brilliant podcast about how animal languages are far more intricate then we previously thought.

anyone who has ever listened to whale calls pitched down 6 octaves will have come to this conclusion on first listen, but this podcast offers much greater insight into that theory.

great work gentleman.

Wild Talk

Monday, October 18, 2010 - 05:22 PM

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In today's podcast, we get a tantalizing taste of words in the wild, from the jungles to the prairie.

Reporter Ari Daniel Shapiro tells us about Klaus Zuberbuhler's work in the Tai Forest of West Africa. When Klaus first came to the forest, he hit a wall of sound. But he slowly started making sense of that sonic chaos by scaring a particular monkey called the Diana Monkey. Turns out, the Diana Monkey is making more than just noise. Then we jump from the jungle to the prairie, where Con Slobodchikoff has discovered what he calls a grammar of color, shapes, and sizes embedded in prairie dog chirps. His discovery leaves Jad and Robert wondering whether we could ever understand the language of a different species. Back in the jungle, Klaus is wondering the same thing, and tells us about one day when the cacophony of monkey calls distilled into a life-saving warning.

Guests:

Professor Con Slobodchikoff and Professor Klaus Zuberbuhler