The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc.

After an intro in which Chris demonstrates the evils of AI to an unsuspecting and horrified Ari, we're celebrating "Opening Weekend Eve" with Katelyn, Lucy, Meg, Laurel, Emily, Skyler, Emma, Ian, and Dan from the Minnesota Zoo Bird Show Crew! In this guest-packed episode we discuss the final prep going into the training of the birds, the joy of "plant school," the experience so far for the awesome crew of seasonal staff joining the...

And lo, the Internet Gods and Goddesses decreed "we shall ruin your recording, thereby preventing this week's uploading of training and behavior content!"

But nay, your hosts shall not abide!

While Chris and Ari scurry behind the scenes to figure out what the heck went wrong with this week's recording and do their best to fix and rebuild it, we bring you a throwback to our conversation from January 2023 about the dangers of relying...

The state motto of Arkansas is "Regnat populus" - Latin for "the people rule" - and you know what? The people here DO rule! Chris sits down with Hannah Baker, Sydney Byrd, LeeAnn Goette, and Kate Neal from Little Rock Zoo to talk about all the fun training going on during Chris' 10-day consulting stint, the ways we've all learned to help build (and avoid degrading) trust with animals, fun stuff coming up for the zoo in the near fut...

Ari and Chris welcome Jennie Janssen (National Aquarium, MIASZ) back to the show to share her take - and a great new initiative from MIAZS (Minorities in Aquarium and Zoos Sciences) - relating to the challenge our field is facing of creating the leaders of tomorrow. 

References from the episode:

MIAZS - Minorities in Aquarium and Zoo Sciences 

AMLAZ - Advancing Minority Leadership in Aquariums and Zoos

Understanding Barriers and Op...

Ari has The Ick, so Chris is joined by NEI Supervisor Scott Trauger to share our notes - figuratively and literally - from the 2024 ABMA Annual Conference in Nashville, TN! 

If you have a suggestion for a question, topic, or guest you'd like to hear on a future episode of the show, let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

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With Chris in Nashville to listen to other people talk into a microphone at the Animal Behavior Management Alliance (ABMA) Annual Conference, Ari keeps the show going with the help of future animal care professional Lauren Vieira! Lauren emailed us to say that she was a listener who would love a sticker from the podcast if we ever made one - we did (thanks to our friends at Slapco), so we asked her to be on the show! Lauren talks a...

Well, it took us over 200 episodes to get our act together and make it happen, but it was worth the wait because we're finally joined by our favorite "Queen of Team," Marty MacPhee! Marty shares her background as a member of the "NEI Extended Universe," her training and behavior background at Brookfield Zoo and Disney's Animal Kingdom, and many of the lessons she's learned along the way about teamwork, coaching, and communication. ...

Ari and Chris welcome back NEI President and CEO, Steve Martin, back to the show to talk about his recently published journal aritcle, "A Reexamination of the Relationship between Training Practices and Welfare in the Management of Ambassador Animals"! Steve talks about how the article came about, the steep learning curve involved in the ins and outs of creating a peer-reviewed document, the revisions we went through for over a yea...

Courtesy of the fine folks at the HBR on Leadership Podcast from Harvard Business Review, Chris brings a challenge for discussion to the table: what do you do when a top performer on your team that is up for promotion is also known for treating their collegues badly? We share the ins of outs of the case study "Rob Parson at Morgan Stanley" to reflect on the challenges leaders face when promoting - or not promoting - a controversia...

Zoo podcasters of the world, unite again! Join Chris on his "exciting first date" with Jon Rossi of the Rossifari Podcast and Elizabeth Johnson of the Mothering Wildlife Podcast to discuss the ins and outs of our shows! With Jon as host and ringleader, we talk about why our shows got started, how they've evolved over time, what we've learned about our audiences, how "the sausage gets made" in the recording and editing process, and ...

Ari has feedback on the brain - shout out to The Sea Stories Podcast (Apple Podcasts | Spotify) - so she sits down with Chris to talk about the ins of and out of how it applies to coaching people on how to coach others. We discuss the difference between coaching coaches you work with versus coaching coaches you've just met, when and how to offer feedback during a coaching session you're not in charge of, and the best advice we woul...

The TEC Talk Podcast is proud to welcome Kaitlyn Bohnet and BJ Rice from North Sky Raptor Sanctuary to the show! We chat with Kaitlyn and BJ about how they got involved with their current roles, their team's epic track suits that stole the show at the IAATE Icebreaker, why it's a strength to come to the animal field later in life with different skill sets, the importance of not being "gatekeep-y", why retail experience makes you a ...

Chris sits still while Ari flies down the road in order to talk about a wild week at That Theme Park show that started with an epic flyoff and rolled right into a new show experience AND a new staff evaluation process - just a Totally Normal Week Where Nothing Remarkable Happened. :-)

If you have a suggestion for a question, topic, or guest you'd like to hear on a future episode of the show, let us kn...

Ari is back in Florida to regale Chris with tales from the 2024 IAATE Annual Conference in Eugene, Oregon!

If you have a suggestion for a question, topic, or guest you'd like to hear on a future episode of the show, let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com!

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The TE...

200 episodes, how is that possible! Ari and Chris are joined by land and by sea by Steve Martin, Amy Fennell, Scott Trauger, Cori Dawson, Brad Moore, Michael Van Horne, Adam Geltz, Shayna Gruman, Natalie Sunray, Hunter Peck, and Kevin O'Brien to celebrate a very special podcast-iversary! We share some of out favorite episodes, memorable moments, and wishes for the future of show - thank you all for an amazing 4 years, and here's to...

For our final show before we pass the 200 episode mark (wow!), Ari and Chris are joined by Margaret Rousser, former Conservation Manager at Oakland Zoo (and all-the-time awesome advocate for animals), to talk about the legacy of her groundbreaking talk, "Making Time for Psychological Wellbeing"! Margaret talks about her path through the animal care field (turns out she and Ari have some shared work history in more ways than one) be...

Chris is at the Ranch for our Professional Contemporary Animal Training and Management Workshop, so Ari is hosting alongside a very special returning guest, NEI's own Aaron Rose! Aaron and Ari talk about how to navigate the animal care field when you are neurodivergent. Aaron shares his personal expereince with ADHD, along with his tools and tips for others in the field. They chat about reasonable acc...

Chris and Ari discuss their day with the visiting students of Drake University's Animal Behavior Program and Sante Fe Community College's Zoo Technology Program before answering some questions from r/Zookeeping, the subreddit dedicated to folks interested in the professional animal care field!

If you have a suggestion for a question, topic, or guest you'd like to ...

Chris gives Ari some "daywork" by challenging her to follow the format of the "3-2-1 Thursday" weekly newsletter from James Clear, author of Atomic Habits (a great book that Chris reviewed in Episode 177) and come up with the following to share with our listeners: three short ideas, two quotes from other people, and one question for ponder for the week.

If you have a suggestion for a question, topic, ...