It's Complicated: Our Fraught Relationships with Animals

Constant Wonder

Why do some cultures object to dogs the way that we object to rats? And why do we object to rats? Simon Barnes says they're our brothers. We explore who's really domesticating whom in the pet ownership process, why we choose to protect certain wild animals over others, how there's no such thing as the natural world, and many other assumptions about our relationships with animals. Guests: Hal Herzog, psychologist; author of "Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's So Hard to Think Straight about Animals"; blogger at "Animals and Us" blog in Psychology Today Simon Barnes, author of "The History of the World in 100 Animals" Madi Vazquez, veterinary nurse