Main Street Vegan

Can building muscle be an act of compassion? In this inspiring conversation, Victoria Moran speaks with natural bodybuilder and Organic Muscle co-founder James Benefico about the powerful intersection of veganism, fitness, and spirituality. James shares how his journey led him to see caring for the body not as vanity, but as devotion — a way of honoring life, embodying discipline, and living in al...

Dr. Michael Klaper shares what 50 years in medicine have taught him: most chronic disease is preventable—and often reversible—with diet. Now through his nonprofit, Moving Medicine Forward , he’s working to bring nutrition education into medical schools. A hopeful, eye-opening conversation on food, health, and the future of medicine.

Can kindness change more minds than confrontation when it comes to helping animals? Animal advocate ​Cheryl Moss , founder of Better Life for Animals , believes the most effective way to help animals is through patience, empathy, and respectful conversation. In this episode, she and Victoria explore why gentle outreach often works better than pressure, how people really change, and how compassiona...

Caregiving is often called a labor of love. But what happens when love collides with a broken system? In this powerful and deeply human conversation, Victoria speaks with Laura Mauldin, PhD , author of In Sickness and in Health: Love Stories from the Front Lines of America’s Caregiving Crisis . Together, they explore the intimate realities of disability, partnership, policy failure, ableism, and w...

What happens when Manhattan luxury real estate meets plant-based living and deep Christian faith? Victoria sits down with Darryl Williams — known as “The Vegan Broker” — a real estate professional with SERHANT., the firm featured on the Netflix series Owning Manhattan. Raised vegetarian in a Seventh-day Adventist home and now a committed health vegan, Darryl boldly brings his values into one of th...

This episode explores a surprising and thoughtful perspective on modern food systems. Victoria talks with scholars Jan Dutkiewicz and Gabriel N. Rosenberg, co-authors of Feed the People: Why Industrial Food Is Good and How to Make It Even Better , about how frozen vegetables, canned beans, plant milks, and other accessible foods can help make compassionate eating realistic and affordable for more...

Peacefood Cafe has been feeding compassionate New Yorkers since 2009. In this conversation, co-owner Eric Yu shares about being a spiritual guy in a business role, his decision not to serve alcohol in his restaurants, and what it takes to thrive in changing times. Website: https://www.peacefoodcafe.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peacefoodnyc/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peacefoodn...

Mark Peters captures the soul of the cow in his photographic book, Voices of the Herd, and today we talk about cows as individuals and seeing animals differently. And guess what? This guy is so classy, he wrote me a thank-you note on paper. Website: https://markpetersphotography.com/ Book: Voices of the Herd: Portraits of Rescued Cows and Their Sanctuary Stories Instagram: https://www.instagram.co...

Matthew C. Halteman, Ph. D, author of Hungry Beautiful Animals: The Joyful Case for Going Vegan , teaches philosophy at Calvin University in Michigan. He also once lived on the same block in Wheaton, Illinois, as host Victoria Moran. Book: Hungry Beautiful Animals: The Joyful Case for Going Vegan Website: https://www.hungrybeautifulanimals.com/ Facebook: Matthew C. Haltemen Instagram: @hungrybeaut...

  EatMoveRest.com and the EatMoveRest YouTube channel have planted Erin and Dusty Stancyk firmly into influencer territory with their busy, beautiful life, 3 young kids, and a delicious, plant-based road to health. We discuss attachment parenting, using the word "vegan" (or not), putting the fun back in healthy, and living colorfully. Book: The Happy, Healthy Plant-Based Cookbook Website...

Nutrition science took a massive hit with the January 7th release of the 2026 Dietary Guideline for Americans, recommending increased consumption of meat, eggs, and dairy (while, impossibly, keeping saturated fat low). Responding is Neal Barnard, MD, president of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which has petitioned the U.S. government to withdraw these recommendations.  Website: htt...

We welcome 2026 with the inimitable Michael Greger, MD, of nutritionfacts.org and author of the million-selling How Not to Die, sharing info from his latest book Lower LDL Cholesterol Naturally with Food .   Website :  https://nutritionfacts.org/  Lower LDL Cholesterol Naturally with Food How Not Die How Not to Diet How Not to Age Instagram :  https://www.instagram.com/nutrition_facts_org/ Faceboo...

NYC animal activist Donny Moss is out to set the record straight about animal abuse by congratulating the media when it's fair and coming down on biased, untrue reporting. We discuss his new venture, VegMediaWatch, as well as how to combat social media misinformation. Website: https://www.vegmediawatch.org Blinders , Donny's documentary on the New York City carriage horse industry: https...

