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Animals are increasingly at the forefront of research questions – Not as shadows to human stories, or as beings we want to understand biologically, or for purely our benefit – but as beings who have histories, stories, and geographies of their own. Each season is set around themes with each episode unpacking a particular animal turn concept and its significance therein. Join Claudia Hirtenfelder as she delves into some of the most important ideas emerging out of this recent turn in scholarship, thinking, and being.
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Animals are increasingly at the forefront of research questions – not as shadows to human stories, or as beings we want to understand biologically, or for purely our benefit – but as beings who have histories, stories, and geographies of their own. PhD Candidate Claudia Hirtenfelder talks to animal studies scholars about some of the most important ideas emerging out of this recent turn. Each season is set around a particular theme so that the ways in which these different concepts hang toge...
In this bonus episode Claudia talks to Alice Crary and Lori Gruen about their recent book “Animal Crisis: A New Critical Theory.” They touch on what inspired the book and spend most of the conversation focused on what “Critical Animal Theory” means. It is a timely and theoretically dense conversation. Date Recorded: 1 August 2022 Alice Crary is University Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the New School, where she is a co-founder and steering committee member of the Collaborati...
In this bonus episode Claudia talks to Jamie Woodhouse about his podcast Sentientism. Most of the episode is concerned with sentientism as a concept and they talk about some of the tensions and opportunities guests on Jamie’s show have flagged. Date Recorded: 26 September 2022 Jamie Woodhouse is working to develop Sentientism (“evidence, reason and compassion for all sentient beings”) as a worldview and as a global movement. He hosts the Sentientism Podcast and YouTube and...
In this bonus episode Claudia talks to Carol Kline and Jes Hooper about why it is important to think about animals in relation to tourism. They touch on some of the ways animals are included in tourism and how to guard against unwittingly contributing to animal suffering. A key feature of this episode is giving an overview of the Emerging Voices for Animals in Tourism Conference. Date Recorded: 27 January 2023. Carol Kline is a Professor and the Director of the Hospi...
Claudia discusses wonder with Jules Howard, author of the book Wonderdog. Using his book a backdrop, they discuss how dogs have influenced (and been influenced) by science. Topics include everything from evolution, to love and responsibility. Ultimately they marvel at how much there is we still don’t know about the creatures we share the world with. Date Recorded: 31 March 2023. Jules Howard is a UK-based zoological correspondent, science writer and broadcaster who w...
In this bonus episode Claudia talks to Danielle Clode about her recent book on koalas. They talk about koalas’ incredible bodies and some of their social dynamics, including koalas unique digestive and reproductive systems and their long-distance bellows. Date Recorded: 10 April 2023. Danielle Clode is a biologist and natural history author based at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia. Danielle grew up in the fishing town of Port Lincoln in South Australia bef...
Yamini Narayanan is back on the show, this time to talk to Claudia about her book Mother Cow, Mother India. They focus their discussion on the concept of “Mother” and what it means for cows in India. They touch on the implications of cows being sacralised as mothers of the Hindu nation and what cows’ daily lives, as mothers, are like. Date Recorded: 25 April 2023. Yamini Narayanan is an Associate Professor of International and Community Development at Deakin Universi...
Podcaster and philosopher Josh Milburn is on the Animal Turn to talk about his latest book and how the concept of justice is central to imagining a future world in which the rights of animals are respected. Claudia and Josh discuss the political turn in animal ethics, some of the tensions between animal rights and veganism, as well as the role cellular agriculture might play in a future zoopolitical world. Date Recorded: 6 July 2023. Josh Milburn is a Lecturer in Pol...
In this episode Claudia talks to public health expert Hope Ferdowsian about Phoenix Zones, a concept that captures places and practices that advance the rights, health, and well-being of people, animals, and our shared environments. They discuss how crises present opportunities for change as well as how humans and animal who have experienced trauma show capacities for resilience when they are afforded with liberty, autonomy, and dignity. Date Recorded: 21 September 2023. ...
In this bonus episode Claudia talks to Captain Paul Watson about the concept of interference. They discuss his recent book Hitman for the Kindness Club as well as how he uses strategies of “aggressive nonviolence” to combat what he calls “the economics of extinction.” They also touch on the destructiveness of the fishing industry and factory farming for the oceans and the future of the planet. Date Recorded: 3 October 2023. Captain Paul Watson is a marine wildlife co...
