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Episode Directory

May 2013

  • 5/27/2013: Special Encore Presentation: Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going Coming Soon
  • 5/20/2013: A Fresh View On The Many Layers Of Modern Africa with Guillaume Bonn Listen Now
  • 5/13/2013: Special Encore Presentation: A Wild Idea Listen Now
  • 5/6/2013: Walking Thunder with guests Cyril Christo and Marie Wilkinson Listen Now

April 2013

March 2013

February 2013

January 2013

December 2012

November 2012

October 2012

September 2012

Kathy Alexander

Dr. Kathy Alexander, Assoc. Prof. Virgina Tech, PhD/DVM. Dr. Alexander specializes in Disease Ecology with a special focus on disease transmission at the human-wildlife interface and emerging zoonotic disease, public health, ecosystem health, and sustainable community development. Her work evaluates coupled human and ecological drivers influencing the health of human and animal populations in the Chobe River region of Botswana. View Guest page

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Dusti Becker

Dr. Dusti Becker: Dusti grew up in North Carolina, Thailand, and Michigan and has worked as a teacher and conservation biologist for the past three decades. She has a B.S.in Secondary Science Education from the University of Virginia, a Masters in Environmental Science from Yale, and a Ph.D. in Zoology from U. Alberta in Canada. After college, she joined the US Peace Corps and was placed in Kenya as a secondary science teacher (1977-80). Teaching at a rural school on the Laikipia Plateau, she witnessed the challenges of population growth for wildlife preservation in Kenya. This led her to study the human dimensions of wildlife management for a Master’s degree at Yale. While at Yale, she also studied mother-infant behavior of the endangered Grevy’s zebra in Kenya, and after completing her degree, Dusti taught wildlife ecology in Kenya for the School for Field Studies. In 1987 she returned to Canada to do a Ph.D. and embarked on a career combining field research and university teaching. She became an assistant professor at Indiana University where she collaborated with Elinor Ostrom (Nobel Laureate in Economics 2009) focusing on community-based conservation. Now, Dusti and her husband, Tony Povilitis direct a non-profit organization, Life Net Nature, focusing on wildlife conservation. They have recently started a project in Kenya, working to empower Maasai youth in wildlife conservation on the western edge of the famed Masai Mara. View Guest page

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Guillaume Bonn

Guillaume Bonn is third generation of a French Family born in Madagascar, studied Politics and Economics in Montreal University and graduated from the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York.
 Lived and grew up in Tananarive, Djibouti, Sanaa, Nairobi, Kathmandu, Saigon Geneva, Paris covering Africa as a photo journalist for nearly two decades from war-torn Congo to Mogadishu. In 2011 Vanity Fair commissioned him to photographically document the plight of the African elephant in the feature article Agony & Ivory, which reached out to 1.4 million readers worldwide. His work has appeared in publications like Newsweek, Time, The New York Times magazine, Conde-Nast traveller, Harpers bazaar, Der Spiegel, Outside, Men’s Vogue, US News & World Report, and others. He is a regular contributor to The New York Times and Vanity Fair Magazine. 
He has directed four film documentaries, worked as a cameraman on “Dying to tell the story”, a 90 minutes documentary which was nominated for an Emmy award.
" Le Mal D’Afrique, a journey into old and new Africa” www.vanityfair.com/contributors/guillaume-bonn‎ www.http://guillaumebonn.tumblr.com View Guest page

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Cyril Christo

Christo states, "Humans may have followed elephants along ancient migration paths out of Africa. Like us, elephants recognize who they are...They have influenced us biologically, culturally, and mythically for hundreds of thousands of years. When we stare into their eyes, we stare into the eyes of origin. Without the elephants, we lose our ballast. We have this decade to stop the slaughter of the innocents. Their future is our fate." Cyril Christo and his wife Marie Wilkinson are poets, photographers and documentary filmmakers. The two have documented their passion for the elephant most recently in a book entitled Walking Thunder: In The Footsteps Of The African Elephant (Merrill, London 2009),, which placed in the top two for Nature Photography Book at the 2010 International Photography Awards and is the first all black and white manifesto dedicated to the elephant. The husband and wife team have exposed the degradation of the natural world since 1996, first with the book, Lost Africa (2004), on the tribes of East Africa, about the decimation of the African elephant. Their work brought the slaughter of Africa’s elephants to the attention of the editors at Vanity Fair. In August 2011, the magazine published the searing investigative feature, Agony and Ivory, by writer Alex Shoumatoff about the tens of thousands of elephants massacred because of the demand for ivory amongst China’s newly rich. http://www.christoandwilkinsonphotography.com View Guest page

