In Tune to Nature Podcast

Rudolph, Jingling Horses, and Six Geese a Laying: Six Popular Christmas Songs Analyzed by an Animal Rights Activist

This Christmas, I thought it would be fun to analyze six popular Christmas songs referencing animals-other-than-humans (mostly mammals who are forced to pull people around the snow in sleds, and then some birds, mainly fowl who are killed and eaten by humans but sometimes avians humans admire for their beauty). The songs are  Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Run Run Rudolph, Sleigh Ride, Jingle Bells, The 12 Days of Christmas, and Nat King Cole’s The Christmas Song.  In this 24-minute podcast (originally recorded Christmas 2024), I deconstruct these Christmas songs from a Critical Animal Studies perspective. In other words, as an animal rights activist who is sympathetic to the more-than-human-world and the perspectives and interests of other animal individuals and our shared habitats, I analyze these classic songs and what lessons they teach us about fellow animal species and how we could be more respectful, kind of like those Politically Correct Bedtime Story series that gives you a critical yet humorous perspective on classic tales in Western society.

My Radio Free Georgia version of this episode has the license to broadcast these popular songs, but for my podcast friends, I don’t have copyright permission to play the songs, so I linked to the youtube versions of the songs in the podcast notes here below. For the recording, I'll put a jingle bell sound in there when you can cue up the songs to play yourself if you want to. But I’ll speak the key lyrics dealing with animals that I discuss.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMletImQ_cs

Run Run Rudolph: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqVtqbzTdVs 

Sleigh Ride: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZTzai1H9DM

Jingle Bells: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP3RhTbq3Ds 

The Twelve Days of Christmas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QPQI5QUs74 

The Christmas Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKhRnZZ0cJI 

 

"In Tune to Nature" is a weekly hour-long radio show airing Wednesdays at 6pm Eastern Time on 89.3FM-Atlanta radio and streaming worldwide on wrfg.org (Radio Free Georgia, a nonprofit indie station). Hosted by me, Carrie Freeman, or Melody Paris. The show's website and action items can be found at https://www.facebook.com/InTunetoNature You can email me at my first name at wrfg.org.  Please support nonprofit indie media like our Radio Free Georgia station at https://wrfg.org/  Thank you!

Take care of yourself and others, including other species, like reindeer, partridges, French hens, turtle doves, bobtailed horses, and more.

Photo Credit: by Aleksei Zaitcev on Unsplash

Horse Neighing audio credit: From Duke the Palomino who has his own YouTube channel

Journalism's Coverage of Research on Unwilling Subjects: Hosts Carrie & Melody Discuss the Role of News in an Animal-Free Research Future

My cohost and fellow activist Melody Paris interviews me (Carrie Freeman) about the Animal-Free Research Foundation conference talk in Switzerland that I gave this fall, titled: "Unwilling, Unconsenting, and Unnecessary Research Subjects: Addressing Anthropocentric Bias in Journalistic Coverage Legitimizing the (Ab)Use of other Animals in Research." We discuss sociocultural and structural barriers to fair coverage of anti-vivisection and animal-free research alternatives, as well as guidelines from me and Deb Merskin's AnimalsandMedia.org website that apply to improving journalistic coverage of the animal research issue, and examples of common research-oriented news stories and how good journalism could facilitate a needed transition to modern, ethical alternatives to researching on unwilling and inappropriate subjects; regarding the news topics Melody and I have observed over our decades as animal advocates, we include coverage of the Free Wenka campaign against Emory's Yerkes primate lab, recent stories like the poor monkeys who escaped a lab truck crash in Louisiana only to be gunned down by cops and citizens, coverage of how tax dollars could be spent on more effective and innovative animal-free medical research, and how sanctuary stories can help us see what's wrong with experimentation on our animal kin (like profiles of residents at the Project Chimp sanctuary for chimpanzees retired from labs). This is a 57-minute taping of a live radio show that aired Nov 19, 2025 at the Radio Free Georgia studios.

"In Tune to Nature" is a weekly hour-long radio show airing Wednesdays at 6pm Eastern Time on 89.3FM-Atlanta radio and streaming worldwide on wrfg.org (Radio Free Georgia, a nonprofit indie station) hosted by me, Carrie Freeman, or friend Melody Paris. The show's website and my contact info can be found at https://wrfg.org/intunetonature/  While there, consider donating to Radio Free Georgia, a 50+ year old progressive, non-commercial, indie radio station, run largely by volunteers like me and Melody.

