Our Hen House

The inimitable Dash Meizler joins the podcast this week from Kampala, Uganda, for a truly inspiring conversation about leveraging our activism to better advocate for animal rights and marginalized communities. Founder of the Podrska Foundation, Dash outlines how the organization is fighting for farmed animals while empowering women, providing schools with vegan meals, fighting poverty through home-based vegetable gardens, and more.… The post Animal Rights and Human Rights in Uganda w/ Dash...

The remarkable Gwendolyn Church joins the podcast this week for an awe-inspiring conversation about Friends of Philip Fish Sanctuary, the aquatic animal sanctuary she founded, based in Reno, NV. Gwendolyn tells the tale of Philip, the betta fish that changed the trajectory of her life and inspired the sanctuary. This passionate animal activist also discusses the misconceptions around fish sentience and… The post Speaking with the Fishes w/ Gwendolyn Church appeared first on Our Hen House.

Mamta Jain Valderrama joins the podcast for an insightful discussion about Jainism and the many ways in which its beliefs intersect with veganism. Jainism is one of the oldest religions in existence, having taken form in ancient India some time between the 7th and 5th centuries BCE. In our conversation, Mamta explains the philosophy of ahimsa, or non-violence, that practitioners of… The post Jainism, Feminism and Veganism w/ Mamta Valderrama appeared first on Our Hen House.

The remarkable Danielle Hanosh joins us on the podcast for a conversation about a revolutionary new program that you will definitely want to hear about. LEAP—short for Leaders for Ethics, Animals, and the Planet—offers high school students humane education, hands-on experience caring for rescued farmed animals, volunteer experience at animal sanctuaries, and scholarship opportunities. Teaching compassion instead of slaughter, LEAP, teaches… The post LEAP into Saving Animals w/ Danielle...

Dr. Christopher Carter joins us on the podcast this week to discuss his new book The Spirit of Soul Food: Race, Faith, and Food Justice. This groundbreaking work covers everything from the history of soul food to choosing how to eat in a way that helps us “live into our fullest sense of self.” Dr. Carter shares why he centers the… The post The Spirit of Soul Food w/ Dr Christopher Carter appeared first on Our Hen House.

She’s an activist, artist, librarian, professor, and more. The multi-hyphenate Stacy Russo joins us on the podcast for a deep dive into Love Activism. Created by Stacy in 2013, Love Activism is a daily, holistic, and radical activism rooted in kindness. In our conversation, Stacy outlines the eight elements of this activist approach and describes how they can empower us every… The post Love Activism w/ Stacy Russo appeared first on Our Hen House.

The trailblazing Gemunu De Silva, a United Kingdom-based undercover investigator of animal exploitation, joins us this week on Our Hen House. Gem, one of the first and longest-serving investigators of the worldwide hidden mistreatment of animals, tell us about his path into the world of animal activism and the animal rights movement. It was his very first factory farm investigation in… The post Undercover Investigations Have Changed Everything w/ Gemunu De Silva appeared first on Our Hen...

LoriKim Alexander can do it all—from her core organizing role with Black VegFest to her work in the fields of anthropology and biology. She joins us on Our Hen House to discuss how The Cypher, the organization she founded, places emphasis on veganism’s true, anti-oppressive meaning. LoriKim shares how The Cypher started off as an educational, political book club on Facebook… The post Veganism as Decolonization w/ LoriKim Alexander appeared first on Our Hen House.

Hope Ferdowsian, President and CEO of Phoenix Zones Initiative (PZI)—a non-profit organization committed to advancing the interconnected rights, health, and wellbeing of people and animals—joins us on the podcast to discuss how the organization is striving to realize optimal health outcomes for humans and non-human animals alike. More specifically, Hope shares how, by expanding upon the One Health approach, PZI is… The post Phoenix Zones w/ Hope Ferdowsian appeared first on Our Hen House.

Faithful listeners will know this to be true: we can’t get enough of Grass Fed, Rochester’s premier vegan butcher shop and deli. Thus, this week, we couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome Rob Nipe and Nora Rubel, founders of Grass Fed, to the podcast. The husband-and-wife team joins us to dish why they view Grass Fed as training wheels for veganism, and… The post Grass Fed and Vegan w/ Rob Nipe and Nora Rubel appeared first on Our Hen House.

