It's MaxFunDrive. And here, for the first time, we give you an exclusive look (well, listen) at the craft of podcasting: presenting Casters on Casters.

In this episode, Teylor Smirl (Still Buffering) and Ellen Weatherford (Just the Zoo of Us) bond over the media they consumed that shaped who they are today, and how that media informs their perspectives on their shows. Plus, each host reveals their dream guest.

If this glamorous, in-depth journey into what makes your favorite hosts tick inspires you, support them by joining as a member at maximumfun.org/join.

Edited by Laura Swisher and Produced by Hannah Muroz for Maximum Fun.

Happy MaxFunDrive! Right now is the best time to start a membership to support your favorite shows. Learn more and join at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

Join Ellen & special guest, co-founder and CEO of conservation organization Wildlife SOS Kartick Satyanarayan, for a review of Asian elephants. We discuss the harm caused by wildlife exploitation, how they protect animals by uplifting human communities, how education can help tourists make more ethical choices, and of course our guest shares some stories of what it’s like living and working alongside these beautiful giants. He’s got feel-good conservation success stories, workplace comedy, an adorable baby elephant, truly what more could you want from a podcast episode?

Links:

• Learn more about Wildlife SOS's work on their website!
• See Baby Bani and more on Wildlife SOS's YouTube channel!
• Learn more about ethical tourism on RefuseToRide.org
• For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
• Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!
• Follow Ellen on Instagram or BlueSky!

Follow Ellen down the jackrabbit hole. We discuss facial tilt, satellite dish ears, evolutionary ghosts of predators past, touchdown dances, jackalopes, Easter, and so much more.

Works Cited:

• "A Field Guide to Jackrabbits" - Matthew L. Miller, The Nature Conservancy, Nov 2022
• “Ecological correlates to cranial morphology in Leporids (Mammalia, Lagomorpha)” - Brian Kraatz et al., PeerJ, Dec 2014
• "Jackrabbit Gets a Touchdown!" - YouTube
• “Celebrating Easter, Christmas and their associated alien fauna” – Malene Lauritsen et al., World Archaeology, Oct 2018
• “The Shifting Baselines of the British Hare Goddess” - Luke John Murphy & Carly Ameen, Open Archaeology, August 2020
• “What Do Eggs Have To Do With Easter?” - Encyclopedia Britannica
• "Meet Jack" - City of Douglas, Wyoming's website

Links:

• Check out your local MaxFun Meetup Day - Ellen will be at the Seattle meetup!
• For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
• Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!
• Follow Ellen on Instagram or BlueSky!