Would It Ever Be Possible to Talk to Animals? With Dr Arik Kershenbaum

Could we ever talk to animals? Or understand what they’re saying to us? A sceptical scientist might say that we can’t assume that animals even have a language. But another sceptic might say that we can’t assume that they don’t. In this talk, I’m going to take you into the world of animal communication and think about why they talk at all. Examining the evolutionary reasons behind animal communication will help us understand how much they have to say – and that can help us answer the question, is there anything worth talking to them about?

Dr Arik Kershenbaum is a zoologist, Associate Professor, and Fellow at Girton College, University of Cambridge, and an expert on animal vocal communication. His first popular science book, The Zoologist’s Guide to the Galaxy was a Times/Sunday Times Book of the Year, and received accolades from among others, Richard Dawkins and Lord Martin Rees (the Astronomer Royal). His second book, "Why Animals Talk" was published last year, and was one of The Guardian's "Best Ideas Books of 2024". Most of Dr Kershenbaum's research is carried out with field studies of animal communication in the wild. He monitors gibbon songs in the jungles of Vietnam, wolf howling in Yellowstone National Park, as well as in Spain, Italy, and Romania, and uses deer alarm calls to warn villagers of the risk of tiger attack in Nepal. He has featured on PBS’s flagship science TV documentary NOVA Wonders, the BBC's The Sky at Night, as well as giving numerous talks around the world, including TEDx, the Smithsonian, and for the 2023 prestigious Darwin College Lecture Series.