Animal Voices is your animal liberation radio show broadcasting in Toronto on CIUT 89.5 FM, St. Catharines on CFBU 103.7 FM, and worldwide at www.ciut.fm, every Tuesday at 11 am-noon EST. Volunteer-run, Animal Voices covers local, national, global, and politically diverse campaigns, struggles and victories of the animal liberation movement. Tune in for interviews with a broad spectrum of activists and academics working toward the liberation of animals, social justice, and environmental health.
Hosted and produced by Daniel Angrignon, Animal Voices strives to map out the animal advocacy scene around the globe and provide a platform to showcase the work of animal activists. Animal Voices engages with the ways that various human social dynamics like race, gender, and class intersect with animal issues, asks questions about other animals’ experiences, and considers other animals’ interests. Animal Voices also collaborates with Kevin Tillman, co-founder of the Vegan Hip Hop Movement, who introduces our audience to artists who work to connect hip hop rooted in resistance and social justice with the intersections of human, animal and earth liberation.
In the words of past guest and AIDS and animal rights activist, Steven Simmons, “It’s time for us to end this hierarchy of who has the right to live, who deserves not to suffer, who should be respected — that there’s a limit to the amount of compassion that we can have for our fellow creatures.”
Steven passed away in 1997 but his words remain the foundation for why Animal Voices exists today.
The Crew
Daniel Angrignon – Host / Producer
Erin O’Sullivan – Co-host / Audio Technician
Tayler Book – Social Media Co-ordinator
Kevin Tillman – Music Collaborator
Neil Harvey – Web Support and Audio Technician
Lauren Corman – Alumna / Occasional host
Daniel
Dan is the producer of Animal Voices, a job he is thrilled to have considering that it gives him the chance to meet animal rights heroes, both old and new. He is currently an undergraduate student at Brock University majoring in Political Science and Sociology with a concentration in Critical Animal Studies, a program he is still trying to master saying in one breath. He is passionate about animal rights activism and hopes to pursue further studies focusing on the injustice inherent in animal enterprise terrorism laws. Dan likes playing music, watching hilariously awful movies, and cooking elaborate vegan meals for the holidays, and very much misses his friends and family back in Calgary, especially his canine brother Jimi.
Erin
Erin became a vegetarian in her early teens, right around the time she realized her parents were not gods and could not actually force her to eat meat. She became a vegan when she was 21, right around the time she got the internet.
She has a Master’s and a PhD in sociology. As a day job, she does statistical research for the federal government. On the side, she studies vegans, what turned them into vegans, and how weird it can be to be a vegan in an omnivorous world.
Tayler
As the social media co-ordinator for Animal Voices, Tayler posts content to all of our social media pages: Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. Presently, she is focused on archiving all of the shows onto Tumblr for easy streaming and distribution. Tayler is currently an undergraduate student at Brock University majoring in Sociology with a concentration in Social Justice and Equity. When she is not studying or reading up on social justice movements, Tayler enjoys teaching dance classes, watching bad movies, discovering new music, spending quality time with her non-human animal companions, and drooling over vegan treats.
Kevin
Kevin Tillman has been practicing holistic activism for nearly 10 years. His focus is to achieve decolonization, confronting all forms of oppression, which include and are not limited to abelism, sexism, racism, anthropocentrism, queerphobia, and classism. Kevin is the founder of the vegan hip hop movement, which was created to promote veganism through hip hop and build a bridge between your “average” vegan and other social justice movements inherent in the hip hop culture.
You can follow The Vegan Hip Hop Movement on myspace, facebook and blogspot.
Neil
Neil keeps up the website and podcast feed. He credits his interest in animal issues to the good influence of Lauren and his wise big sister, Cheryl. Neil is happy to think that all the great guests on Animal Voices can reach an even wider audience through the podcast and archives.
Lauren
Lauren Corman teaches Critical Animal Studies at Brock University. Her academic research looks at the intersections among feminist, labour, and critical race theories, specifically as they relate to “the question of the animal.” She enjoys good friends, writing, vegan food, books, as well as her bike, Daoism, and inspiring activism. She started co-hosting and co-producing Animal Voices in February 2001.
