When a zoo needs an elephant, or finds itself with three surplus penguins, it doesn’t buy or sell the animals — it asks around. Zachary Crockett rattles the cages.

• SOURCES:
  • Hollie Colahan, deputy director of the Birmingham Zoo and chair of the AZA's Animal Population Management Committee.
  • Dwight Lawson, executive director and C.E.O. of the Oklahoma City Zoo.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Oklahoma City Zoo Announces Near-Total Redesign in 2024 Master Plan," by Sam Royka (The Oklahoman, 2024).
  • "Panda Diplomacy: What China’s Decision to Send Bears to the US Reveals About Its Economy," by Chee Meng Tan (The Conversation, 2024).
  • "Oklahoma City Zoological Trust Financial Statements," (2023).
  • "Modern Zoos Are Not Worth the Moral Cost," by Emma Marris (The New York Times, 2021).
  • "The Tiger King of the 19th Century," by Betsy Golden Kellem (Slate, 2020).
  • Animal Population Management Committee of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Tow-truck drivers: roadside rescuers or car confiscators? Zachary Crockett gets hooked.

• SOURCES:
  • Bill Giorgis, president of Mike’s Wrecker Service.
  • Max Karimi, co-owner of H&M Roadside.
  • Teresa Murray, director of the Consumer Watchdog Program at U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Getting Off the Hook of a Predatory Tow - Part II," by Jacob van Cleef and Teresa Murray (U.S. PIRG Education Fund, 2022).
  • "Getting Off the Hook of a Predatory Tow," by Grace Brombach (U.S. PIRG Education Fund, 2021).
  • "Beware of Car Towing Companies That Patrol Private Parking Lots," by Ann Carrns (The New York Times, 2021).
  • "After a Wave of Injuries, Tow Truck Drivers Want Us All to Slow Down," by Kristian Foden-Vencil (Oregon Public Broadcasting, 2021).
  • "AAA’s Grip Forcing West Coast Tow Companies Out of Business, Owners Say," by Annie Sciacca (East Bay Times, 2016).
  • r/Hookit.

Why are these 300-year-old instruments still coveted by violinists today? And how do working musicians get their hands on multimillion-dollar antiques? Zachary Crockett is not fiddling around.

• SOURCES:
  • Frank Almond, professional violinist.
  • Ziv Arazi, co-owner of Rare Violins of New York.
  • Bruno Price, co-owner of Rare Violins of New York.

• RESOURCES:
  • "When It Comes to String Instruments, Stradivariuses Are Still Pitch Perfect," by Ted Scheinman (Smithsonian Magazine, 2022).
  • "Study Confirms Superior Sound of Stradivari Is Due to How Wood Was Treated," by Jennifer Ouellette (Ars Technica, 2021).
  • "The Case of the Stolen Stradivarius," (FBI News, 2015).
  • "A High-Strung Market," by E. H. B. (The Economist, 2013).
  • "Violins For Music — And Investment Returns," by Michael S. Fischer (Financial Advisor, 2013).
  • "Stradivarius Fetches Record $16 Million in Charity Sale," (Reuters, 2011).

• EXTRA:
  • A Violin's Life, album series by Frank Almond (2013).