Episode Listing:

Jessica Dawson

Jessica Dawson is from San Diego, California, USA originally. She has been in Zimbabwe for 10 years working closely with Roger Parry. Jessica has a Master’s degree in Business Administration. Jessica is the General Manager of the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust, she also holds a Zimbabwe Dangerous Drug’s license and assists in darting operations for wildlife conservation. Recently, Jessica also has been working to be trained in veterinary laboratory diagnostics and she works together with the VFWT team in setting up the veterinary diagnostics capabilities at the laboratory facility. http://www.wildhorizonstrust.org/ View Guest page

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Travis Fulton

Travis Fulton, Executive Producer: Travis created the concept of Elephant in the Room. With inspiration from nature and technology Travis designs sculptures and landscapes using metal, wood, water, stone, light and objects germain to the piece. n the late 1970′s Travis conceived an idea for a public water fountain in downtown Aspen Colorado. Travis designed the look and mechanics of the fountain and Nick DeWolf invented the technology that gave the fountain a personality. In the spring of 1980, the fountain came to life as the worlds first computerized dancing fountain. 30 yrs later, it is still an iconic attraction to Aspen residents and visitors alike. http://travisfulton.net View Guest page

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Kire Godal

Kire Godal, Producer: and Camera: Kire was born in Aspen, Colorado to Norwegian parents who helped found the ski resort.Growing up on horse back and on skis exploring the mountains developed a life long appreciation of the natural world and an adventurous spirit. Kire studied at UCLA for journalism and film. She has combined her love of adventure with her skills as a filmmaker to create original stories for worldwide audiences. Recently fulfilling a dream she told the story of Kenya’s Maasai warriors and lions on the brink of extinction in the flm "Lion Warriors” for National Geographic Wild Channel’s annual Big Cat Week with her brother Erik Godal who composed the music and also helped her produce. "Lion Warriors" was nominated at 2011 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival for best in “People & Nature” category, as well as being a finalist in three categories at the International Wildlife Film Festival 2011. Since 2000 Kire’s exploratory work has documented many rare and secret ceremonies of diverse traditional groups in Africa. Four of her HD films for the “Tribal Odyssey” series have been airing since 2007 on The National Geographic Channel International, France 5 and other channels worldwide. http://www.kiregodal.com View Guest page

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Max Graham P.h.D.

Max Graham is a fluent Kiswahili speaker who has worked on environment and development projects in Afghanistan, Ecuador, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Gabon. He has been involved in elephant research and conservation since 2000 and in 2006 was awarded a PhD from the University of Cambridge. He has published numerous scientific papers on elephant behaviour, human-elephant conflict and wildlife conservation and in 2012 became a member of the IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group. Max is a visiting academic of the Department of Geography at the University of Cambridge and the chairman of the Laikipia Wildlife Forum’s Conservation Committee. He has been based in north Kenya for more than a decade. View Guest page

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Vladimir van Maule

Vladimir van Maule, Filmmontage, Director: is an award-winning cinematographer who has been filming television commercials, documentaries and features for over thirty years.Born in Prague, Czech Republic and educated at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Van Maule’s work includes film projects in Europe, North and South America, the Caribbean Asia and Africa. His films have appeared on National Geographic and the BBC, and a 2-part series entitled “Pilot Notes,” has won grand prizes at four International Film Festivals. His studio is based in an airport community, and the aircraft hangar is also a 2000 square foot sound stage. The Cessna 182, equipped with a special camera wing mount and aerial cinematography is one unique aspect to his work. http://www.filmontage.com View Guest page

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Julie Murad

Julie Murad, CEO The Gabriel Foundation: Julie Weiss Murad, affectionately known as The Birdbrain, has been involved with companion parrots for thirty-five years. The Gabriel Foundation®, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation established in 1996, Headquartered in Colorado. Julie is a national human/parrot behavioral consultant and has lectured both nationally and internationally and has written for several avian publications. Julie has worked with a number of retailers, breeders, students, aviculturists, manufacturers, companion parrot “owners” and veterinarians to promote an educated awareness of the many needs of companion parrots through each of the Foundations’ seven programs: Education and Outreach, Adoption, Sanctuary, Rehabilitation, Rescue, Long-term Foster care, and Conservation, about the need to preserve wild parrots in their indigenous habitats. http://thegabrielfoundation.org View Guest page

