Entomology

Jul 22: What’s Really Going On in Your Pet’s Head? The Truth Behind Their Wildest Behaviors

July 22, 2026

Dr. Eleanor Spicer Rice reveals secrets your pets may not want revealed!

Your Pets’ Secret Lives with author Dr. Eleanor Spicer Rice

Your dog’s not guilty. Your cat’s not innocent. And your bird? Not nearly as drama-free as you think.

We tell ourselves stories about our pets – that the guilty look means remorse, that the cat only wants mice and birds, that the parakeet is living its best, most uncomplicated life. But entomologist and science writer Eleanor Spicer Rice is here to gently and hilariously wreck all of that nonsense.

In Your Pets’ Secret Lives: The Truth Behind Your Pets’ Wildest Behaviors, Eleanor shakes up our pets’ family trees, pokes around in their brains, and even occasionally follows a poop trail – all to find the answer to the question every pet owner asks: What the heck is really going on in your head?

We discuss why “guilty dog face” isn’t what you think. The wild evolutionary history hiding behind your pet’s weirdest habits. What your cat’s hunting instincts reveal about millions of years of biology. Why science communication about the animals we love matters – and how to make it fun.

Meet Dr. Eleanor Spicer Rice

Eleanor Spicer Rice, PhD, is an entomologist and the author of many nonfiction books, including Your Hidden Life: Unseen Jungle and Dr. Eleanor’s Book of Common Spiders. Eleanor is also the senior science editor at Verdant Word, a science communication company she co-founded with Robin Sutton Anders. She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, with her husband, sons, dogs, hermit crabs, an assortment of spiders and insects, and a small, valiant flock of homing pigeons. Your Pets’ Secret Lives was illustrated by Rob Wilson, an award-winning illustrator and graphic designer who has created work for the Washington Post, New York magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Mother Jones, and the covers of best-selling books. He is the illustrator of Your Hidden Life: Unseen Jungle and the creator of the icon for the popular podcast Welcome to Night Vale. Rob Wilson’s work has been featured in galleries in London and New York City.

Environment, Nature, Non Fiction, Science, Wildlife

Dec 04: Barrett Klein with The Insect Epiphany

December 4, 2024

How Our 6-legged Allies Shape Human Culture

The Insect Epiphany with author Barrett Klein

The impact insects have on our shaping human culture is staggering … far beyond what most of us realize. Today’s guest, entomologist Barrett Klein, shares some of the insights from his latest book, THE INSECT EPIPHANY: How Our 6-legged Allies Shape Human Culture.

We explore the many things we take for granted that happen as a direct result of insects … and what life without them would be like. We discuss how we use insects’ bodies for silk, pigments, food, medicine. How we try to recreate them for flight technology, architecture, social structures. And how we mimic them for fighting (think Kung Fu and Muhammad Ali) yoga, music, and even fashion.

Full of photos, art, illustrations, fascinating stories, and fun facts and anecdotes, The Insect Epiphany is a great way to nerd out and learn things you never knew you needed to learn!

Meet Entomologist Barrett Klein

Barrett Klein investigates mysteries of sleep in societies of insects, creates entomo-art, and is forever on the search for curious connections that bind our lives with our six-legged allies. Barrett studied entomology at Cornell University and the University of Arizona. He fabricated natural history exhibits at the American Museum of Natural History, worked with honey bees for his PhD at the University of Texas at Austin, and spearheaded the Pupating Lab at the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse.