Hope for the Animals

Today on the podcast it’s all about leather-free materials—fabrics that mimic leather, but are animal-free and more ecological. We have two guests with us to talk about their businesses that focus on innovations in non-leather goods. First up is Paras Doshi, founder of Doshi, that offers fashionable and durable non-leather items like belts, wallets, and purses. Then we have Troy Akin, founder of t...

On this episode we are joined by Christopher Jain Miller, the co-founder and Vice President of Academic Affairs of Arihanta Academy , a Jain Dharma college. He completed his Ph. D. in the study of Religion at the University of California, Davis and is the academic advisor for the global Jain Vegan Initiative. Chris and Hope dig deep into the parallel philosophies of Jain dharma and vegan living. T...

Did you know that ducks like to take a swim before breakfast and that cows like to have a view? Paul Drake is the designer and construction leader of the animal housing at Piedmont Farm Animal Refuge, where he is helping to pioneer a new process called animal-centered design. Paul has a Master’s of Architecture and has a passion for designing sustainable structures that can improve the lives of an...

  Why not dog meat? Molly Elwood is the vegan activists who created the website, Elwood’s Organic Dog Meat which launched in August 2021 and has gone super viral with over 1.3 million unique views. The Facebook page has over 42k followers, and one post has reached nearly 10 million people and has 21k comments and 42k shares! This fictional farm raises dogs for meat with claims like “local,” “organ...

Mitali Deypurkaystha  is a British-Indian woman based in the UK. A vegan of 10 years, Mitali has a book publishing company called The Vegan Publisher , using a hybrid book publishing model to help vegan and plant-based experts write books to amplify the voices of ethical entrepreneurs. Mitali tells Hope about her experiences with racism as a child and in particular an aspect of racism called color...

Deborah Blum is the founder and executive director at Goatlandia Farm Animal Sanctuary in Santa Rosa, CA. Deborah moved to Santa Rosa to fulfill her dream of living with goats and what started as a passion grew into a non profit rescue, education organization, animal therapy, goat yoga, kid’s camp, as well as vegan catering, and much more. Deb and Hope discuss their mutual love of goats and how th...

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH! We are celebrating Pride today with two amazing people, Mckenzee Griffler and Pax Ahimsa Gethen. Mckenzee holds a certification in Animal Sanctuary Management and is the Executive Director at the Open Sanctuary Project. Mckenzee is a trans woman and shares with us some basics of trans etiquette, unpacks some of the most pressing issues facing the trans community, and conveys why...

This episode we welcome back to the podcast Hope’s husband Cogen Bohanec. Cogen and Hope reminisce about giving vegan talks together in the early 2000’s, how enchanted they were with each other’s integrity and ethical values, and how some (almost) raw sushi was a symbol of their love. They then explore some vegan philosophies they have debated over the years. The first is what Cogen calls the Hypo...

We continue our celebration of International Respect for Chickens Month with a reminder about the upcoming Humane Hoax Chicken Webinar on Saturday, May 21. Then our guest is Tara Hess who spent close to a decade working as a caregiver and in shelter management roles at Farm Sanctuary. She is now the Senior Advisor at the Open Sanctuary Project where she uses her hands-on experience to help create...

On this episode our guest is Alene Anello, founder of Legal Impact for Chickens , a litigation nonprofit dedicated to fighting for farmed animals. Alene graduated from Harvard Law School, clerked for a federal judge, and then started litigating for animals. Hope and Alene chat about why it’s important to focus on chickens, starting a legal non-profit, and what her organization’s unique litigation...

Happy Earth Day! Today we have a special Earth Day episode where we are exploring solutions. Hope starts us off with some inspiring green living ideas and then we have a fascinating conversation with Karthik Sekar, PhD. Karthik has a doctorate in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University researching bioreactor design and systems/quantitative biology. He works as a Senior Data Scientist at...

The amazing and fabulous Jasmin Singer is a worldwide leading expert on veganism, the co-host of the -running Our Hen House podcast, a longtime contributor to VegNews magazine as well as the author and editor of numerous books. Hope and Jasmin had a ton of fun covering a lot of territory starting with reminiscing about being vegan in the 90s, Jasmin’s journey writing her memoir, and her evolution...

