Dog-cognition expert and bestselling author Alexandra Horowitz (Inside of a Dog) takes us on a walk into the scruffy, curious, joyful world of dogs. What does it mean to "own" a dog? Can dogs demonstrate genuine heroism? And what is it like to experience reality primarily through smell? Off Leash is a delightful and surprising look at the deeply familiar, profoundly mysterious animals who walk alongside us.
An Update on Off Leash
Some news about the show.
7/27/2022 • 52 seconds
6. Genes
“What breed is she?” Every owner of a mixed-breed dog is eventually asked this when out on a walk. But how much do dogs' breeds — and genes — really tell us about who they are? Alexandra Horowitz asks Soledad O'Brien about her dog Coco's ancestry (and her own), then talks to a pioneer in the field of canine DNA.
6/14/2022 • 39 minutes, 5 seconds
5. Strays
The dogs we know best live as pets: indoors, wearing bespoke collars, and sleeping on our sofas. But the majority of the world’s dogs are stray, or “free-ranging” dogs. What are their lives like? Alexandra Horowitz talks to filmmaker Elizabeth Lo about her documentary Stray, which follows street dogs in Istanbul, and a behavioral scientist who studies a community of stray dogs in a Moroccan beach town.
6/7/2022 • 39 minutes, 8 seconds
4. Heroes
Hollywood loves stories of canine heroism. But can ordinary dogs really be heroes? To find out, Alexandra Horowitz talks to a dog-cognition researcher and to Susan Orlean, author of the book Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend.
5/31/2022 • 38 minutes, 19 seconds
3. Property
To the law, everything is either a "person," with rights, or a "thing,” without. Where does that leave dogs? Alexandra Horowitz considers animate things, living property, and what happens when the law and our families collide.
5/24/2022 • 26 minutes, 59 seconds
2. Names
What do dogs know about their own names? And is there any science about what to name them? Alexandra talks to a researcher with some answers, and takes a walk with the actress Isabella Rossellini, her dogs, and a sheep named Frida Kahlo.
5/17/2022 • 34 minutes, 45 seconds
1. Smell
Dogs are, above all, creatures of the nose. What can they sniff out, and what can we learn about smelling by following them? Alexandra Horowitz talks to a detection-dog handler and a food critic about olfaction, then puts some Freakonomics hosts' noses to the test.
5/17/2022 • 34 minutes, 36 seconds
Introducing Off Leash
In the Freakonomics Radio Network's newest show, dog-cognition expert and bestselling author Alexandra Horowitz (Inside of a Dog) takes us on a walk into the scruffy, curious, joyful world of dogs. What does it mean to "own" a dog? Can dogs demonstrate genuine heroism? And what is it like to experience reality primarily through smell? Off Leash is a delightful and surprising look at the deeply familiar, profoundly mysterious animals who walk alongside us.
