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

Join Ari as she chats with longtime listener and friend of the podcast Hardy Kern! They chat about Hardy's transition from the Columbus Zoo to his new role at the American Bird Conservancy. Hardy shares all that his new role entails, his thoughts on life working from home, and some great advice about how the skills you learn in the animal care field directly translate to many new things! Have a qu...

Ari sits down with NEI Senior Trainers and mothers-to-be Katie and Lucy to chat about momming in the animal field. They talk about work/life balance, shifts in priorities and expectations, and balancing a family and a career in a tough field on this Mother's Day episode! Have a question for us to tackle on a future episode? Send it our way at podcast@naturalencounters.com !

Ari and Chris convene to talk about what it really means to "see behavior" during a training session. So many nooks and crannies to explore in this one: when your training plan can get in the way of good training, communication between trainers before, during, and after a session, how "training ettiquete" ties into the greater idea of an institutional training culture, building confidence in peopl...

Chris is in Minnesota, but through the magic of technology he is joined, live via satellite from Texas, by Ari and NEI Senior Trainer Adam Geltz to talk about the consulting work we're all doing this week and to answer a simple question: what's the coolest thing you saw today?  Have a question for us? An idea for a future discussion topic? Want to share the coolest thing  you saw today? Email us a...

After discussing scent-based side hustles and the joys of trusting strangers on the internet, Chris and Ari tackle a common belief in animal training: that you should always end a training session on a positive note. With an outdated edition of Don't Shoot the Dog as our companion, we discuss the ways in which striving to always end on a "good note" can limit an animal's voice in the training dial...

This is a super exciting episiode - not because Chris and Ari are back together in the same office for the first time in over a month, but because they're joined by a super cool guest, Zoo Miami's Ron Magill! Ron shares a bunch of great stories from his history in the zoo field: meeting and becoming good friends with Jim Fowler, reflecting on the lessons learned from 27 years of being watched by 1...

The Month of Infinite Travel continues as Ari teams up with NEI Senior Trainer Meg Meyer to talk about the two flights, long drive, and boat trip that got them to a consulting project in the Bahamas.  Yep. That's a real thing.  In addition to recounting their long day (that almost landed them in jail), they talk about the joy of doing animal stuff with non-animal people, the difference between wha...

It's another GIRLCAST! This time Ari hangs out with NEI Senior Trainer Lucy Rutt at the Homewood Suites in Tyler, TX, to talk about NEI's ongoing project at Caldwell Zoo. They dive into celebrating your accomplishments with grace, building relationships with supporting departments, and being a good example for taking time off.  Also, you can be a vegetarian in Texas, believe it or not! Have a ques...

We made it! Chris and Ari sit down with Steve Martin to chat about the history of the TEC Talk podcast, to reflect on the special contributions sent in by some of the past presenters from our TEC Talks webinars, and to share our hopes for the future of our industry.  Big thank yous go out to Ann Brooks, Wouter Stellaard, Rick Hester, Dr Susan Friedman, Amy Fennell, Tim Van Loan, and Marty MacPhee...

With Chris in California, Ari talks with the attendees of the IAATE 30th Annual Conference as they kick off the week at their Ice Breaker event in this special "half episode" leading up to next week's 100th episode extravaganza!  Have a question or something you'd like us to discuss on the show? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com !

Chris takes a pause from the madness of the week to walk his dog and share some of the details of what has been a very busy, very interesting week.  Have something you'd like to ask us or have us discuss on the show? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com !

Welcome to our Lunch and Learn! After last week's questions involving the terminology and procedures that surround the use of the S-Delta, we partnered with Dr Susan Friedman (Behaviorworks.org) to jump on Zoom and invite her to speak with our staff to share her take on things to try to help us untie some of the knots we'd gotten ourselves into. We're hoping this will be the first in a series of e...

Ari and Chris are joined by NEI Senior Trainer Adam Geltz to talk about talking about training. We discuss the use of jargon, knowing your audience, when to table a conversation until later, and the importance of admitting what you don't know.  Want to share how you talk about training and behavior with other people? Let us know at podcast@naturalencounters.com !