Take care of yourself and others, including other species, like mice, rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, zebra fish, dogs, cats, and monkeys.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on In Tune to Nature do not necessarily reflect those of WRFG, its board, staff or volunteers.

Photo Credit: Wild roof rat peeking out from a log in Tennessee, by Joshua Cotten from UnSplash (I decided to show a rat as he ought to be -- free from lab cages).

Seeing, Hearing and Celebrating Animals in Poetry: Nickole Brown recites Donkey Elegies and Mercy

Raised in Kentucky now residing in Asheville,NC Nickole Brown -- poet, writing teacher, and animal rescue volunteer -- shares her love for our wild animal and farmed animal kin with "In Tune to Nature" host Carrie Freeman in this lovely 50-minutes conversation. We enjoy hearing Nickole reading the emotive poem "Mercy" from her award-winning chapbook "To Those Who Were our First Gods" and three poems as essays from her book "The Donkey Elegies." Carrie discusses the many clever, compassionate, and compelling messages found within each poem that truly helps us hear and see fellow animals for the beautiful individuals they are. We question how our society may be diminishing the worth of other animal communities, as we sometimes do with fellow humans. Hopefully we can build solidarity between humans of all classes and animals of all other species.

You can read some of Nickole's poetry and find all her books at her website https://www.nickolebrown.org/ . And eco writers/poets may want to check out the Hellbender Gathering of Poets, a conference she has organized in the Western NC mountains (named after the Hellbender salamander in the Appalachian mountains that she loves).

"In Tune to Nature" is a weekly hour-long radio show airing Wednesdays at 6pm Eastern Time on 89.3FM-Atlanta radio and streaming worldwide on wrfg.org (Radio Free Georgia, a nonprofit indie station) hosted by me, Carrie Freeman, or friend Melody Paris. The show's website and my contact info can be found at https://wrfg.org/intunetonature/  While there, consider donating to Radio Free Georgia, a 50+ year old progressive, non-commercial, indie radio station, run largely by volunteers like me.

Take care of yourself and others, including other species, like donkeys!

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on In Tune to Nature do not necessarily reflect those of WRFG, its board, staff or volunteers.

Photo Credit: Donald Schuster took this lovely image of Nickole and Gulliver

Background audio captured by Carrie of birdsong in Suches, GA and a hawk in Atlanta.

Food as EcoFriendly Holiday Gift Giving: Ideas from Dulce Vegan baker Idalys Sansores

Food is both a necessity and a pleasure, yet these days it costs more than ever (in financial and planetary resources), so to continue this show's annual holiday tradition of exploring eco-friendly gift giving ideas to get your Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa holidays started off in the right spirit, I wanted to concentrate this year’s show on exploring gifts of food, keeping it plant-based to be more ethical and sustainable (including sweet treats, savory meals, chocolates, drinks, and time spent together enjoying food).

So I was thinking “Who do I know who is a good cook?” which led me to invite Idalys Sansores to be the guest for this episode, since she is the owner of Dulce Vegan Bakery & Café in Atlanta, a place I have frequented for years. It’s an organic vegan café that has been around as a brick and mortar restaurant in the Kirkwood neighborhood since 2011. Dulce Vegan’s mission says “they are a proud queer- & woman-of-color-owned small business,” and “they seek to create the type of world we want to live in—one of passion, radical inclusion, intentionality, sustainability, and care for others.”  Idalys and her team make both sweet and savory items and coffee and tea drinks, so I thought she could give us some advice on some great things to make and how to make them look great too (even keeping in mind food allergies people might have). In this 46 minute "In Tune to Nature" show, she takes us from baked goods, to dinner party meals, to hot chocolate. And we keep it plant-based/vegan, so it remains more eco-and-animal friendly and inclusive for everyone.

I hope these ideas help you treat your friends and family to foods they love and need, without leaving too high of a footprint on the planet (by keeping it plant-based, local, organic, and wrapping in re-usable containers) and leaving nothing cluttering up their houses after the holidays (better to give food than items/objects/products as gifts). Btw, the Loving it Vegan site is a go-to of mine for recipes.

"In Tune to Nature" is a weekly hour-long radio show airing Wednesdays at 6pm Eastern Time on 89.3FM-Atlanta radio and streaming worldwide on wrfg.org (Radio Free Georgia, a nonprofit indie station) hosted by me, Carrie Freeman, or friend Melody Paris. The show's website and my contact info can be found at https://wrfg.org/intunetonature/  While there, consider donating to Radio Free Georgia, a 50+ year old progressive, non-commercial, indie radio station, run largely by volunteers like me.

