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

Moorpark College's Gary Wilson returns to the show! After a quick discussion about the start of another NEI "Growvember," Gary talks about the beginnings of the Animal Behavior Management Alliance, his wife Cindy's transition from leaving the animal field to becoming Moorpark's resident "monkey mama," and his thoughts on why anthromorphism doesn't have to be a bad word in animal training.  Have a...

Chris and Ari are joined by Zoo Miami director WIll Elgar! Will talks about his path from starting as an animal trainer in the UK to leadership roles in the US, the importance of pushing your limits and taking advantage of (sometimes scary) opportunities, thoughts on the challenge of trying to achieve "work-life balance", and the roles that listening, adapting, and creating challenges for himself...

Midyear? Mid year? Mid-year? However you spell it, Chris chats about his experience (so far) at his first midyear conference as an ABMA board member with NEI Supervisor Scott Trauger! Chris and Scott discuss how the first day went, reflect on how midyear conferences differ from annual conferences, and muse on the unique opportunities afforded to people who get to be a part of a organization that's...

Ari and Chris are joined by one of our most frequently-requested guests: former professor and co-department chair of the Exotic Animal Training and Management Program at Moorpark College, Gary Wilson! Gary talks about his path towards becoming a student - and later a faculty member - of the program, his history with (and the EATM program's connection to) the Navy's marine mammal training program,...

Ari and Chris are tired (but otherwise great!) as they share how NEI and their birds fared during Hurricane Ian, and discuss everything that transpired to get our shows up and running again. Have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss on a future episode of the show? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com ! 

It would take an act of God to keep us from bringing you a show every week. And then one happened, and still we were like, "nah, we got this."  It's moving day for our shows at THAT theme park as Hurricane Ian has forced us to cancel our normally scheduled programming. First, Chris uses his early-morning drive to work to share the team's plan for the day. Second, Ari uses her drive back home from...

Greetings from Across the Pond! Chris does a solo-cast from the UK to talk about the great work the team back home has done in getting our birds back home from a temporary show shutdown, to detail the timeline of what he and his wife have been up to driving back and forth between Scotland and England, to give details on his experience of having the opportunity to visit Queen Elizabeth II as she wa...

It's an "L-Squared Takeover" as Lucy and Lisa take over the podcast! Will they share insightful thoughts about our field? Share what they've got for lunch today? Sow the seeds of sedition and plan a permanent takeover of the podcast?? Listen and find out! Have a question or a topic you'd like us to tackle on the show? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com !

Ari and Chris use two fully-functioning microphones to answer the following questions from our staff: what are you most proud of that you've accomplished in your career so far, and what are your bigger goals and ambitions in the field? It's no surprise that there's some overlap and parallels in our responses but it does give us a great opportunity to stroll down memory lane and look a bit into the...

One computer. Two mics. Two people. One office.  Ari and Chris share physical space once more to talk about the subject of venting, and how to do it without ruining your career and your reputation. Big thanks to the " As We Work " podcast from the Wall Street Journal for inspiring this episode!  Do YOU need someone to vent to? We're all ears at podcast@naturalencounters.com ! 

While Ari is away, Chris does his best to discuss one of the hottest topics in the companion parrot world: to free fly, or not to free fly? It's a big subject with a lot of moving parts, and it gives Chris the opportunity to discuss the challenges with dealing with absolutes, different views of what constitutes good animal welfare, the importance of flight in the early life of a bird, different de...

Despite some challenges with our recording equipment (and we tested it and everything!), Ari and Chris sit down to review the feedback Chris has gotten from his peers and his vet-approved plan for dealing with "the Claude situation," and dig into an email about where to start when you're planning your training projects for the year. Stupid audio challenges!  Do you have a question or a topic you'd...

Keeping it short and simple this week: Chris is alone in a hotel room somewhere in the Northeast and only has one thing on his mind - "how do I stop one of my cats from peeing all over the place???" In what we hope will be an interactive experience with our listeners, Chris gives some background on the history of the behavior, shares the steps his family has taken to deal with the issue thus far,...