Ari is back in town, so we play catch up using a new recording setup in our freshly renovated office - who knew taking down a wall and moving some desks around could make such a difference? Ari fills us in on her recent trip to Caldwell Zoo, which leads to a conversation about the things that have surprised us as we've taken on the role of consultants for NEI. Who knew "not working" for 12 hours a...

While Ari braves the wilds of Texas, Chris is joined by Greg Peccie, Curator of Mammals at the Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens! Greg shares how his animal career started (as it does for so many of us) with a moment of awe at Sea World, how his leadership skills grew during a long stretch at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge (where he became the life-long mentor to Chris' wife, Bethany) and his excitement t...

Ari and Chris are joined by frequent podcast emailer Kaitlyn Wiktor! After chatting with Kait about the journey to her current position as Manager of Behavioral Husbandry and Welfare at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, we dive into a discussion about the mentors who've inspired and supported us, the way that those that we've taught have become our teachers, and the excitement (and thrilling...

It's "Round 2" as we welcome back studio director, video game dev consultant, and all-around rad dude Joe Quadara! Ari and Chris sit down with Joe to discuss the broad topic of growth for teams and for individuals: the awkwardness and opportunities of the interview process, things that get missed during onboarding, the importance of niches and promotions that don't lead to management roles, and th...

Ari and Chris are joined by their friend, mentor, and all-around amazing guy Wouter Stellaard! Wouter tells us about how his journey into the field started with an oiled bird on a beach in Holland, his unexpected move to America for school, his history as a trainer with NEI, his work as a consultant and as a leader at the Columbus Zoo, and his new adventures as the founder of the animal training c...

It's "Tales from the Trailer" time! Ari and Chris carve out a slice of the day to answer your questions about Steve Martin's feelings about Taylor Swift, our DnD character classes, and what it means to be honest in animal training. This was a fun one! Do you have a burning question that you simply NEED us to respond to on the show? Well, don't just sit there - email us at podcast@naturalencounters...

We're back! With Ari on the mend, we get together (virtually) to assign some "Winter Break Homework" for everyone: our recommendations for articles, books, hobbies, and hopes for the new year! Bye bye 2021!  Links for all the stuff and things:  What's Wrong with this Picture? Effectiveness is Not Enough - by Dr Susan Friedman Blazing Clickers - by Steve Martin and Dr Susan Friedman What It's Like...

Well...it finally happened. The OhMyCorn variant is no joke and has descended upon NEI. Ari eats some chocolate hoping that her loss of taste means she likes it (spoiler alert: she does not). The old ending makes a comeback, and the folks stuck at home share some love for those who are holding down the fort at work.  Do you have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss while socially distanc...

Welcome to the TEC Talk Podcast, with your host, Aaron Rose! Aaron asked to take over the podcast so he could grill Ari and Chris about how much we know about each other, and who are we to say no to someone who wants to do our job? Turns out we know a lot - but not everything - and that answering the questions of a 12-year-old are a really good way to make you feel really, really old. Hope everyon...

Ari and Chris are super excited to be joined by animal trainer, author, and fellow podcaster, Dr. Grey Stafford! We sit down to chat about Grey's early days in the marine mammal world, his long-running (and HIGHLY recommended) podcast, Zoo Logic, the joy of playing host to what we consider the best discussion ever of the always-contentious topic of the LRS, and his passion for the role we can all...

With Ari away at the 2021 ZAA Annual Conference, Chris is joined by "newly former" NEI Trainer Morgan Belle! This was Morgan's last week with the company, so we take some time to discuss how her love for science got her into the animal field, chat about the unique challenge that is "T5", talk about her exciting new role in bee conservation (!), and reflect on the decision that quite possibly lead...

Ari is joined by Virginia Rose, Founder and President of Birdability , a non-profit organization whose mission is to share the joys of birding with people who have disabilities, and to ensure birding and nature are accessible for everyone. Virginia talks about "rediscovering" nature in her 40s, the unusual way that Birdability started and took on a life of its own, and the ways that everyone can h...