TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE


PROMO          7/13/2008 "Animal Minds"
*In Baltimore, Maryland, there's an octopus that likes to play with toys.  In
Vienna, Austria, there's a border collie with a vocabulary of 340 words - more
than many toddlers.  Southeast Asia is home to dozens of elephants who like to
paint.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, re-thinking animal
intelligence.  Not only are they smarter than we thought   in some cases
they're smarter than us. 


PROGRAM RUNDOWN:   "Animal Minds"


0:00 - 10:15   SEGMENT 1: (10:16)
     Virginia Morell wrote a cover story for National Geographic Magazine on
     the latest research going on in the field of animal intelligence.  She
     tells Steve Paulson about some of the amazing animals she met, from
     parrots to dolphins, and explains what they can do.  
               
     Segment One Outcue:  "...PRI - Public Radio International."

10:16 - 10:45  LOCAL OPTION with music bed (:29)

10:46 - 30:40  SEGMENT 2: (19:55)
     David Ferris is the director of the Asian Elephant Art ans Conservation
     Project.  He tells Anne Strainchamps the project began as a conceptual
     art project that provided gainful employment to the animals put out of
     work by the collapse of Thailand's timber industry.  You can see some of
     the elephants' work on our website, ttbook.org.  We also visit an
     elephant art program at the Milwaukee County Zoo where some children
     watch the elephants create.  Also, this summer's sleeper hit is a book
     by David Wroblewski called "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle."  Wroblewski
     reads from his novel and talks with Jim Fleming about his life in
     Wisconsin as the child of a family who raised dogs.
          
     Segment Two Outcue:  "...PRI - Public Radio International."

30:41 - 31:10  LOCAL OPTION with music bed (:29)

31:11 - 53:00  SEGMENT 3: (21:48)
     Craig Childs is a naturalist and nature writer whose latest book is "The
     Animal Dialogues: Uncommon Encounters in the Wild."  He talks with Steve
     Paulson about some of his life-threatening encounters with wild
     creatures and why he's not especially worried in the wild.  Also, Graeme
     Gibson talks with Jim Fleming about his collection of bird literature
     and lore called "The Bedside Book of Birds."  Gibson is the former
     President of PEN Canada, the author of several novels, and the husband
     of writer Margaret Atwood.
          
     Segment Three Outcue: PRI Audio Logo


For a copy of this hour, call 1-800-747-7444, and ask for program number 7-13-
A.