Editing Newt Gingrich (section)

=== Other interests ===
[[File:Newt Gingrich feeds an apple to Boma, a black rhino at Zoo Atlanta.jpg|thumb|Gingrich feeds an apple to a [[black rhinoceros]] at [[Zoo Atlanta]]]]

Gingrich has expressed a deep interest in animals.<ref>{{cite magazine |series=Discover Interview |title=Newt Gingrich |first=Grant |last=Delin |magazine=Discover Magazine |date=October 2006 |url=http://discovermagazine.com/2006/oct/discover-interview-newt-gingrich |access-date=October 14, 2010 |archive-date=February 12, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212093929/http://discovermagazine.com/2006/oct/discover-interview-newt-gingrich |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=5 Principles for a Successful Life: From Our Family to Yours |last=Gingrich |first=Newt |author2=Jackie Gingrich Cushman |year=2009 |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-0-307-46232-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZmYJL2KJqkYC |access-date=June 17, 2015 |archive-date=April 7, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150407070809/http://books.google.com/books?id=ZmYJL2KJqkYC |url-status=live }}</ref> Gingrich's first engagement in civic affairs was speaking to the city council in his native [[Harrisburg, Pennsylvania]], as to why the city should establish its own zoo.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2011/12/08/gIQAVb1yiO_story.html |title=Gingrich wild about zoos |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=September 30, 2018 |archive-date=September 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930120040/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2011/12/08/gIQAVb1yiO_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He authored the introduction to ''America's Best Zoos'' and claims to have visited more than 100.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-xpm-2011-dec-15-la-pn-newt-gingrich-zoo-lover-video-20111215-story.html |title=10 great places to go wild over zoo animals |date=July 17, 2008 |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |access-date=October 12, 2010 |archive-date=December 17, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111217040235/http://articles.latimes.com/2011/dec/15/news/la-pn-newt-gingrich-zoo-lover-video-20111215 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Gingrich has shown enthusiasm towards dinosaurs. ''[[The New Yorker]]'' said of his 1995 book ''To Renew America'': "Charmingly, he has retained his enthusiasm for the extinct giants into middle age. In addition to including breakthroughs in dinosaur research on his list of futuristic wonders, he specified 'people interested in dinosaurs' as a prime example of those who might benefit from his education proposals."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.newyorker.com/archive/1995/07/17/1995_07_17_006_TNY_CARDS_000372055 |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |date=July 17, 1995 |title=Cookie Monster |first=Hendrik |last=Hertzberg |access-date=February 18, 2020 |archive-date=March 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306003245/http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1995/07/17/1995_07_17_006_TNY_CARDS_000372055 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Space exploration]] has been an additional interest of Gingrich since a fascination with the United States/Soviet Union [[Space Race]] started in his teenage years.<ref name=Aviation>{{cite news |first=Newt |last=Gingrich |title=Space first, NASA second |magazine=Aviation Week & Space Technology |date=June 30, 2008}}</ref> Gingrich wants the U.S. to pursue new achievements in space, including sustaining civilizations beyond Earth,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thespacereview.com/article/623/1 |title=A few words with Newt Gingrich |date=May 15, 2006 |work=The Space Review |access-date=April 19, 2011 |archive-date=February 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214021258/http://www.thespacereview.com/article/623/1 |url-status=live }}</ref> but advocates relying more on the private sector and less on the publicly funded [[NASA]] to drive progress.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gingrich |first1=Newt |first2=Vince |last2=Haley |first3=Rick |last3=Tyler |title=Real Change: The Fight For America's Future|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/realchangefromwo00ging|chapter-url-access=registration |year=2009 |chapter=15|publisher=Regnery |isbn=9781596980532 }}</ref> Since 2010, he has served on the [[National Space Society]] Board of Governors.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nss.org/about/bios/gingrich.html |title=Newt Gingrich profile |access-date=April 19, 2011 |archive-date=December 12, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111212210908/http://www.nss.org/about/bios/gingrich.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the 2012 election campaign, ''[[Artinfo]]'' noted that Gingrich has expressed appreciation for the work of two American painters. He has described [[James H. Cromartie]]'s painting of the [[U.S. Capitol]] as "an exceptional and truly beautiful work of art"; in [[Norman Rockwell]]'s work, he saw the embodiment of an America circa 1965, at odds with the prevailing sentiment of the modern day "cultural elites".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/754813/which-republican-candidate-would-make-the-best-arts-nominee-the-artinfo-endorsement |title=Which Republican Candidate Would Make the Best Arts Nominee? |date=January 3, 2012 |first1=Benjamin |last1=Genocchio |first2=Andrew M. |last2=Goldstein |work=[[Artinfo]] |access-date=May 11, 2013}}</ref>

[[CNN]] announced on June 26, 2013, that Gingrich would join a new version of ''[[Crossfire (U.S. TV program)|Crossfire]]'' re-launching in fall 2013, with panelists [[S. E. Cupp]], [[Stephanie Cutter]], and [[Van Jones]].<ref name="xfire" /> Gingrich represented the right on the revamped debate program.<ref name="xfire">{{cite news |url=http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/06/26/crossfire-coming-back-to-cnn |title='Crossfire' coming back to CNN |date=June 26, 2013 |publisher=[[CNN]] |access-date=June 26, 2013 |archive-date=June 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630095908/http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/06/26/crossfire-coming-back-to-cnn/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The show was cancelled the following year.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Moraes |first1=Lisa |title=''Crosssfire'' cancelled—again—as CNN pulls programs and slashes staff |url=https://deadline.com/2014/10/crosssfire-cancelled-cnn-staff-cuts-sanjay-gupta-christine-romans-rachel-nichols-852196 |access-date=April 27, 2016 |magazine=[[Deadline Hollywood|Deadline]]|date=October 15, 2014 |archive-date=May 10, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510140627/http://deadline.com/2014/10/crosssfire-cancelled-cnn-staff-cuts-sanjay-gupta-christine-romans-rachel-nichols-852196/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>