Dr Iyan Offor is a Senior Lecturer in Law at Birmingham City University conducting interdisciplinary, theoretical research focusing on global animal law, environmental justice, intersectionality, posthumanism and law in the Anthropocene. Iyan is passionate about delivering legal education and research that will lead to the improvement of protections for animals and the environment in law. Iyan teaches international environmental law and human rights, legal theory, legal research, and...

Jane is an Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Deakin Law School. Jane obtained degrees in Commerce, Law (with Honours), and a PhD in human rights law from Deakin University, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching (Teach for Australia) from the University of Melbourne. Jane has published research in relation to the human right to education, the human rights of disabled people, animal rights, and animal related laws. She has taught a variety of units, including human rights law,...

This episode is a bonus cross-post of my discussion about Sentientism with Claudia Hirtenfelder on her wonderful podcast, The Animal Turn. Make sure you go and subscribe if you haven't already. Go back and listen from the start too! Claudia has hosted so many mind-expanding conversations spanning five seasons so far. In ⁠Sentientist Conversations⁠ we talk about the three most important questions: “what’s real?”, “what (and who) matters?” and "how can we make a better future?" The...

John is a writer, philosopher, cultural critic and magician. He is best known for his book, The Postmodern Prince, and for his more recent work in Critical Animal Studies where he edited the collection "Critical Theory and Animal Liberation". Also in that field his book "The Omnivore's Deception: What We Get Wrong about Meat, Animals, and the Nature of Moral Life" will be published by NYU Press in 2024. He has taught at the University of Illinois Chicago, DePaul University, and the University...

Luke is a lecturer working in the Department of Psychology at the University of Exeter. His research examines social and moral development between childhood, adolescence and young adulthood. Between 2017 and 2020 he worked as a postdoctoral research fellow on the Wellcome Trust, ESRC and NSF funded “STEM Teens” project. This project examined the role of youth educators in informal science learning sites, both by longitudinally following youth educators and by quasi-experimentally examining...

This episode is a bonus cross-post of a salon session about Sentientism with the American Ethical Union back in February 2022 hosted by Hugh Taft-Morales. Amy Halpern-Laff and I (Jamie Woodhouse) presented the Sentientism worldview and we had a great Q&A session with the group. If you prefer video you can watch the session on the AEU YouTube channel here. Find out more about the AEU on their website here. In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions:...

Tania is the Arthur W. Marks Professor of Psychology at Princeton University. She oversees the Concepts and Cognition Laboratory, which uses the empirical tools of cognitive psychology and the conceptual tools of analytic philosophy to study the human mind. Their research focuses on topics including explanation, learning, causal reasoning, and folk epistemology.  Tania is the recipient of numerous early-career awards including the Stanton Prize from the Society for Philosophy and Psychology,...

Jamie talks to actress, singer/song-writer, author and activist Carole Raphaelle Davis about Sentientism, what she believes and what matters morally.  If you prefer reading to listening, we've posted an article based on this conversation here. You can watch the video of our conversation here on our Sentientism YouTube channel. Why not subscribe there as well as to this podcast? Carole Raphaelle Davis is an actress, recording artist, writer and activist best known for her roles in Sex and...

Jared is a researcher at the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence. Until the summer of 2023 he was a lecturer at the University of Washington School of Computer Science. While there he created a class on the philosophy of AI and created and taught an ethics course as well as teaching technical artificial intelligence courses. His satirical novel "The Strength of The Illusion" was published in the summer of 2023. Previous Sentientism guest Mark Solms called it "extraordinary". In...

Kat is an effective altruist who co-founded Nonlinear (incubating artificial intelligence extinction risk non-profits), Charity Entrepreneurship (helping people start new, effective charities), and Charity Science Health. She describes her main focus today as trying "to make transformative artificial intelligence go well instead of poorly." In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “who matters?” Sentientism is "evidence, reason &...

Alexandra is an actress, activist and health coach. She has appeared in more than 100 feature films and television programs starring alongside actors including Tom Hanks, Pamela Anderson, Pierce Brosnan, Kevin Costner and Dan Ackroyd. She is internationally recognized for her 5-year starring role in the tv series Baywatch. Alexandra has been a lifelong and often award-winning (and arrested!) activist, spanning causes including animal liberation, environmentalism, human population, peace,...

This episode is a bonus cross-post of my conversation about Sentientism with Josh Milburn on his Knowing Animals podcast, founded by the late and much loved Siobhan O'Sullivan, as part of their Protecting Animals series. Make sure you subscribe to Knowing Animals wherever you listen. Of course Josh has also been my guest on Sentientism back in episode 50. You can find it here on the Sentientism YouTube (don't forget to subscribe and click the bell!) and here on the Sentientism Podcast. In...

