Bearing Weight

Elephants carry more than we ask them to. So do the people who care for them. Bearing Weight is a podcast about the untold stories of elephants and the veterinarians, caregivers, researchers, advocates, and sanctuary leaders around the world who have dedicated their lives to them. These are honest, grounded conversations about what it really takes to put elephants first: the science, the sacrifice, the hard-won knowledge, and the quiet, daily work that rarely makes headlines. At a time when elephant welfare organizations often work in isolation, Bearing Weight is a space for their voices to gather — so their work can be found, understood, and supported. Hosted by David Ebert , Founder, and Danielle Carnahan , Executive Director of the Weeping Elephant Project, this podcast invites you to slow down, listen closely, and sit with the realities we too often look past. The stories are heavy, and they're worth carrying.

Bearing Weight is a society podcast hosted by Weeping Elephant Project, with 8 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Weeping Elephant Project hosts Bearing Weight, a society show with 8 episodes published.

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  Episode #7

  The Fight to End Elephant Captivity in American Zoos — with Courtney Scott

  Jul 6, 202645 minS1

  In 2008, Courtney walked into the Oregon Zoo while working on a film about animals and saw an elephant named Packy pacing back and forth in a steel-barred enclosure. He was 47 years old. He had been doing this every day of his life. In that moment, Courtney experienced what she calls satori — a sudden, full recognition of another being's experience. Not observation. Not sympathy. Understanding. She founded Free the Oregon Zoo Elephants that same year. She has not stopped since. Today, as Elephant Consultant for In Defense of Animals, Courtney leads the annual 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants list and campaigns for captive elephants across the country, from Tulsa to LA to her home base in Portland. In this conversation, we talk about the fight she lost for Packy, the fight she's still waging for Billy and Tina, why breeding is the linchpin, and a new multi-organization coalition working to ban captive elephant breeding state by state. We also ask the question at the center of all of this: a two-year-old girl looked at Packy and said, "Mommy, that elephant is sad." When do the rest of us lose the ability to see what she saw? About Courtney Scott & In Defense of Animals Courtney Scott is a photographer, filmmaker, and the Elephant Consultant for In Defense of Animals, where she leads the annual 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants in North America campaign. She is the founder of Free the Oregon Zoo Elephants and the writer, director, and producer of the documentary From Suffering to Satori, which chronicles her personal journey from awareness to advocacy. 🎬 Watch From Suffering to Satori: https://vimeo.com/115723608/7f01e6add6 🌐 https://www.idausa.org/campaign/elephants 🌐 https://freeoregonzooelephants.org 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/f.o.z.e 🐘 Take action for elephants: https://www.idausa.org/campaign/elephants/take-action About the Weeping Elephant Project The Weeping Elephant Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness and affecting change for circus and zoo elephants in the United States. Bearing Weight is our effort to bring those voices together — because the work is stronger when it's shared. Consider donating to support the work we're doing, and follow along with our work: 🌐 https://www.weepingelephant.org 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weepingelephantproject

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  Episode #6

  Jordan World Circus Ends Elephant Acts for 2026 — with Debbie Metzler, PETA

  Jun 12, 20261h 6mS1

  For the first time in years, Jordan World Circus is touring without elephants. In early 2026, the circus confirmed it would not use elephants for the rest of its tour. In this episode, Danielle and David sit down with Debbie Metzler of PETA to unpack how that decision came about, what it means for the elephants who had been on the road, and whether it will hold. At the center of the story is Viola, the elephant PETA has called "the most desperate elephant in the world." Taken from her home as a baby more than five decades ago, she has spent her life with Carson & Barnes Circus and has tried to escape at least four times, including the viral 2024 walk through the streets of Butte, Montana. Debbie traces the campaign that tracked Jordan World to every stop, the leasing loophole that lets a circus with a revoked USDA license keep using elephants anyway, the economics that make the elephant rides worth more than the tickets, and the settlements that let repeat offenders wipe their records clean. This is a real victory, and it is not the finish line. Viola and sixteen other elephants are still confined at the Endangered Ark Foundation in Oklahoma, where public bathing encounters and bullhooks continue. The conversation closes where every fight like this one does: with what it will take to get these elephants somewhere they can finally just be elephants, and what each of us can do to help them get there. About Debbie Metzler & PETA Debbie Metzler is the Managing Director of Captive Wildlife for PETA's Captive Animal Law Enforcement division, where she oversees campaigns and legal advocacy on behalf of wild animals used in circuses, roadside zoos, and other traveling attractions. PETA has campaigned against Jordan World Circus and its use of animals for more than thirty years. You can urge Carson & Barnes Circus to end its animal acts and retire Viola and the other elephants to a reputable sanctuary, and sign up for PETA's news and action alerts to follow this campaign and others. 🌐 peta.org ✊ Take action for Viola: https://support.peta.org/page/1131/action/1 📸 Instagram: @peta About the Weeping Elephant Project Weeping Elephant Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness and affecting change for circus and zoo elephants in the United States. Change is more accessible through collaboration. Bearing Weight is our effort to bring those voices together — because the work is stronger when it's shared. Consider donating to support the work we're doing: 🌐 weepingelephant.org 📸 Instagram: @weepingelephantproject

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  Bearing Weight

  Rewriting Centuries of Tradition — with Sangita Iyer

  May 15, 202643 minS0

  <p>Sangita Iyer didn't set out to make a film that would be nominated at the United Nations General Assembly. She set out to tell the truth about what was happening to elephants in the temples of Kerala — and the truth turned out to be something the world needed to see.</p><p></p><p>In this episode, Sangita takes us inside her decades of work documenting the plight of temple elephants in India — the suffering hidden behind centuries of tradition, the cultural and institutional forces that work to keep it that way, and what it has cost her personally to k...

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  Bearing Weight

  How AI Is Changing the Way We Study Elephants — with Frank Pope

  Apr 16, 202644 minS0

  <p>Frank Pope came to elephants by accident. He spent years with his eyes fixed on the ocean, until he looked into the eye of an elephant in Samburu and felt the same thing he'd felt looking into a whale's eye. That was enough.</p><p></p><p>In this episode, Frank takes us inside the research engine at Save the Elephants, from using AI to assess camera-trap footage to reveal that scientists were missing 30% of elephants in aerial surveys, to the groundbreaking study that proved elephants give each other names. We also wrestle with the harder question underneath all...

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  Bearing Weight

  If Humans Were Better Beings, They'd Be Elephants — with Steve Koyle

  Mar 19, 202639 minS0

  <p>Steve Koyle didn't set out to be a disruptor. He just couldn't stop asking for more.</p><p></p><p>In this episode, Steve takes us through 14 years as an elephant keeper at the Phoenix Zoo, and how his passion for elephant welfare ultimately led to him being fired.</p><p></p><p>It was, he says, the best thing that ever happened to elephants.</p><p></p><p>Today Steve travels the world through Elephant Care Unchained, showing up at zoos, temples, camps, and sanctuaries with one simple goal: whatever this is, make it better. It's unglamorous, exhausting...

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