Comedians | Talking Animals

NOTE ABOUT THIS SHOW: I’ve had better mornings. As many know, each Wednesday, around dawn, I drive from my home on the east coast of Florida to the west coast, landing at WMNF in Tampa, where I broadcast “Talking Animals.” The trek is long (later, I reverse course, and drive home), but usually uneventful. Today, […] The post Paula Poundstone, comedian and cat devotee first appeared on Talking Animals.

On this program, we marked the 15th anniversary of “Talking Animals”—almost to the day! I launched the show on June 16, 2003 at KUCI, the campus-community radio station at the University of California at Irvine. At the tail end of 2005, “Talking Animals” found a home at WMNF, not long after my family and I […] The post Nellie McKay, singer-songwriter-activist + Triumph The Insult Comic Dog: 15th Anniversary Show first appeared on Talking Animals.

Scott Hardy—co-founder of Hardy Hayes Refuge, a mom-and-pop rescue-rehab operation with sizable ambitions, and accomplishments to match—outlines his lifelong love of animals, describing a childhood where the insights gleaned from trying to treat a locust as a pet helped shape his sensibilities more than the family’s beloved beagle. Hardy (the “mom” to his “pop” is […] The post Scott Hardy, co-founder of Hardy Hayes Refuge first appeared on Talking Animals.

Paula Poundstone—the veteran comedian perhaps best known these days as a regular panelist on NPR’s quiz show “Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me”—returns for her third appearance on “Talking Animals,” and we engage in a sprawling conversation that touched on a slew of topics, including ones you would expect (cats and comedy), as well as ones you […] The post Paula Poundstone, comic and cat devotee first appeared on Talking Animals.

Dan Piraro—who, for 30 years, has drawn the highly-acclaimed, widely-syndicated comic “Bizarro”—discusses his recently announced plans, over the next two to three years, for retiring “Bizarro,” and how that announcement was initially misunderstood by some, and triggered an uproar in others. He elaborates on the reasons behind those plans, including devoting much more time to […] The post Dan Piraro, “Bizarro” cartoonist first appeared on Talking Animals.

Allan Havey—the comedian and actor best known at the moment as Lou Avery on “Mad Men”—recalls his formative years as a budding animal lover with the family dachshund Peanuts. He describes something of a kinship with animals, always liking them and enjoying being around them, but noted that work on the road as comic, as […] The post Allan Havey, comedian, actor, animal guy first appeared on Talking Animals.

Joey Camen—a veteran comedian and voiceover actor who has just published his first book, “My Life With Snoopy: How One Shelter Dog’s Love Changed A Man’s Life And Other Tails Of Adventure”—begins the interview doing the voice of Arnold Schwarzenegger. He elaborates on his voiceover work, before describing his formative years growing up in Detroit, […] The post Joey Camen: Comic, Voiceover Actor, Author first appeared on Talking Animals.

Comedian, actor and improviser Fred Willard—who delivered a legendary performance as TV commentator Buck Laughlin in “Best In Show,’ the classic Christopher Guest-directed mockumentary set in a canine competition not unlike the Westminster Dog Show—discusses an array of topics, including animals, “Best In Show,” animal welfare organizations, comedy, Twitter, his birthday, his cat Mittenz, Hawaii, […] The post Fred Willard, comedian, actor, animal guy first appeared on Talking Animals.

         Tom Kenny–actor, comedian, musician and voiceover actor extraordinaire, perhaps best known as the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants–discusses how, unlike some stand-up comedians, who wander into voiceover or do it as a peripheral activity while pursuing TV/film roles or greater heights in stand-up, he was always passionate about voiceover and animation. He revisits a conversation […] The post Tom Kenny, voice of SpongeBob SquarePants & other talking animals first appeared on Talking Animals.

Paula Poundstone–veteran comedian perhaps best known as a regular panelist on NPR’s popular weekly quiz show, “Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me” and cat fancier extraordinaire–provides an update on her family’s current feline population (holding steady at 16), recent behavioral challenges amidst the brood, and more. She also addresses the all-important litter box topic–including that they have […] The post Paula Poundstone, Comedian & Cat Fancier Extraordinaire first appeared on Talking Animals.

