles the amazing story of seemingly opposite interests out West joining forces to restore a critical wildlife corridor while improving Washington State’s vital transportation corridor over the Cascade Mountains -- a documentary that is actually encouraging in these polarizing times. You can watch it to inspire similar problem-solving in your own town, at Ted's website https://www.tedgrudowski.com/cascade-crossroads-documentary-film  The nonprofit Conservation Northwest also has a lot of resources on reconnecting habitats. 
"In Tune to Nature" is a weekly radio show airing Wednesdays at 6:30pm Eastern Time on 89.3FM-Atlanta radio and streaming worldwide on wrfg.org (Radio Free Georgia, a nonprofit indie station). Hosted by Carrie Freeman or Melody Paris. The show's website and action items can be found at https://www.facebook.com/InTunetoNature  Please support indie media like Radio Free Georgia at https://wrfg.org/  
Take care of yourself and others, including other species -- like wildlife who need to get where they are going safely (with road underpasses and overpasses and more roadless areas to live).