Animal Voices alumni
Steve
Despite being relatively new to grassroots activism, Steve has spent the majority of his undergraduate academic work studying animal issues, specifically focusing on the burgeoning body of scholarship known as Critical Animal Studies. He is interested in the interrelated subject areas of masculine gender performance and animal exploitation and has received a SSHRC fellowship to study this very intersection of sociological phenomena. Steve currently studies at Brock University in the MA in Critical Sociology department under his advisor and mentor, Professor John Sorenson. He enjoys spending time with his faithful companion, Roland, theorizing on the conspiracies of the corporate elite and hates writing in the third person.
Karol
Karol first came became aware of animal issues through vegan and vegetarian punk rock bands. The fast music and screamed lyrics were the perfect package to deliver a pro-animal rights message to a young punk from the suburbs who had some vague notion that the world was not what it appeared to be on television.
In the last few years, he has become much more passionate about animal issues, due to a critical mass of information and circumstances that have strongly influenced how he views his ethical responsibilities. Being a regular listener of — and later becoming a volunteer for — Animal Voices, was easily the most important aspect of this shift.
Karol returned to Animal Voices in January 2013 to talk about his documentary film Maximum Tolerated Dose.
Rob
Rob, seen here jumping off a cliff, pretty much did the same when he joined Animal Voices in September, 2003. Following a degree in fine arts from York University, he decided to graduate from letter-writing animal activist to radio activist when Lauren advertised for a newsperson.
Rob works as a freelance fitness instructor and personal trainer in Toronto.
Lamia
Lamia, a self-proclaimed gender-queer, strikes a pose outside the CIUT station where she has been a fiercely dedicated technician and Animal Voices DJ since September, 2003. Especially partial to Spearhead and K-OS, she showcases the best animal rights music around. An activist and healer, Lamia brings a deep commitment to human and animal politics to the program, and believes in revolutionary and radical politics.
Levi
Levi has recently earned his PhD in Wood Science from the University of Toronto and is now on a much-needed vacation. His input, advice, technological assistance, and on-air presence have helped to make Animal Voices what it is today. He enjoys cycling, canoeing, and vegan jerkey.
Nadja
Nadja Lubiw-Hazard co-hosted Animal Voices for two years. While practicing as a small animal veterinarian, she provided volunteer vet services for rescued animals through Animal Alliance, the Toronto Cat Rescue and the Toronto Wildlife Centre. She coordinates a chapter of Roots & Shoots, doing humane education work with students aged 6-12, and as a volunteer for Zoocheck she has researched and written reports related to animals in captivity and coordinated the development of a curriculum-based education resource called Let’s Go Wild.
Mirha-Soleil
Mirha-Soleil Ross hosted Animal Voices from 1996-2001. A transsexual video maker, performer, sex worker and animal rights activist, she has produced over a dozen videos which have been screened at festivals internationally. Mateřština (co-directed with Mark Karbusicky) won the Marian McMahon Award at the 2004 Images Festival in Toronto. Mirha-Soleil also created Counting Past 2, a multi-disciplinary art festival dedicated to the promotion of work produced by local and international transsexual and transgendered artists.
Ted
Ted Grand co-founded Animal Voices in 1996. A co-founder and co-director of Moksha Yoga, Ted has taught yoga for many years, and works to support beginners as well as more experienced students with finding a path to peace through their yoga. (He returned to Animal Voices to speak about yoga in August 2006.) Ted is also a proud husband and father, an organic farmer, and an environmental/social activist.
Susan
Susan Hargreaves co-founded Animal Voices in 1996, at the same time that she co-coordinated ARK II, a Toronto-based non-profit animal advocacy organization. Susan also founded EarthKind, a non-profit humane education organization, was the Director of Humane Education at the Wildlife Care Center in Fort Lauderdale, and is the Director of Education for Caring Fields Animal Sanctuary. She has received numerous awards for her work in humane education, including the Distinguished Educator Award, presented by international humane education organization Share the World, and the Compassionate Educator Award, presented by Archbishop McKenzie of Toronto.
