Creative Time & The Atlantic Day of Ideas: Behind the Scenes with PBS: The Emotional Animal

PBS and The Atlantic will host a screening on the program ?Nature,? followed by a discussion moderated by Scott Stossel on how animal emotional intelligence mirrors that of humans.

Panelists:
Fred Kaufman
Lynn Sherr
Vicki Croke
Linda Koebner
Eugene Linden

This event is co-presented by The Atlantic and sponsored by PBS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

About Fred Kaufman

Three-time Emmy Award-winner Fred Kaufman has been executive producer of Nature since 1991 and has worked on the series since its premiere in 1982. Many of Nature?s most memorable presentations have been produced under Kaufman?s stewardship, including the highly acclaimed miniseries Africa (2001) and Deep Jungle (2005). In 2006, The Queen of Trees won broadcasting?s highest honor, the Peabody Award, and, at the Banff World Television Festival, the NHK President?s Prize, which recognizes excellence in high definition programming. Other noteworthy programs have included In the Wild:Orangutans with Julia Roberts(1998) which won a prestigious Genesis Award for Outstanding PBS Documentary, and the Emmy Award-winning The Urban Elephant (2000). Kaufman has forged major international co-production partnerships with the BBC and National Geographic Television, among other organizations.

About Lynn Sherr

Award-winning journalist Lynn Sherr has been a correspondent for ABC?s 20/20 since 1986, covering a wide range of stories while specializing in investigative reports and subjects relating to women?s issues and social change. Her 1994 report on anorexia won broadcasting?s highest honor, the George Foster Peabody Award. Sherr is the author of Tall Blondes, a book about giraffes on which the ?Nature? episode is based. Her other books include America the Beautiful: The Stirring, True Story About Our Nation?s Favorite Song, and Failure Is Impossible: Susan B. Anthony in Her Own Words. Sherr?s most recent publication is Outside the Box: A Memoir. She has written articles on wildlife and other subjects for many periodicals, including The New York Times. In 2000, Sherr traveled to India to report on midnight in Bombay for the ABC NEWS? award-winning Millennium Special. Starting in 1978, she served as a floor reporter for ABC NEWS at every Republican and Democratic nominating convention and received an Emmy Award in 1980 for her election coverage. Sherr also covered the NASA space shuttle program from its inception in 1981 through the Challenger explosion in 1986. Prior to joining ABC NEWS, Sherr was a reporter for WNET in New York and WETA in Washington, D.C., both public television stations, and a reporter for The Associated Press and Conde Nast Publications.

About Vicki Croke

For 20 years, writer Vicki Croke has been covering animal issues in print and broadcast media, traveling to East Africa, the Galapagos Islands, the Arctic Circle, Tasmania, and Madagascar. ?Animal Beat,? her column on wildlife and pet issues, ran for 14 years in The Boston Globe. As a contributor to NPR?s environment show Living on Earth, she has reported on topics ranging from gorilla conservation to a coyote vasectomy. Her book, The Lady and the Panda, the true story of the intrepid American who brought the first live giant panda out of China in 1936, is being adapted for film by Michael Cunningham for Focus Features. Croke?s other books include The Modern Ark: Zoos Past, Present and Future and Animal ER. Croke has written for numerous publications including Time, The Washington Post and Popular Science and continues to report on animal issues for NECN television in Boston.

About Linda Koebner

An advocate for animal welfare throughout her career, Linda Koebner has been captivated by chimpanzees since early childhood. In 1974, she became co-director of the first project to provide a new, more naturalistic home to nine chimpanzees who had spent years in biomedical research. Koebner worked with a consortium of organizations to pass the CHIMP Act (Chimpanzee Health Improvement Maintenance and Protection) in 2000. She served as Executive Director of Chimp Haven, a sanctuary for retired laboratory and entertainment chimpanzees, during its formative years. She has also worked with The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, The Humane Society of the United States, The National Anti-Vivisection Society, and various laboratories to realize her dream of a sanctuary for chimpanzees. In addition, she worked for the Children's Museum of Manhattan, the New York Zoological Society, authored several books, and created her own company, Wildlife Writers & Resources, to promote the appreciation of other species.

About Eugene Linden

Eugene Linden is an award-winning journalist and the author of eight books. He has written about animals and animal intelligence since the 1970s in books and articles, including cover stories in Time and National Geographic. His books on animal intelligence include, Apes, Men and Language, Silent Partners, The Parrot's Lament, and The Octopus and the Orangutan. In his other writing, Linden has focused on global environmental issues. His most recent book is Winds of Change: Climate, Weather, and the Destruction of Civilizations. Apart from his writing, Linden has consulted for the U.S. State Department and the U.N. Development Program. In 2001, Yale University named Linden a Poynter Fellow in recognition of his writing on the environment.

About Scott Stossel

Scott Stossel, managing editor of The Atlantic, has been associated with the magazine since 1992 when, shortly after graduating from Harvard, he joined the staff and helped to launch The Atlantic Online. In 1996, he moved to The American Prospect where, over the course of seven years, he served as associate editor, executive editor, and culture editor. He rejoined the Atlantic staff in 2002 and oversaw the magazine's 2005 move to Washington from Boston. Along with writing and editing, Scott has taught courses in the American Studies Department at Trinity College.