The Animal Turn has been shortlisted in two categories of the upcoming International Women's Awards to be held on the 6th of November 2023. You can hear the nominated clips in this episode. The Animal Turn was shortlisted in "Moment of Insight from a Role Model" for the conversation between Jeff Sebo and Claudia Hirtenfelder about the im/possibility of change in human-animal relations. It was also shortlisted in "Changing the World One Moment at a Time" for the conversation with...
Using his book Through a Vet’s Eyes as a backdrop, Claudia talks to Sean Wensley about veterinary ethics and animal welfare. They discuss some of Sean’s experiences as a vet as well as some of the challenges vets face in representing animals’ interests. Date Recorded: 20 February 2024 Sean Wensley is Senior Veterinarian for Animal Welfare and Professional Engagement at the UK veterinary charity, the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA). He was President of the British Vet...
Using Carol Gigliotti’s book “The Creative Lives of Animals” as a backdrop, this episode explores animals and the creative process. From the artistic intricacies of humpback whales' bubble-net feeding to the sophisticated communication skills of prairie dogs, Carol guides us through a world where animals demonstrate remarkable creativity, highlighting how they make meaning for themselves. Date Recorded: 6 March 2024 Carol Gigliotti is an author, artist, animal activist, ...
Award-winning journalist Sandra Bartlett joins us to uncover the unsettling realities of fish farming in British Columbia with her impactful podcast, "The Salmon People." We discuss some of the social and environmental controversies surrounding salmon farming in Canada including the interconnections between wild and farmed salmon in the region, how sea lice have devastated marine populations, and the ways in which indigenous groups are resisting industry interests. Date Recorded: 8 M...
Bonus: Animals in Media Together with Arukah Animal International, The Animal Turn co-hosted a panel discussion focused on "Animals in Media". Using a video about animalized hierarchies in contagion films as a prompt, Claire Parkinson, Susan McHugh, and Tobias Linné engaged in an open-ended about media, representation, power, and activism. Date Recorded: 22 May 2024 Claire Parkinson is Professor of Culture, Communication and Screen Studies and Co-director of the Centre for Human Animal Stu...
Monica Murphy and Bill Wasik join Claudia on the show to talk about their recent book Our Kindred Creatures. They discuss how the late 19th century was a time of immense change for Americans and their relationships with animals became increasingly contradictory. Date Recorded: 15 July 2024 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 World’s Most Diab...
Claudia talks to scientist and author, Alexandra Horowitz about dogs’ cognition. They discuss everything from dogs’ sense of smell and capacity to play to how anthropomorphisms sometimes skew human understandings of what dogs are doing. Date Recorded: 15 August 2024 Alexandra Horowitz heads the Dog Cognition Lab at Barnard College, where she also teaches seminars in canine cognition, creative nonfiction writing, and audio storytelling. She is the author of the New Yo...
The global big cat trade encompasses both legal and illegal networks, with South Africa standing as the world's largest exporter of big cats including both live animals and parts. Vanessa Amoroso from Four Paws International explains how captive breeding facilities create a "conveyor belt of cubs" that fuels tourism attractions while obscuring the darker reality of what happens to these animals. Together Claudia and Vanessa discuss how loopholes in CITES allows for the large-scale legal breed...
In this crossover episode from The Deal With Animals Podcast, Marika S. Bell talks to two experts about the impacts of sensory pollution on animals. Sensory pollution from artificial light and noise has profound effects on wildlife behavior, reproduction, and survival. Brett Seymour and Jennifer Phillips share insights about how everyday choices impact everything from insect flight patterns to bird nesting success. Date Released: 7 May 2024 Dr. Jennifer Phillips is an assistant professor ...
Thom Norman joins Claudia on the show to discuss the work of FarmKind and the tenets of effective altruism. They talk about FarmKind’s compassion calculator and how it strategically doesn’t include vegan messaging. They discuss the organizations FarmKind supports and some of the critiques levelled against effective altruism. Date Recorded: 20 March 2025 Thom Norman is the co-founder of FarmKind, a nonprofit dedicated to accelerating the end of factory farming by expanding the ...
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