A podcast bringing you thought provoking deep dives across a wide variety of subjects from Emi Leese, one of the authors of Think Like a Vegan: What everyone can learn from vegan ethics.
Each episode is a mini talk about one topic which might not be the focus of an everyday conversation, including activism, ableism, reproductive rights, animals and the law, alternatives to animal experimentation in medicine and more. These short talks and guests will inspire and educate, expanding the conversation around veganism. And all is premised on veganism being part of basic fairness.
Whatever the issue covered in each episode, the basic concept is always this: like us, animals aren’t things. They feel, think, dream, play, have friends and family. They do these things differently than us, sure. They have different intelligence and skills than we do. And they look different from us.
But so what? We all look different or live differently and have different intelligence and skills. None of these are good enough reasons to exploit and kill anyone. All of us, human or animal, want to live. We all don’t want to be exploited and used as objects.
Just like us, animals also have the basic right to be free of exploitation and commodification. And we have an obligation to recognise that right. Simply put, veganism is part of basic fairness.
I hope these short talks will inspire you and expand the conversation around veganism! Subscribe to Think Like a Vegan wherever you get podcasts. And pick up a copy of the book in hardcover, ebook or audiobook on Bookshop.org and anywhere you buy books. Or ask your library for a copy.
Available wherever you get your podcasts
TLAV: The Podcast is part of iROAR – The Animals Podcasting Network
Trailer
Season Two
The eight episodes of Season Two will begin airing on all streaming platforms every two weeks from 14 June 2023
Season One
Season One includes topics such as activism, ableism, reproductive rights, animals and the law, alternatives to animal experimentation in medicine and more. Eight episodes
Episode One: Veganism is for everyone and so is activism, with Emilia Leese
In this episode I talk about what “Veganism is for everyone” means. I break veganism down to its fundamental ethical component, show why it must be part of social justice discussions and demystify what it means to be an activist.
Credits
Host: Emilia A. Leese Production & Engineering: Jim Moore of Bloody Vegans Productions Music Opening theme: “Flashbacks” by Jenny Moore’s Mystic Business Intermission: “Elephant Hour” by Derek Solomon Closing theme: “Tear Things Up” by Jenny Moore’s Mystic Business
Episode Two: Veganism as a leftist political practice, with Prof Jason Hannan
Animals are classed as property. In an economic context, this means they’re viewed as both the product and the machine. How does veganism fit into a leftist political practice? What language should we use? Professor Jason Hannan from the University of Winnipeg and editor of Meatsplaining: The Animal Agriculture Industry and the Rhetoric of Denial, talks to us about the rhetoric of animal exploitation.
Credits
Host: Emilia A. Leese Guest: Prof Jason Hannan Production & Engineering: Jim Moore of Bloody Vegans Productions Music Opening theme: “Flashbacks” by Jenny Moore’s Mystic Business Intermission: “Algorithms” by Chad Crouch Closing theme: “Tear Things Up” by Jenny Moore’s Mystic Business
Additional Links & Resources
Winnipeg Veg Fest; on Twitter @jasonwhannan
Episode Three: Animals as legal beings – a new legal classification, with Prof Maneesha Deckha
Most people never think animals are considered merely property, like your phone or your car. In this episode, Professor Maneesha Deckha speaks to us about her book, Animals as Legal Beings: Contesting Antrhopocentric Legal Orders, where she talks about what it would look like to replace the property classification for animals to a new legal status she calls “beingness”.
