We are joined this week by Tom Harris to discuss his new book, Your Neighbour Kills Puppies: Inside the Animal Liberation Movement, which tells the story of the legendary SHAC (Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty) campaign, which not only forever changed how the animal rights movement was viewed by the powers that be, but ended up with Tom, along with many others on both sides of the Atlantic, serving years in prison. Described as ‘a firebrand’ by the Daily Mail and ‘highly successful’ by...

California’s ban on the sale of puppies in pet stores solved the puppy mill issue for the state, right? Not so fast! LA Times’ investigative reporters Melody Gutierrez and Alene Tchekmedyian join us this week to discuss all they uncovered in their deep dive into the dark underbelly of the puppy trade in California. Also, Midge Raymond and John Yunker of Eco-Lit books tell us about their latest mystery-thriller, Devil’s Island. Melody Gutierrez is an investigative reporter for the Los...

Sanctuaries play a vital role in connecting people to the victims of animal agriculture. This week, we are joined by Sarah Salluzo & Jonina Turzi, co-founders of Lancaster Farm Sanctuary, to discuss the sanctuary, its residents, and the challenges that come along with running a refuge. Sarah Salluzzo co-founded Lancaster Farm Sanctuary in 2017. She holds an MSW and MA in media studies and previously worked in substance abuse rehabilitation. She now works full-time at LFS as the...

Without slaughterhouses, animal agriculture is over. So let’s do it! This week, we are joined by Shannon Blair and Malaina Watts, who both worked tirelessly to block the creation of two new slaughterhouses in Florida and helped put an end to an illegal slaughter operation as well. Shannon Blair’s journey toward animal liberation began at age 9, after she saw footage of animals suffering for food and became an activist on the spot. After years as a vegetarian, she went vegan on the same day...

Don’t you wish you could vote on whether you want a slaughterhouse in your city? Well, this year, in Denver, you can. Aidan Kankyoku of Pro-Animal Future joins us this week to tell us about the ever-growing movement to use citizens’ initiatives to put animals on the ballot. Aidan Kankyoku is a researcher focused on developing new strategies for the social movement wing of the farmed animal advocacy space. He co-founded Pax Fauna for that purpose in 2021, which led in 2023 to the launch of...

We are back this week with another Hen Report to bring you up to date on what’s happening in the world of animal rights, as well as what’s going on in the lives of our own two hens. Thanks for tuning in! If you enjoy the Our Hen House podcast, please leave us a positive review! To view the show notes with resources, visit the website at https://www.ourhenhouse.org/ep764/

We all love lions and tigers and bears (oh my!), but is seeing them in captivity really the way people should get to know them? Liz Tyson of Born Free USA joins us to discuss the organization’s goal of #KeepingWildlifeInTheWild, the legislative and policy work they are pursuing, and all about the monkeys of Texas!! Dr. Liz Tyson is Born Free USA’s Director of Animal Welfare and Advocacy. She helped to establish the very first locally run sterilization program for street dogs in the Middle...

Why do many people see some animals’ deaths as devastating while most animal deaths are considered irrelevant and meaningless? This week, animal chaplain Sarah Bowen joins us to discuss her book, Sacred Sendoffs, and religion and spirituality as they relate to humanity's treatment of animals. Sarah A. Bowen is co-founder of Compassion Consortium and the executive director of the Consortium's Animal Chaplaincy Training program, where she teaches evidence-based techniques that support...

There are hundreds of vegan burgers on the market to help take cows off the menu, but what to do about steak lovers? Enter Juicy Marbles, whose Chief Brand Officer, Vladimir Mićković, joins us this week to give us the scoop on their plant-based whole cuts and the vegan scene in their home country of Slovenia. Vladimir Mićković is the Chief Brand Officer / Communication Strategist / Gabagool for Juicy Marbles. Before the business of plant-based whole-cuts, Vladimir Mićković was a brand...

On this week’s Hen Report, Jasmin and Mariann bring you the latest news about animal activism and veganism, along with a few random thoughts on whatever. Then, they are joined by the incomparable Michael Dorf with a special report on this year’s Vegan Summerfest. Plus music! Thanks for tuning in! If you enjoy the Our Hen House podcast, please leave us a positive review! To view the show notes with resources, visit the website at https://www.ourhenhouse.org/ep760/

“Why don’t you care about humans?” is an accusatory question that most animal advocates have encountered. This week, we are joined by Poorva Joshipura to discuss her new book, Survival at Stake, which connects the dots between our treatment of animals and the future of humans. Poorva Joshipura is the author of For a Moment of Taste: How What You Eat Impacts Animals, the Planet and Your Health (2020) and ​​Survival at Stake: How Our Treatment of Animals Is Key to Human Existence (2023). She...

