About
The Animal Addicts Podcast debuted in August 2020 after years of its hosts, Casey and Ali, joking that they should start a podcast after many a trip to the San Diego Wild Animal Park sharing stories, and their passion for animals and conservation. They decided that if it were ever going to become a reality, they needed to set a deadline and stick to it no matter what, and what better time to start than during the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic? And so they hit their August start date with very little idea of how to run a podcast.
The Podcast focuses on a different region of the world each month and features animals from that region as the Animal of the Week each week of that month. Then the hosts share their picks or favorites for various categories, sometimes fitting within the assigned region for that month, sometimes not, share other animal related stories, and finally end with a challenge for themselves and the audience. They have worked to improve the Podcast since the early days and would like to thank everyone who has gone along for the ride!
Your Hosts
Casey
Nerd, Nature Lover, and Humanoid Turtle
Casey graduated from the University of California, Riverside with a Bachelor’s of Science in June 2021 and he’s had a love for nature, especially animals, ever since he was a little kid. When he was a child he wanted to become a zookeeper and learned from one that in order to get that as a career he was going need to get a degree in biology. He has maintained this passion for the natural world and working on getting a career in conservation and/or evolutionary biology. Casey also has a passion for education which is why one possible pathway he may take is eventually becoming a college professor when he goes to graduate school and why he worked with Ali to create the animal addicts podcast. When it comes to the field of biology, Casey thinks that there are just too many subdivisions that he loves but his particular favorites are ecology, marine biology, invertebrates and paleontology.
Ali
Performer, Nerd, and Animal Enthusiast
Unlike Casey, Ali has no formal education in Biology and instead holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Radio-Television-Film from California State University, Fullerton. She has been an animal lover from the very beginning to the point that her first word wasn’t the typical “mama” or “dada”, but rather, “doggie”. She has had pets her whole life and was lucky enough to grow up in San Diego County and be able to frequent the San Diego Wild Animal Park and the San Diego Zoo where she developed her passion for wildlife and conservation. She has also had years of experience working for a major pet supply retailer where she met Casey. Aside from her love of animals, she loves playing D&D and board games, geeks out over many fantasy and sci-fi franchises, is slightly obsessed with Disney, and loves performing predominately in musical theater productions throughout San Diego.