What if an artificial intelligence could translate whale song, decode elephant frequencies, and relay a very uncomfortable message from every animal on Earth?

Author Bill Wittur joins Holly B. and Rogan to explore the wild, science-backed frontier of animal communication — and how it sparked a novel. Along the way, the conversation weaves through bioacoustics, speciesism, the healing power of writing, and why the Earth hums in G sharp.

Large language models are being used to translate whale clicks and sperm whale vocalizations. Researchers have identified what may be vowels used by Caribbean sperm whale populations — a potential breakthrough in interspecies communication.

Bill’s book follows a sentient AI that learns to communicate with animals. The animals’ verdict? Humans need to back off. The novel explores speciesism, the philosophy of Peter Singer, and the question of what happens when another species finally gets a voice.

Dolphins communicate at frequencies up to 20 times beyond human hearing. Elephants and whales use ultra-low frequencies that would damage our hearing at full volume. Military sonar, Bill explains, is essentially like placing a stick of dynamite beside a dolphin’s head.

Philosopher Peter Singer coined the term ‘speciesism’ in his 1970s book Animal Liberation. Bill argues that cracking even one species’ language will force a reckoning with how humanity treats the non-human world.

From journaling through grief to forest bathing, Bill shares the rituals that keep his creative life alive. He also reveals a hidden habit: early in every novel, he writes a chapter honouring the Muses through a character’s relationship with music.

300 pages of lyrics written since COVID. Guitars, a dreamed-of mandolin, and the advice of Jeff Tweedy (Wilco): write everything, even the mundane. Bill traces the overlap between songwriting, poetry, and fiction — and why he thinks musically even when writing prose.

Bill is the author of Extinction Event and the forthcoming sequel Ecopia. He is currently completing an MFA in Fiction at King’s College. A songwriter, guitarist, former wine importer, and committed believer that AI will crack animal language long before humanity is ready for what they have to say.

Bill is also working on a non-fiction memoir about his brother’s experience living with a stroke, and maintains a stockpile of over 300 pages of song lyrics written since the COVID-19 pandemic.

https://billwittur.com/

https://www.facebook.com/bill.wittur.2025/

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