Whatever The Opposite Of Whoa Nellie Would Be--That's What This Headline Is

Nellie McKay was on "Talking Animals" the other day, marking her fourth visit to the show--the most of any guest.

It makes sense, really. She's the quintessential "Talking Animals" guest, given the show's unusual mix of music, comedy, journalism, animal advocacy and more:


*She's an enormously gifted and acclaimed singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist (she released her fourth album, "Normal As Blueberry Pie: A Tribute To Doris Day" one day before this latest chat);

* She's funny. some years ago, she tried her hand at stand-up and her performances--and interviews--are often laced with sharply witty patter);

* Among her initially less obvious talents: At least one type of high-end journalism in the form of her 2007 New York Times Book Review critique of a Doris Day biography

* She's a fervently committed animal welfare advocate--and has been, as we learned in this recent interview, since her pre-adolescence--one of the essential traits she shares with Doris Day. In 2005, McKay was the recipient of the Humane Society's highly prestigious Doris Day Music Award.

The conversation touched on topics ranging from the rescue pitbulls, Hank and Bessie, that share her home--and the "Blueberry Pie" album cover--to re-explaining why, in that Times review of the Doris Day biography, she took the author to task for his repeated use of the phrase "animal lover."

Yet, we didn't come close to covering all the areas I'd hoped to--nor, it seemed, that she'd hoped to.

Stay tuned for another Nellie visit to "Talking Animals"...

Fund Drives Fund Stations--And Shows

Tomorrow--Thursday, Oct. 1--the WMNF Fall Fund Drive gets underway.

What does that mean?

Viewed by some as the necessary evil of public radio (or public television), fund drives are those weeklong periods during which much of a station's regular programming is suspended while on air hosts, DJs and sometimes others try to urge the audience to pledge its financial support via the telephone or the Internet.

And the coin of the realm in these transactions is the premium. In this case, premium is another term for "thank you gift for your donation"...you probably know how this works: For a pledge of $50, you get this...for a pledge of $300, you'll receive this" and so on.

To sort of purposely get ahead of myself, allow me to mention some of the premiums I'll be offering on my Fund Drive show (to support "Talking Animals," the Wednesday Sonic Detour, WMNF and me):

* A two-person, four-night package for whale watching at The San Ignacio Lagoon in Baja California--this is regular ol' whale watching, but communing with the so-called "friendly whales": California grey whale moms and their babies that approach you while you're in small skiffs and allow you to touch and even pet them! We devoted the May 13 edition of "Talking Animals" to this, and there are details about the package on the program website.

* One week stay in condo on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, in Poipu Beach. More details here.

* Rare Tom Waits items, signed exclusively for us by Waits!

* And lots more, from amazing concert tickets to signed CDs & books and more (details here)--exclusive to the "Talking Animals"/Sonic Detour fund drive show we'll be hosting Wednesday Oct. 7, 4-6 pm ET.

There are also lots of non-exclusive premiums, from WMNF t-shirts to HD radios, to the newly remastered Beatles' "Abbey Road" CD, and more.

For most public radio stations, including WMNF, these Fund Drives account for upwards of 70-80% of the annual budget--so, clearly, they're immensely important to the ongoing health and well-being of the shows, and station, you love and listen to.

So, I hope you'll mark your calendar for Oct. 7, and in the period between 4pm and 6pm ET, either call in a pledge (the number: 813-238-8001), or you can make a secure pledge on the WMNF website.

And we totally understand that these days many people are tightening their belts, but no pledge is too small--$35 or $50 is great!--and at the same time, WMNF has experienced some budget shortfalls and fairly grim belt-tightening of its own, so if you can spare $100, $250 or even $500, that would help us enormously.

And would get you one or more of those fabulous premiums.

In the cliche business, we call that a win-win.

Another Installment In The "A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words" Series

We've done a few shows on "Talking Animals" over the years focusing on the issue of feline de-clawing--which as our periodic guest and perhaps foremost expert on this, Dr. Jennifer Conrad, has explained essentially involves amputation--so we were quite struck by this billboard at the center of the new campaign by Dr. Conrad's organization, The Paw Project.

Chrissie Hynde, Temple Grandin: A Tale Of Two Guests

One of the major perks of hosting "Talking Animals" is the opportunity to speak with all kinds of bright, fascinating folks.

