Freedom of Species

River, Rain, Brook and Creek are four wild-born dingo puppies whose lives took a turn when their mother was shot by a farmer in their first few weeks of life. The puppies were destined to be drowned until a neighbour intervened and organised for the puppies to be sent to a dingo rescue. In today’s show, Betty Melon shares her experience staying with dingo carers Alix Livingstone and Zeph Thomson a...

Lottie, Hayden and Nick explore what it would look like to have an ecologically sustainable world and how veganism fits in with that. The discussion draws on ideas from the books Half-Earth Socialism: A Plan to Save the Future from Extinction, Climate Change and Pandemics by Drew Pendergrass and Troy Vettesse, and Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable...

 The Australian wool industry carried the nation’s economy for much of the 19th and 20th century and played a significant role in growing the wealth of the British Empire, while displacing Indigenous populations and devastating ecosystems. In today’s show, part of the wool series, Betty Melon takes Meg and the listeners through the events of the 1700s leading up to the creation of the Australian w...

  Our guest on today's show is Meg Edge. We chat about Meg's career as a vegan professional athlete in MMA (mixed martial arts), and discuss straight edge and the hardcore scene.     Bio:    Meg is a self-described jack of all trades, master of none. Over the past decade or so, she has worked for and volunteered with various animal rights and conservation organisations, as well as having been a pr...

  On the show today, our guest is Nathan Poirier who returned to continue our discussion about veganarchism. We talked about some of the ideas raised in Nathan's solo book and the edited books, and also highlighted some ideas that are often not examined. Our first conversation about veganarchism aired in a previous show which is available here: https://www.3cr.org.au/freedomofspecies/episode/vegan...

Nick speaks with Sheena Chhabra, a campaigner with the Plant Based Treaty. We discuss the Treaty, the importance of structural change and the place of individual veganism in the movement.   Links: You can find out more about the Plant Based Treaty and endorse it on their website: https://plantbasedtreaty.org/ To send an email to your city councillors asking them to endorse the Treaty: https://plan...

    Our guest on today's show is Nathan Poirier and we discuss veganarchism.    Nathan Poirier is an independent scholar-activist who has edited or authored books that span topics like critical animal studies, veganarchism, non/human coexistence, and a forthcoming two-volume A6 set on black anarchism. Nathan is an ambassador for the Office of Empowerment (essentially the DEI organization) at Lansi...

Claire, Ruby and Nick discuss representations of animal rights in the media, focusing on the cartoon BoJack Horseman and the manga The Darwin Incident by Shun Umezawa. We cover the portrayal of anthropomorphised (human-like) animals in these examples, factory farmed versus "free-range" animal products and factions within the animal advocacy movement.  Links: Animal Horror: An investigation into an...

   Our guest on today's show is Ari, who returns for a follow up conversation on conflict in activist spaces and in community group settings.      Ari (they/them) is a community organiser, mediator and support worker who is passionate about exploring the transformative potential of generative conflict and accountability work. Working primarily in community organising settings, Ari believes that ho...

 On Sunday June 15, the Freedom of Species team had another fun-filled animal trivia show to raise donations for 3CR's Radiothon 2025! Can you guess the answers before listeners and the hosts? Have a listen and hear the animal noises and other trivia!  Please support 3CR Community Radio so we can keep operating as a genuinelyindependent and non-commercial broadcast service. Donations are the best...

   Our guest on today's show is Ari, and we're talking about conflict in activist spaces and in community group settings.      Ari (they/them) is a community organiser, mediator and support worker who is passionate about exploring the transformative potential of generative conflict and accountability work. Working primarily in community organising settings, Ari believes that how we relate to each...

In today’s show, Betty interviews Sonya Takau from Dingo Culture and Alix Livingstone from Defend the Wild all about the native Australian dingo. We learn about the character of the dingo, their role in Australian ecosystems and what makes them unique. We go on to discuss some of the significant threats facing the dingo and strategies for securing their future led by First Nations land custodians....

  This interview was recorded with Anas Arafat in Gaza and Laura Schleifer in the US on May 17, 2025. We are very grateful for their time and their work, and the unimaginable hardship that Anas is enduring in Gaza. We thank them for this interview. Our conversation starts with the formation of Plant the Land Team Gaza as a grassroot collaboration between local Gazan community activists and interna...

