Podcast Explores Poignant Corners of the Animal Kingdom

The New York Times just dropped a new 6-part podcast called “Animal,” featuring writer Sam Anderson. Backed by the resources of the Times, the production goes out into the world – Iceland, Mexico, Japan – to teach us about animals and our relationship to them.

There is something very soothing about Anderson’s personal audio tour of the animal world. He is informative without being preachy as he shares his encounters with puffins, manatees, wolves, bats, ferrets, and his own dog, a dachshund named Walnut.

At the launch, the Times described the podcast as “a show about love, time, wonder, and humans’ place on the planet.” That may sound a bit mushy, but it’s an accurate descriptor. It may be a simple matter to report what you see, but Anderson takes the reportage a step further: why do we care about these creatures?

“A deep love of animals has been one of the great sustaining joys of my life,” the writer says. “Animals exist right on the edge of our own idea of ourselves. I think this is part of what makes them, at least to some of us, such a comfort. In a world where we feel lost, confused, insufficient and out of place, an animal is a sort of zen portal, an anchoring message communicated through touch: ‘You exist. I exist. That is enough.’”

The six episodes are, we hope, just the beginning. Join Anderson on his adventures here.

Photo credit: Verina via Pexels