Known for giving "the best speech you've ever heard" and for single-handedly making Israel the most vegan-dense country on earth, Gary Yourofsky is a legendary animal activist and orator. In this interview, first posting on Thanksgiving morning 2025, Yourofsky shares how we can all be effective in standing up for the rights of our fellow beings.  Website: http://www.adaptt.org Insta...

Chef Mark Reinfeld is known in the plant-based world and beyond as the culinary innovator of vegan fusion cuisine, but he is also the dad of two sons, one of whom has a genetic condition called Angelman Syndrome. His new book, Islands of Peace, is for other special needs parents and anyone dealing with an ongoing challenge to love and patience, and energy.  Book : https://www.ohanavitality.org/isl...

Legendary founder of the Nutritarian diet shares the exact kind of vegan diet that protects against heart disease or cancer, the essential supplements that protect vegans from Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, how to seriously build bone, plus new diagnostic options and a lifestyle medicine doctor's take on MAHA. Dr. Fuhrman's website Dr. Fuhrman's Amazon Author Page Longevity...

This episode is named for the important (and yet comedic) documentary about animal experimentation, focusing on pharma and product testing. Filmmakers Journey Zephyr and Keegan Kuhn, with Aysha Aktar, MD, MPH, join Victoria to get us clear on this issue (and explain how such a somber subject than make such a funny movie).  Contacts: Website: https://howtomakedrugsfilm.com (You can watch the film o...

 A family tragedy led board-certified nutritionist Terri Chrisman to take on chronic disease and fight that battle in the kitchen. Her methodology and her bestselling book, Fabulous Health: A Simple Plan to Get Well and Stay Well , are based on the 6 Pillars of a Healthy Lifestyle, codified by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.   Book: Fabulous Health: A Simple Plan to Get Well and Stay W...

Melanie Kaplan was not an expert on animal use in research until she adopted a beagle who had been a test subject. Investigation opened her eyes and her journalist's cred opened doors into the hidden world of breeding and using beagles for biomedical research, drug and product testing, and education. Her book takes readers behind lab doors and into conversations with researchers, activists, e...

National Health Assn. Historian Dr. Jeanne Schumacher regales with tales of the dissident docs and nature nerds of the 19th and early 20th centuries who got the plant-based ball rolling. Her fascinating stories put health-promoting, animal-free food choices in a historic context: it's not a fad, it's not a trend, it's evolution. Websites: https://www.simplyplantbased.net (guest) htt...

On the front lines for animals with The Humane Farming Association for decades, Eisnitz weaves a compelling tale of the horrors of factory farms and slaughterhouses -- as well as a gripping medical mystery as she seeks a diagnosis for a rare visual processing disorder -- in Out of Sight: An Undercover Investigator's Fight for Animal Rights and Her Own Survival. [Note: If you have trouble hear...

Jessika Ava of Thrive Philanthropy shares her engaging history of showing up for other-than-human beings in a variety of venues before starting her own organization that supports pro-animal endeavors around the world. Learn where the work is happening, where it's needed most, and how everyone at every income level can be part of the groundswell. Website: https://www.thrivephilanthropy.org/ Fa...

Tess Challis joins to talk about her 9th cookbook, Food Joy , coauthored with her adult daughter, a lifelong vegan. The conversation moves to vegan spirituality, the current state of being vegan in America, and the great respite of meditation. Food Joy  book Website: https://www.tesschallis.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tesschallis/ Instagram: @Tess Challis   Tess's wonderful guided...

Vegan entrepreneur, YouTuber, mother of twins, and wife of mega-comic Jeff Dunham, today's guest is the author of Vegan Christmas Cookies & Cocoa and Vegan Thanksgiving Dinner & Pies. In this episode, Audrey dishes on life balance, celebrity, and raising (and feeding) vegan kids IRL. Audrey's website Autumn Sons Baking Company -- delectable vegan and gluten-free cookie mixes Book...

Ginny Messina, RD, MPH, is a breath of fresh air on the nutritional landscape, based as she is in science, ethics, and common sense. Get Ginny’s take on controversies such as seed oils and beef tallow, her expertise on calcium and B12 for vegans, and thriving as a vegan in a not-yet-vegan world.   Website: https://www.theveganrd.com Books: Vegan for Life , Vegan for Her , Even Vegans Die (with Car...