Episode 92: Interview with Richard White about vegan anarchist geographies, veganism as prefigurative praxis, and Critical Animal Studies

This week, I am pleased to present my interview with the vegan anarchist geographer Richard White, PhD, Reader in Human Geography at Sheffield Hallam University in the UK. Richard has co-edited several books, including Vegan Geographies: Spaces Beyond Violence, Ethics Beyond Speciesism (published in 2022) and Anarchism and Animal Liberation: Essays on Complementary Elements of Total Liberation (published in 2015). He was the editor of the Journal for Critical Animal Studies from 2009 to 2012, and he has written many book chapters and academic journal articles on topics related to geography, anarchism, and veganism. Richard is also a veganic gardener and has been a vegan for about two decades.

In this interview, Richard shares his story of becoming vegan and getting involved in Critical Animal Studies, and he speaks about the significance of understanding the connections between spatial and social justice. We discuss the concept of prefigurative praxis as it applies to veganism, anti-capitalist and anarchist approaches to veganism, and the limitations of approaching veganism as a diet or consumer lifestyle. Richard also tells me about his experiences with veganic gardening and teaching about veganism and animal rights issues.

Thanks to Richard for being a guest on the show!

How to listen to this episode

There are two ways you can listen to this episode.

1. Listen to the episode on CKCU FM's website at https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/553/59815.html.
   
2. Listen to or download the podcast from Archive.org at https://archive.org/details/afar-march-15-2023.
   

You can also find Always for Animal Rights on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. If you'd like to receive an e-mail every time there is a new post on the AFAR blog, feel free to enter your e-mail address into the appropriate box in the right-hand sidebar of this site.

Go vegan, stay vegan, and let's remember to stand up and speak up for animal rights today and every day. Thanks for listening to the show!

Episode 91: Interview with Nella Giatrakou about vegan feminism, veganism as opposition to speciesism, and the vegan movement in Greece

Artwork by the vegan artist, Maria Tiqwah

This week, I am pleased to present my interview with Nella Giatrakou, a vegan feminist and translator living in Greece. Since becoming vegan in 2013, Nella has been involved in a variety of forms of animal advocacy. She is one of the contributors who volunteered her translation skills to help create an ecofeminist anthology in Greek, which was published last year. She is also a co-panellist on the Animal Rights Show on YouTube.

In this interview, Nella speaks about what led her to become vegan, how her understanding of veganism has evolved over time, and what her experience has been like as a co-panellist on the Animal Rights Show. We discuss the importance of viewing veganism as a social justice movement that opposes speciesism, rather than just a diet; connections between veganism and feminism; the problems with reducetarian advocacy; celebrity culture within the animal rights movement; and why some people claim to be ex-vegans. Nella also describes the state of the vegan movement in Greece, and she recommends books and other resources for people who are interested in learning more about veganism, animal rights, and animal liberation.

At the end of this episode, we'll listen to the first movement of Marianna Martines' Sonata in G Major, performed by the vegan piano player Judith Valerie Engel.

How to listen to this episode

There are two ways you can listen to this episode.

1. Listen to the episode on CKCU FM's website at https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/553/59701.html.
   
2. Listen to or download the podcast from Archive.org at https://archive.org/details/afar-march-8-2023.
   

You can also find Always for Animal Rights on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. If you'd like to receive an e-mail every time there is a new post on the AFAR blog, feel free to enter your e-mail address into the appropriate box in the right-hand sidebar of this site.

Go vegan, stay vegan, and let's remember to stand up and speak up for animal rights today and every day. Thanks for listening to the show!

Episode 90: Interview with Lee Hall about the connections between veganism, animal liberation, and environmentalism

This week, I am pleased to present my interview with the author and public speaker Lee Hall, who has been a vegan advocate since 1983. Lee is the author of On Their Own Terms: Animal Liberation for the 21st Century, the creator of the blog Vegan Place, and a writer for CounterPunch. Lee previously taught immigration and animal law at Rutgers University in New Jersey and now holds a Master of Laws in environmental law with a focus on climate change.

In this interview, Lee speaks about vegan ethics, the history of the Vegan Society in the UK, the connections between animal liberation and environmentalism, ethical concerns with using violent imagery in our advocacy, and why domestication is inherently unfair. We also discuss the importance of integrity in our activism and the issue of whether chocolate is truly vegan-friendly. (You can learn more about cocoa production here.)

How to listen to this episode

There are two ways you can listen to this episode.

1. Listen to the episode on CKCU FM's website at https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/553/59365.html.
   
2. Listen to or download the podcast from Archive.org at https://archive.org/details/afar-february-8-2023.
   

You can also find Always for Animal Rights on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. If you'd like to receive an e-mail every time there is a new post on the AFAR blog, feel free to enter your e-mail address into the appropriate box in the right-hand sidebar of this site.

Go vegan, stay vegan, and let's remember to stand up and speak up for animal rights today and every day. Thanks for listening to the show!