Take care of yourself and others, including other species.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on In Tune to Nature do not necessarily reflect those of WRFG, its board, staff or volunteers.

Photo Credit: Carrie Freeman sharing some home-made vegan chocolate candy cane cookies

Background Christmas Music Credit: Sound Gallery by Dmitry Taras (from Pixabay)

 

Bloom Again Climate Fiction and Among Wolves Nonfiction Books: Nature Writer Marybeth Holleman in Alaska

In this 50-minute podcast, we talk polar bears, wolves, women, climate activists, and Denali wolf advocacy, through the tales of award-winning nature writer Marybeth Holleman whose new book is the eco-climate fiction novel “Bloom Again” a tale of two women in midlife -- estranged childhood friends -- Astrid a paleo-botanist in Raleigh, North Carolina at UNC and Elyse, a painter in Anchorage, Alaska, who both eventually reunite while experiencing major life changes, in their attempts to mitigate the climate crisis and take some risks in their careers, and through them we realize the road to climate solutions relies on a marriage of art and science. Polar bears play a central role in the plot of Bloom Again (Marybeth and I read some book passages on a polar bear, Binky, in the Anchorage zoo).

I really enjoyed reading Bloom Again, as I liked how the narrative pivoted back and forth between Astrid’s dramas in NC and India and then Elyse’s dramas in Alaska and Siberia, but with some connections between the two women and their friends and the shared environmental crisis we all face.

In this show recorded in October 2025, I also talk to Marybeth about an important 2013 nonfiction book of hers called “Among Wolves,” co-authored with the late Denali National Park wolf researcher and staunch wolf advocate Gordon Haber, who tragically died when his small research plane crashed when he was out monitoring the wolves in the park in 2009.  Marybeth co-authored the Among Wolves book with Gordon after his death, using his field notes and telling his passionate story with Alaska’s wolves, and their dramas, family joys, as well as their abuse at the hands of some brutal human hunters and trappers. Gordon provides solutions for fairer, smarter, and more humane wolf policies (as individuals not "packs" of interchangeable wolves).

Both books, Bloom Again, and Among Wolves, will affect you deeply. They are published by University of Alaska Press, as Marybeth resides in Anchorage, Alaska. Her website that links to all her writing is https://www.marybethholleman.com/

"In Tune to Nature" is a weekly hour-long radio show airing Wednesdays at 6pm Eastern Time on 89.3FM-Atlanta radio and streaming worldwide on wrfg.org (Radio Free Georgia, a nonprofit indie station) hosted by me, Carrie Freeman, or friend Melody Paris. The show's website and my contact info can be found at https://wrfg.org/intunetonature/  While there, consider donating to Radio Free Georgia, a 50+ year old progressive, non-commercial, indie radio station, run largely by volunteers like me.

Take care of yourself and others, including other animals like polar bears and wolves.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on In Tune to Nature do not necessarily reflect those of WRFG, its board, staff or volunteers.

Photo Credit: Rick Steiner took this photo of spouse Marybeth Holleman with dog Xena at Arctic Valley in Alaska

Zion National Park: Carrie's Vegan Basecamp Community Hiking and Camping Adventure

Travel along with me through my first fun trip to the gorgeous, dry, red rock canyons of Zion National Park in Utah, on my unique weekend "vegan basecamp" camping experience with my friend Deb and 30 other vegan folks in mid September 2025 (so different from the green, humid Atlanta region I came from). We go together on the iconic "narrows hike," sloshing through the rocky Virgin River in a beautiful slot canyon and later on a night hike under the stars. I also share audio and musings from the Weeping Rock trail, the Emerald Pools trail, Wildcat Canyon trail (and a few birds, bees, squirrels, a turkey, a tarantula, crickets, and mule deer...some folks saw endangered California Condors but I didn't). In this 51-minute "In Tune to Nature" episode that I pieced together from my phone audio, you'll also enjoy lively banter around the campfire (and in line for the Zion shuttle) with people like Tara, Ashley, John, Nova, Elizabeth, and Deb sharing their nature experiences in Zion and why they are continuously inspired to be vegan and help fellow animals (whether it's adopting a dog who was going to end up in the food system or getting stuck on a Las Vegas highway next to a slaughterhouse truck filled with panicked pigs). 

