Today on the podcast we have Joanne Kong and Chirstoph Wagner, and they are the Vegan Virtuosiz. Joanne and Christoph weave together live music, reflections, and the arts in inspiring events that illuminate how embracing the connections we have to the natural world and all beings can bring about transformative spiritual growth, positive change, and planetary healing. They will be featured in the upcoming documentary, Taking Note, about vegan musicians and the history of animal rights as seen ...

In this presentation, Hope will explore the recent trajectory of the animal advocacy movement toward encouraging industries to transition to cage-free systems and other animal welfare campaigns. Cage-free eggs are now 40% of the US egg market and both the industry and animal advocates are promoting this as a major victory…but is this something to celebrate? Hope talks about social justice strategy, Effective Altruism, incremental change, and propose that our movement’s focus is out of balance...

Happy Earth Day! This is an important time of year where we focus our attention on the perils facing the planet and get inspired to help her. So today our guest is Dr. Richard Twine, author of, The Climate Crisis and Other Animals (Sydney University Press, 2024). He is a professor in Sociology and Co-Director of the Centre for Human- Animal Studies (CfHAS) at Edge Hill University, UK. He also co-editor of The Rise of Critical Animal Studies – From the Margins to the Centre (Routledge, 2014)...

National Animal Rights Day is a unique event coming up on June 2, 2024 and today we have the creator of this day of action, Aylam Orian. Aylam is a Hollywood actor, filmmaker and animal rights activist. With his non-profit "Our Planet. Theirs Too." he has established The National Animal Rights Day (N.A.R.D.) – a day of moving events dedicated to animals and their rights, which are held simultaneously in major cities every June. NARD events are now held in 50 countries around the world. He is...

Today on the podcast we are joined by Faik Bourik, founder of Vegius, a provider of vegan services to support farmed animal sanctuaries worldwide.  Faik is a mathematics, physics, and astronomy college instructor who combines his academic background with his roles as a professional writer and entrepreneur. Passionate about animal rights and gender equality, he founded Vegius to provide much needed financial support to farmed animal sanctuaries.  Faik talks about how he fell for the humane...

Connecting veganism to other justice causes is critical to our success and our guest today recognized this at a very young age. Zane McNeill is a scholar-activist, chair of the National Lawyers Guild’s Animal Liberation Committee, and was the co-manager of the collective Right for Animal Rights Activists. They have worked closely with the Institute of Critical Animal Studies (ICAS) and have published chapters in ICAS collections, including Vegans on Speciesism and Ableism: Ecoability Voices...

Do you want to know the truth about grass-fed beef? Regenerative grazing? Free-range eggs? This episode is jam packed with the jaw-dropping reality of greenwashing. Vasile Stanescu is an Associate Professor and Chair of Communication at Mercer University. He received his Ph.D. in the program of Modern Thought and Literature (MTL) at Stanford University. Vasile’s research focuses on greenwashing in animal agribusiness, critiques of humane meat, in vitro meat, and consumerist options for social...

News media that is sympathetic to animals is critical in creating a compassionate world. A 2023 von Liebig Award Winner, Nina Jackel is a journalist and activist known for effecting change for animals around the world through her non-profit media organization that she founded called Lady Freethinker. Nina leads numerous divisions at the organization that expose cruel and illegal activities through undercover operations and galvanizing ordinary citizens to make a difference.  Hope and Nina...

Renee King-Sonnen is the Founder and Executive Director of Rowdy Girl Sanctuary that transformed from a cattle ranch to a sanctuary for more than 120 animals—the first documented beef cattle ranch converted to a 100% vegan sanctuary in history. Rowdy Girl sanctuary is changing the world for farmed animals with programs like the Rancher Advocacy Program (RAP), an educational program that inspires cattle ranchers and animal farms to consider alternatives to animal farming, and Families Choosing...

This is a special short episode just for dedicated listeners. In this time of giving, I hope you will consider supporting grassroots vegan education.  Please donate to Compassionate Living to support the continuation of this podcast. Thank you! 

This episode is dedicated to the legendary Karen Davis, PhD, founder and president of United Poultry Concerns (UPC). Karen died on Nov. 4th 2023 of cancer. Vegan since 1983, Karen was an activist, author, outspoken animal advocate, and had a sanctuary for rescued birds on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.  United Poultry Concerns was the first sponsor of this podcast and our host, Hope Bohanec, worked with Karen at UPC for close to a decade from 2012 - 2021. Karen started United Poultry...

Many compassionate people and vegans are drawn to the concept of ahimsa, the Sanskrit word for non-harming or non-violence. Today we explore this concept with Dr. Jonathan Dickstein, Assistant Professor of Jain Studies at Arihanta Institute. Johnathan received a PhD in Religious Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara and his areas of research include Jain Studies, religion and ecology, comparative ethics, and South Asian religions. Jonathan and Hope discuss the spiritual...