Wouldn’t it be great to have a single place laying out all the information and reasons behind animal rights? Well, now there is! This week, filmmaker Mark Devries joins us to discuss his new film, Humans and Other Animals, which aims to do just that. Mark DeVries is a documentary filmmaker whose award-winning work, including his prior film, Speciesism, has been seen by millions internationally and whose new film, Humans and Other Animals, builds on that work. He also pioneered the use of...

What happens when you’ve dedicated your life to the family business and suddenly become vegan? This week, we are joined by Farah Shammas, who tells us all about how she has helped make her family’s resort hotel and the restaurants therein into a vegan-friendly oasis. She also dishes on the vegan scene in Cyprus and tells us about her books! Farah Shammas is the Managing Director of the St Raphael Resort and Marina in Cyprus. After learning about the meat and dairy industry, she obtained a...

This week, we try something completely new as Jasmin and Mariann discuss recent happenings. Tune in for the latest animal rights and vegan news in pop culture, potlucks, activism, climate, rising anxieties, and also some wins from the movement! Thanks for tuning in! If you enjoy the Our Hen House podcast, please leave us a positive review! To view the show notes with resources, visit the website at https://www.ourhenhouse.org/ep756/

How can we do the most good for animals with the resources available to us? This week, we are joined by author and vegan bodybuilder Robert Cheeke to discuss the answers to that question in his most recent book, The Impactful Vegan. Robert is the author of Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness, Shred It!, Plant-Based Muscle, the New York Times bestseller, The Plant-Based Athlete, and his latest, The Impactful Vegan. Robert founded Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness, maintains the website...

What lessons are there to be learned by studying the history of the movement, and how can we apply those lessons to our activism today? This week, we are joined by Bill Wasik & Monica Murphy to discuss the research and writing of their book Our Kindred Creatures: How Americans Came to Feel the Way They Do About Animals. Bill Wasik is the editorial director of The New York Times Magazine. Monica Murphy is a veterinarian and a writer. Their previous book, Rabid: A Cultural History of...

The question constantly on our minds is how to figure out the most effective ways to reach people regarding what is happening to animals and maybe even get them to stop eating them. Chris Bryant joins us this week to discuss the work of Bryant Research, a company conducting social science research to aid in the protein transition. Chris Bryant is the Director of Bryant Research. He is an expert in alternative proteins and has published dozens of papers on the social dimensions of the...

Almost everyone loves an elephant. Or an orangutan. Or a tiger. So, how can we leverage that love to save the planet? This week, Leif Cocks joins us again to discuss his many projects that help protect forests, including The International Tiger Project. Leif Cocks is the Founder of Wildlife Conservation International, which incorporates The Orangutan Project, International Elephant Project, International Tiger Project, and Forests for People. Amongst many roles, Leif is currently: a...

We all wish for the superpower to understand what animals are communicating. This week, we are joined by biologist Mickey Pardo to discuss his work studying animal communication and social cognition in animals ranging from elephants to woodpeckers. Mickey Pardo is a biologist specializing in animal communication, animal cognition, and wildlife conservation. He earned his PhD from the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at Cornell University, where he studied vocal communication and...

Wouldn’t it be great if we could keep land from falling into the hands of animal agriculture and just give it to wild animals instead? That is exactly what the U.K.’s Vegan Land Movement is doing, and Gina Bates is here to tell us how they are doing it and why you should do it too. Following art college and a career in design, Gina Bates left London for the far north of Scotland. In 2018 she bought the assignation for an 80-acre Highland croft along with 100+ acres of common grazing which...

Darwin was onto something. So how did scientists then go so completely wrong in understanding who animals really are, and where are we now? This week, we are joined by field biologist, professor, and author Marc Bekoff for a glimpse into The Emotional Lives of Animals. We also hear more about his friendship with Jane Goodall and how that led to the recent Jane Goodall at 90 essay collection. A professor emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder,...

How do we put farmed animals on the agenda for policymakers? This week, Gabriel Wildgen joins us to discuss the Animal Policy Alliance, a project of The Humane League that is working to connect state and local animal organizations across the US to each other and help them get what they need to compete with animal agriculture. Gabriel Wildgen is the Director of Public Policy for The Humane League and is heading up the new Animal Policy Alliance, a national network of local and state level...

How did humans’ relationship with the other animals go so completely awry? The incomparable Jim Mason – author, lawyer, thinker, and animal rights OG – joins us to discuss his seminal work, An Unnatural Order: The Roots of Our Destruction of Nature, for a discussion about where humanity went wrong, why it matters now more than ever, and how we can start to put it right. Jim Mason is an author and attorney focusing on human/animal concerns. He is the author of An Unnatural Order: The...

Rescued animals at some sanctuaries are now facing a new hurdle before they can be truly safe: climate change. We are joined this week by Kathy Stevens of Catskill Animal Sanctuary to discuss this new challenge. Kathy Stevens is the co-founder and executive director of Catskill Animal Sanctuary. Since then, Catskill has saved more than 5,000 non-human individuals through direct rescue — and exponentially more through programming that encourages humans to adopt veganism. Kathy is also the...