Delci is an animal protection lawyer, scholar, teacher and programme builder. She is an associate professor of law and Director & Founder of the Animal Law and Policy Institute at Vermont Law and Graduate School. The Institute is committed to training animal advocacy leaders (e.g. masters degrees and programmes, Farmed Animal Advocacy Clinic) and serving as a resource hub. In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “who...

Jo-Anne McArthur is a photojournalist, public speaker, animal rights activist and author. She is best known for her We Animals Media project, a media agency and photography project documenting human relationships with animals. Jo-Anne offers presentations about human relationships with animals in educational and other environments and provides photographs and other media for those working to help animals. Jo-Anne was the primary subject of the 2013 documentary The Ghosts in Our Machine,...

Varda Mehrotra is an animal advocate and movement builder, exploring intersectional solutions. Most recently, she founded Samayu to undertake intersectional work and apply a systems approach for issues surrounding justice and animals in food systems. Under her decade-long leadership, FIAPO - India’s federation for animal organisations - was recognized as one of the most effective animal charities. She has spearheaded several large-scale undercover investigations, campaigns for farmed animals,...

Nicolas is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Environmental Studies at the New College of Florida. In Fall 2023, he will join the College of Charleston as Assistant Professor of Philosophy. In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “who matters?” Sentientism is "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The video of our conversation is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We discuss: 00:00 Welcome 01:55 Nico's...

Walter is an inter-disciplinary philosopher. He works primarily on the Philosophy of Cognitive and Biological Sciences, the Philosophy of Mind, Applied Ethics and particularly in the intersections of those fields. Much of his recent work has focused on animal minds, welfare, and ethics, as well as evolution. His new book ‘A Philosophy for the Science of Animal Consciousness‘ integrates this research into a coherent whole. It is being launched today (16th June) with Routledge. In Sentientist...

Anita is Executive Director of the Plant Based Treaty initiative and the Animal Save Movement, a worldwide network of Save groups bearing witness to farmed animals & promoting veganism & love-based, grassroots activism. She describes herself as an animal rights and an environmental activist. She is the co-author of the book "The Secret Lives of Pigs". Nicola is Director of Communications for the Plant Based Treaty initiative and works on the Animal Save Movement's communications...

Peter Singer is often referred to as the “world’s most influential living philosopher.” He is the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University. He specialises in applied ethics, approaching the subject from a secular, naturalistic, utilitarian perspective. He wrote the books "Animal Liberation", Why Vegan? and "Animal Liberation Now!" (launched on the same day as this episode! - speaking tour here), in which he argues against speciesism and for a shift to plant-based food...

Michael is head of philosophy at the University of Liverpool. His current work spans transhumanism, death & meaning. He has written a vast range of topics, including on whether non-human animals can have meaningful lives & "What It Is Like to Be a Bot". He says of his work: "As a philosopher, I am a generalist, which is a nice way of saying that I have done many different things & I am not really an expert on anything in particular." In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the...

Elan is a cultural anthropologist focusing on human-animal interactions, environmental justice, and food politics. He is assistant professor of the practice in environmental studies and coordinator of the animal studies minor at Wesleyan University. He is the author of the Gregory Bateson Prize winning book: "Saving Animals: Multispecies Ecologies of Rescue and Care". He also contributed a chapter called "The Empty Promises of Cultured Meat" to the book "The Good it Promises, the Harm It...

Ashley is Director of Outreach for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). She has led a broad range of PETA’s campaigns and has been interviewed about her work to promote animal rights by the LA Times, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and in many other publications. In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “who matters?” Sentientism is "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient...

This episode is a bonus cross post of my conversation with Nick Pendergrast⁠⁠ and Adam Cardilini on their 3CR Freedom of Species podcast about conspiracism, misinformation and disinformation in the vegan and animal advocacy movements and how to communicate effectively with those caught up in them. Of course, we also talk about Sentientism⁠⁠'s commitment to naturalistic epistemology via "evidence and reason". You can subscribe to 3CR's ⁠⁠Freedom of Species wherever you listen. ⁠3CR is a...

Jay Shapiro is an award winning filmmaker, writer, & podcaster. He directed the film Islam & the Future of Tolerance, based around a post 9/11 conversation between Sam Harris & Maajid Nawaz. He produces and creates a wide range of content, writes on his "What Jay Thinks" blog & hosts the Dilemma podcast - I had the pleasure of being his guest for a Dilemma hangout about Sentientism back in 2020. He loves thoughtful deep dives into philosophy, psychology, & political...

Dhruv is a PhD student at the Department of Computer Science and Technology, University of Cambridge. He has interests in psychology, philosophy and animal advocacy. In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “who matters?” Sentientism is "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The video of our conversation is ⁠here on YouTube⁠. We discuss: 00:00 Welcome 01:33 Dhruv Intro 02:25 What's Real? - Born in India,...