Elizabeth and Colt put together these community vegan group camping experiences as a labor of love https://theveganbasecamp.com/ cooking us delicious plant-based meals and coffee over a grill, and it might inspire others to do the same in their own park regions.

On the trip, I didn't see that many Zion Park Service employees, but I always thanked them for their service and expressed my discontent with the insulting budget and hiring cuts that are making their lives so stressful. So at the end of the show, I remind us how to support the park service by contacting Congress and also joining conservation advocacy groups like the National Park Conservation Association. https://www.npca.org/. Plus there is a new public lands journalism outlet (nonprofit) that can keep us informed: Re:Public at https://www.republic.land/ 

"In Tune to Nature" is a weekly hour-long radio show airing Wednesdays at 6pm Eastern Time on 89.3FM-Atlanta radio and streaming worldwide on wrfg.org (Radio Free Georgia, a nonprofit indie station) hosted by me, Carrie Freeman, or friend Melody Paris. The show's website and my contact info can be found at https://wrfg.org/intunetonature/  While there, consider donating to Radio Free Georgia, a 50+ year old progressive, non-commercial, indie radio station, run largely by volunteers like me.

Take care of yourself and others, including other animals from tarantulas to condors to mule deer.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on In Tune to Nature do not necessarily reflect those of WRFG, its board, staff or volunteers.

Photo Credit: Selfie with Carrie Freeman and Debra Merskin, Zion NP.

 

BIPOC Animal Activism Starter Guide for Collective Liberation: Yvette Baker of APEX Advocacy

To many animal activists (especially activists of color), veganism isn't just a diet to help nonhuman animals; it's a collective liberation movement, part of a systemic approach to seeking justice for all beings and decolonizing our food system. Yvette Baker shares her philosophies on this and more, as the lead author of the innovative and in-depth 68-page Animal Activism Starter Guide for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), available for free download from APEX Advocacy -- a nonprofit advocacy group started by friend-of-the-show Christopher 'Soul' Eubanks here in Atlanta, that is building a community of BIPOC animal rights advocates by empowering their activism and providing them professional development.

In this 44-minute "In Tune to Nature" interview from Sept 2025, host Carrie Freeman talks with Yvette Baker (L.A. activist and APEX's Director of Activism and Community Impact) about:

• the value of having an animal activism starter guide centering on BIPOC activists and their perspectives;
• creating solidarity between animal activism and social justice causes as many compassionate BIPOC activists have done historically;
• why she uses the terms "nonhuman animal" and "other animals" to push back on dehumanizing, racist, and colonial lies separating humans from all other animals;
• the six main reasons activists of color should get involved in animal activism;
• spotlighting Julia Magnus, of the Open Sanctuary Project and micro-animal-sanctuary in Chicago ; and
• the importance of building BIPOC activist communities beyond white vegan led spaces, which can often be alienating and less connected with broader justice causes. And, as a white animal activist and vegan, Carrie points out the value she found in reading and learning from this BIPOC guide.

The guide took a year for Yvette and her team to produce, so our radio show can't fully cover all the many sections and wisdom it provides (including legal protection for activists of color; self care; indigenous roots of plant-based eating, and systemic activism strategies), so it's totally worth checking out online and discussing with friends. https://www.apexadvocacy.org/starterguide  Consider also supporting or joining APEX Advocacy, as BIPOC-led nonprofits receive just 4% of funding of white-led organizations, and this financial inequity needs to change so the world can change. 

"In Tune to Nature" is a weekly hour-long radio show airing Wednesdays at 6pm Eastern Time on 89.3FM-Atlanta radio and streaming worldwide on wrfg.org (Radio Free Georgia, a nonprofit indie station) hosted by me, Carrie Freeman, or Melody Paris. The show's website and my contact info can be found at https://wrfg.org/intunetonature/  While there, consider donating to Radio Free Georgia, a 50+ year old progressive, non-commercial, indie radio station, run largely by volunteers like me.

Take care of yourself and others, including other animals because we are all connected.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on In Tune to Nature do not necessarily reflect those of WRFG, its board, staff or volunteers.

