Ari and Chris are excited for the return of Kait Wiktor, Manager of Animal Behavior and Wellbeing at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium! Kait joins us to talk about her recent adventures through all things "Crucial": the resources and certification programs from Crucial Learning, the organization behind our favorite professional (and personal) development resource, Crucial Conversations. Kait walks us through the six sources of influence, the importance of opinion leaders, the vital role of deliberate practice, why its good to have a suitcase of interventions when troubleshooting behavior challenges, and why you shouldn't "avoid the chainsaw." 

If you have a shout-out you’d like us to share, a question or a topic you’d like us to discuss, or a suggestion for a guest we should have on the show, let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

A biologist? At Disney?? That's right, it's the return of Morgan Belle, Conservation Programs Manager with Disney's Animals, Science, and Environment!

After a brief recap of her history in the field, Morgan chats about life as "everyone's 'bug lady'", the (somewhat controversial) difference between bugs and insects, how improv classes were the scariest and most transformative thing she's ever done, and modern advancements in butterfly telemetry, before partnering with Ari to tell the most epic entomological tale ever: the story of "The Bee."

If you have a shout-out you’d like us to share, a question or a topic you’d like us to discuss, or a suggestion for a guest we should have on the show, let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

After wayyyyy too much time of talking about making it happen, Chris and Ari finally sit down to chat with the legendary Ken Ramirez! Ken shares his inspiring and unique journey through the animal training field—from his early passion for guide dogs, to his long career in marine mammal training, all the way up to his current role leading up Karen Pryor Clicker Training. He also discusses how teaching a Masters Course led to writing his renowned book, Animal Training: Successful Animal Management Through Positive Reinforcement. Ken's journey highlights how taking advantage of unexpected opportunities can create a lifetime of teaching and learning.

If you have a shout-out you’d like us to share, a question or a topic you’d like us to discuss, or a suggestion for a guest we should have on the show, let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

For the last episode of 2022 we're featuring...everyone! The staff of NEI share some of their highlights of the year as we stare down the barrel of 2023. Thanks for listening, and here's to another great year!

Have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss on a future episode? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Ari and Chris get a second sit-down with Bearizona Wildlife Park's "Grand Poo-Pah" Dave O'Connell! Dave "returves" to the show to talk about what he and the other staff at BZ do to create high functioning teams: encouraging people to be themselves when they're being interviewed, training humans like they're animals, making time for fun, leaning on the strengths of others, being happy in "crusty situations," and simply letting people fit in. 

Do you have a secret to creating great teams that you want to share? A question you'd like us to answer? An offer to come hang out with us as a guest on the show? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com! 

After a quick review of the 2022 NEI Holiday Party, Chris and Ari chat about the importance of specificity when praising and recognizing others, the line between social niceities and behavor strengthening, and the problems with the statement "just let me know if there's anything I can do to help." 

To learn more about the upcoming IAATE talk on Raptor Center Culture, please visit http://www.iaate.org.

Have a question or something you'd like us to discuss on the show? Please let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Ari and Chris go face to face via "Internet tubes" to talk about keto ketchup, Frank Lloyd Wright, birds that aren't Harris hawks, the 2022 ZAA Annual Conference, and NEI's Professional Contemporary Bird of Prey Training and Management Workshop. 

Helpful Links:

• NEI Training Workshops: https://naturalencounters.com/workshops/
• ZAA: https://zaa.org/
• GRAZE Monthly Virtual Support Group: https://zoomentalhealthsupport.com/support-services/
• ABMA presents "ABC's: Animal Behavior Chats" for December 8, 2022: https://buff.ly/3utQObH

Welcome to Workshop Week, Bird of Prey Style! Chris sits down for a quick chat with fellow workshop instructors Adam Triska, Dan Blair, and Amy Fennell to talk about the history of NEI's Professional Contemporary Bird of Prey Training and Management Workshop, to reflect on Amy and Dan's experience of being a part of every BOP workshop to date, to talk to Adam about being a first-time workshop team lead, and to share as a team the things we're most looking forward to for this week. Wish us all luck! 

Do you have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss on the show? By all means, let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com! 

