Kindness is Everything

Dean Wyrzykowski joins Anitha to talk about the incredible recent rescue of beagles from Ridglan Farms. Located in Wisconsin, Ridglan Farms is the second largest breeding and lab testing facility in the United States, with 2000 dogs bred and subjected to cruel and inhumane forms of testing without anesthetic.  Dean takes us back to 2017, when investigators witnessed firsthand the horrible conditio...

Anitha is so grateful to have Dr. Izzy Hirji back on the show. Izzy talks about becoming a veterinarian, an animal activist, a conservationist and of course a friend to Dr. Jane Goodall. He also shares his journey into spirituality and wellness.  Anitha and Izzy spend a great deal of the episode talking about their mutual hero, Dr. Jane Goodall. Izzy shares stories of their time together and how h...

Comedian Aaron Foster joins Anitha to talk about his journey into comedy, his decision to share his struggles with mental health in his shows AND also reuniting with a dog he fostered twelve years ago! Aaron and Anitha begin the conversation talking about Aaron’s decision to share his own struggles with mental health in hopes that it will help others who are also struggling.  The conversation then...

Kindness Is Caring For Those Left Behind—When someone dies, what happens to their beloved companion animal? Anitha continues her month-long celebration of her hero Dr. Jane Goodall who passed on October 1, 2025 at the age of 91, by chatting with Lindsay Kirschner. Like Dr. Jane, Lindsay had a close relationship with her mom. Sadly, Lindsay's mom unexpectedly passed away leaving behind a grieving f...

Kindness Is Loving Dogs—From fostering to creating an animal sanctuary Anitha continues her month-long celebration of her hero Dr. Jane Goodall who passed on October 1, 2025 at the age of 91, by chatting with Alyssa Blackwell. Like Dr. Jane, Alyssa loves dogs. Alyssa has been fostering dogs since she was 16 years old. For the past 20 years Alyssa has cared for, fallen in love with and had her hear...

Kindness Is Carrying On A Legacy–How the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada continues the work of Dr. Jane Goodall. Dr. Jane Goodall passed on October 1, 2025 at the age of 91. She was and still is Anitha’s hero. To honour her, Anitha is dedicating the month of April (Dr. Goodall was born on April 3rd) to showcase folks who are helping the animals Dr. Jane loved. We start off with Bella Lam, the CEO...

Kindness Is From Fauna—Spreading awareness about cultivated meat. Sixteen-year-old Shimoi Kalra started working with From Fauna when she was 11 years old. She joins Anitha to talk about why she joined this non-profit that shares information about cultivated meats in a way everyone can understand. Apparently, the is a lot of technical jargon behind the science of creating cultivated meats and one o...

Kindness Is Food Empowerment—How the power of one’s food choices can create a just & sustainable world. Lauren Ornelas, the founder of The Food Empowerment Project (FEP) joins Anitha to talk about all the amazing work this organization does. From encouraging healthy, vegan food choices to spotlighting the abuse of farm animals to raising awareness about the unfair working conditions for produc...

Kindness Is The Caregivers Journey—A podcast helping caregivers of Alzheimer's and other dementias. Nancy Treaster and Sue Ryan join Anitha to talk about their podcast, The Caregivers Journey. Both Nancy and Sue share their personal stories of caring for someone with dementia and how that not only brought them together but inspired them to create a platform for others who are facing the difficult...

Kindness Is Blink Now—How a gap year turned into a life dedicated to empowering children & women in Nepal Humanitarian and CNN Hero of the Year, Maggie Doyne joins Anitha to talk about the incredible initiative she co-founded called BlinkNow Foundation. What started as a gap year for 19-year-old Maggie grew into a love story between her and the children of Nepal. In the past 20 years, she has...

Kindness Is Creating Transfarmation—Helping to build a just & sustainable food system. Katherine Jernigan, the Director of the Transfarmation Project, joins Anitha to answer a question Anitha has often wondered about—What would it take to transform an animal agricultural farm to a farm that grows vegetables, fruits and other plants for human consumption? Katherine also talks about the harm to...

Kindness Is Furball Confidential—A podcast all about folks and the adorable animals they share space with. Jen Moroz has run some of Canada’s largest radio shows, including CBC’s The Current and Q. She has also developed several popular podcasts. Now she has her own podcast called Furball Confidential. She joins Anitha to talk about the inspiration behind the podcast (a lovable dog named Clutch),...

