The Animal Highlight
Episodes
S6E4: The Oxford Dodo - Science, Myth, and a Fragmented Afterlife
06 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode Rosa focuses on the Oxford Dodo, attempting to trace the life history of a bird whose only trace is a fragile head and foot in the Oxf...
S6E3: Parrots and frogs - Multispecies Assemblages and the Changing of Feathers
30 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Rosa traces a Munduruku feather cap from Brazil to the museum case and discuss how tapirage was a process used to turned green parrots feathers a bl...
S6E2: Hummingbirds - Warrior birds and feathered jewels
23 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Using a feather fan as her base, Rosa Dyer traces how Victorian fashion turned fierce hummingbirds into quiet ornaments. The object brings into focus ...
S6E1: Huia - Birds, Museums and Global Commodification
16 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
We start Season 6 "Museum Collections/Objects" with Rosa Dyer looking at the Huia, a New Zealand songbird whose dimorphic beaks garnered the...
S5E10: Heck Cattle - Where Nazi Eugenics Meets Modern Rewilding
04 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fierce, controversial, and caught between worlds—Heck cattle embody the complex intersection of dark history and modern conservation. This final epi...
S5E9: Red Kites - Conservation and The Ethical Dilemmas of Wildlife Translocation
28 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Virginia explores how the recovery of red kites in Britain has been shaped by international efforts and cross-border collaborations between government...
S5E8: Wolf Rewilding - Rethinking Risk and Coexistence
21 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Virginia tells us how grey wolves are reclaiming territories across Europe and North America through a process known as auto-rewilding—autonomously ...
S5E7: Mink Concerns - The Cost of Fur Through a Photographer's Lens
14 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this Animal Highlight, fellow Virginia Thomas uses one of Jo-Anne McArthur’s images as her inspiration. She compares and contrasts the lives of m...
S5E6: Brown Dog - The Forgotten Terrier Who Sparked a Movement
07 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this Animal Highlight, fellow Virginia Thomas talks about Brown Dog, a canine who in 1903 was subjected to vivisection at University College London...
S5E5: Honeybees - Exploited Labour and Sticky Ethics
30 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this Animal Highlight, fellow Virginia Thomas discusses honeybees and the ways in which they are exploited for their honey. She notes how much labo...
S5E4: European Wildcat - Dilemmas of Conservation
23 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this Animal Highlight, fellow Virginia Thomas discusses the European Wild Cat and their entangled relationships with domesticated cats. She notes h...
S5E3: Pale Male - Manhattan's Famous Red-Tailed Hawk
16 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Virginia Thomas tells us about a red-tailed hawk named Pale Male who sparked controversy and admiration when he built his nest on a luxury Fifth Avenu...
S5E2: Misunderstood Magueys - Thinking about Multispecies Justice
09 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Virginia Thomas introduces the red maguey worm; a caterpillar often mistakenly called the "tequila worm.” She explores their biology and ethica...
S5E1: Citizen Dogs - Reimagining Canine-Human Societies
02 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this Animal Highlight, fellow Virginia Thomas focuses on the domestic dog and the ways in which they might be thought of as citizens. She thinks ab...
S4E8: Animals and Waste Review
18 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The last episode of Season 4 is a review of the season “Animals and Waste.” Herre de Bondt, Rebecca Shen, and Claudia Hirtenfelder touch on some o...
S4E7 - Radioactive Boars
11 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this Highlight, Herre looks at how nuclear waste has impacted the lives of wild boars living in Japan. More specifically, he discusses how, followi...
S4E6: Metropolitan Macaques
04 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode Herre de Bondt discusses Singapore’s metropolitan macaques and how they use the city and its waste as a valuable resource that is no...
S4E5: Entangled Sea Turtles
28 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to talking about waste and its impacts on animals it is hard to not think about plastic. In this episode, Herre de Bondt tells us how se...
S4E4 - Engineering Fiddler Crabs
21 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Fiddler crabs, with their one giant claw, are considered ecosystem engineers in mangrove environments. Herre de Bondt gives us a glimpse into the worl...
S4E3 - Pre-Emptive House Finches
14 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
House finches in Mexico City use discarded cigarette butts in the lining of their nests to fend of parasites, Herre de Bondt tells us more abut this i...
S4E2 - Composting Worms
07 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Wormeries are becoming increasingly popular in cities so in this episode Herre de Bondt considers a creature at the center of this trend, worms, and h...
S4E1: Stringed Pigeons
01 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Herre de Bondt joins the show as a co-host of Season 4 of the Animal Highlight to discuss the intricate relationships of animals and waste. He kicks o...
S3E10: Transgressive Jellyfish
17 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this highlight Amanda talks about jellyfish and the many ways in which they are thought to be transgressive potential threats to biosecurity. Amand...
S3E9 - Imperiled Pangolins
10 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this animal highlight Amanda talks about pangolins, one of the most trafficked animals in the world. She speaks about some of her concerns with One...
