Have you heard about effective altruism? Do you know what it is and how it’s applied in animal advocacy of the plant-based foods movements?  In today’s episode the founder of the Plant Based Foods Association Michele Simon JD, MPH, and I get raw sharing our feelings about issues like discrimination, sexism, and the Effective Altruism ideology that is so present in many animal advocacy and “alternative protein” spaces.  If you like nuance and hearing some real honest thoughts on where our...

“If clinical research ran the world - we’d all be walking around with washboard abs” - Nivi Jaswal. Have you ever wondered why our food system is the way it is, and why so many people continue to struggle with their health even though we have cutting edge brilliant research and knowledge about health and nutrition? In today’s episode I speak with Nivi Jaswal MBA, NBC-HWC, who is the founder and president of the VIRSA Foundation about her background and journey from working for a corporate...

Ready for some honest no-nonsense talk about animal rights, social justice, and identity politics? In today’s episode I speak with Aditya Prakash who goes by Soytheist on Youtube and social media. We discuss all things cultural relativism, what is and isn’t neo-colonization, and how identity politics can be toxic and illogical much of the time. Aditya and I don’t always agree, but we both value dialogue and open conversation and that’s what you’ll get with today’s episode! Follow Aditya...

What should we do when science and spirituality conflict? Should we follow our intuition on what and how to eat, or should we only make evidence-based food choices? And can we truly make evidence based food choices when the science often seems to be contradictory or constantly changing?  In today’s episode I speak with best selling author and inspirational speaker Victoria Moran, about how she navigates making healthy and ethical food choices as both a spiritual yogi and ethical vegan....

If you are curious about how our healthcare system operates with regards to nutrition and preventive medicine, or are confused by all the different diet trends like keto, paleo, and plant based, and want some clarity on how to navigate nutrition and the healthcare system as a patient, then this is the episode for you! Today Detroit native and 4th year medical student Lackshman (Lucky) Mulpuri and I discuss our skewed healthcare system, his experience helping to create the first-ever...

We really GO THERE in this conversation! Animal testing. Veganism and vaccines. Pharma corporations. Trusting the science. Individual choices and ethical decision making. All of it! This is a multilayered open and honest conversation exploring the nuances in veganism, published science, modern medicine, and the ethics of using animals for scientific research and testing. This episode is a friendly conversation with Lebanese animal rights activist and vegan lecturer Seb Alex, as we both share...

Does veganism inherently rely on a corporate globalized food system? Is it wrong to advocate just for animals without also advocating for exploited human farm workers? Are animal liberation and indigenous rights/food sovereignty at odds with each other? There may not be a single easy answer to any of these questions, but I really loved discussing and hearing activist Nassim Nobari’s nuanced perspective on these issues and what she thinks a truly radical and progressive approach to creating a...

What is really the biggest cause of green house gas emissions? How much does animal agriculture actually contribute to climate change? What can we do to successfully  solve the environmental crisis ASAP? All these questions and more are discussed in today’s episode with Sailesh Rao of Climate Healers where we cover: - How climate science is politicized - UN IPCC Conventions and bias - The killing machine vs. the burning machine - How to really solve climate change- The role of colonization -...

What is really the biggest cause of green house gas emissions? How much does animal agriculture actually contribute to climate change? What can we do to successfully  solve the environmental crisis ASAP? All these questions and more are discussed in today’s episode with Sailesh Rao of Climate Healers where we cover: - How climate science is politicized - UN IPCC Conventions and bias - The killing machine vs. the burning machine - How to really solve climate change - The role of...

You've probably heard of the Effective Altruism (AE) movement before, and the effort to apply effective altruism to animal advocacy work and reducing suffering of animals. But do you know what it actually is? And is effective altruism all it's really cracked up to be?? I have seen countless debates within the animal advocacy movement about what the "best" type of activism is, with many people pushing everyone to do one single thing. In the last few years things like animal welfare legislation...

You've probably heard of the Effective Altruism (AE) movement before, and the effort to apply effective altruism to animal advocacy work and reducing suffering of animals. But do you know what it actually is? And is effective altruism all it's really cracked up to be?? I have seen countless debates within the animal advocacy movement about what the "best" type of activism is, with many people pushing everyone to do one single thing. In the last few years things like animal welfare...

Do you have questions about lab-grown meat? Wondering if it's really as sustainable and great for animals as great as many proponents claim?  Will it solve the ethical and environmental problems with our current food system and factory farming? Today Dr. Vasile Stanescu joins me to take a holistic deep dive into the benefits and downside of lab-grown meat (AKA in vitro meat, cell-based meat, cultured meat, or clean meat)  and who this novel technology will really benefit! We cover: - what lab...