Happy Turkey Day in the USA! Ari sits down for some mom-talk with Danielle Poirier Larson, Curator of Birds & Training at Southwick's Zoo! Ari and Danielle chat about the challenges of being a mom and a manager in the animal field, the ever-popular concept of work/life balance, and the importance of setting (flexible) boundaries!

Do you have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss on a future episode, or a desire to be a guest on the show? Drop us a line and let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

It's Contemporary Animal Training and Management Workshop Week at the Ranch, so Chris sits down to chat with one of our attendees, livestock guardian dog (LGD) trainer Cindy Benson! Cindy talks about how her work raising miniature donkeys led her to becoming a KPA certified trainer, the similarities between her work raising and training LGDs and the practices of other animals trainers across the industry, the priviledge of being able to teach others as a "big fish that found its pond," and the cool stuff we've been learning from our animals at the workshop this week!

To learn more about Cindy's work raising Maremma Sheepdogs and training LGDs, check out https://www.bensonmaremmas.com/. 

Visit Amazon to learn more about Cindy's book, Livestock Guardian Dog Training Manual: Applying the Karen Pryor Academy Dog Trainer Foundations Course to Training Livestock Guardian Dogs.

Ari hosts solo while Chris is...somewhere, but she's not alone! Natalie Sunray is our guest this week, currently interning at Metro Richmond Zoo, and feeling really excited about her future in the field! Ari chats with Natalie about how she plans to stay motivated as she follows her current career path by keeping a positive attitude and celebrating her colleagues' successes as she faces the many challenges that comes with starting life in an animal care role. 

Have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss on the show? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Moorpark College's Gary Wilson returns to the show! After a quick discussion about the start of another NEI "Growvember," Gary talks about the beginnings of the Animal Behavior Management Alliance, his wife Cindy's transition from leaving the animal field to becoming Moorpark's resident "monkey mama," and his thoughts on why anthromorphism doesn't have to be a bad word in animal training. 

Have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss on the show? Reach out and let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Chris and Ari are joined by Zoo Miami director WIll Elgar! Will talks about his path from starting as an animal trainer in the UK to leadership roles in the US, the importance of pushing your limits and taking advantage of (sometimes scary) opportunities, thoughts on the challenge of trying to achieve "work-life balance", and the roles that listening, adapting, and creating challenges for himself have played in his personal growth. 

Do you have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss on the show? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

In our continuing quest to collect the entire AZA Professional Development Committee on the show, we're excited to be joined by Jennifer Charette, Zoo Community Impact Manager at Tessere! Jen shares her unique path from birthday party host to zoo industry professional, the importance of committee service and understanding your "resource engine", how defining her "horizon job" got her to where she is today, why everyone should have an IDP, and why we should probably all let people lean into what they're good at instead of having to fit inside a box. 

Also, make sure to stick around until the end to find out the answer to the question: "so....why 'hedgehog'?"

If you have a shout-out you’d like us to share, a question or a topic you’d like us to discuss, or a suggestion for a guest we should have on the show, let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Midyear? Mid year? Mid-year? However you spell it, Chris chats about his experience (so far) at his first midyear conference as an ABMA board member with NEI Supervisor Scott Trauger! Chris and Scott discuss how the first day went, reflect on how midyear conferences differ from annual conferences, and muse on the unique opportunities afforded to people who get to be a part of a organization that's not their full-time workplace. 

Do you have any questions ot topics you'd like us to discuss on a future episode of the podcast? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Ari and Chris are joined by one of our most frequently-requested guests: former professor and co-department chair of the Exotic Animal Training and Management Program at Moorpark College, Gary Wilson! Gary talks about his path towards becoming a student - and later a faculty member - of the program, his history with (and the EATM program's connection to) the Navy's marine mammal training program, and how the EATM program fits into today's professional animal care field. We're calling this episode "Part 1", because we're definitely going to get Gary back soon to expand on some of the stuff we got to - and hopefully dive into a lot that we didn't! 

To see some of Gary's photography on Instagram, check out @garygwhiz. 

If you have any questions for Gary - or about anything you'd like us to discuss on a future episode of the show - let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Ari and Chris are tired (but otherwise great!) as they share how NEI and their birds fared during Hurricane Ian, and discuss everything that transpired to get our shows up and running again.

