Our Hen House

Before he was a cat rescuer, Sterling “TrapKing” Davis was a rapper—a unique trajectory in the field of animal rescue. Sterling—who dedicated himself to improving the lives of stray cats after a lifelong connection to them—joins us today for a delightful conversation about, among other things, trap-neuter-return (TNR) and how he’s working to increase diversity within cat rescue.  In our discussion,… The post A Cat Rescuer You Need to Hear From w/ Sterling “TrapKing” Davis appeared first on Our Hen House.

Disrupting the global food system is one of the most pressing issues of our lifetimes—and it’s no small lift. Today, we welcome two powerhouses working to help the world shift to a kinder, plant-based food system. David Meyer and Galina Hale serve as the CEO and Chief Research Officer, respectively, of Food System Innovations (FSI). They join us this week to… The post Food System Innovations w/ David Meyer and Galina Hale appeared first on Our Hen House.

Why do women in the institutional animal rights movement often feel unable to speak up? Why are animal rights organizations losing too much talent to burnout because of negative employment experiences? Dr. Krista Hiddema joins us to discuss her doctoral research on women’s experiences working professionally within the animal rights movement and the factors that, she asserts, too often drive them… The post Always for the Animals w/ Dr. Krista Hiddema appeared first on Our Hen House.

Sometimes it is easy for all of us who care about animals to forget what an extraordinary contribution sanctuaries make to our understanding of the animals we try to serve. Elan Abrell joins us this week to remind us never to take sanctuaries for granted. Elan is a cultural anthropologist who’s dedicated himself to animal studies and, recently, to a close… The post The Importance of Sanctuary w/ Elan Abrell appeared first on Our Hen House.

When Josh and Wendy Smith adopted Roswell, the dog, they didn’t imagine caring for him would lead them to start their very own animal sanctuary. We’re thrilled to welcome Josh and Wendy to the podcast this week to hear this and more inspiring stories about their sanctuary, Odd Man Inn, their animal advocacy work, and their recent move across the country.… The post Odd Man Inn w/ Josh & Wendy Smith appeared first on Our Hen House.

You’re in for not one but two interviews with incredible activists in this episode! We’re thrilled to welcome both Gwenna Hunter and Sue Fischer back to the podcast for updates.   First, we catch up with Gwenna about her newest project, the Vegans of LA Food Bank. Gwenna tells us how she turned a longtime dream into a reality after partnering with… The post A Vegan Food Bank w/ Gwenna Hunter and the Tule Elk w/ Sue Fischer appeared first on Our Hen House.

This one just might move you to tears. Why? Because it’s about ELEPHANTS! Need we say more? Scott and Kat Blais have dedicated their careers to helping captive elephants live out the rest of their lives the way nature intended. This week they join the podcast from rural Brazil, home to Elephant Sanctuary Brazil, a project by the organization they founded,… The post Global Sanctuary for Elephants w/ Scott & Kat Blais appeared first on Our Hen House.

What if you could feed your companion animals real meat without ever having to slaughter an animal? Because Animals is working to make this dream a reality, and the CEO and co-founder, Shannon Falconer, Ph.D., joins the podcast this week to tell us how they’re doing it. Traditional companion animal foods are made with byproducts of animal agriculture, including meat found… The post Why Mouse Meat? Because Animals w/ Shannon Falconer appeared first on Our Hen House.

We love hearing from fellow animal advocates in different parts of the world, and this week we are thrilled to welcome Linda Ncube for an exceptional conversation about animal activism in rural Zimbabwe. Linda is the founder of Humane Africa Trust, a nonprofit dedicated to creating a “compassionate, healthy, and just environment” for animals. She joins us to explain how she’s… The post An Animal Rights Activist in Zimbabwe w/ Linda Ncube appeared first on Our Hen House.

How annoying is it when you are just getting into a good book, starting to identify with, or at least sympathize with, the protagonist, and then get thoroughly turned off when they sit down to enthusiastically eat a dead animal? Today, author Christine Melanie Benson joins us for a conversation about her recently published debut novel, Marrying Myself, in which, happily,… The post Where are All the Fictional Vegans? w/ Christine Melanie Benson appeared first on Our Hen House.