Hope starts us off with some news on a case of blatant greenwashing from a long-time vegan company that has sparked a Compassionate Living Campaign. Then we are honored to have vegan and human rights activist Christopher Soul Eubanks on the podcast. Soul is a climate, human, and animal rights activist in Atlanta, Georgia and has dedicated himself to doing advocacy work that combats all forms of in...

This episode we are joined by Reverend Sarah Bowen. Rev. Sarah is an award-winning author, animal chaplain, and multifaith spiritual educator. She is also one of the co-founders of the Compassion Consortium, a monthly interfaith, interspecies online spiritual gathering. Hope and Sarah discuss how for many, there is a paralleled path between a spiritual journey and a vegan journey. Sarah shares wha...

(Please note: the audio in the interview has some “Zoom twang.” Apologies for the audio quality.) Our guest this episode is Emily Moran Barwick, who will also be presenting at the Humane Hoax Online Conference on Saturday, February 26, 2022. Emily is an animal-liberation activist, educator, writer, artist, and international speaker. She founded Bite Size Vegan where she provides free educational v...

Allison Argo is a filmmaker known for her emotionally-charged, intimate portraits of abused and endangered animals. The nearly two dozen films she’s produced, directed, and written have all been broadcast by PBS and/or National Geographic and have won over 100 awards internationally. Her most recent film, The Last Pig , premiered on PBS last year after appearing at 42 film festivals. The Last Pig...

  Happy Holidays! Hope’s guest for this special holiday episode is her husband and best friend of 21 years, Cogen Bohanec. Over the years, Cogen and Hope have come across numerous animals in distress and have jumped into action to help animals both wild and domestic. In this episode, they recall some of their exciting, touching, and harrowing rescue stories to share them with you.  A little about...

Vegan Voices Series 6: Did you know that chickens purr? Learn about purring chickens and so much more in this wonderful conversation with Karen Davis , President and Founder of United Poultry Concerns. Karen is the author of numerous essays and books and cares for over 100 rescued birds at the UPC sanctuary in Virginia. In this episode, Karen shares the story of some hens recently released from a...

Vegan Voices Series 5: Hope starts us off by announcing the Vegan Voices Contest winners and a breakdown of Facebook’s animal abuse content policy. Then she has a conversation with Larry Weiss, a retired attorney who practiced law in California for 36 years. He was a criminal defense attorney and then moved to the field of animal law, specializing in the defense of animal activists. Larry wrote a...

Today on the podcast, Hope digs into traditions. With the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, compassionate people are thinking of the millions of beautiful turkeys destined for the holiday dinner table. The iconic Norman Rockwell image of the decapitated dead bird on a platter is a tradition in the U.S. that we hold on to as dearly as the last biscuit in the basket. But traditions are actually more ma...

Vegan Voices Series 4: Hope starts us off with an update from one of our recent Glimmers of Hope segments and some thoughts on the climate summit in Glasgow. She then has a conversation with Rae Sikora who has been a spokesperson for animals, the environment, and human rights for over forty years. Rae is the co-founder of The Institute for Humane Education, VegFund, Santa Fe Vegan, and Plant Peace...

Vegan Voices Series 3: Twelve years ago, Stephanie Redcross-West started the company Vegan Mainstream which provides tools, training, and support for the brave individuals who identify themselves as vegan professionals. Stephanie has contributed an essay to the anthology Vegan Voices: Essays by Inspiring Changemakers , edited by Joanne Kong, that explores her work inspiring others to turn their ve...

Vegan Voices Series 2: Thomas Wade Jackson is the director of the award-winning, feature-length documentary, A Prayer for Compassion and the founder of The Compassion Project, a multi-media production company. He also has an essay in the new anthology Vegan Voices, Essays by Inspiring Changemakers , edited by Joanne Kong. Thomas and Hope have a wonderful conversation about the connection between s...

  Vegan Voices Series: Dr. Joanne Kong has been praised throughout the world as one of the most compelling advocates for veganism today. She has given presentations at numerous vegan events, summits, and conferences. Joanne has written books and has a TEDx talk called The Power of Plant-Based Eating. Her new  anthology, Vegan Voices: Essays by Inspiring Changemakers , is the inspiration for our ne...

Hope’s flying solo today with a sweet story of rescue. Kakkuta the rooster was covered with blood when Hope found him in a parking lot. This rescue story will touch your heart and open your eyes to the plight of roosters in the egg industry. Hope explains why Kakkuta almost died because people believe the myth that backyard chicken keeping is a more ethical way to obtain eggs. Wherever there is a...