Kindness Is Keeping Neighbours Safe—Helping black & brown folks in Minneapolis/St. Paul as ICE descends upon this community. Mike Hotz joins Anitha to talk about what is happening in the twin cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul as ICE rounds up people of colour. Mike shares stories of law-abiding folks who have been detained by ICE based solely on the colour of their skin. He also talks about how s...

Kindness Is Social Media For Good—Using the power of social to advocate for animals Johnny Oberg is an animal advocate dedicated to making the world a kinder place for animals by utilizing the power of social media. He joins Anitha to talk about his journey to becoming a full-time animal activist, what it means to bear witness as these sentient beings are transported to their death and using the p...

Kindness Is Making Poetry—Creating meaningful poems for strangers Hannah Monsour joins Anitha to talk about creating moving and thoughtful poems almost instantly. Hannah calls herself a typewriter poet. She can be found in Central Park in New York City meeting strangers who share personal parts of their lives. Hannah transforms their words into on-the-spot meaningful poems. She shares some of thes...

Kindness Is Remembering Esther—Continuing the legacy of Esther the Wonder Pig. Steve Jenkins, often known as one of Esther the Wonder Pig’s dad’s, joins Anitha to talk about his life with Esther, grieving her passing and creating a legacy in her name. Steve talks about being back at the farm where he lived with Esther and so many other beautiful individuals. He gives a fun update about the animals...

Kindness Is The Vegan Report—A space for all fronts of the animal liberation movement. Animal activist and podcast host, Rayane Laddi joins Anitha to talk about his wonderful podcast, The Vegan Report. Rayane shares some of his favorite episodes and his guest wish list—Ricky Gervais & Bruce Friedrich, the founder of Good Food Institute!! Rayane also offers tips for anyone considering starting...

Kindness Is The Animal Save Movement—Creating an eco-friendly vegan world, for the animals, the planet, and health. Bearing witness to a truck full of pigs being carted off to slaughter while walking her dog, drove Anita Krajnc to become an animal activist. Together she and her dog Mr. Bean, co-founded The Animal Save Movement. Anita talks about the love-based, grassroots approach to activism the...

Kindness Is Loving Octopuses—A young girl dedicated to helping octopuses. Eleven-year-old Lily Niederhofer joins Anitha to talk about her favourite animal—the octopus! Lily raises awareness about the plight of octopuses, in particular the horrible conditions they would endure in an octopus farm. As an avid swimmer, she uses her skills to raise money to help protect oceans and the marine life who c...

Kindness Is Queer Brown Vegan—Advocating for diversity & inclusion in environmental education. Isaias Hernandez, an environmentalist, storyteller and content creator, joins Anitha to talk about advocating for animals, the environment and folks from underrepresented communities. A timely episode as the holidays remind us to show compassion for all beings. To learn more about Isaias, the work th...

Kindness Is Bags Without Barriers—Providing essential supplies so all individuals can be successful. Justin Osei-Dwumoh joins Anitha to talk about his amazing initiative called Bags Without Barriers. When Justin realized that not everyone has access to essential school supplies—items that are not only necessary to succeed in school, but also can affect one’s self worth, he decided to help. Partner...

Mariah Madigan, the founder of Frankie’s World joins Anitha to talk about her journey to creating a sanctuary for rats. Mariah first fell in love with rats when an adorable rat named Frankie came into her life. Frankie was such a great companion for Mariah and when Frankie passed, Mariah decided to create a sanctuary to honour her soulmate. Mariah realizes that most folks have negative preconcepti...

Kindness Is Teachers for Future Turtle Island—Educating on colonialism, equality, climate crisis & more. Kim Benson wears many hats—teacher, human rights advocates, animal activist, climate activist and all-around kind human. She joins Anitha to talk about Teachers for Future Turtle Island, a group working to dismantle systems of colonialism, capitalism, patriarchy and white supremacy. Kim tal...

Kindness Is Racing To Zero—Helping sports organizations tackle climate change. Oliver Scholfield, an Olympic Athlete, joins Anitha to talk about creating a business that combinec his love of sport with his passion for the environment. Racing To Zero is dedicated to addressing the negative impact the sporting world has on the climate AND coming up with solutions to reduce this impact. Oliver shares...

Kindness Is Being Anonymous for the Voiceless—Speaking out against history’s largest and longest-standing injustice. Oliver Loos joins Anitha to talk about his journey into animal activism, veganism and being a part of a group called Anonymous for the Voiceless. This not-for-profit animal rights organisation does all they can to make our world a kinder place for all beings. They specialize in usin...