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 A Five Part Series from TTBOOK! |
ANIMAL MINDS
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Program 08-07-13-A |
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In Baltimore, Maryland, there's an octopus that likes
to play with toys. In Vienna, Austria, there's a border collie with a
vocabulary of 340 words - more than many toddlers. Southeast Asia is home
to dozens of elephants who like to paint. In this hour of To the Best
of Our Knowledge, re-thinking animal intelligence. Not only are they
smarter than we thought – in some cases they're smarter than us.
SEGMENT 1:
Virginia Morell wrote a cover story for National Geographic Magazine on the latest research going on in the field of animal intelligence. She tells Steve Paulson about some of the amazing animals she met, from parrots to dolphins, and explains what they can do.
SEGMENT 2:
David Ferriss is the director of the Asian Elephant Art ans Conservation Project. He tells Anne Strainchamps the project began as a conceptual art project that provided gainful employment to the animals put out of work by the collapse of Thailand's timber industry. You can see some of the elephants' work at The Elephant Art Foundation http://www.elephantart.com/catalog/splash.php. We also visit an elephant art program at the Milwaukee County Zoo where some children watch the elephants create.
Also, this summer's sleeper hit is a book by David Wroblewski called "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle." Wroblewski reads from his novel and talks with Jim Fleming about his life in Wisconsin as the child of a family who raised dogs.
SEGMENT 3:
Craig Childs is a naturalist and nature writer whose latest book is "The Animal Dialogues: Uncommon Encounters in the Wild." He talks with Steve Paulson about some of his life-threatening encounters with wild creatures and why he's not especially worried in the wild. Also, Graeme Gibson talks with Jim Fleming about his collection of bird literature and lore called "The Bedside Book of Birds." Gibson is the former President of PEN Canada, the author of several novels, and the husband of writer Margaret Atwood.
CD copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 08-07-13-A.
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Books:
| Craig Childs, The Animal Dialogues:
Uncommon Encounters in the Wild (Little Brown) |
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| David Wroblewski, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel (Ecco) | |
| Graeme Gibson, The Bedside Book of Birds: An Avian Miscellany (Nan A. Talese) | |
Websites:
- Virginia Morell's National Geographic
Website:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/03/animal-minds/virginia-morell-text - Elephant Art Foundation:
http://www.elephantart.com/catalog/splash.php - Milwaukee County Zoo
http://www.milwaukeezoo.org/ - David Wroblewski's website
http://www.edgarsawtelle.com/ - Craig Childs' website
http://www.houseofrain.com/
Music:
- -“Talk to the Animals,” by Roger Williams, on his album, “Pop Go the Ivories.”
- “Talk to the Animals,” (instrumental) by The Hit Crew, on the CD “King of the Jungle.”
- -Camille Saint-Saens, “The Elephant,” from “Carnival of the Animals.” Performed by the London Double Bass Sound.
- -Jane Siberry, “Everything Reminds Me of My Dog,” from the album “Bound By the Beauty”.
- -Leo Kottke, instrumental bit from “Running up the Stairs,” on his CD “Great Big Boy.”
- -Jerry Garcia and David Grisman, “Teddy Bear’s Picnic,” on the CD collection “100% Handmade Music,” Vol. 2
- -Brad Mehldau, “Blackbird,” on his CD “The Art of the Trio,” Vol. 1.
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