I aired in interview with Jonathan Balcombe, PhD , on his second book "Second Nature: The Inner Lives of Animals ." This book presents amazing anecdotes of animals exhibiting behaviors indicating they are experiencing and expressing complex thoughts and emotions. The stories are backed up by rigorous scientific research which indeed indicates animals have rich inner lives which are lives worth living (and are as important to them as ours are to us). Developing an understanding of the complex behaviors of animals, particularly those which humans can relate to, is essential to changing the fundamental way humans interact with animals.

While we covered some ground on the nature, content and intent of his book in this extensive interview, we only scratched the surface in presenting the many examples he provides on animal sentience and intelligence through observations of expressions of: empathy, complex languages, naming, moral choices, altruism, intra- and inter- species cooperation, sense of fairness and moral awareness, preference, restraint, ability to extrapolate and predict, noble behavior, and more, drawing examples of many different species including dolphins, chimpanzees, bats, prairie dogs, starlings, mice, turkeys, and much much more. [Click here or on Book for Link to Amazon ]

I played music from the Radio Active Lunch Freestyle Orchestra Archive - live performances of completely improvised music in the Lunch Room including Immaculate Misconception, RaW WaR, Led Zappath,  Full Metal Racket, Pleather, Dirty Laundry, The Toucan Dandies, and more - or your money back. 

Listen to Part 1 [interview with music] >>

Listen to Part 2 [music] >>

Listen to Interview with Jonathan Balcombe >>

Jay and Weezer Miles join me in the Lunch Studio and mix it up with some blues, rock, covers, and originals plus the usual unusual readings from Rumi, SAS Survival Guide, and numerous other interesting news and comical items.

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Sean Schenker and Jason Sarubbi, two members of The Trapps, came down to the WVKR Studio to play some tunes of their latest release "Cheap Seats" - both live as a duet and full band off the cd - along with some completely new unreleased material.

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T Xiques and Christine Dominguez - "We Must Be " joined me in the studio once again with their unique blend of jazz/pop/R&B with a latino beat playing bass, guitar, keys, cajone, pandiera, and other assorted instruments featuring previously released tunes along with some more RAL debut specials.

Check out We Must Be >>

 Sarah Perrotta also joined me in the Lunch Room to play songs from her brand new Album "Tonight " featuring Sarah on Keys and Vocals,  Johnnie Wang  on guitar and vocals and Will Olsen  on Drums.

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During the second hour I spoke with Yonatan Shapira - former Israeli Army Black Hawk helicopter pilot, co-founder of Combantants for Peace, and activist with the Global Boycott Divestment and Sanctions Movement for Palestine about Israel's military action on the flotilla off the Gaza Strip.

Listen to Interview with Yonatan >>

Rock/Fusion Guitarist/Singer?Songwriter Dario Saraceno  (Dario and the Clear ),  and Zeb Kandros - Bass, joined me in the WVKR studio for an acoustic set of Dario's originals. We also spun some tracks from Dario's 3 CD's.

Listen to Dario and the Clear:  Hour 1 >>

Listen to Dario and the Clear: Hour 2 >>