Deep Ecology Reconnection with Nature: With Aussies John Seed & Tema Milstein

If you like eco-therapy and/or Australian accents, you'll get both in this episode, as Carrie interviews John Seed, Deep Ecology father, founder/activist of the Rainforest Information Centre and co-author of the open-access book "Thinking Like a Mountain: Toward a Council of All Beings," and Dr. Tema Milstein (American turned Australian), Fulbright Scholar, and environmental communication Professor at Univ of New South Wales in Sydney. Both are co-facilitators of Deep Ecology workshops, that help reconnect us with each other and nature and heal our separation, like the compelling workshop I attended with them in Hobart Tasmania this June (you'll hear brief audio clips from that workshop of a kookaburra bird, Tema ringing bells, and my reflections after an emotional exercise). In this 56 minute interview, we describe some of my favorite workshop exercises like the council of all beings, breathing with trees, a solar system planetary walk, and the truth mandala (honouring our pain for the world). John also recites two poems by Robinson Jeffers.

You can find out more about this eco-philosophy and everyday practice of Deep Ecology at John's websites below, and in the U.S. through "The Work That Reconnects" https://workthatreconnects.org/ 

• https://www.facebook.com/johnseed.deepecology       
• https://www.instagram.com/johnseed_deepecology/  
•  https://substack.com/@johnseed  
• Occasional blog posts at htpps://johnseed.net  
• Podcasts, essays, films etc https://rainforestinfo.org.au/johnseed.htm   
• Plus follow Tema at https://www.instagram.com/temamilstein/ 

"In Tune to Nature" is a weekly hour-long radio show airing Wednesdays at 6pm Eastern Time on 89.3FM-Atlanta radio and streaming worldwide on wrfg.org (Radio Free Georgia, a nonprofit indie station) hosted by me, Carrie Freeman, or Melody Paris. The show's website and my contact info can be found at https://wrfg.org/intunetonature/  While there, consider donating to Radio Free Georgia, a 50+ year old progressive, non-commercial, indie radio station, run largely by volunteers like me.

Take care of yourself and others, including other species because we are all connected.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on In Tune to Nature do not necessarily reflect those of WRFG, its board, staff or volunteers.

Photo of Tema Milstein and John Seed was taken by Carrie Freeman at the Tasmania Deep Ecology Workshop. June 2025.

Coexisting with Insects in our Greenspaces: Photographer Danae Wolfe on Chasing Bugs

Insect photographer/advocate Danae Wolfe (of ChasingBugs.com) talks with me about amazing insects (like the spiders, butterflies, moths, and fireflies that I saw in the Appalachia mountains) and why they and their habitats are deserving of our protection, instead of our disdain, zappers, and poisons. We discuss cool tips in her new book "Grass Isn't Greener" to be wildlife-friendly in our greenspaces/ yards (as insect populations are declining and need our help), like by: passing on the pesticides, lessening our lawn, leaving the leaves, planting native plants, flipping the switch on lighting, and avoiding fake Halloween spiderweb mesh yard decorations (go for real spiderwebs). Danae and I also critique some militaristic and negative language common in demonizing insects, and I explain why I try to avoid saying "bugs" (as in 'they bug me'). She also tells me how to avoid being bitten when outdoors.

In this 47-minute "In Tune to Nature" podcast, you'll learn a lot about insects (and coexisting with them) from the wealth of experience and enthusiasm Danae Wolfe has an artist and conservationist. Check out her website with cool photos and a short film https://www.chasingbugs.com/ 

"In Tune to Nature" is a weekly hour-long radio show airing Wednesdays at 6pm Eastern Time on 89.3FM-Atlanta radio and streaming worldwide on wrfg.org (Radio Free Georgia, a nonprofit indie station) hosted by me, Carrie Freeman, or Melody Paris. The show's website and my contact info can be found at https://wrfg.org/intunetonature/  

Take care of yourself and others, including other species, like fireflies and oak treehoppers.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on In Tune to Nature do not necessarily reflect those of WRFG, its board, staff or volunteers.

Photo Credit by Danae Wolfe: Oak Treehopper mother and baby (one of Danae's favorite insects)

The TransFARMation to Free us From Factory Farming: Stories from Leah Garces

I was excited to have longtime food and animal activist (and local Atlantan) Leah Garces, CEO of Mercy for Animals, join me in the WRFG studio to share interesting stories from her latest book “TransFARMation: The Movement to Free Us From Factory Farming.” In this 49-minute podcast (recorded July 2025), we discuss all kinds of animals, including many humans, who are affected by industrial animal agribusiness -- from animal farmers, to rural communities, to slaughterhouse workers (many of whom are immigrants), to pigs, chickens, and cows -- everyone fighting exploitation in this broken system.