Episode 89: Interview with sociologist Corey Lee Wrenn about vegan feminism, sexism in the animal movement, and the intersections of social justice issues

This week, I am pleased to present my third interview with Corey Lee Wrenn, PhD, Lecturer of Sociology and co-director of the Centre for the Study of Social and Political Movements at the University of Kent. Corey is the author of A Rational Approach to Animal Rights: Extensions in Abolitionist Theory (published in 2016), Piecemeal Protest: Animal Rights in the Age of Nonprofits (published in 2019), and Animals in Irish Society: Interspecies Oppression and Vegan Liberation in Britain’s First Colony (published in 2021). She is the founder of the Vegan Feminist Network and co-founder of the International Association of Vegan Sociologists.

In this interview, Corey speaks about how she started making connections between veganism and feminism in her work, and we discuss why it’s harmful and ineffective to use sexist tactics in animal advocacy campaigns. Corey also gives other examples of how sexism, racism, and ableism show up in the animal movement; she describes the history of the vegan feminist group, Feminists for Animal Rights; and she gives her reading recommendations for those who wish to learn more about vegan feminism and the interconnectedness of speciesism with other forms of oppression in society.

How to listen to this episode

There are two ways you can listen to this episode.

1. Listen to the episode on CKCU FM's website at https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/553/59205.html.
   
2. Listen to or download the podcast from Archive.org at https://archive.org/details/afar-january-24-2023.
   

You can also find Always for Animal Rights on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. If you'd like to receive an e-mail every time there is a new post on the AFAR blog, feel free to enter your e-mail address into the appropriate box in the right-hand sidebar of this site.

Go vegan, stay vegan, and let's remember to stand up and speak up for animal rights today and every day. Thanks for listening to the show!

Episode 88: Interview with sociologist Roger Yates about vegan values and history, problematic advocacy campaigns, and the joy of animal liberation

This week, I am pleased to present my fifth interview with the sociologist and animal rights advocate Roger Yates, who has been a vegan since 1979. I previously interviewed Roger for Episode 19, Episode 21, Episode 29, Episode 50, and Episode 79 of my show.

In this interview, Roger speaks about the values held by the founders of the vegan social movement. Additionally, he describes how people obtained information about veganism and animal rights prior to the widespread use of the Internet, how the language that vegan advocates use has changed over the years, and what he imagines a vegan world would be like. We also discuss our views on the Million Dollar Vegan campaign and Veganuary, and Roger tells the story of the time when he witnessed rescued rabbits touching the grass for the first time in their lives.

This was a great discussion!

How to listen to this episode

There are two ways you can listen to this episode.

1. Listen to the episode on CKCU FM's website at https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/553/59042.html.
2. Listen to or download the podcast from Archive.org at https://archive.org/details/afar-january-11-2023.
   

You can also find Always for Animal Rights on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. If you'd like to receive an e-mail every time there is a new post on the AFAR blog, feel free to enter your e-mail address into the appropriate box in the right-hand sidebar of this site.

Go vegan, stay vegan, and let's remember to stand up and speak up for animal rights today and every day. Thanks for listening to the show!

Gary Francione's Abolitionist Approach Commentary podcast #9, discussing what's wrong with using sexist tactics to promote animal rights

Here is an excellent podcast episode by Professor Gary Francione of the Abolitionist Approach to Animal Rights. Gary Francione recorded this podcast episode in 2009, but it is still entirely relevant today.

"Commentary #9: Using Sexism to Promote Animal Rights": https://www.abolitionistapproach.com/commentary-using-sexism-to-promote-animal-rights/

Painting by the vegan artist, Lynda Bell.

Episode 87: Interview with Kate Stewart and Matthew Cole about vegan sociology, the ethical focus of veganism, and the Donald Watson Archive Research Project

 

This week, I am pleased to present my third interview with the vegan sociologists Dr. Kate Stewart and Dr. Matthew Cole, who are the authors of the 2014 book, Our Children and Other Animals: The Cultural Construction of Human-Animal Relations in Childhood.

In this interview, Matthew and Kate describe how they incorporate the topics of veganism and speciesism into their teaching at the universities where they work. Then they tell me about speciesism as a systemic social problem; veganism as a challenge to speciesism; what vegaphobia is and how it involves ignoring the exploitation of nonhuman animals; the current state of the vegan movement; their reading recommendations; and how sociology can help inform our work as vegan advocates. We also discuss the Donald Watson Archive Research Project, which looks at the early history of the Vegan Society in the UK by focusing on one of the Vegan Society's co-founders.

At the end of the episode, we'll hear the song, "Vegan World", by Katie Veg.

How to listen to this episode

There are two ways you can listen to this episode.

1. Listen to the episode on CKCU FM's website at https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/553/58445.html.
   
2. Listen to or download the podcast from Archive.org at https://archive.org/details/afar-november-23-2022.
   

You can also find Always for Animal Rights on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. If you'd like to receive an e-mail every time there is a new post on the AFAR blog, feel free to enter your e-mail address into the appropriate box in the right-hand sidebar of this site.

Go vegan, stay vegan, and let's remember to stand up and speak up for animal rights today and every day. Thanks for listening to the show!