The Word that Started It All: Dr. Richard Ryder Talks About Speciesism, Painism, and Happiness
In the early 70's, Oxford was home to a group of thinkers who would have a huge influence on animal activism in the following decades. Dr. Richard Ryder was right in the thick of it — he invented the term “speciesism” and leafletted Peter Singer! Now, Ryder is arguing for a new way to set our...
Zoopolis: Will Kymlicka Puts a Political Spin on Human-Animal Relations
Will Kymlicka is a Canada Research Chair at Queen's University, and he thinks his field, political philosophy, doesn't talk enough about animals. Join us as Kymlicka discusses how we can use concepts like citizenship and sovereignty to open up new ways of thinking about the responsibilities we owe to animals.
Animals and Ethics: Mapping the Debate with Angus Taylor
When researching the philosophical debates over the use and abuse of animals, it can be difficult to find an impartial voice to guide you through the various positions that might be taken up. Animals and Ethics, a book by Angus Taylor now in its third edition, attempts to be that impartial guide, providing the reader...
Animals as Persons: An Interview with Gary Francione
Gary Francione begins his new book, Animals as Persons: Essays on the Abolition of Animal Exploitation, with the following sentence-long paragraph: “My animal rights scholarship is controversial.” Known for his staunch critiques of animal welfare, Animals as Persons draws together a number of essays relevant to the Western animal movement today. In this interview, Francione...
The Work that Reconnects: An Interview with Joanna Macy
“Grace happens when we act with others on behalf of our world.” – Joanna Macy Please join us for a much anticipated conversation with Dr. Joanna Macy. Widely recognized as a scholar of Buddhism, general systems theory, and deep ecology, Macy is less well-known as a proponent of animal issues and veganism. On this program, we’ll...
Electric Animal: Interview with Dr. Akira Lippit
Rather than predetermined and fixed, the categories “human” and “animal” are in flux. In this interview, Akira Lippit talks about how notions of humanity and animality are tightly bound together. Tracing the disappearance of animals from various ecospheres and the simultaneous appearance of animals in cinema (among other technological media), Lippit explores the figure of the...
Literature and The Postcolonial Animal: An Interview with Philip Armstrong
Q: Why did the chicken cross the road? (To escape the factory farm? To find somewhere good to dust bathe?) A: Or, maybe, the chicken crossed the road to knock on Philip Armstrong’s door. In Armstrong’s prize-winning essay, “Sympathy”, he writes about a chicken who mysteriously appeared at his home and quickly made herself comfortable,...
Animal Liberation, Critical Theory, and the Left: Interview with John Sanbonmatsu
Despite a recent proliferation of scholarship, Peter Singer and Tom Regan are still often understood as the first and last words on contemporary animal ethics and philosophy. John Sanbonmatsu offers a clear alternative perspective, through his viable challenge to the Academy, the Left, and the animal movements. Drawing on authors such as Marx, Gramsci, and...
The World Peace Diet: Interview with Will Tuttle
“Food, like all apparently physical matter, is energy and vibration and is a manifestation of consciousness, and though it is important to prepare, eat, and share food mindfully, we can see that it’s important to look more deeply than this, to the actual source of our food,” writes Will Tuttle, in his new book The World...
Igniting a Debate: Environmentalism, Religion, and a Call to Action
On this week’s show we connect with Steve Best, who co-edited the provocative anthology Igniting a Revolution: Voices in Defense of the Earth, and Lisa Kemmerer who contributed a chapter entitled, “In the Beginning: God Created the Earth and ‘Ecoterrorism'”. First, Best introduces Igniting a Revolution and discusses “revolutionary environmentalism”, a central theme of the book. He...
Yoga & Veganism/The Roots of Animal Voices
We’re joined by special guest co-host and co-founder of Animal Voices, Ted Grand. We’ll hear about the origins of this very radio show that’s been on the air for over 10 years and what it was like paving the way for this forum of animal advocacy discussion. Ted is also co-founder and co-director of Moksha Yoga...
Vivisection in Brazil & Militancy in the Animal Movements
First, director Denise Gonçalves will talk about the new film Não Matarás, which addresses animal experimentation in Brazil (includes subtitles in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese). The film, created by the Instituto Nina Rosa, offers an important snapshot of animal activism in Brazil, and a devastating picture of animal cruelty within research labs and universities. Gonçalves...