Have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss on a future episode of the show? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com! 

It would take an act of God to keep us from bringing you a show every week.

And then one happened, and still we were like, "nah, we got this." 

It's moving day for our shows at THAT theme park as Hurricane Ian has forced us to cancel our normally scheduled programming. First, Chris uses his early-morning drive to work to share the team's plan for the day. Second, Ari uses her drive back home from work to talk about how the bird move went. Finally, our intrepid Ride Out Crew of Katelyn, Grace, Aaron, and TJ share a little of bit about their experience so far being "hunkered down" at work until all this blows over. A truly epic podcast 16 hours in the making!!!

We hope everyone in Florida is staying safe and sane during this scary time, and we'll see you all on the other side!

Have a question, topic, or severe weather event tale you'd like us to talk about on the show? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

 

Greetings from Across the Pond! Chris does a solo-cast from the UK to talk about the great work the team back home has done in getting our birds back home from a temporary show shutdown, to detail the timeline of what he and his wife have been up to driving back and forth between Scotland and England, to give details on his experience of having the opportunity to visit Queen Elizabeth II as she was lying-in-state, and to tease some potential fun things for future episodes. 

Have a question, query, comment, or concern about the show? We're open to all of it at podcast@naturalencounters.com! 

It's an "L-Squared Takeover" as Lucy and Lisa take over the podcast! Will they share insightful thoughts about our field? Share what they've got for lunch today? Sow the seeds of sedition and plan a permanent takeover of the podcast?? Listen and find out!

Have a question or a topic you'd like us to tackle on the show? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Ari and Chris use two fully-functioning microphones to answer the following questions from our staff: what are you most proud of that you've accomplished in your career so far, and what are your bigger goals and ambitions in the field? It's no surprise that there's some overlap and parallels in our responses but it does give us a great opportunity to stroll down memory lane and look a bit into the crystal ball of the future. 

We would LOVE it if people wanted to write in to share the accomplishments that they are most proud of - it's something we don't get to talk about enough! If you want to share, please do so at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

One computer. Two mics. Two people. One office. 

Ari and Chris share physical space once more to talk about the subject of venting, and how to do it without ruining your career and your reputation. Big thanks to the "As We Work" podcast from the Wall Street Journal for inspiring this episode! 

Do YOU need someone to vent to? We're all ears at podcast@naturalencounters.com! 

While Ari is away, Chris does his best to discuss one of the hottest topics in the companion parrot world: to free fly, or not to free fly? It's a big subject with a lot of moving parts, and it gives Chris the opportunity to discuss the challenges with dealing with absolutes, different views of what constitutes good animal welfare, the importance of flight in the early life of a bird, different definititions of what the phrase "free-flight" even means, and some things that we believe make a bird a good (or bad) candidate as a free-flier. 

We'd love to hear our listeners' thoughts on this subject - or anything else you want to talk to us about - and you share those thoughts at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Despite some challenges with our recording equipment (and we tested it and everything!), Ari and Chris sit down to review the feedback Chris has gotten from his peers and his vet-approved plan for dealing with "the Claude situation," and dig into an email about where to start when you're planning your training projects for the year.

Stupid audio challenges! 

Do you have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss on the show? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

With Ari away having some extended Labor Day Weekend fun with family, Chris is joined by NEI's Sam Griffin! We chat about the path through the animal care field that brought Sam to NEI (take note, aspiring future animal care professionals), the importance of - and the advantages of working for - smaller zoological institutions, and how the support of her early NEI mentors kept her from spreading her wings and taking off after her seasonal stint with the company. 

And speaking of Labor Day: through the power of magic AND technololgy, we're also joined by Sean, Hunter, Johneli, Anthony, Skyler, Shay, Emily, Meg, and Laurel from our Roger Williams Park Zoo and Minnesota Zoo shows on their final day of 2024 road shows! Congrats teams, you folks are amazing!!!