Have you been wondering about the state of veganism and animal rights in Uganda? Well, we’ve got you covered! Nabaasa Innocent Kashobera, founder of the Uganda Vegan Society and a passionate advocate for animals, joins us this week and fills us in on the state of veganism and, on the other hand, the growth of factory farming, in Uganda and Africa… The post Vegan for the Animals, in Uganda W/ Nabaasa Innocent Kashobera appeared first on Our Hen House.

Wow! Camille DeAngelis visits the podcast this week and does she have a story to tell!! She is, of course, the author of Bones and All, an inverted fairy tale with a sympathetic girl monster protagonist that has since been turned into an award-winning film starring Timothee Chalamet and Taylor Russell. At heart, though it may not be obvious at first… The post Bones and All (And So Much More!) w/ Camille DeAngelis appeared first on Our Hen House.

We’re thrilled to welcome filmmaker Ryuji Chua to the podcast this week. You may already be familiar with Ryuji, and his animal rights-focused work, thanks to his appearance on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah earlier this year. In our conversation, Ryuji tells us why it’s important for humans to shift our messaging from broad generalizations, such as saving a species,… The post How to Talk About Animals w/ Ryuji Chua appeared first on Our Hen House.

We’re delighted to welcome Nirva Patel to the podcast this week for a wide-ranging conversation about the different ways she’s working to make the world a better place for animals. We begin by discussing Nirva’s background in Jainism, how the religion informs her beliefs regarding the treatment of non-human animals, and the work she has done in that realm to create… The post From Jainism to Activism w/ Nirva Patel appeared first on Our Hen House.

Author Peter Alagona, PhD,  joins us on the podcast this week for an illuminating conversation about the wild creatures that coexist alongside humans as part of the fabric of city life, as well as the habitat the city itself creates for these animals. Since World War II, populations of wild animals have increased in urban areas largely due to, as Peter… The post The Accidental Ecosystem w/ Peter Alagona appeared first on Our Hen House.

Artist and Our Hen House’s own beloved graphic designer Weronika Kolinska joins us this week for a conversation about the ways in which art can be a means to help bring people’s attention to what is happening to animals. Weronika, who specializes in t-shirt design, tells us why she believes wearable art is a particularly effective form of activism and how… The post Artists for Animal Rights w/ Weronika Kolinska appeared first on Our Hen House.

Welcome to this special holiday presentation of Sanctuary: A Radio Play, an annual Thanksgiving tradition at Our Hen House! This performance marked the world premiere of John Yunker’s Sanctuary at New York City’s Symphony Space during the Culture & Animals Foundation’s Compassion Arts Festival. We were thrilled to have been a part of this witty, engaging, and incisive production that portrays… The post Holiday Special: “Sanctuary: A Radio Play” Recorded Live In New York City appeared first on Our Hen House.

We are joined this week by Altamush Saeed for a conversation about the critical disaster relief work he’s spearheading in response to the devastating floods that occurred in Pakistan earlier this year. Altamush updates us on the current status of the floods and the effects this climate disaster has had on both the human and animal populations within the country. The… The post Including Animals in Disaster Relief w/ Altamush Saeed appeared first on Our Hen House.

Liz Ross has made it her mission to help people of Caribbean heritage embrace vegan living. She joins us on the podcast to discuss how Rethink Your Food, the nonprofit she founded, is helping her reach Caribbean people, in the islands and beyond, to promote the benefits of a plant-based food system. Liz discusses how she hopes to engage, not only… The post Vegan Caribbean w/ Liz Ross appeared first on Our Hen House.

Karthik Sekar, PhD wants to see the world move beyond an unsustainable, inefficient animal-based food system. He joins us on the podcast this week for a conversation about his recent book, After Meat, which details why animals are an outdated “production technology,” as the agricultural industry calls them. We discuss why plant- and microbial-based foods are far superior to their animal… The post After Meat w/ Karthik Sekar appeared first on Our Hen House.