Since we all are part of this food system and are affected by factory farming, we are all involved in creating what Leah calls a “transFARMation.” Her book, and our talk today, is focused on how people are making this necessary and positive transition happen. We hope you'll be part of this movement to a just, humane, and sustainable foodsystem. TheTransFARMationProject.org is the website to explore this effort to positively transform the rural economy with Leah’s nonprofit group Mercy for Animals.

"In Tune to Nature" is a weekly hour-long radio show airing Wednesdays at 6pm Eastern Time on 89.3FM-Atlanta radio and streaming worldwide on wrfg.org (Radio Free Georgia, a nonprofit indie station) hosted by me, Carrie Freeman, or Melody Paris. The show's website and my contact info can be found at https://wrfg.org/intunetonature/  Tell me about any factory farming stories of yours that I might share on the show.

Take care of yourself and others, including other species, like chickens, pigs, and cows.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on In Tune to Nature do not necessarily reflect those of WRFG, its board, staff or volunteers.

Taking you along my Tasmanian Wildlife Journey: Part 2 Maria Island Wombats to Hobart Eco Heroes

Join me on the second segment of my ecotourism trip to Tasmania, Australia (my unscientific, amateur, American, vegan, wombat-obsessed perspective) with all my own audio recordings from my June 2025 trip. This 58-minute (part 2) segment of the trip takes you along with me to my favorite part -- Maria Island National Park and its wombats, kangaroos and wallabies, stingrays, and ruby red anemones, and the culling issue of marsupial "overpopulation" -- through to Port Arthur Historic Convict Site, then on to the city of Hobart, with insights from my Conference on Communication and Environment #COCE2025 (at Univ of Tasmania), including compelling audio clips from Tassie Green Party pioneers who spoke to us -- Bob Brown and Christine Milne. As retired Members of Parliament, and forest/river and gender activists, Christine and Bob have refreshingly candid political advice for activists that also gives listeners insights into current Australian politics. Plus you get to hear their cool Aussie accents (much better than my one attempt early on to do an Aussie accent). "Bad Weather" pronounced "Beed Weeth-uh." (side note: I loved the cool weather there in their winter and the sunny days on the coast). If you like my ecotourist ramblings and low-tech audio, make sure you've listened to Tassie podcast part 1 in the previous podcast posting. And see photos and videos from my trip at https://www.facebook.com/InTunetoNature 

Idea: You can do a drinking game every time I talk about wombat poop, the ferry, and how adorable any marsupial is.

Note: All the animal audio and photos here are of free-living/wild animals (no one was captive in a zoo or sanctuary), which did limit the number of other animal species I interacted with (no Tasmanian Devils or platypuses this time), but I felt it was a more natural and respectful way to interact (it was the animal individual's choice to get near me or allow me nearer to them). And I had an amazing time, and was elated for every wild animal I saw (like fairy wrens or swamp hens at outdoor bistro tables eating my chia pudding cup).

As part of me compensating for the greenhouse gas emitted from my international trip, I made some donations to the Tasmanian Land Conservancy and the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania and the Friends of Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary.

"In Tune to Nature" is a weekly radio show airing Wednesdays at 6pm Eastern Time on 89.3FM-Atlanta radio and streaming worldwide on wrfg.org (Radio Free Georgia, a nonprofit indie station) hosted by me, Carrie Freeman, or Melody Paris. The show's website and my contact info can be found at https://wrfg.org/intunetonature/  Tell me about wildlife experiences YOU have had in Australia or any comments on my Tasmania trip, and I might mention it on a future show. Thank you, friends!

Take care of yourself and others, including other species, like wombats!

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on In Tune to Nature do not necessarily reflect those of WRFG, its board, staff or volunteers. 

 

Taking you along my Tasmanian Wildlife Journey: Part 1 Cradle Mountain to Wineglass Bay

I’m so excited to share my three-week ecotourism trip through Tasmania, Australia. This 50-minute podcast is the first of a multi-part podcast series I created from the audio that I took along my June 2025 trip (and you can pair that with the gorgeous photos I posted on https://www.facebook.com/InTunetoNature ) to get a feel for this extraordinary place, and its animals, like wombats, kangaroos, wallabies, seals, whales, sheep, cows, and birds like cockatoos, forest ravens, magpies, wrens, and kookaburras. Often I’m adding in my own audio commentary and context as an American traveler and animal and environmental advocate, but other times I’m just quietly recording the voices and sounds around me, particularly the other animals there.