Did you know that your veggies, fruit, beans, nuts, and seeds were probably grown with the blood, ground up bones and/or manure of farmed animals? Or the ground up bodies of fish? This episode we are talking about Veganic farming, growing food without animal products and inputs, with Meg Kelly. In 2008 Meg co-founded the Veganic Agriculture Network to promote fully plant-based food systems that are not fertilized with the byproducts of farmed animals. She now teaches the Learn Veganic online...

Steven Rouk is the founder of Connect For Animals, a platform for people who want to help end animal farming. He has been in the animal advocacy movement for the last decade working on data analysis, strategy, community building, and grassroots activism. Steven and Hope discuss the importance of building vegan community to help people feel supported and connected in veganism and animal advocacy. They explore the psychological and social reasons for recidivism and the fascinating concepts of...

Are you curious how to feed your companion animals vegan? Have you been considering switching your dog or cat to a vegan diet? Maybe you already do feed your companion plant based but want to be sure it’s the most nutritious vegan diet? Our guest today, Jan Allegretti, has answers.  Jan Allegretti, D.Vet.Hom, has been a consultant and educator in holistic health care for nonhuman animals since 1988, specializing in nutrition, homeopathy, and lifestyle assessment. She is the author of The...

We open today’s episode with Hope sharing some thoughts on the destructive EATS Act making its way through US legislation and then we have JH Burnett joining us from South Africa. JH spent years farming in both the sheep industry on his family’s sheep farm in South Africa as well as in the dairy industry. The experience sent JH into a deep depression and he left farming to dedicate himself to animal liberation and recently released a vegan memoir and offering services as a life coach. Join us...

Ruchika Chitrabhanu was born and raised in a Jain family and pursued her Master’s in Philosophy in Jainism. Inspired by Gurudev Chitrabhanu and Smt. Pramoda Chitrabhanu, Ruchika has been a vegan for over seventeen years, and she raises awareness about animal compassion and the benefits of following a vegan lifestyle through events and festivals in India. She is a co-founder of Ahimsafest, India's largest vegan festival, she also co-founded The Earthen One, an events platform to help people...

Dr. Tushar Mehta practices Emergency Medicine in the Toronto area and is the co-founder of Towards Ahimsa and Plant Based Data, a free database which organizes academic and institutional literature regarding plant-based diet health, environment, food security, and zoonotic pandemic risk. Tushar will be speaking at Compassionate Living’s upcoming Ahimsa Vegan Conference.  Tushar joins us to discuss the environmental impact of animal agriculture and thoroughly debunks “regenerative” grazing. He...

Today on the podcast we are talking about an issue that affects so many, but is rarely talked about—discrimination because of the size of our bodies.  Britty Mann joins us to break it down. Britty is the Founder and Executive Director of Planted Society, a U.S. nonprofit that makes plant-based eating more accessible to ensure a better future for the planet and all living beings. With over 15 years of experience in supply chain and community advocacy, Britty believes that we all have the...

Today on the podcast we have Brialle Ringer joining us. Brialle is a breathwork, yoga, and meditation guide, vegan fairy goddess, and embodied leadership coach on a mission to support changemakers lead with greater ease, joy, and passion. Drawing from her degree in Social Work, certifications in Yoga, Integrative Energy Healing, and Plant Based Nutrition, Brialle takes a trauma-informed, healing centered, and holistic approach to her work. Brialle share with Hope how her wholistic healing...

Colleen Patrick-Goudreau is known as the joyful vegan. She is a recognized expert and thought leader on the culinary, social, ethical, and practical aspects of living compassionately and healthfully. A long-time animal advocate and vegan, Colleen is a bestselling author of seven books, an acclaimed speaker, producer of one of the longest running vegan podcasts, a regular contributor to National Public Radio, and the host of luxury vegan trips around the world. Colleen shares her thoughts on...

Lisa Barca is a lecturer in the Honors College at Arizona State University, where she teaches humanities, writing courses, and seminars on the ethics of humans’ relationships with other animals. Her current research centers on critical animal studies, media ethics, rhetoric and ideology, and the intersections of feminism and animal rights. She holds a Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Literatures and is a contributing author to the volume Meatsplaining: The Meat Industry and the Rhetoric of...

On this episode we have our second session of the Humane Hoax Book Club with two of Compassionate Living’s Humane Hoax Team volunteers Marian Erikson and Fireweed. We talked about a few of the chapters from the new anthology, The Humane Hoax: Essays Exposing the Myth of Happy Meat, Humane Dairy, and Ethical Eggs. A fascinating chapter we examine is called “Murder She Wrote” about the memoirs of Femivores, women who own farms and dominate and kill animals in an attempt to gain equality in the...

On this episode we are featuring one of the contributing authors to the new book, The Humane Hoax: Essays Exposing the Myth of Happy Meat, Humane Dairy, and Ethical Eggs, Nicholas Carter. Nicholas is an ecologist and co-founder of PlantBasedData.org, a library of peer-reviewed studies calling for plant-based diets. He has his Master’s in Environmental Practice and his thesis focused on the global estimates of greenhouse gas emissions attributed to animal agriculture. He also works with Plant...