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Manny Mvula

Manny Mvula: Manny is the High Five Club co-founder and one of Africa's top safari guides, a wildlife conservationist and a field trip leader who shares his love of Africa and all things wild with young people, along with his safari clients. He regularly makes trips back to his home country of Zambia to work on wildlife conservation and community development projects in the Luangwa Valley, the area he was born and raised. Volunteer Scientific Advisor at Zambia Primate Project, Canterbury, United Kingdom Environmental Services Current Occupation: IUCN - CEC, Kent County Council, High Five Club Experience: Hadlow College, ZNPWS now ZAWA, Robin Pope Safaris Education: The Manchester Metropolitan University LINKS: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/manny-mvula/36/54/677 http://highfiveclub.co.uk/ http://www.bornfree.org.uk/ View Guest page

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Roger Parry

Roger Parry is the Wildlife Manager for the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust, with more than 15 years experience in the Wildlife and Tourism industry. He spent 10 years working for theZimbabwe Dept. of National Parks and Wildlife as Seniro Warden of the Chizarira N. P., while also performing the piloting and flying for the Nat. Parks. He has 15 years of qualifications of darting and capturing wildlife and oversees the running and management of the VFWT laboratory in rescue and rehabilitation of injured, abandoned and orphaned wildlife. VFWT works very closely with the Victoria Falls Anti-Poaching Unit. View Guest page

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Tony Povilitis

Dr. Tony Povilitis: For over 40 years, Dr. Tony Povilitis has advocated for wildlife and nature -- as conservation scientist, nonprofit director and manager, grassroots activist, landowner and reserve manager, and educator. He has lead efforts on behalf of grizzly bears, Mexican and Rocky Mountain wolves, endangered deer in Mexico and South America, jaguar in the US Southwest, Hawaiian coral reefs, and imperiled wildlife and natural communities on Native American and national park lands. Tony has broad experience with agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service, state wildlife and natural resource agencies, and academia. He has written over a hundred scientific papers, technical reports, popular articles, policy papers, and opinion columns. His career has emphasized biodiversity restoration, conservation planning, and training for aspiring conservation biologists. Tony lives in Arizona with his wife, Dr. Dusti Becker, who together direct Life Net Nature, a corps of volunteers focused on community-based conservation in South America and Kenya. View Guest page

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Dale Preece-Kelly

Dale Preece-Kelly and his “Critterish Allsorts” are the leading independent animal education and pet therapy resource in the U.K. through a variety of programs including education events at schools, private events and parties, individual pet therapy, corporate events and TV, Film & Theatre. Dale was influenced through his own experiences in both strong relationships with, and through the loss of pets, which gave him personal understanding of the deep emotional impact that all animals can have on people. Critterish Allsorts now share their pet therapy sessions with the elderly, as well as problematic children, learning disabled and those with life-limiting illnesses. Dale and Critterish Allsorts services in the field of severe mental illness are pioneering in the UK, making them forerunners in mainstream pet therapy development. View Guest page

Episode Listing:

Julian Rademeyer

Julian Rademeyer is an award winning investigative journalist. He’s written and worked for many of South Africa’s major newspapers including. City Press, Beeld, The Sunday Times , Pretoria News and The Herald. In a career spanning nearly two decades, reporting from troubled areas including Somalia, Equatorial Guinea, Niger, Belarus, Egypt and Lebanon, he resigned from his position as chief reporter for Media24 Investigations (S.Africa), to spend two years researching and writing “Killing for Profit”. In 2005 he won the Vodacom Journalist of the Year award for print news and a recipient of the 2009 Mondi Shanduka Newspaper Award for hard news. He has twice been a finalist for the Taco Kuiper Award, South Africa’s leading investigative journalism prize. His work has also been published Troublemakers: The Best of South Africa’s Investigative Journalism. View Guest page

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Barbara Shor

Dr. Barbara Shor, DVM, completed a residency program in non-domestic animal medicine at UC Davis, worked with California Dept. of Fish and Game, and spent a year working with wildlife in East Africa. Since that time she has worked as an animal communicator, speaker and author. She has published a book, Soul of the Wild: Intimate Messages From the Hearts and Souls of Elephants and Whales. The current emphasis of her work is to deepen and expand the connection between people and animals. Website: BarbaraShor.com; FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/barbara.shor1 and she can be found on LinkedIn. View Guest page