After a quick discussion of sea turtles and supper clubs, Ari and Chris use a recent "what do I need to buy for my first animal job?" post on the internet as a prompt to share our personal "can't live without" items for working at NEI. Hats? Check. Glasses? Check. Wildly different opinions on footwear brands? Check!!! Are there any "must have" items in YOUR collection that you'd like to share with...

It's an Ari solo-cast focused on being flexible! With COVID numbers going up once again, being flexible is as important as ever. Ari talks about being flexible on-stage for dealing with weather, as a leader, and in training sessions, all with the goal of keeping a level head, communicating clearly and calmly, and being able to reflect on decisions made in high-stress moments.  Have a question or a...

Two hosts for two epsiodes in a row? Amazing! After an update from Ari about the IAATE Midyear Meeting at the Peregine Fund, Chris opens a communication can o' worms by sharing his thoughts on the intersection of extreme weather, perception, intentions (and what it really means to "assume good ones"), and personal responsibility, which leads to a discussion about labels, defining what "being passi...

Chris and Ari are back in the office and talking into the same microphone! Inspired by an insane summer schedule, the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope, and the wisdom of the Leadership Freak blog, our hosts discuss the belief that there are only three ways to "get more time" in a day. Want to know what they are? Well, guess you're just gonna have to listen to the episode then!  Do...

Ari sits down with NEI Supervisor Scott Trauger to tackle one of the trickiest questions that applies to everyone across our industry: how do you ask for a raise? Ari and Scott chat salaries, and how and when to ask for pay increases. They talk about how hard it can be to speak positively about yourself and how we all should practice doing that more often! They also discuss exploring other roles,...

Greetings from the future! Due to challenges with the space/time continuum, we're once again Ari-less this week, but it gives Chris the chance to reflect on his time in New Zealand with the awesome staff and animals of Hamilton Zoo, to dig into the ins and outs of choice paralysis during training sessions, and to discuss a fun new flow chart he built to answer that most basic (but important) of be...

Recorded in Los Angeles, edited in Tahiti, and posted in New Zealand, it's a special two-part episode of the TEC Talk Podcast!  For Part 1, Chris sits down to chat with Obsidean Entertainment's Carrie Patel about her role as a Game Director and the talk he saw her give at this year's Game Developers Conference, "No Mavericks, No Martyrs: Sustainable, Collaborative Production". Carrie shares the da...

Chris and Ari catch each other up on their recently work travels in Minnesota and the Bahamas, discuss some special upcoming trips in the works for July, and share their go-to menu items from Taco Bell. Which Chris does from a Taco Bell parking lot. While eating Taco Bell.  Life on the road, ya'll! Have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss on the show? Let us know at podcast@naturalencou...

Chris is back on the road and joined by Minnesota Zoo Interpretive Naturalist Donnie Crook! We chat about Donnie's history in the professional animal care world, the unique challenges (and opportunities) that ambassador animal programs experienced during COVID shutdowns, and reflect on the advice we'd give our younger selves when we were just getting started in the field. Spoiler alert - it involv...

In honor of World Parrot Day, Chris is joined by Katelyn, Megan, Kamille, Keegan, Lizzi, and Aaron from NEI's Winged Encounters team to talk all the work they're doing right now to train a dozen new birds to join their free-flight macaw experience at That Major Theme Park in Central Florida That We Don't Talk About. They discuss the path from the birds' earliest training to the work being done rig...

With Chris in the middle of an unexpected Round 2 with COVID, Ari loops in return guest Ray Minchy to chat about all things show related and being on stage for the first time at a new show. They talk about all the steps she took to make it to her first day of doing the "T2" role on stage, from learning lines to organizing her pockets, and Ray shares some great advice at the end for anyone who is w...

Fresh out of COVID quarantine, Chris harnesses the power of the internet from Minnesota to summon Ari from Texas to bring YOU another episode of TEC Talk! After comparing the relative merits of our hotel rooms (#TeamHilton), we get into a discussion of how to handle the reality of...reality, and the many and myriad ways that the pressures of life, our jobs, and our environment can throw lots of wr...