Credits
Host: Emilia A. Leese Guest: Prof Maneesha Deckha; https://www.uvic.ca/law/facultystaff/facultydirectory/deckha.php Production & Engineering: Jim Moore of Bloody Vegans Productions Music Opening theme: “Flashbacks” by Jenny Moore’s Mystic Business Intermission: “Mashatu Wetlands” by Derek Solomon Closing theme: “Tear Things Up” by Jenny Moore’s Mystic Business
Episode Four: Reproductive rights and animal rights, with Prof Sherry Colb
Professor Sherry Colb speaks to us about reconciling the debates over reproductive rights and animal rights — something that’s rarely discussed together and which was the subject of the book she co-authored with Michael Dorf, Beating Hearts. Professor Colb gives us an overview of the question “Do animal rights activists really care more about the well-being of nonhuman animals than they do about tiny humans?” and the converse question, “Do pro-life activists really care more aobut a human cell than about the suffering of fully sentient animals whose evolutionary history, brain chemistry, and emotional repertoire closely resemble our own?”
Credits Host: Emilia A. Leese Guest: Prof Sherry Colb; https://verdict.justia.com/author/colb; http://www.dorfonlaw.org; and on Twitter @SherryColb Production & Engineering: Jim Moore of Bloody Vegans Productions Music Opening theme: “Flashbacks” by Jenny Moore’s Mystic Business Intermission: “Half Life” by Meredith Avila Closing theme: “Tear Things Up” by Jenny Moore’s Mystic Business
Episode Five: Using graphic images and the matter of consent, with Emilia Leese
Using graphic images of animals in activism is almost expected. In this episode, I explore what doing so means in terms of consent, advancing the case for framing the question of use over welfare, and what might be some alternatives.
Credits
Host: Emilia A. Leese Production & Engineering: Jim Moore of Bloody Vegans Productions Music Opening theme: “Flashbacks” by Jenny Moore’s Mystic Business Intermission: “Luangwa Sunrise” by Derek Solomon Closing theme: “Tear Things Up” by Jenny Moore’s Mystic Business
Episode Six: Animal experimentation in medicine – is there an alternative? With Dr Aysha Akhtar
The Center for Contemporary Sciences works on replacing animal experimentation with more effective methods of research and testing based on human biology. Dr Aysha Akhtar explains how human biology-based methods offer a more effective way to understand the diseases that afflict us, enabling researchers to predict how people may respond to medicines and chemicals with far greater accuracy than animal tests. The outcome of this is better treatments, therapies and cures.
Credits
Host: Emilia A. Leese Production & Engineering: Jim Moore of Bloody Vegans Productions Music Opening theme: “Flashbacks” by Jenny Moore’s Mystic Business Intermission: “Nostalgia of an ex-gangsta rapper” by deef Closing theme: “Tear Things Up” by Jenny Moore’s Mystic Business
Episode Seven: Veganism isn’t ableist with Geertrui Cazaux
Geertrui Cazaux, author (Een Ander Soort Zuster), blogger (Crip HumAnimal, Bruges Vegan and Graswortels) and and vegan, animal rights and inclusivity activist talks to us about why and how veganism is not an ableist ethical practice. We’ll hear about what it means to live as a vegan with a chronic illness and how to centre veganism on solid ethical foundations.
And as mentioned in the episode, find Eva’s words and photographs on chronic illness here
Credits
Host: Emilia A. Leese Production & Engineering: Jim Moore of Bloody Vegans Productions Music Opening theme: “Flashbacks” by Jenny Moore’s Mystic Business Intermission: “Chilo Gorge” by Derek Solomon Closing theme: “Tear Things Up” by Jenny Moore’s Mystic Business
Episode Eight: Discussing Veganism with Others with Benny Malone and Emi Leese
Benny Malone, author of How to Argue with Vegans: An analysis of anti-vegan arguments, talks to us about his top five favourite fallacies. Not the ones we might be familiar with, but those requiring a bit more work and thought. In the second half of the program, I’ll share my top three strategies when choosing to engage with others on the topic of veganism.
Credits
Host: Emilia A. Leese Production & Engineering: Jim Moore of Bloody Vegans Productions Music Opening theme: “Flashbacks” by Jenny Moore’s Mystic Business Intermission: “Cantina Rag” by Jackson F Smith Closing theme: “Tear Things Up” by Jenny Moore’s Mystic Business