Our Next Collar: A Podcast from Talking With Pets
Real history for curious kids, told by the pets who were actually there.
Our Next Collar is an educational history podcast from Talking With Pets, made for curious kids and the grown-ups listening with them. A brown tabby cat named Prince MoRee runs a most unusual practice: he talks with the pets of history's greatest figures, who tell the true story of the person they knew. A sled dog on the 1925 serum run to Nome. A foxhound George Washington bred and named himself. A fox terrier who lived with Charles Darwin. Every episode is researched and sourced. True, surprising, and funnier than history has any right to be. Made for the classroom and the car ride alike.
Season 1
Five of the seven episodes we have recorded so far are here. Press play here, or open an episode for its full transcript, its sources and answers to common questions.
The Sled Dog Who Did the Hard Part and Got None of the Credit
Togo and the 1925 serum run, with musher Leonhard Seppala. Prince MoRee with Moose.
Everyone knows Balto, who ran the last 55 miles into Nome. Togo ran 264, across the breaking sea ice nobody else would risk. The true story of the race to carry medicine across Alaska.
Plays from this site.
The Dog Who Watched Darwin Watch Worms
Polly, Charles Darwin's fox terrier. Prince MoRee with Roxie.
Darwin figured out how all of life works, then spent his later years finding out whether earthworms could hear, by having his son play the bassoon at them. His dog saw the whole thing.
Plays from this site.
The Hound Who Stole the General's Dinner
Vulcan, one of George Washington's hounds. Prince MoRee with Moose.
Washington bred his own hounds with names like Sweet Lips and Drunkard. One of them stole a whole ham off the table set for guests, and Washington thought it was funny. He visited his hounds every single day.
Plays from this site.
The Dog Who Seemed to Say Hello to Grandmama
Trouvé, the Bell family's Skye terrier, and young Alexander Graham Bell. Prince MoRee with Moose.
Young Aleck Bell shaped his terrier's growl until it sounded, with a little imagination, like "How are you, Grandmama?" Trouvé was in it for the snacks.
Plays from this site.
Did Alexander Graham Bell teach his dog to talk? Transcript and sources
The Badger Who Rode the President's Train
Josiah, the badger President Theodore Roosevelt was given in 1903. Prince MoRee with Armando.
A Kansas girl offered President Roosevelt a baby badger in 1903. Josiah rode the train west on milk and potatoes, and the boy who carried him everywhere stood up for him: he bites legs sometimes, but he never bites faces.
Plays from this site.
Did Theodore Roosevelt keep a badger in the White House? Transcript and sources
More stories are on our list. We record them one at a time and add them here when they are ready.
Prefer a podcast app? Add the show with this feed link: https://media.rss.com/our-next-collar/feed.xml. Apple Podcasts and Spotify listings come next.
Welcome Home episodes, in the works
Short episodes for the grown-ups, one for each stop on the Welcome Home map. They will lead this page when they are ready. There is nothing to sign up for.
See the Welcome Home mapFree guides for the classroom
Episode guides for Darwin and Polly (grades 4 to 6) and for Togo and the serum run (grades 3 to 5), with the standards codes each one targets. The episode guides are free and always will be.
For educators