A podcast hosted by Dr. Cindy Buckmaster and the National Animal Interest Alliance (NAIA) dedicated to open discussion about animal research: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Cindy explores the deep truths, so we can make compassionate choices for people and animals to shape our medical future together.
You may find this surprising, but biomedical research with animals isn’t only necessary for improving human and animal lives. It’s also critical for protecting our food supply and our economy. How so? Dr. Maggie Behnke, Attending Veterinarian for the USDA National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, joins us today to lay out the facts…on GetReal!
Support the showIs love for animals what truly drives the animal rights movement? How did this movement begin and what is its ultimate goal? Patti Strand, President and Founder of the National Animal Interest Alliance, has been studying this movement and sharing her findings publicly for decades. She’ll break it all down for us today…on GetReal!
Support the showGroups opposed to research with animals insist that studies with monkeys are irrelevant to human health and disease, and that all of these animals should be retired to sanctuaries. Those who believe these groups consider this to be a perfect plan; but is it? Surely a sanctuary would be an ideal place for retired research monkeys to spend the rest of their lives; but would it? Scott Kubisch, Director and Founder of Peaceable Primates Sanctuary, will lay out the facts for us today…on GetReal!
Support the showThere’s a lot of discussion these days about the “reproducibility crisis” in science and how that may be delaying the medical advances we seek for ourselves and our loved ones. Today we’re going to talk about what may be the number one reason for why more than half of the research findings from animal studies are questionable. The animals on study are hardly ever as healthy as we think. And you can’t get clean results from dirty research models. How did we get here and what’s the solution moving forward? Dr. Ken Henderson, Senior Director for Laboratory Services with Charles River Laboratories, will break it down for us today…on GetReal!
Support the showToday we’ll catch up with Trina who lost her beautiful boy, Austin, to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy two years ago. It turns out that her journey with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy isn’t over yet because, contrary to popular belief, girls and women are also affected by this devastating and deadly disease. But the scientific and medical communities have ignored this fact for decades. Well, Trina has had enough! And she’s on a mission to put girls and women with this rare disease on the research calendar. We’ll discuss this and more with her today on GetReal!
Support the showBreeding research mice responsibly is not as easy as it sounds. Every day, animal lives are wasted and biomedical discovery is compromised because colony management has simply become too complex for human beings to do well. So…we should STOP DOING IT! Our partners at Transnetyx have developed tools that are available right now that make our critical research with rodents less wasteful, more productive…and more meaningful. We’ll learn about some of them from Bob Bean and Jessie Janeczek today on GetReal!
Support the showWhat would you do if you worked with research animals and you were certain they could receive better care than they were getting? A lot of people would probably just get frustrated and complain about it. They might even feel hopeless enough to resign. But what if you could find better ways for folks to care for their animals and their science, and actually help them change things for the better? Would you find the time to do that for your organization? What about the entire research community? Our guest today is Gennifer Caesar and she’s decided to go large with this concept. She’ll share her journey and her ideas with us today… on GetReal!
Support the showThe fate of dogs in classic biomedical research studies is more questionable than ever. So, what are our options? Can we keep up with the demand for new treatments with fewer dogs in biomedical research? Our guest today is Dr. Veronica Maldonado. Dr. Maldonado is an ACLAM Boarded Laboratory Animal Veterinarian with a PhD in Immunology who has worked directly with animals involved in drug development for over 25 years. She’s passionate about caring for research animals, but she’s equally passionate about finding ways to reduce the need for them in biomedical studies…especially dogs. And she has a plan…we’ll discuss this and more…on today’s episode…of GetReal!
Support the showThe final inspection report by the USDA on May 3, 2022 revealed no serious animal health concerns at the Envigo/Inotiv research dog breeding facility in Cumberland, VA. So why did they close and how might this impact public health moving forward? Joining us today is a member of the Inotiv team who will share the details no one has been able to access until now...on GetReal!
Support the showIs it possible that thousands of Americans have been programmed to harm themselves and everyone they love without realizing it? Are they fighting passionately for something that’s actually an illusion - an illusion deliberately designed to exploit their natural love of animals - for the personal gain of those directing them? Tom Leach, an attorney and leader in research advocacy and education, joins us today to help me break it down for you on today’s episode of GetReal!
Support the show
Amanda is a wife. A mother. A blogger. A Christian.
A charming, beautiful, bubbly, young woman who lives life to the fullest.
But Amanda is dying, with a secret she doesn’t want anyone to know.
She starts a blog detailing her cancer journey, and becomes an inspiration, touching and
captivating her local community as well as followers all over the world.
Until one day investigative producer Nancy gets an anonymous tip telling her to look at Amanda’s
blog, setting Nancy on an unimaginable road to uncover Amanda’s secret.
Award winning journalist Charlie Webster explores this unbelievable and bizarre, but
all-too-real tale, of a woman from San Jose, California whose secret ripped a family apart and
left a community in shock.
Scamanda is the true story of a woman whose own words held the key to her secret.
New episodes every Monday.
Follow Scamanda on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.
Amanda’s blog posts are read by actor Kendall Horn.