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Mark Vandewalle

Dr. Mark Vandewalle, PhD CEO CARACAL. Dr. Vandelwalle is an ecologist specializing in plant-herbivore interactions and large mammal migrations. His career has focused on developing outreach programs in Africa directed at improving capacity of local communities to manage and conserve essential natural resources. View Guest page

Episode Listing:

Marie Wilkinson

Christo states, "Humans may have followed elephants along ancient migration paths out of Africa. Like us, elephants recognize who they are...They have influenced us biologically, culturally, and mythically for hundreds of thousands of years. When we stare into their eyes, we stare into the eyes of origin. Without the elephants, we lose our ballast. We have this decade to stop the slaughter of the innocents. Their future is our fate." Cyril Christo and his wife Marie Wilkinson are poets, photographers and documentary filmmakers. The two have documented their passion for the elephant most recently in a book entitled Walking Thunder: In The Footsteps Of The African Elephant (Merrill, London 2009),, which placed in the top two for Nature Photography Book at the 2010 International Photography Awards and is the first all black and white manifesto dedicated to the elephant. The husband and wife team have exposed the degradation of the natural world since 1996, first with the book, Lost Africa (2004), on the tribes of East Africa, about the decimation of the African elephant. Their work brought the slaughter of Africa’s elephants to the attention of the editors at Vanity Fair. In August 2011, the magazine published the searing investigative feature, Agony and Ivory, by writer Alex Shoumatoff about the tens of thousands of elephants massacred because of the demand for ivory amongst China’s newly rich. http://www.christoandwilkinsonphotography.com View Guest page

Episode Listing:

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A Fresh View On The Many Layers Of Modern Africa with Guillaume Bonn

May 20, 2013
Hosted by Eli Weiss

[Download MP3] [itunes] [Bookmark Episode]

It’s never been clearer that now is a crucial moment for the global environment and that how we address this moment in our history will impact the future human experience on our planet, especially in the case for Africa and it’s precious wildlife. Guillaume has decided the best way to communicate and bring these problems to international attention is to undertake a systematic visual record of the continent’s vanishing wilderness, documenting how man is erasing 300 million years of evolution for personal gain, “Only 50 years ago man had to be protected from the beasts; today the beasts must somehow be protected from man.” These words, written back in 1965, never sounded truer than they do today. Yet when Peter Beard first expressed these concerns forty-five years ago, he would not have guessed how bad things would become for Africa’s wildlife and its habitat.

Our Wild World

Monday at 8 AM Pacific Time on VoiceAmerica Variety Channel

An informative and lively opportunity for listeners of all ages to learn about and raise awareness of contemporary challenges in wildlife and environmental conservation, both in Africa and parallels in the U.S., while also providing direct avenues to a variety of projects to personally take action and get involved.

While our project focus covers sub-Saharan Africa, the results of what we accomplish have global impacts, and further, how we choose to live daily will have impacts upon the future of Africa, our world’s wildlife and people. Our topics will cover a variety of themes including current news, what you can do now, what conservation and sustainability actually mean, how poverty impacts sustainablilty, foreign aid, book reviews, animal behavior, photography, living with wildlife in your back yard, interviews with renowned experts, and your questions and answers. Our Wild World is broadcast live every Monday at 8 AM Pacific Time on the VoiceAmerica Variety Channel.

Eli Weiss

A photographer, philanthropist and Wildlife Conservationist, Eli Weiss grew up in Illinois, Wyoming and Colorado, attended university in Colorado and the UK, and after spending time in Aspen from 1963-1979 she settled in Woody Creek, where, in 2000 she founded the non-profit WildiZe Foundation. In Founding Wildize, Weiss was able to combine her love of photography, art, nature, environmental ethics and conservation in such a way as to benefit our planet. The Foundation serves individuals and educational institutions dedicated to the conservation of wildlife, wildlife habitats and the indigenous cultures of Africa and raises awareness through on-the-ground projects and education both in Africa and the United States. Their mission is to establish direct relationships to projects in sub-Saharan Africa, offering targeted grant funding that support conservation efforts, educational programs and sustainable indigenous economies. Several times per year, Weiss visits the Foundation's grantees across sub-Saharan Africa, developing ongoing programs and building new, long-term relationships. Weiss has worked with experts and leaders in the field of conservation, administering over 2.5 million dollars of public and private grant funding across 75 grantees from specialists to community groups, giving her a well-rounded depth of knowledge critical to raising awareness of the various issues and toward implementing solid solutions based on science, the environment and culture.

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