Kevin Nealon–the comedian, actor and longtime animal advocate who stars as pot-loving accountant Doug Wilson in the Showtime series “Weeds,” and earlier in his career, enjoyed nearly a decade stint on “Saturday Night Live”–discusses starting to shoot the eighth and what may be the final season of “Weeds,” and why the series may have been […] The post Kevin Nealon, comedian-actor-animal advocate first appeared on Talking Animals.

Dean Stefan–who, for the better part of 25 years, has enjoyed an illustrious career as a television animation writer, penning episodes of shows ranging from “Dragon Tales” to “CatDog” to “The Penguins of Madagascar” to new programs like ‘The Octonauts”–discusses how he got into writing animation, what drew him to the field, and how, once […] The post Dean Stefan, veteran animation writer first appeared on Talking Animals.

Paula Poundstone — The singular comedian who for much of her 30+ year career has laced her routines with cat tales, often based on observations and misadventures with the sizable flock of felines sharing her home–discusses the current household cat population (16), and how the tally got that high.      She also mentions some […] The post Paula Poundstone, Comedian and Serious Cat Enthusiast first appeared on Talking Animals.

Marc Maron, a veteran, highly accomplished comedian and cat fanatic whose podcast, “WTF,” has become enormously popular and celebrated–its profile ratcheting up several notches in the wake of a major Sunday New York Times feature and a spotlight in Rolling Stone–discusses the cats that live in and around his, the fabled “Cat Ranch,” from which […] The post Marc Maron, a veteran comedian, cat fanatic and host of the immensely popular and celebrated podcast, “WTF” first appeared on Talking Animals.

Carol Leifer–the veteran, top-notch comedian and Emmy-nominated writer who’s worked on such shows as “Seinfeld,” “Saturday Night Live” and the Academy Awards–discusses her new book, “When You Lie About Your Age, The Terrorists Win,” a memoir-cum-collection of humorous essays in which she opines about a host of topics while revealing some significant changes she’s undergone […] The post Carol Leifer–comedian and writer first appeared on Talking Animals.

Richard Belzer–the veteran comedian-actor perhaps best known as Detective John Munch on “Law & Order SVU,” also seen earlier this summer as a celebrity judge on “Last Comic Standing”–discusses his role as spokesperson for the North Shore Animal League America (based in Port Washington, NY, NSALA is the largest no-kill animal rescue and adoption organization […] The post Richard Belzer–Detective John Munch on “Law & Order SVU” first appeared on Talking Animals.

Janeane Garofalo–the comedian-actress-activist and former Air America radio host who’s also a longtime animal lover and advocate (with a particular emphasis on rescue dogs)–discusses the rescue dogs she’s adopted, how she decided to no longer put them through the stresses of traveling with her to movie locations and other shoots, her adventures and misadventures with […] The post Janeane Garofalo–comedian-actress-activist first appeared on Talking Animals.

Comedian-actor and veteran animal advocate Kevin Nealon–perhaps best known for his lengthy stint on “Saturday Night Live” (1986-1995), but who’s more recently earned some of the best reviews of his career in his role as Doug Wilson, the pot-loving and increasingly conniving accountant on the acclaimed Showtime series “Weeds”–discusses the animal issues he considers most […] The post Kevin Nealon of “Saturday Night Live” first appeared on Talking Animals.

Comedian Margaret Cho–who’s not only a vocal activist in the areas of gay rights and women’s rights, but also passionate about animal rights and animal rescue–discusses the newest rescue dog to join the Cho household (and how this tiny, new member has affected the canine dynamic: by being in charge), the healing powers of animals […] The post Margaret Cho–Comedian and animal rights activist first appeared on Talking Animals.

Elayne Boosler–the veteran comedian, longtime animal advocate and host of the new Pax TV game show “Balderdash”–discusses her longstanding passion for animals, and how it (and her years of rescue experience, among other factors) led to creating her own multi-faceted non-profit animal organization, Tails of Joy, which offers such services as assisting with educational outreach, […] The post Elayne Boosler–veteran comedian first appeared on Talking Animals.