If you have a shout-out you’d like us to share, a question or a topic you’d like us to discuss, or a suggestion for a guest we should have on the show, let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Keeping it short and simple this week: Chris is alone in a hotel room somewhere in the Northeast and only has one thing on his mind - "how do I stop one of my cats from peeing all over the place???" In what we hope will be an interactive experience with our listeners, Chris gives some background on the history of the behavior, shares the steps his family has taken to deal with the issue thus far, and basically begs our audience to offer any advice they may have because, ya'll, we are OVER it. 

Whether or not they're related to feline urinary health, we'd love for you to reach out to us with any thoughts or questions you might have at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

 

After a quick discussion of sea turtles and supper clubs, Ari and Chris use a recent "what do I need to buy for my first animal job?" post on the internet as a prompt to share our personal "can't live without" items for working at NEI.

Hats? Check.

Glasses? Check.

Wildly different opinions on footwear brands? Check!!!

Are there any "must have" items in YOUR collection that you'd like to share with the rest of the class? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

References: 

Ari's favorite belt from Amazon can be found here.

To learn more about Keen's footwear discount program for animal care professionals, visit http://www.keenfootwear.com/pro.

It's an Ari solo-cast focused on being flexible! With COVID numbers going up once again, being flexible is as important as ever. Ari talks about being flexible on-stage for dealing with weather, as a leader, and in training sessions, all with the goal of keeping a level head, communicating clearly and calmly, and being able to reflect on decisions made in high-stress moments. 

Have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss on a future episode? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

 

 

Two hosts for two epsiodes in a row? Amazing! After an update from Ari about the IAATE Midyear Meeting at the Peregine Fund, Chris opens a communication can o' worms by sharing his thoughts on the intersection of extreme weather, perception, intentions (and what it really means to "assume good ones"), and personal responsibility, which leads to a discussion about labels, defining what "being passive-aggressive" looks like, and how to deal with gaslighting... it's a lot! 

We'd love to hear our listeners' thoughts on these topics and more, and if you're so inspired we've made it east - just email us at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Chris and Ari are back in the office and talking into the same microphone! Inspired by an insane summer schedule, the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope, and the wisdom of the Leadership Freak blog, our hosts discuss the belief that there are only three ways to "get more time" in a day. Want to know what they are? Well, guess you're just gonna have to listen to the episode then! 

Do you have a question, a topic you'd like us to discuss, a suggestion for a future guest for the show, or additional secrets about how to violate the known laws of the space-time continuum? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Ari sits down with NEI Supervisor Scott Trauger to tackle one of the trickiest questions that applies to everyone across our industry: how do you ask for a raise? Ari and Scott chat salaries, and how and when to ask for pay increases. They talk about how hard it can be to speak positively about yourself and how we all should practice doing that more often! They also discuss exploring other roles, jobs, or fields as a way to discover options and help put your current role in perspective. 

Have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss on the show? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Greetings from the future! Due to challenges with the space/time continuum, we're once again Ari-less this week, but it gives Chris the chance to reflect on his time in New Zealand with the awesome staff and animals of Hamilton Zoo, to dig into the ins and outs of choice paralysis during training sessions, and to discuss a fun new flow chart he built to answer that most basic (but important) of behavior questions: Is the animal doing what I want?

That's right, an audio discussion of a visual resource - woo hoo!

Have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss on the show? Please don't hesitate to let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

 

Recorded in Los Angeles, edited in Tahiti, and posted in New Zealand, it's a special two-part episode of the TEC Talk Podcast! 

For Part 1, Chris sits down to chat with Obsidean Entertainment's Carrie Patel about her role as a Game Director and the talk he saw her give at this year's Game Developers Conference, "No Mavericks, No Martyrs: Sustainable, Collaborative Production". Carrie shares the dangers of celebrating successes without acknowledging the costs that it took to achieve them, the increasing ability that managers have to disrupt their team's processes the higher up the chain of command they grow, and the responsibility leaders have to help those they lead to clearly define their goals for future growth. 

In Part 2, Chris blindly tackles questions submitted by the team at That Bird Show We Don't Talk About. It gets a little weird in places, but hey - if you ever said to yourself, "you know, I really like this show, but I wish Chris had an Icelandic accent," then THIS is the episode you've been waiting for. (Note: apologies to the people of Iceland. You deserve better than this.) 

