Today we tackle the age-old question: what if animals could talk?

Or, more precisely, what if we could actually understand what animals are saying?

Guests:

• Con Slobodchikoff, professor at Northern Arizona University, CEO of Zoolingua, and author of Chasing Dr. Doolittle: Learning the Language of Animals.
• Irene Pepperberg, professor of psychology Harvard University, author of Alex and Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence-and formed  a Deep Bond in the Process
• Alexandra Horowitz, professor at Barnard, head of dog cognition lab, author of Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know (and other books)
• Ashley Shew, professor at Virginia Tech, author of Animal Constructions and Technological Knowledge
• Keri Cronin, professor at Brock University, author of Art for Animals: Visual Culture and Animal Advocacy, 1875-1914, co-founder of Niagara VegFest

Further Reading:

• Chasing Dr. Doolittle: Learning the Language of Animals
• The “Clever Hans Phenomenon” revisited
• The Chimp That Learned Sign Language
• ‘Project Nim’: A Chimp’s Very Human, Very Sad Life
• Meet Washoe
• Washoe, a Chimp of Many Words, Dies at 42
• Koko, the beloved gorilla that learned to communicate using sign language, has died
• A Conversation with Koko
• Lost in Translation: Koko the gorilla and language research
• The Alex studies: cognitive and communicative abilities of grey parrots
• Evidence for conceptual quantitative abilities in the African grey parrot: Labeling of cardinal sets
• Functional vocalizations by an African Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus)
• NOVA – Official Website | Profile: Irene Pepperberg & Alex
• Reddit AMA: I am Dr. Irene Pepperberg, research associate at Harvard in the field of avian cognition…ask me anything
• Alex and Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence-and formed  a Deep Bond in the Process
• Animal language studies: What happened?
• Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know
• Learn to sniff like a dog
• How to master your sense of smell
• Is your dog smarter than a 2-year-old?
• Animal Constructions and Technological Knowledge
• Art for Animals Visual Culture and Animal Advocacy, 1870–1914
• “‘A Mute Yet Eloquent Protest’: Visual Culture & Anti-Vivisection Activism in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”
• “‘Can’t You Talk?’: Voice and Visual Culture in Early Animal Welfare 

Flash Forward is produced by me, Rose Eveleth. The intro music is by Asura and the outtro music is by Hussalonia. The intro voices this week were provided by Renee Colvert and Allegra Ringo, hosts of the podcast Can I Pet Your Dog? The episode art is by Matt Lubchansky.

If you want to suggest a future we should take on, send us a note on Twitter, Facebook or by email at info@flashforwardpod.com. We love hearing your ideas! And if you think you’ve spotted one of the little references I’ve hidden in the episode, email us there too. If you’re right, I’ll send you something cool.

And if you want to support the show, there are a few ways you can do that too! Head to www.flashforwardpod.com/support for more about how to give. But if that’s not in the cards for you, you can head to iTunes and leave us a nice review or just tell your friends about us. Those things really do help.

That’s all for this future, come back next time and we’ll travel to a new one.

Flash Forward is a critically acclaimed podcast about the future.

In each episode, host Rose Eveleth takes on a possible (or not so possible) future scenario — everything from the existence of artificial wombs, to what would happen if space pirates dragged a second moon to Earth. What would the warranty on a sex robot look like? How would diplomacy work if we couldn’t lie? Could there ever be a black market for fecal transplants? (Complicated, it wouldn’t, and yes, respectively, in case you’re curious.) By combining audio drama and deep reporting, Flash Forward gives listeners an original and unique window into the future, how likely different scenarios might be, and how to prepare for what might come.