And while I make a concerted effort to achieve a real mix, so that the type of guests and the fields or interests they represent tend to vary significantly over the course of any given three to four show block, I still sometimes wind-up with some intriguing back-to-back bookings.

Like the juxtaposition of my two most recent guests, Chrissie Hynde, who chatted with me Feb. 4, and Dr. Temple Grandin, who joined me Feb. 11. (By way of the "Talking Animals" archives, you can check out the Hynde show, and the Grandin show

They're both enormously smart, accomplished, well-spoken women--Hynde, of course, is the veteran Pretenders leader and animal activist, while Grandin is a renowned expert on animal behavior and autism (she herself is autistic), and bestselling author--but probably occupy decidedly spots on the animal welfare continuum.

For instance, Grandin eats meat (in a previous "Talking Animals" interview she explained she'd tried but abandoned a vegeterian diet, which she said created some medical complications) and has done pioneering work in fostering more humane treatment of animals at slaughter plants. Hynde hasn't eaten meat in decades, and for much of that time has been a vegan.

At the same time, the organization Chrissie Hynde has been most closely identified for the better part of two decades is PETA, for which she's participated in campaigns and protests (efforts that have gotten her arrested a coupla times). If you know much about Hynde, nothing here is surprising.

What may be far more surprising, to some, is that, in 2004, PETA awarded Temple Grandin a Proggy (PETA Progress) Award in the "Visionary" category.

Strange bedfellows, indeed. And back to back guests--and exceptional guests, both, I might add--on "Talking Animals."

Unlikely Hero Gives Voice To Elephants Who Can't Voice Their Own Complaints

At first glance, you wouldn't necessarily peg Tom Rider as a guy speaking up for animals and educating the public in the process.

I mean, he doesn't cut the dashing figure of, say, Wayne Pacelle, the handsome, dapper honcho of the Humane Society of The U.S.

Rider's rounder, more rumpled.

But heroes come in all shapes and sizes, and many would say that Rider, who was my guest on the Jan. 7 edition of "Talking Animals," has done heroic work on behalf of circus elephants--particularly those forced to sing for their supper in Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus--for many years.

In 1997, Rider went to work for Ringling caring for the elephants, and over the course of a two 1/2 year stint, became a whistleblower after witnessing the daily abuse of those pacyhderms. That abuse involved the elephants being immobilized by chains for most of the day (often unchained only long enough to perform), and for even longer periods in the trains that transport the Ringling units, which means the elephants are forced to stand for hours in their own waste.

Worse--as has been widely documented in video pieces and by Rider (who reiterated this in our interview) and other Ringling whistleblowers--these wonderful, intelligent, complex creatures are repeatedly beaten with an ankus or bullhook which is heavy and club-like and has a pointy, sharp tip. Imagine a heavy and sharp fireplace poker. (I've done a Ringling-related show each year since I launched "Talking Animals" in 2003, and I've written on this topic for The Huffington Post and elsewhere.)

Tom Rider is now a central figure in a federal lawsuit brought against Ringling by multiple animal groups (including the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals [ASPCA], The Fund for Animals, the Animal Welfare Institute, and the Animal Protection Institute ) for mistreatment of the elephants under the Endangered Species Act.

That suit is slated to resume--some would say commence-- February 3 in Washington, DC.

In an odd intersection of heroic with nomadic, Rider essentially lives in his 80s Volkswagen bus, traveling to where one of the Ringling units is performing, making himself available to local media types and anyone else interested in hearing the dark truth about the life of circus animals.

Filling this role ain't exactly a get-rich scheme. Indeed, it would appear that Rider maintains a hand-to-mouth existence.

Joined by his daughter, whom he's been visiting in recent days, he had driven a considerable distance to join me in-studio for the "Talking Animals" interview, but wasn't sticking around for opening night of Ringling's Tampa engagement because his VW bus has a bum starter he can't afford to get fixed and he didn't want to get stranded in the dark, especially with rain forecast for the evening.

I offered to take them to lunch after the show--under the circumstances, seemed like the least I could do--but he politely declined, mostly because they needed to get back so his daughter could sort out a problem with her food stamps.

So, again, it's safe to say that speaking for the elephants--and against Ringling--has not served as a lucrative gambit for Rider. It's just something he feels compelled to do. As he noted in our interview, he plans to walk into that courtroom Feb. 3 and testify under oath, in large part because none of the affected elephants (even the ones still alive) can do so.

Those elephants will have a very forceful surrogate in that witness box.