If you have questions or topics you'd like us to discuss on the show, let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Chris and Ari catch each other up on their recently work travels in Minnesota and the Bahamas, discuss some special upcoming trips in the works for July, and share their go-to menu items from Taco Bell. Which Chris does from a Taco Bell parking lot. While eating Taco Bell. 

Life on the road, ya'll!

Have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss on the show? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com! 

Chris is back on the road and joined by Minnesota Zoo Interpretive Naturalist Donnie Crook! We chat about Donnie's history in the professional animal care world, the unique challenges (and opportunities) that ambassador animal programs experienced during COVID shutdowns, and reflect on the advice we'd give our younger selves when we were just getting started in the field. Spoiler alert - it involves having fun!

Have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss on the show? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Ari is busy getting ready to visit our team in Rhode Island, so this week Chris is joined by returning co-host Adam Geltz to welcome back to the show two of our favorite people in the animal care world, Shelby Jecius and Kyle Alexander from Bearizona Wildlife Park! The four of us chat about their recent experience of moving from being supervisors into mid-level management, the important influence their leaders have had on the leaders they want to become, how working more (on the right things) can help prevent burnout, and the importance of remembering that there are better places to be miserable than in the animal care field. We like you, Shelby and Kyle! 

Oh, and Bearizona COO Dave O'Connell (who makes a brief appearance) is pretty cool too, we guess. 

If you have a shout-out you’d like us to share, a question or a topic you’d like us to discuss, or a suggestion for a guest we should have on the show, let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

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This episode is brought to you by Magic Mind! To learn more about the world's first mental performance shot and get up to 48% off your first order, go to https://www.magicmind.com/tectalkpod and enter the code TECTALKPOD20 at checkout. Thanks, Magic Mind!

In honor of World Parrot Day, Chris is joined by Katelyn, Megan, Kamille, Keegan, Lizzi, and Aaron from NEI's Winged Encounters team to talk all the work they're doing right now to train a dozen new birds to join their free-flight macaw experience at That Major Theme Park in Central Florida That We Don't Talk About. They discuss the path from the birds' earliest training to the work being done right now onsite in the park, share the fun of being 50ft in the air during "lift training," reflect on all the changes we've made to our training practices since we first started setting up the show in 2013, and take a quick survey of the folks in the room to see which of the new birds are currently their favorite.  Have a question or something you'd like us to discuss on the show? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

With Chris in the middle of an unexpected Round 2 with COVID, Ari loops in return guest Ray Minchy to chat about all things show related and being on stage for the first time at a new show. They talk about all the steps she took to make it to her first day of doing the "T2" role on stage, from learning lines to organizing her pockets, and Ray shares some great advice at the end for anyone who is worried about talking in front of a crowd for the first time. Join these two ladies in this awesome GirlCast episode!

Have a question or something you'd like us to discuss on the show? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Fresh out of COVID quarantine, Chris harnesses the power of the internet from Minnesota to summon Ari from Texas to bring YOU another episode of TEC Talk! After comparing the relative merits of our hotel rooms (#TeamHilton), we get into a discussion of how to handle the reality of...reality, and the many and myriad ways that the pressures of life, our jobs, and our environment can throw lots of wrenches into even the best-laid training plans. We talk about the important of flexibilty, discuss our Hierarchies of Training Priorities, and learn about Ari's huge trust account in ethernet plugs.

It'll make sense when you listen to it. 

Have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss? Have a suggestion for someone great you'd like us to have on the show? Got a document you've been working on that you need us to proofread? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Join Ari as she chats with longtime listener and friend of the podcast Hardy Kern! They chat about Hardy's transition from the Columbus Zoo to his new role at the American Bird Conservancy. Hardy shares all that his new role entails, his thoughts on life working from home, and some great advice about how the skills you learn in the animal care field directly translate to many new things!

Have a question for a topic you'd like us to discuss on the show? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Ari sits down with NEI Senior Trainers and mothers-to-be Katie and Lucy to chat about momming in the animal field. They talk about work/life balance, shifts in priorities and expectations, and balancing a family and a career in a tough field on this Mother's Day episode!