Joining us on the Our Hen House podcast this week are Joan E. Schaffner, JD and Rajesh K. Reddy, JD, PhD. Joan and Raj are founding members of Lawyers for the Convention on Animal Protection, an international team of law practitioners and academics committed to advocating for a global animal protection agreement. They join the podcast to share details about the… The post Creating International Standards for Animal Protection w/ Joan E. Schaffner and Rajesh K. Reddy appeared first on Our Hen...

According to powerhouse activist and community organizer Eloísa Trinidad, an anti-colonial framework is fundamental to how she approaches activism. Eloísa, who serves as Executive Director of both the Vegan Activist Alliance and the food justice organization Chilis on Wheels New York, is a total liberation activist. She is unapologetically adamant that species does not define personhood and emphasizes the importance of… The post Vegan Activist Alliance w/ Eloísa Trinidad appeared first on...

Rachel Dreskin, CEO of the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA), joins the podcast this week to discuss why it is so vital for vegan foods to have a trade association. Rachel tells us how the organization, which advocates at both the federal and state levels, is working to even the playing field to help plant-based brands compete against animal-based products and… The post Creating the Market for Plant Based Foods w/ Rachel Dreskin appeared first on Our Hen House.

The ingenious David van Beveren, founder of Vegan Hacktivists, joins the podcast this week for an inspiring conversation about using our unique skill sets to help propel the animal rights movement forward. A software developer by trade, David details the important work Vegan Hacktivists is doing to help animal rights organizations and activists expand their web presence. The organization, composed of… The post The Vegan Hacktivists Are Here to Help w/ David van Beveren appeared first on Our...

CreatureKind’s Aline Silva joins the podcast this week for a discussion about food, animals and Christianity. Reverend Silva, who serves as CreatureKind’s Co-Director, gives us an overview of the religious nonprofit, which encourages Christians to recognize faith-based reasons for caring about the well-being of all living creatures and helps them implement plant-based practices within their church communities. Founded on the belief… The post CreatureKind w/ Aline Silva appeared first on Our...

Vegan Outreach India’s Richa Mehta joins us this week to talk about the spread of veganism in India. As Director of Programs, Richa tells us how Vegan Outreach is focusing on college students and explains in detail what they are doing to educate those students about the atrocities of the dairy and meat industries while advocating for veganism, as not only… The post Is India Going Vegan? w/ Richa Mehta appeared first on Our Hen House.

On this week’s podcast, we are joined by Jeff Sebo, who is the director of New York University’s Animal Studies M.A. Program, to discuss his brand new book, Saving Animals, Saving Ourselves: Why Animals Matter for Pandemics, Climate Change, and Other Catastrophes. Jeff apparently can see into the future, since he began writing this incredibly prescient book in 2017—three years before… The post Saving Animals, Saving Ourselves w/ Jeff Sebo appeared first on Our Hen House.

PJ Nyman joins the podcast this week to discuss how understanding animal exploitation on a global landscape creates bridges to other movements which, in turn, help us address the exploitation of animals in a more multifaceted way. PJ, a contributing author featured in Antiracism in Animal Advocacy: Igniting Cultural Transformation, shares what prompted them to investigate the overlap between the history… The post Bridges to Other Movements w/ PJ Nyman appeared first on Our Hen House.

Author and award-winning journalist Rachel Krantz has written a truly extraordinary book, Open: An Uncensored Memoir of Love, Liberation, and Non-Monogamy. This week, she and Jasmin sit down to discuss this raw, vulnerable, and truly inspirational account of Rachel’s journey into the sometimes complicated world of polyamory and how that journey of self-discovery has interwoven with her veganism and animal rights… The post Personal Narrative and Liberation w/ Rachel Krantz appeared first on...

Matt Johnson of Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) is an investigator, a press coordinator, and an animal rights activist extraordinaire. About to go to trial in Iowa on felony charges, including under Iowa’s infamous Ag Gag statute, for rescuing a piglet, now named Gilly, from certain death, he shares with us the harrowing story of entering factory farms under conditions of ventilation shutdown… The post Direct Action in Iowa (and Everywhere) w/ Matt Johnson appeared first on Our Hen House.