Freedom of Species

Dec 07 2024 401 ep. 862

Freedom of Species Podcast artwork

Animal advocacy on the airwaves, hosted by a team of local animal advocates.

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Who Cares About Insects?

Why do we overlook insects so often? In this show we decided to focus on insects for a change. Our guest Alex Hill is doing his PhD research on human insect relationships. We discuss why people including animal advocates and vegans do not consider insects much at all. We have a short quiz on insects, we talk about the threat of insect extinction and look into the details about diff

Is “Soft” Activism a Path Forward? Veganism in Japan with Ruby Ramsden

This show features Ruby Ramsden on her PhD research on vegan activism in Japan. Some of the specific topics covered are: barriers to eating vegan in Japan, Ruby’s vegan/animal journey, “insider” and “outsider” research, a history of veganism and animal consumption in Japan, and tactical vegan advocacy. You can look further into Ruby’s work by checking out her article Ve

Animal-Free Science Advocacy interview with Rachel

In this episode Meg interviews Rachel from Animal-Free Science Advocacy (AFSA), a not for profit organisation dedicated to advocating for the removal of animals from experimental science. We talk about AFSA's efforts to facilitate a culture of animal free alternatives in research, experimentation and training, and how this relates to the evolution of non animal experimental models

Vegans For Trump? Conspirituality in the Vegan Movement

Katie and Nick discuss well-known vegan spiritual figure Supreme Master Ching Hai supporting Donald Trump. We use this as a starting point to cover broader issues around connections between spiritual/wellness movements, including some vegans, and the far-right. This broader discussion draws on Naomi Klein’s book Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World. Links: We’re releasing

Is Uglies Really A Dystopian Story? Pop culture through an animal rights lens

Katie and Nick analyse the book and movie Uglies through an animal rights lens. The movie is streaming on Netflix but Katie recommends the book over the movie! We’re releasing this show as two separate podcasts. You can hear part two of this show, covering wellness/spiritual people including some vegans supporting Donald Trump, via our website and a range of podcast apps: https:/

The ethics of companion animals

In this show, Meg and Caroline discuss the history of companion animals and pethood and the ethical dilemmas this can raise. Music we played: Strange Fruit by Billie Holliday This is America by Childish Gambino Gibson Girl by Ethel Cain We also highlighted the work of Melbourne Activist Legal Support (MALS). MALS is an all-volunteer organisation that provides training for protest m

Food Empowerment Project

Food Empowerment Project (F.E.P) is a volunteer-based non-profit organization focused on veganism and food justice. F.E.P's mission to to create a more just and sustainable world by recognising the power of one's food choices. They encourage healthy good choices that reflect a more compassionate sociert by spotlightin the abuse of animals on farms, the depletion of natural resource

One Year In: Reflections and the Ongoing Resistance

On this show, we play the recording of a recent panel discussion, "One Year In: Reflections and the Ongoing Resistance" held on September 28, 2024 and hosted by Dr Leila Dehghan. In this conversation, the panel reflect on the televised genocide of the Palestinians, the silence within the vegan and animal rights movement, and discuss actionable steps for moving forward in solidarity

Activism Burnout - We Need to Talk

We need to talk about an issue that doesn't get as much discussion as it needs. It's a particularly important topic right now with the state of the world and the exhaustion some activists are feeling. Today we are talking about activist burnout, what it means, how we get to this point and what both the individual activist and the justice movements as a whole can do to prevent it ha

Animals in Medieval Europe

Sometimes if we take a look at how animals were percieved in the past, it can give us new insight into our perceptions of animals today. Join Meg and Trev to discuss how people in Medieval times in Europe perceived animals wild, domesticated and fantastical. We look at how the dominant paradigms of the times (Paganism and Christianity) affected how different animals were treated, t