Have a question for us to tackle on a future episode? Send it our way at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Ari and Chris convene to talk about what it really means to "see behavior" during a training session. So many nooks and crannies to explore in this one: when your training plan can get in the way of good training, communication between trainers before, during, and after a session, how "training ettiquete" ties into the greater idea of an institutional training culture, building confidence in people that they won't "break their animals," and learning to let go of our preconceptions about our animals - and ourselves - to do a better job of seeing behavior.

Got something you'd like us to talk about on the show? Be like all the cool kids and email us at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

Chris is in Minnesota, but through the magic of technology he is joined, live via satellite from Texas, by Ari and NEI Senior Trainer Adam Geltz to talk about the consulting work we're all doing this week and to answer a simple question: what's the coolest thing you saw today? 

Have a question for us? An idea for a future discussion topic? Want to share the coolest thing you saw today? Email us at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

After discussing scent-based side hustles and the joys of trusting strangers on the internet, Chris and Ari tackle a common belief in animal training: that you should always end a training session on a positive note. With an outdated edition of Don't Shoot the Dog as our companion, we discuss the ways in which striving to always end on a "good note" can limit an animal's voice in the training dialog, set you back in your shaping plan, and even damage relationships. Luckily, we also discuss how redefining what "a good note" looks like can also increase motivation, shorten training sessions, and improve relationships. Isn't behavior amazing?

Have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss on the show? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

This is a super exciting episiode - not because Chris and Ari are back together in the same office for the first time in over a month, but because they're joined by a super cool guest, Zoo Miami's Ron Magill! Ron shares a bunch of great stories from his history in the zoo field: meeting and becoming good friends with Jim Fowler, reflecting on the lessons learned from 27 years of being watched by 10 million people a week on the biggest TV show in the world, how an experience breaking zoo policies on live TV lead to him becoming their spokesperson, and how a very special relationship with an incredible couple had a massive impact on Ron and the zoo's conservation efforts. Not even kidding, all three of us were crying!

If you have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss on the show, let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com! 

The Month of Infinite Travel continues as Ari teams up with NEI Senior Trainer Meg Meyer to talk about the two flights, long drive, and boat trip that got them to a consulting project in the Bahamas. 

Yep. That's a real thing. 

In addition to recounting their long day (that almost landed them in jail), they talk about the joy of doing animal stuff with non-animal people, the difference between what we think an animal feels and and we see an animal do, and the difference between what behavior is and what behavior is not. And manta rays!

If you have a question about tortoises or anything else animal related (or not), let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

The TEC Talk Podcast is super excited to invite Rick Hester to the show! Rick joins us to talk about the journey that brought him to his current role as Curator of Behavioral Husbandry at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, the important ways his understanding of training and behavior were moved ahead by formative experiences with both NEI and Dr Susan Friedman, his exciting recent work exploring the concept of "free operants" with a variety of earthlings, and to share some thoughts about how he is able to keep a lot of plates spinning in his life in a way that is both hard AND reinforcing. 

If you have a shout-out you’d like us to share, a question or a topic you’d like us to discuss, or a suggestion for a guest we should have on the show, let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

 

It's another GIRLCAST! This time Ari hangs out with NEI Senior Trainer Lucy Rutt at the Homewood Suites in Tyler, TX, to talk about NEI's ongoing project at Caldwell Zoo. They dive into celebrating your accomplishments with grace, building relationships with supporting departments, and being a good example for taking time off. 

Also, you can be a vegetarian in Texas, believe it or not!

Have a question you'd like us to answer or a topic you'd like us to discuss on the show? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

We made it! Chris and Ari sit down with Steve Martin to chat about the history of the TEC Talk podcast, to reflect on the special contributions sent in by some of the past presenters from our TEC Talks webinars, and to share our hopes for the future of our industry. 

Big thank yous go out to Ann Brooks, Wouter Stellaard, Rick Hester, Dr Susan Friedman, Amy Fennell, Tim Van Loan, and Marty MacPhee for contributing to this episode!

Have a question or an idea for a topic for one of our next 100 episodes? Drop us a line at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

With Chris in California, Ari talks with the attendees of the IAATE 30th Annual Conference as they kick off the week at their Ice Breaker event in this special "half episode" leading up to next week's 100th episode extravaganza! 

Have a question or something you'd like us to discuss on the show? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!