DOG TALK® (and Kitties Too!) on 
DOG TALK® features Tracie’s interviews with authors, pet experts and animal welfare advocates from around the world, discussing practical and philosophical issues regarding our relationships with dogs, cats, other pets, wildlife and the natural world.
The show broadcasts from WLIW FM 88.3 in Southampton, the only NPR station on Long Island, reaching from the East End across Long Island into Southern Connecticut and Westchester.
The show’s theme song is “Mmm My Best Friend” by Sophie B. Hawkins from her album TIMBRE.
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A Dog-Centered Thriller for the Dog Film Festival Filmmakers
#850C: Lynn Hightower, the author of the thriller “A Beautiful Risk” — which is also a book about loss and grief — talks about how this book morphed into her column on grief for Psychology Today. [She generously bought copies of her book for the doggy swag bags for the filmmakers coming to the NYC premiere of the 8th Annual NY Dog Film Festival.]
Dogs As Movie Monsters
#849B: Brian Patrick Duggan talks about his innovative new book, “Horror Dogs: Man’s Best Friend as Movie Monster,” and the years of research and passion that went into unearthing all the movies ever made in which dogs are depicted as you’ve never thought of them before: as “man’s scariest” friend.
Award-Winning Filmmaker Back in the NY Cat Film Festival
#849A: Director Kim Best won the first-ever Visionary Award in 2022 for having had a film (and sometimes two!) in every NY Cat Film Festival since the first year. She talks about yet again having two of her films selected for this year’s 6th Annual Festival — “Insomnia” and “Seen at Last” — and what inspires her.
The Dog is the Hero of “Hunting the Truth”
#849C: Kathleen Donnelly talks about her second book in the National Forest K-9 series and how her own experience with search dogs makes the human-canine bond so realistic (and the danger so scarier!)
Community Cat Clinics to Serve All Cats and Their People
#848C: Rick DuCharme talks about the Community Cat Clinic he opened in Georgia — with more to come — that offers accessible services and fees to cat owners and community cat protectors who previously did not have affordable or geographically accessible care.
Why Do the Bidens Keep Getting — and Keeping — Dogs that Bite People?
#848B: Dog trainer Annie Phenix (author of “Positive Training for Aggressive and Reactive Dogs”) discusses the apparent ignorance of President and Jill Biden about what is acceptable canine behavior — since they now have a second German Shepherd that is repeatedly biting Secret Service members and other staff at the White House.
What Dogs Can Teach Us About Life
#848A: Hersch Wilson discusses the special ways that living alongside dogs can expand our view of the universe in his book “Dog Lessons: Learning the Important Stuff from Our Best Friends.”
Think Twice About the Toys in Your Dog’s Mouth
#847C: Spencer Williams — the owner of the dog toy company West Paw — talks about the safety element to their toys being made of non-toxic, recyclable FDA approved material, and Tracie congratulates him for celebrating their 10th anniversary as a “B corp.”
Does Your Snake Need an Annual Check-up?
#847B: Dr. Doug Mader — Tracie’s co-host on their podcast Exotic Pets — discusses the value of routine annual exams at the veterinarian whether for dogs, cats or snakes!
“For the Love of Dog”
#847A: Pilley Bianchi talks about her book describing growing up alongside Chaser — probably the most famous dog in modern times, the Border Collie her father taught more than 1,000 words.