Across the full series exploring Tasmania (or lutruwita, as the Aborignal Palawa people have called their homeland for 40,000 years), the itinerary I’ll take you on is first a quick visit to Melbourne on the front end of the trip (hello city Cockatoo), and then we spend a week traveling through Northern and Eastern Tasmania, starting at beautiful Dove Lake in Cradle Mountain National Park (where I see my first wombats), through the second largest city, Launceston, and the wine and agricultural region, over to the East Coast to the iconic wineglass bay in Freycinet National Park (this is Part 1). And then in future podcasts, I take the ferry to Maria Island (with so many wild animals, including kangaroos) and Port Arthur historic convict site, then South, over to the largest city, Hobart, for a week for my participation in the Conference on Communication and Environment at Univ of Tasmania, and a post-conference on Deep Ecology with esteemed activist John Seed (and we also get to meet two of their biggest environmental activists who started the Green Party in Australia, Christine Milne and Bob Brown). Then before flying out of Melbourne, on the mainland of Australia, I share my tour of the Great Ocean Road where I got to see my first wild koalas up in the eucalyptus trees, and a kookaburra, black and white magpies, and kangaroos at their gorgeous national parks.

Note: all the animal audio and photos here are of wild/free-living animals (no one was captive in a zoo or sanctuary), which did limit the number of other animal species I interacted with (no Tasmanian Devils or platypuses this time), but I felt it was a more natural and respectful way to interact (it was the animal individual's choice to get near me or allow me nearer to them). And I had an amazing time, and was elated for every wild animal I saw (even wrens or swamp hens at outdoor bistro tables), plus I enjoyed the human Aussies I met as well. Love their accents!

As part of my compensation for the resources used and greenhouse gas emitted from my international trip, I made some donations to the Tasmanian Land Conservancy and the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania and the Friends of Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary.

"In Tune to Nature" is a weekly radio show airing Wednesdays at 6pm Eastern Time on 89.3FM-Atlanta radio and streaming worldwide on wrfg.org (Radio Free Georgia, a nonprofit indie station) hosted by me, Carrie Freeman, or Melody Paris. The show's website and my contact info can be found at https://wrfg.org/intunetonature/  Tell me about wild life experiences you have had in Australia or any comments on my Tasmania trip, and I might mention it on a future show. Thank you, friends!

Take care of yourself and others, including other species, like wombats!

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on In Tune to Nature do not necessarily reflect those of WRFG, its board, staff or volunteers. 

Apocalyptic Authoritarianism: Dr. Hanna Morris Discusses Climate Crisis News Coverage and Progressive Politics in the trump Era

Environmental communication scholar Dr. Hanna Morris shared her insights from "Apocalyptic Authoritarianism: Climate Crisis, Media, and Power," her 2025 book with Oxford Univ Press. This book meets the political moment in analyzing the way most mainstream news media actually lean moderate to right in climate coverage that "others" and villianizes the New Left activists and progressive politicians as too 'radical' or 'woke' (like A.O.C. and often other women of color or those proposing the Green New Deal) in favor of older American narratives of "order" and quick solutions via white male authorities and American exceptionalism, rather than exploring democratic coalitions of many  Americans who are proposing deeper climate justice and equity initiatives and new sustainable ways of living (going beyond simplified technological global warming fixes preferred by authorities).

But Morris has ideas for how more robust climate journalism --that challenges privileged authority figures, respects the wisdom of the public, and acknowledges the violences of the climate crisis -- could foster the kinds of democratic and holistic/deep responses the climate crisis warrants. We discuss current issues that the journalism profession is facing in this digital era and trump regime.

Dr. Morris and I begin this 50-minute In Tune to Nature podcast by chatting about our upcoming trips to Tasmania for the Conference on Communication and the Environment #COCE2025 as members of the International Environmental Communication Association that we volunteer for. We also contend with the ironies of using fossil fuels to fly to environmental conferences and how to offset the costs in some ways. I end the podcast with audio of an Australian (Tasmanian) animal species (nonhuman) and ask you to identify the species and email me your guess.

Hanna Morris, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the School of the Environment at University of Toronto. Her website has book information at https://hannamorris.com/ 

"In Tune to Nature" is a weekly radio show airing Wednesdays at 6pm Eastern Time on 89.3FM-Atlanta radio and streaming worldwide on wrfg.org (Radio Free Georgia, a nonprofit indie station) hosted by me, Carrie Freeman, or Melody Paris. The show's website and my contact info can be found at https://wrfg.org/intunetonature/  For the kind of robust climate journalism and progressive public affairs programming Dr. Morris is advocating, please support nonprofit indie media like our Radio Free Georgia station at https://wrfg.org/  Thank you!

