June 1, 2022

EP. 267 — How Queer Is The Animal Kingdom? with Eliot Schrefer

Were there same-sex couples on Noah’s Ark? Was Glee right that dolphins are just gay sharks? What’s a bonobo handshake?! Eliot Schrefer and Jonathan kick off our “Pride In Nature” series, running through June, with a conversation all about queer behaviors observed in animals. It’s “gay stuff” meets “why we need to ‘say gay’” stuff.

 

You can follow Eliot on Twitter @eliotschrefer and on Instagram @schrefer. Visit him online at www.eliotschrefer.com, and make sure to check out his new book Queer Ducks (and Other Animals), out now!

 

Eliot Schrefer is a New York Times bestselling author, and has twice been a finalist for the National Book Award in Young People’s Literature. His non-fiction has appeared in the New York Times and Discover magazine, and his novels include The Darkness Outside Us, Endangered, and the Lost Rainforest series. He is on the faculty of the Hamline University and Fairleigh Dickinson University MFA programs in creative writing, is getting a MA in Animal Studies at NYU, and reviews books for USA Today. 

 

Can’t get enough of YA literature? Follow Epic Reads on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @EpicReads.

 

Join the conversation, and find out what former guests are up to, by following us on Instagram and Twitter @CuriousWithJVN.

 

Jonathan is on Instagram and Twitter @JVN and @Jonathan.Vanness on Facebook.

 

Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com.

 

Love listening to Getting Curious? Now, you can also watch Getting Curious—on Netflix! Head to netflix.com/gettingcurious to dive in.

 

Our executive producer is Erica Getto. Our associate producer is Zahra Crim. Our editor is Andrew Carson.

 

Our socials are run and curated by Middle Seat Digital.

 

Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIÑ; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com.

 

Getting Curious merch is available on PodSwag.com.

Headshot Credit for Eliot Schrefer: Priya Patel.

Transcript

Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness & Eliot Schrefer  JVN [00:00:00] Welcome to Getting Curious. I’m Jonathan Van Ness and every week I sit down for a gorgeous conversation with a brilliant expert to learn all about something that makes me curious. On today’s episode, I’m joined by Eliot Schrefer, where I ask him: How LGBTQIA+ is the animal kingdom? Welcome to Getting Curious. This is Jonathan Van Ness. On today’s episode we are discussing two of my very favorite topics together: gay stuff and animals. On that note, welcome to the show, Eliot Schrefer, who is the New York Times bestselling author and a two-time finalist for the National Book Award in Young People’s Literature. His new book Queer Ducks and Other Animals The Natural World of Animal Sexuality is everything, and we’re here to talk about it. So, first of all, welcome, Eliot. How are you?  ELIOT SCHREFER [00:00:51] I am great. Thank you for having me on the show. I just have to say, you’

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