'Pig Years' and 'What the Chicken Knows' consider the interior worlds of farm animals
Nov 29, 2024
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Sy Montgomery, a celebrated naturalist and author, joins to share insights from her latest book, delving into the surprising intelligence of chickens. She explores their complex social structures and communication skills, challenging common misconceptions. Alongside her, writer Ellen Gaydos reflects on her intimate experiences raising pigs, revealing the emotional connections and ethical dilemmas faced on the farm. The conversation paints a vivid picture of the inner lives of these animals, celebrating their unique personalities.
Ellen Gaydos' memoir, 'Pig Years,' explores the emotional complexity of farm work and the intimate connections between farmhands and animals destined for slaughter.
Sy Montgomery's 'What the Chicken Knows' reveals chickens' surprising intelligence and social behavior, challenging misconceptions and highlighting their complex communication skills.
Deep dives
The Role of Public Media in Community Engagement
Public media serves to create a more informed public by providing free access to diverse content, ensuring that voices from various communities are heard. Without sufficient support, many local and rural news sources have diminished, making public media crucial in filling this gap. The gratitude expressed towards listeners highlights the importance of community support in maintaining these services. Contributions not only enhance public media offerings but play a vital role in strengthening civic infrastructure across the country.
Understanding Farm Life Through Memoir
Ellen Gatos's memoir, 'Pig Years,' provides an intimate look into the life of a farmhand, sharing her journey and emotional connections with the animals she cared for. Her experiences reveal the complex feelings surrounding farming practices, particularly when raising animals destined for slaughter. The contrasts between her work life and the wealthy clientele at farmers' markets illustrate the economic discrepancies that exist between rural farm workers and urban consumers. This memoir inspires reflection on the nature of farm work and the personal stories that often go unnoticed in the larger agricultural narrative.
The Intelligence and Social Dynamics of Chickens
The discussion with Cy Montgomery about her book, 'What the Chicken Knows,' uncovers the surprising intelligence and social behavior of chickens, challenging common misconceptions about these creatures. Chickens are capable of recognizing over a hundred different individuals and have a sophisticated way of communicating various alerts about predators, demonstrating their social complexity. Their interactions and established hierarchies illustrate the importance of social structures, not just for chickens but as a reflection of human social dynamics as well. Montgomery’s insights promote a further appreciation for the individuality and intelligence of domestic animals.
Today's books take readers into the secret lives of farm animals. The first, Pig Years, is a memoir by the writer Ellen Gaydos, who began working as a farmhand at 18 years old. In Pig Years, she writes lyrically about working with, raising and admiring pigs–all while knowing they'll one day be slaughtered. In today's episode, we revisit a conversation between Gaydos and NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben about the intimacy of working with people and animals on the farm. Next, author Sy Montgomery has written more than 34 books about creatures, including turtles and octopi. Her latest project is a book about chickens. What the Chicken Knows is an homage that relishes all we don't know about the birds. In today's episode, Montgomery speaks with Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd about chickens' surprising signs of intelligence and what to do when a rooster attacks.
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