Take care of yourself and others, including other species, like Tasmanian Devils.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on In Tune to Nature do not necessarily reflect those of WRFG, its board, staff or volunteers. 

What is Welfare for Sparrows and Other Wild Animal Individuals? Wild Animal Initiative Interview

When you hear the term "animal welfare" you probably think cats, dogs, horses, maybe pet parakeets. But there is an organization called Wild Animal Initiative that is expanding the notion of animal welfare to include wild/free-living animal individuals. For my 100th podcast episode, my guest Cat Kerr with Wild Animal Initiative was here to talk about how scientists try to measure wellbeing in wild animals (you can guess some of the criteria) and why we have not often done that in scientific research on a regular basis (it's different from veterinary research and conservation research). Cat and host Carrie Freeman talk for 50 minutes in the Radio Free Georgia studio in Atlanta in April 2025, sharing some stories about a one-eyed squirrel on Carrie's porch, wild bird welfare, how scientists are helping house sparrows live better lives (despite how some folks don't like sparrows, go figure), what wild birds with bird flu are going through, and how to promote wild animal welfare research and policies, including what we can do to improve our animal neighbors' lives. 

Check out https://www.wildanimalinitiative.org/ to read and support their research (they also offer grants to researchers...since science funding is getting hard to come by these days).

"In Tune to Nature" is a weekly radio show airing Wednesdays at 6pm Eastern Time on 89.3FM-Atlanta radio and streaming worldwide on wrfg.org (Radio Free Georgia, a nonprofit indie station) hosted by me, Carrie Freeman, or Melody Paris. The show's website and action items can be found at https://wrfg.org/intunetonature/  Please support nonprofit indie media like our Radio Free Georgia station at https://wrfg.org/  Thank you!

Take care of yourself and others, including other species, like one- or two- eyed squirrels and house sparrows.

Photo Credit: cute House Sparrow photo from Wild Animal Initiative website.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on In Tune to Nature do not necessarily reflect those of WRFG, its board, staff or volunteers. 

 

Protecting the Endangered Species Act (and Wild Animals) from trump Attacks: An Interview with Wildlife Legal Expert Tara Zuardo

In this mass extinction era, can we save the Endangered Species Act? We discuss how engaged citizens can speak out against the trump regime's recent proposal to weaken the notion of what “harm” legally means (so the Endangered Species Act would essentially no longer protect animals’ habitats from exploitation, even though habitat destruction is the largest threat to species). Here's a link to a public comment opportunity for engaged citizens to post their thoughts to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services (by May 19 ,2025). But the fight will be ongoing and end up in court, so continue to keep tabs on what we can all do for wild animal protection.

In this 44-minute podcast, In Tune to Nature Host Carrie Freeman interviews Tara Zuardo, a legal expert, and Senior Advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/biodiversity/#  Tara discusses: the successes of the 50+ year Endangered Species Act (ESA) (it has faced attacks before, but courts have held firm), how contentious some have made the ESA historically (such as with the spotted owl), how flexible the ESA actually is in balancing human and nonhuman animal interests, larger issues of needing to legally protect all (even non-endangered) wild/free-living animals in North America, such as on wildlife refuges and from trapping (yes that's still a thing), and how to work at the state and local level on wildlife-friendly policies (while acknowledging our exhaustion that we have to waste time and resources for four years, trying to protect what we have, rather than moving forward at the federal level).

"In Tune to Nature" is a weekly radio show airing Wednesdays at 6pm Eastern Time on 89.3FM-Atlanta radio and streaming worldwide on wrfg.org (Radio Free Georgia, a nonprofit indie station) hosted by me, Carrie Freeman, or Melody Paris. The show's website and action items can be found at https://wrfg.org/intunetonature/  Please support nonprofit indie media like our Radio Free Georgia station at https://wrfg.org/  Thank you!

Take care of yourself and others, including other species, like those who rely on us and enforcement of laws like the Endangered Species Act.

Endangered FL Manatee Photo Credit: Keith Ramos USFWS, from the Center for Biological Diversity action item on website.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on In Tune to Nature do not necessarily reflect those of WRFG, its board, staff or volunteers.