S3E8: Harmed Bears
03 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode Amanda unpacks how brown bears in Ukraine and grizzly bears in Canada have been impacted by conflict and war. This content was origi...
S3E7: Navigating Salmon
20 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Salmon are increasingly intensively farmed and implicated in biosecurity concerns, but they are also animals with amazing biological and social worlds...
S3E6: Lily and Lizzie
13 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda Bunten-Wahlberg considers the Lily and Lizzie, two pigs who were rescued from Smithfield farms and subsequently caught in the middle of a biose...
S3E5: Resourceful, Respectable Rats
06 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this animal highlight Amanda talks about one of the most tested on animals in the world, rats. She discusses how rats have been used in labs and th...
S3E4: Masterful Mosquitos
23 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode Amanda Bunten-Walberg gives details into the diversity of mosquito worlds, meals, and physiologies. She focuses on mosquitos who rely ...
S3E3: Manifold Crabs
16 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda Bunten-Walberg tells us about the incredible diversity of crabs as well as some of their social and physiological characteristics. She focuses ...
S3E2: Flying Foxes
09 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode Amanda Bunten-Walberg tells Claudia all about bats, animals who have historically been persecuted as threats to biosecurity. Hoping to...
S3E1: Textured Turkeys
02 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda Bunten-Walberg joins Claudia to discuss animals and biosecurity. In the first episode of the season she talks about turkeys, animals who are of...
S2E10: Seismic Elephants
28 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hannah Hunter unpacks the seismic and infrasonic communication of elephants who produce and listen to sounds beyond human ranges. This season is all a...
S2E9: Sonic Spiders
21 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this this episode Hannah Hunter discusses how orb weaver spiders and ogre faced spiders make use of impressive sonic strategies to hunt. This seaso...
S2E8: Aural Butterflies
14 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this this episode Hannah Hunter unpacks some cool detail about butterflies sonic communication. This season is all about “Animals and Sound” an...
S2E7: Powerful Pistol Shrimp
07 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this this episode Hannah Hunter tells us about pistol shrimps, one of the loudest and most powerful animals in the ocean. This season is all about ...
S2E6: Deciphering Dolphins
30 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this this episode we talk about dolphins, some of the sounds they make, and their sophisticated means of communication. This season Hannah Hunter j...
S2E5: Amplified Coyotes
23 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this this episode we talk about coyotes. Also known as song dogs and tricksters, coyotes have impressive vocal repertoires. This season Hannah Hunt...
S2E4: Recorded Ivory-billed Woodpeckers
16 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this this episode we talk about ivory-billed woodpeckers and how a 1935 recording of them raises questions about whether they are extinct. This sea...
S2E3: Rhythmic Indri Lemurs
09 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this this episode we talk about indri lemurs and their interesting sounds and rhythms. In this season Hannah Hunter joins Claudia as the co-host of...
S2E2: Ultrasonic Bark Beetles
05 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this this episode we talk about bark beetles who navigate ultrasonic worlds and tell us something about the internal soundscapes of trees. In thi...
S2E1: Noisy Nightingales
02 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this season Hannah Hunter joins Claudia as the co-host of The Animal Highlight, teaching us all about “Animals and Sound.” This season was extr...
S1E10: Implied Humans
29 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this final episode, Claudia briefly talks about an animal who has been implied throughout the season, humans. The Animal Highlight is a spinoff a...
S1E9: Urban Ants
29 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Claudia Hirtenfelder talks about ants and the numerous ways they build, urbanize, and collaborate. The Animal Highlight is a spinoff ...
S1E8: Sneaky Squirrels
25 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In episode eight, Claudia Hirtenfelder talks about squirrels and how they use deception and their incredible memories to bury and find nuts across urb...
S1E7: Opportunistic Leopards
22 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In episode seven, Claudia Hirtenfelder talks about leopards, a predator who is increasingly found in urban areas. The Animal Highlight is a spinoff an...
S1E6: Urban Cows?
19 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In episode six, Claudia Hirtenfelder makes an argument for why cows should be thought of as urban animals who have varied experiences.The Animal Highl...
S1E5: Dynamic Chickens
15 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In episode five, Claudia Hirtenfelder reads an excerpt about urban chickens and reflects on how dynamic and complex they are. The Animal Highlight i...
S1E4: Nosy Dogs
12 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In episode four, Claudia Hirtenfelder reads an excerpt about dogs from Alexandra Horowitz’s “On Looking: A Walker’s Guide to the Art of Observat...
S1E3: Storied Rats
08 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In episode three, Claudia Hirtenfelder reads an excerpt about rats from Dawn Day Biehler’s “Pests in the City.” The Animal Highlight is a sp...
S1E2: Interesting Pigeons
05 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In episode two, Claudia Hirtenfelder talks a little about pigeons fascinating histories and physiologies. The Animal Highlight is a spinoff and sist...
S1E1: Clever Crows
29 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Animal Highlight is a spinoff and sister podcast to the award winning show, the Animal Turn Podcast. Season 1 is focused on “Animals and The U...