Engaged Jain Studies Podcast

In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast , Arihanta Institute professor Christopher Jain Miller, PhD, speaks with Dr. Johannes Beltz, Deputy Director of the Museum Rietberg in Zürich, Switzerland, about his chapter, "Engaged Curation: Challenges, Experiences, and Potentials from a Museum Exhibition about Jainism," from the edited volume Engaged Jainism: Critical and Constructive Studies...

Join Professor Jonathan Dickstein in conversation with Professor Maneesha Deckha , Lansdowne Chair in Law at the University of Victoria and director of the Animals & Society Research Initiative, for a thought-provoking discussion on animal law, justice, and advocacy in global perspective. Together, they explore how legal systems construct and regulate the status of animals, why animal issues a...

Join Professor Christopher Jain Miller as he sits down with Arihanta Institute Professor Dr. Jonathan Dickstein, Tīrthaṅkara Śreyāṃśanātha Endowed Assistant Professor of Jain and Vegan Studies, to discuss his chapter, “An American Panjrapole: Engaging Tradition and Innovation at Luvin Arms Animal Sanctuary,” from the forthcoming edited volume, Engaged Jainism: Critical and Constructive Studies of...

In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies podcast, Arihanta Institute professor Cogen Bohanec, MA, PhD speaks with Dr. Nathan Loewen , Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Alabama, whose work bridges philosophy of religion, critical theory, and global-critical pedagogy. Their conversation begins by examining higher education as a form of global soft power and the ethical...

In this episode, Professor Jonathan Dickstein interviews animal law scholar, advocate, and filmmaker Nirva Kapasi Patel to discuss her groundbreaking work at the intersection of law, justice, and animal liberation. From her early moments of “radicalization” to her leadership roles at Harvard and Boston University, Professor Patel reflects on what it means to see animal rights as a social justice m...

In this live episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast, Arihanta Institute professor and lead organizer of the Vegan Studies Initiative, Jonathan Dickstein, PhD, sits down with acclaimed author, educator, and longtime vegan advocate Victoria Moran for a wide-ranging and deeply reflective conversation on the evolution of veganism. Vegetarian since the late 1960s and vegan since the early 1980s, M...

In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast, Dr. Venu Mehta (Bhagwan Chandraprabha Endowed Assistant Professor in Jain Studies and Assistant Professor of Comparative Spiritualities at Claremont School of Theology) interviews Arihanta Institute Professors Dr. Christopher Jain Miller, Dr. Cogen Bohanec, and Dr. Jonathan Dickstein about the forthcoming edited volume, Engaged Jainism: Critical...

In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast, Arihanta Institute professor and lead organizer of the Vegan Studies Initiative Jonathan Dickstein, PhD , speaks with Laila Kassam , Executive Director of Project Phoenix , a UK-based advocacy organization dedicated to building public will for animal liberation. Their conversation examines the past and present landscape of the animal movement—it...

In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast , Arihanta Institute professor Christopher Jain Miller, PhD , engages in a profound conversation with Dr. Anna Halafoff , Associate Professor in Sociology of Religion and Religious Studies at Deakin University, Australia. Their discussion delves into the Buddhist philosophy of compassion—its ethical, contemplative, and social dimensions—with a pa...

In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast , Arihanta Institute professor Christopher Jain Miller, PhD, engages in a profound conversation with Dr. Devinder Pal Singh, an expert in Sikh studies. Their discussion explores the central role of compassion in the Sikh dharmic tradition, from its theological underpinnings to its real-world applications. Dr. Singh introduces listeners to the fou...

In this enlightening episode of the Engaged Jain Studies podcast, Arihanta Institute professor Cogen Bohanec, MA, PhD engages in a profound discussion with Eileen Goddard, a Religious Studies PhD candidate at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The conversation traverses Eileen's academic journey, highlighting key influences like her mentors Barbara Holdrege and Edwin Bryant, and her deep...

In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast , Arihanta Institute professor and lead organizer of the Vegan Studies Initiative , Jonathan Dickstein, PhD, interviews Laura Wright, PhD —Professor of English at Western Carolina University and the scholar widely credited with naming and framing “Vegan Studies.” Drawing on Prof. Dickstein’s guiding questions, Dr. Wright traces her own “radicaliz...

