With Chris in Nashville to listen to other people talk into a microphone at the Animal Behavior Management Alliance (ABMA) Annual Conference, Ari keeps the show going with the help of future animal care professional Lauren Vieira! Lauren emailed us to say that she was a listener who would love a sticker from the podcast if we ever made one - we did (thanks to our friends at Slapco), so we asked her to be on the show! Lauren talks about her story of shifting focus from the hospitality world to the professional animal care field, chats about the joys of moving to Florida, shares a bit about some ..read more

Well, it took us over 200 episodes to get our act together and make it happen, but it was worth the wait because we're finally joined by our favorite "Queen of Team," Marty MacPhee! Marty shares her background as a member of the "NEI Extended Universe," her training and behavior background at Brookfield Zoo and Disney's Animal Kingdom, and many of the lessons she's learned along the way about teamwork, coaching, and communication. We discuss the changing expectations of people coming in as new members of the zoological field, the importance of active listening, the problems that happen when we ..read more

Ari and Chris welcome back NEI President and CEO, Steve Martin, back to the show to talk about his recently published journal aritcle, "A Reexamination of the Relationship between Training Practices and Welfare in the Management of Ambassador Animals"! Steve talks about how the article came about, the steep learning curve involved in the ins and outs of creating a peer-reviewed document, the revisions we went through for over a year to get to the final product, and what he hopes the professional animal care field could gain from reading it. A great chat about an important topic! For more infor ..read more

Courtesy of the fine folks at the HBR on Leadership Podcast from Harvard Business Review, Chris brings a challenge for discussion to the table: what do you do when a top performer on your team that is up for promotion is also known for treating their collegues badly? We share the ins of outs of the case study "Rob Parson at Morgan Stanley" to reflect on the challenges leaders face when promoting - or not promoting - a controversial member of their team, and what they can do to both mitigate and deal with the potential fallout that it can cause for the organization. Get ready to get uncomfortab ..read more

Zoo podcasters of the world, unite again! Join Chris on his "exciting first date" with Jon Rossi of the Rossifari Podcast and Elizabeth Johnson of the Mothering Wildlife Podcast to discuss the ins and outs of our shows! With Jon as host and ringleader, we talk about why our shows got started, how they've evolved over time, what we've learned about our audiences, how "the sausage gets made" in the recording and editing process, and our favorite experiences as animal people talking into microphones.  Check out all the great stuff from two shows we're proud to share the internet with:  ..read more

Ari has feedback on the brain - shout out to The Sea Stories Podcast (Apple Podcasts | Spotify) - so she sits down with Chris to talk about the ins of and out of how it applies to coaching people on how to coach others. We discuss the difference between coaching coaches you work with versus coaching coaches you've just met, when and how to offer feedback during a coaching session you're not in charge of, and the best advice we would give someone brand new to coaching other people. Coaching!  If you have a suggestion for a question, topic, or guest you'd like to hear on a future episode of ..read more

The TEC Talk Podcast is proud to welcome Kaitlyn Bohnet and BJ Rice from North Sky Raptor Sanctuary to the show! We chat with Kaitlyn and BJ about how they got involved with their current roles, their team's epic track suits that stole the show at the IAATE Icebreaker, why it's a strength to come to the animal field later in life with different skill sets, the importance of not being "gatekeep-y", why retail experience makes you a better person, and the joy of having the privledge of helping animals learn how to learn - an awesome conversation with two very awesome people! To learn more about ..read more

Chris sits still while Ari flies down the road in order to talk about a wild week at That Theme Park show that started with an epic flyoff and rolled right into a new show experience AND a new staff evaluation process - just a Totally Normal Week Where Nothing Remarkable Happened. :-) If you have a suggestion for a question, topic, or guest you'd like to hear on a future episode of the show, let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com! --------------------------------- The TEC Talk Podcast is proud to be sponsored by Audible.com! To support the show and get a free 30-day trial of everything A ..read more

Ari is back in Florida to regale Chris with tales from the 2024 IAATE Annual Conference in Eugene, Oregon! If you have a suggestion for a question, topic, or guest you'd like to hear on a future episode of the show, let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com! --------------------------------- The TEC Talk Podcast is proud to be sponsored by Audible.com! To support the show and get a free 30-day trial of everything Audible has to offer, visit http://www.audibletrial.com/tectalk- thanks Audible ..read more

200 episodes, how is that possible! Ari and Chris are joined by land and by sea by Steve Martin, Amy Fennell, Scott Trauger, Cori Dawson, Brad Moore, Michael Van Horne, Adam Geltz, Shayna Gruman, Natalie Sunray, Hunter Peck, and Kevin O'Brien to celebrate a very special podcast-iversary! We share some of out favorite episodes, memorable moments, and wishes for the future of show - thank you all for an amazing 4 years, and here's to another 200! If you have a suggestion for a question, topic, or guest you'd like to hear on a future episode of the show, let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.c ..read more