Do you have questions about lab-grown meat? Wondering if it's really as sustainable and great for animals as great as many proponents claim?  Will it solve the ethical and environmental problems with our current food system and factory farming? Today Dr. Vasile Stanescu joins me to take a holistic deep dive into the benefits and downside of lab-grown meat (AKA in vitro meat, cell-based meat, cultured meat, or clean meat)  and who this novel technology will really benefit! We cover: -...

In this episode I speak with award-winning author and investigative journalist Carey Gillam about the story of Monsanto's notorious weedkiller Roundup, and the ongoing litigation around it's cancer-causing potential. We discuss: - Carey's latest book The Monsanto Papers- The importance of lawsuits against Monsanto- The lengths Monsanto went to to cover up evidence of cancer risk- What internal documents showed about corruption and how Monsanto biased science- The state of science journalism...

In this episode I speak with award-winning author and investigative journalist Carey Gillam about the story of Monsanto's notorious weedkiller Roundup, and the ongoing litigation around it's cancer-causing potential. We discuss: - Carey's latest book The Monsanto Papers - The importance of lawsuits against Monsanto - The lengths Monsanto went to to cover up evidence of cancer risk - What internal documents showed about corruption and how Monsanto biased science - The state of science...

Is progress and technological innovation always good? Is technology inherently unsustainable and incompatible with nature and human life on earth? In today's episode I speak with Semih Oguzcan and environmental engineer and advocate trying to stop our 6th mass extinction on this planet. We take a deep dive in this episode into the nuance around technological innovation, evolution, science, and the unintended consequences are actions are having on human life. Semih Oguzcan has an undergraduate...

Is progress and technological innovation always good? Is technology inherently unsustainable and incompatible with nature and human life on earth? In today's episode I speak with Semih Oguzcan and environmental engineer and advocate trying to stop our 6th mass extinction on this planet. We take a deep dive in this episode into the nuance around technological innovation, evolution, science, and the unintended consequences are actions are having on human life. Semih Oguzcan has an...

In this episode I speak with my friend Robert Schooler about his personal experience as a student at Cornell University observing first-hand how corporations like Monsanto seek to push propaganda on students and bias science curriculum in favor of corporate profits and agendas. "The GMO Debate course, which ran in the fall of 2015, was a blatant display of unscientific propaganda in an academic setting" - Robert Schooler Robert wrote an article about his experience back in 2016 which went...

In this episode I speak with my friend Robert Schooler about his personal experience as a student at Cornell University observing first-hand how corporations like Monsanto seek to push propaganda on students and bias science curriculum in favor of corporate profits and agendas. "The GMO Debate course, which ran in the fall of 2015, was a blatant display of unscientific propaganda in an academic setting" - Robert Schooler Robert wrote an article about his experience back in 2016 which went...

In this episode I speak with author and social change advocate Laila Kassam (PhD) about reductionist vs. holistic paradigms of food, agriculture, and international development, including: - reductionism in the global development industry- agricultural and development myths- what does "feeding the world" really mean- is organic food based on a "naturalistic fallacy"? - Can veganic/sustainable/organic agriculture really work? - origins of veganic and agroecological farming- what materialistic...

In this episode I speak with author and social change advocate Laila Kassam (PhD) about reductionist vs. holistic paradigms of food, agriculture, and international development, including: - reductionism in the global development industry - agricultural and development myths - what does "feeding the world" really mean - is organic food based on a "naturalistic fallacy"? - Can veganic/sustainable/organic agriculture really work? - origins of veganic and agroecological farming - what...

In this episode I speak with virologist Jonathan Latham about the origins of the COVID19 Pandemic and whether it originated from a wet market or was really a lab-release!  This includes answering the following:  Is there a precedent for lab-releases? What is the evidence for a lab leak?What is the evidence for a natural zoonotic origin? Why doesn’t the wet market theory hold up?  Why has mainstream media censored discussions of a lab leak? You can read Jonathan’s detailed and evidence based...

In this episode I speak with virologist Jonathan Latham about the origins of the COVID19 Pandemic and whether it originated from a wet market or was really a lab-release!  This includes answering the following:  Is there a precedent for lab-releases? What is the evidence for a lab leak?What is the evidence for a natural zoonotic origin? Why doesn’t the wet market theory hold up?  Why has mainstream media censored discussions of a lab leak? You can read Jonathan’s detailed and evidence based...

In this episode I speak with Dr. Milton Mills, a critical care physician in the Washington DC area, and a long time plant-based nutrition advocate and expert. We discuss the history, impact, and biases of the federal dietary and nutrition guidelines and how they might not be as objective as many assume. This episode includes: - what the USDA federal dietary guideline are- the history of the dietary guidelines - Who/what influences the guidelines- How the federal nutrition guidelines are...