In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast , Arihanta Institute professor and lead organizer of the Vegan Studies Initiative , Jonathan Dickstein, PhD, speaks with political science scholar Jishnu Guha-Majumdar, PhD about his forthcoming course with Arihanta Institute, 1020 | Foundations of Animal Ethics . Drawing on years of research and a deep commitment to justice for animals, Dr. Guha...

In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast , Professor Christopher Jain Miller interviews Dr. Sailesh Rao, Founder and Executive Director of Climate Healers. Listen as Dr. Rao describes the contours of a compassionate global food system, and understand why that food system must be plant-based in order to solve some of society's most pressing concerns including poverty, food insecurity, an...

Can Jainism be radical? In this special live-recorded episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast , Arihanta Institute professor and lead organizer of the Vegan Studies Initiative , Jonathan Dickstein, PhD sits down with three emerging voices in the Jain community—Anjli Shah, Sahana Mehta, and Mohit Mookim—for an honest and thought-provoking dialogue about the intersections of Jain identity, socia...

In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast , Professor Christopher Jain Miller interviews Dr. Nitin Shah about his humanitarian work grounded in Jain principles of ahimsa (non-violence), anekantavad (multiplicity of views), and aparigraha (non-possessiveness). Learn how Dr. Shah's early life experiences shaped his current work in compassionate humanitarianism through which he provides med...

In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast , Professor Christopher Jain Miller interviews Dr. Melanie Barbato, Senior Lecturer in History of Christianity at the Pacifika Communities University, Suva, Fiji. Listen in as Dr. Barbato explains Jain approaches to human security including the topics of Personal Security, Health Security, Food Security, Environmental Security, Economic Security,...

In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast , Assistant Professor Cogen Bohanec, MA, PhD interviews Anil Mundra, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies and holder of the Bhagvan Vimalnath Endowed Chair in Jain Studies and South Asian Religions at the University of California Santa Barbara. During their conversation, the professors delve into the significant contrib...

In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast , Professor Christopher Jain Miller interviews Shivani Bothra, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies and the Bhagwan Suvidhinath Endowed Chair in Jain Studies at California State University, Long Beach. Professor Bothra shares her remarkable journey from India to the diaspora and how she re-discovered her Jain tradition later in life through a...

In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast , Arihanta Institute professor Jonathan Dickstein interviews Christopher Sebastian, a journalist, technical writer, and adjunct lecturer at Anglo-American University in Prague. Christopher, who writes about food, politics, media, pop culture, and animals, dives deep into the intersections of media, culture, and veganism. In their conversation, Jo...

This episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast features Professor Christopher Jain Miller in conversation with Professor Frank Rogers Jr., the Muriel Bernice Roberts Professor of Spiritual Formation & Narrative Pedagogy and Co-Founder & Co-Director of the Center for Engaged Compassion at Claremont School of Theology. Professor Rogers explores the concept of compassion within Western mono...

In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast , Jonathan Dickstein interviews Yamini Narayanan about her groundbreaking book, Mother Cow, Mother India: A Multispecies Politics of Dairy in India . This conversation, recorded from a live episode event, delves into Narayanan’s shift into animal studies and her extended analysis of Indian bovines. During the discussion, Narayanan unpacks the com...

In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast , Christopher Jain Miller, PhD, interviews Dr. Venu Mehta, Assistant Professor of Jainism and Comparative Spiritualities at Claremont School of Theology (CST), and a key collaborator and professor in the MA Engaged Jain Studies track at CST. Hear about how Professor Mehta came to study forgiveness as a form of compassion in Jain Studies, amidst h...

In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast , Christopher Jain Miller, PhD , speaks with senior scholar Professor Jeffery Long from Elizabethtown College. Join us as Professor Long shares his personal journey into Jain Studies and Compassion Studies, tracing his early encounters with South Asian dharma traditions and his eventual deep engagement with Jain philosophy. Together, they explore...

In this episode of the Engaged Jain Studies Podcast , Jonathan Dickstein, PhD , interviews Jonina Turzi and Sarah Salluzzo , co-founders of Lancaster Farm Sanctuary . Together, they explore the history and philosophy of the farm sanctuary movement, its unique role in advocating for animals, and the mission and vision of Lancaster Farm Sanctuary. Jonina and Sarah also discuss the intersection of et...