Two beings shared a fleeting but intimate bond. Now, they exchange letters that trace the evolution and eventual ebbing of their relationship over time and distance. A familiar story told through strange voices: Lovers, once close, watch the in

Interfector's Folly

Jul 17th, 2019 42m 41s

Worn down by life in the city, Scott and his wife Steph move out to the country to raise a family and a small flock of chickens, but when a family of raccoons threatens his flock, Scott is forced to reevaluate his views of life and death.---B

After the Harvest

Jun 12th, 2019 15m 58s

In 1845, Edgar Allen Poe coined the term "The Imp of the Perverse" to describe our drive toward destruction, especially of ourselves. In his short story of the same name, the narrator recalls a murder he'd committed simply because he could get

Rhumba

May 15th, 2019 35m 19s

As we move out of rural areas and into cities, as we fill ourselves with Animal Planet and PBS nature documentaries, a funny thing begins to happen: We forget that some of those majestic creatures we've been encountering through screens all our

Sphecius Speciosus

Apr 10th, 2019 29m 36s

Few insect sounds have inspired as much writing as that of the cicada. Our first act comes from Christa Spillson: Amid a 13-year cicada brood cycle, an ice cream shop introduces a new flavor. And in act two, Robbie Maakestad, as part of a trio

The Girl Who Turns to Rabbits

Mar 27th, 2019 19m 17s

A nervous schoolgirl transforms into multitudes of white rabbits. Despite her constant anxiety, she's okay with ending up bones.This episode is based on a story of the same title by Melissa Goodrich, a writer based in Tucson, Arizona. Her wor

Fleas in Utopia

Mar 12th, 2019 44m 12s

A couple of punks fight fleas in a run-down apartment. One of them creates a utopian squat house while her mother watches Kenneth Copeland every morning at dawn. And: What if Iggy Pop and Frodo Baggins were brothers, and what if they were cats,

The Island Wolves

Dec 13th, 2017 41m 45s

Writer and environmentalist Kim Todd joins us to talk about her essay, published in July of 2017 by Orion Magazine, "The Island Wolves." In the mid-twentieth century, scientists began a study on Lake Michigan's Isle Royale, believing it to be a

Simple Coyote Math, Part 3

Nov 29th, 2017 30m 15s

In the final installment of Simple Coyote Math, we take you into rural Idaho, where a coyote trap poisons a fourteen-year-old boy and his dog. And we round out the miniseries with two stories from Native American folklore.--- Support this p

Simple Coyote Math, Part 2

Nov 13th, 2017 35m 20s

Part 2 of our series on the North American coyote comes in three act, based on the rules that cartoonist Chuck Jones laid out for himself in his writing of the Coyote and Road Runner cartoons. Act 1 tells the story of a girl's death in 1970s Lo

Simple Coyote Math, Part 1

Nov 1st, 2017 25m 16s

In 1999, Chuck Jones, creator of the Coyote and Road Runner, published his autobiography Chuck Amuck, in which he details, at one point, the nine rules that governed his writing of the cartoons. This miniseries on our relationship with the coyo

Season 2 Teaser

Oct 24th, 2017 6m 4s

Season 2 launches November 1. Subscribe now! Become a supporter of this podcast:https://anchor.fm/bestiary/supportThis podcast is sponsored by Anchor

Fall for the Book and a Twainean Bonus

Oct 2nd, 2017 16m 44s

In which we announce our upcoming live episode and read from Mark Twain on the "cayote." Come see us perform live at George Mason University for the Fall for the Book Literary Festival, Saturday, October 14. Become a supporter of this podcast

Shout - Out To LUCY

Mar 29th, 2017 6m 10s

A brief shout-out to UrbanArias' upcoming production of Kelley Rourke and John Glover's one-act opera, Lucy, named for one of the more famous subjects of the ape-language studies. Dr. Bill Lemmon loaned Lucy out to Maurice and Jane Temerlin as

Subject #037

Mar 6th, 2017 1h 11m

In 1973, a chimpanzee was born and tattooed with the research number 037. Columbia University psycholinguist Herbert Terrace immediately adopted that chimp and placed him in the home of his former student, Stephanie LaFarge, who would be the ch

In A Name

Nov 19th, 2016 1h 2m

In 1965, a chimpanzee was taken from the jungles of Africa and placed in NASA's space program, where her handlers dubbed her "Kathy." She went through just one year of "chimponaut" training before Allen and Beatrix Gardner, scientists at the Un

Mama, Papa, Cup

Sep 17th, 2016 53m 47s

In episode one of our Bestiary of the Ape-Language Studies, we tell the story of Viki, the first non-human ape whose intelligence, including her capacity for language, was studied in a structured, scientific way and compared to those of humans.

All - American Avians

Aug 16th, 2016 2m 59s

During World War II, famed psychologist BF Skinner started working on a project in which he would train ordinary street pigeons to guide pelican missiles (the irony of which was not lost on him) into German warships. In this fictional episode,

The Flesh and the Sprout, Part 2

Jul 20th, 2016 30m 17s

Eric continues his philosophical ramblings from part 1 about life, death, and a frozen chicken. He answers the question: If given said chicken in a Ziploc bag, would he eat it or leave it to rot? Also, Meg swears in this episode. Become a sup

The Flesh and the Sprout

Jul 6th, 2016 21m 14s

Welcome to Bestiary, the podcast about humans and other animals. I'm your host, Eric Botts, and since you've probably never heard of me, we've decided that I should use this episode to introduce myself and show you where I'm coming from with t

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