   Animal Free Science Advocacy spokesperson Robyn delves into the sad story of primate research in Australia, the individual lives, the ongoing work that AFSA do to collate and tell the story of primates who have been experimented on, and the advocacy and promotion of awareness of the plight of these indivduals.  You can find more information about Animal Free Science Advocacy on their website he...

  This episode is dedicated to animal rights and vegan activist Liz Dealey or Lizzie as she was affectionately  known.  Lizzie was tireless and relentless in her aim to bring more kindness and consideration into the world. Her whirlwind energy saw her found Melbourne Chicken Save, and dedicate decades of focus, passion and time into the animal rights activist landscape, especially in Melbourne.  H...

 Meg and Trev interview Friends of the Earth land use researcher Anthony Amis. Listen in to learn about the interesting story of koalas in Victoria, their populations, genetic and environmental challenges, the lack of government priority in conservation of land that supports koala friendly ecosystems, and the dedicated network of people who have been gathering data and conducting scientific reseac...

Adam and Nick reflect on their personal experiences and practical issues around caring for companion animals who have significant health issues. They also consider what policy/societal changes could be made to better support companion animals and their human carers.  Music: Animal Liberation by Los Fastidios: https://www.losfastidios.net/ Dogs Are The Best People by The Fauves: https://thefauves.c...

   Dr. Leila Dehghan is a doctor-turned-nutritionist, activist, and educator. Her journey to veganism began as an animal rescuer, but she later discovered the healing power of a whole food, plant-based diet, which helped her overcome debilitating migraines. This experience shifted her career focus, leading her to earn a Master’s in Clinical and Public Health Nutrition from University College Londo...

In today’s show, an introduction to the wool series, Betty and Trev respond to a podcast episode called ‘Wearing Hair’ from ‘Articles of Interest’ by Avery Trufelman. We discuss the concept of wearing human hair textiles as an alternative biomaterial as spearheaded by the Dutch company ‘Human Material Loop’ asking… is it vegan to wear human hair? We go on to unpack some of the inherent ethical iss...

This episode is a trivia show, with questions related to animals, animal rights and veganism. Listen in and see if you can think of the answers before the Freedom of Species listeners and hosts get them! The show is hosted by Jennifer, Jasmine, Gonzalo and Nick.  Music: Animal Liberation by Los Fastidios: https://www.losfastidios.net/ I like birds by Eels: https://www.eelstheband.com/ Pigs…(in the...

  Our guests on today's show are Jolene and Duaine from Project Fresh Start, a vegan food relief charity operating in the south eastern region of Melbourne/Naarm.  Project Fresh Start's mission is to address the challenges of food insecurity and food waste. They aim to eliminate the obstacles faced by marginalised people in accessing nutritious plant-based foods. Their initiatives are designed to...

  In 2008 during the Greek Austerity riots, a strange phenomena was born. Stray dogs began joining in the protests in Athens Greece against the IMF and their austerity measures directed toward every day citizens. These good boys and girls would voluntarily join protests and actively try to protect protesters against the police and their violence, siding always with the demonstrators. Photographers...

In today’s summer special, Betty takes Nick and the listeners through 12,000 years of the cannabis plant. Starting in the ancient world, through the age of sail and into the modern era, we follow the cannabis plant on its global journey and its role in human politics and development. We finish with a discussion on cannabis pharmacology, drug prohibition and challenges facing the revival of the hem...

  Summer Special Join Meg as she talks about her father's country of Wales, the Welsh language, mythology and people and her connection to this historic and mysterious land. All music is in the Welsh language.  The music has been edited out of the podcast due to copyright issues, please see below for menitoned music in order of play.  Y Bwci Bos  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3YwB0rcFuk&list=PL...

On this Summer Special, Hayden and Nick discuss Reddit stories covering a wide range of topics, including: chosen names, religion, work, class, dogs, sexuality, gender and cheating. Happy Holidays!  During the Freedom of Species timeslot Sunday 1-2pm, there will be Summer Specials for the next few weeks. Meg will be covering the women’s liberation movement on Dec 29 and Jan 12 and Betty will be di...