Kindness is Everything

Rich Padulo joins Anitha to talk about a wonderful initiative called Treat Accessibly. Halloween is a magical and fun time for many children, but for some, knocking on doors and navigating stairs can be a challenge. Rich and his family wanted all children to enjoy Halloween so they moved their treat table to the bottom of the driveway. Soon neighbours followed along allowing the community to conne...

Samantha Knox, the founder of Itty Bitty City Kitties, joins Anitha to talk about how caring for a stray mom and her kittens turned into caring for hundreds of orphaned kittens! Samantha’s kindness doesn’t end with caring for the tiniest of kittens, Itty Bitty City Kitties works with local caretakers to trap, neuter and release local cats to reduce pet overpopulation. She also extends compassion t...

Ariana Spate joins Anitha to talk about how she uses social media to help dogs in shelters find homes. Ariana partners with shelters to give overlooked dogs a break from their shelter life and a chance to be seen as who they truly are. She takes these dogs on outings, allows them to decompress and shares videos and photos so potential adopters can see the true nature of these dogs. Ariana shares s...

Amber Sager joins Anitha to talk about New Leash On Love, a dog sanctuary and rescue she co-founded. Amber is passionate about helping dogs find their forever homes, especially those who are overlooked—senior dogs, dogs with disabilities, and dogs surrendered by their humans. In addition to working with local rescues to place at-risk dogs, Amber also partners with international rescues to help dog...

Author/Illustrator, Anoosha Syed joins Anitha to talk about the many aspects of her life. From creating books that showcase underrepresented characters to an honest account of being a working mom to what it’s like to live in the United States as a person of colour. Anoosha and Anitha also talk about what brought them together—their book, SARI SISTERS. Anitha wrote the words and Anoosha created the...

Lev Goldberg joins Anitha to talk about being the first openly trans person to swim the Great Lakes. In 2025 Lev swam across Lake Ontario and then in August of 2026, he swam across Lake Huron! His goal is to swim across all five Great Lakes in an effort to raise awareness and funds for the LGBTQ+ youth. An inspiring conversation about determination, physical and mental strength and helping others....

Sangita Iyer joins Anitha to talk about how an encounter with a captive bull elephant in Kerala India grew into a lifelong mission to help these magnificent begins. Sangita shares memories of being very young and creating a friendship with an Asian bull elephant whose feet were shackled. Despite the cruelty he endured by humans, Sangita tearfully remembers how he gently placed his trunk around her...

Jen Hillenga joins Anitha to talk about how she combined her passion for dogs and her talent for photography to create not only a career but a way to help dogs find their forever homes. She shares how her two rescue dogs, Rocco and Nala inspired her to leave the corporate world and pursue her love of photography, focusing the camera on dogs and their humans. Jen talks about how a great photo can s...

Lori Cohen, the executive director of The Beagle Alliance, joins Anitha to talk about this incredible organization that helps beagles, who were once the victims of the animal research industry, find loving homes. The Beagle Alliance also advocates for the release of all animals from scientific study. Lori shares the inspiration behind her journey into animal advocacy. She also talks about her stro...

Lawyer and animal advocate Taj Uppal is charged with a felony crime and potentially faces six years in jail for rescuing a baby goat. He joins Anitha to talk about why he saved Phoebe and the consequences of his kindness. Listeners will be shocked to discover who owns the factory farm where Taj found Phoebe in such dire condition. Many animals are still suffering at this factory farm, but thanks t...

Scott Harrison and Zachary Champoux from We The Free join Anitha to talk about their organization, which not only has a catchy acronym—WTF, but is also the world’s fastest growing animal rights and vegan street outreach organization.   Scott and Zachary share WTF’s innovative methods of outreach to help animals, including the 3-minute challenge. Members of the public are offered a sweet vegan trea...

Author, vegan, animal advocate and veterinarian Nadja Lubiw-Hazard joins Anitha to talk about all the ways she helps animals. Nadja was a small animal veterinarian for many years before she retired and turned her attention to writing books. Writing stories allows Nadja to reach a large audience and share her passion for helping animals. She creates characters that readers will connect and empathiz...

Liz White, the co-founder of Animal Alliance of Canada joins Anitha to talk about her journey into animal advocacy. Liz and her team at Animal Alliance work so hard to make legal strides when it comes to protecting animals. The ultimate goal would be for all beings, human and non-human, to achieve the status of personhood from a legal point of view. Liz shares stories of success, laws that have be...

Law professor and founder of the Animal Law and Policy Institute at Vermont Law & Graduate School, Delcianna Winders, joins Anitha to talk about legally protecting non-human animals. Delci shares the shocking and sad truth— when it comes to protecting non-human animals from cruelty and abuse, there are very few laws to help them. And though some species may have a few more protections, there i...

Just in time for SHARK WEEK, Carlos Gauna, a photographer, cameraman and FAA certified drone pilot joins Anitha to talk about the incredible marine life he sees, including Great White Sharks. Carlos shares his journey from photographing weddings to capturing amazing videos of whales and great white sharks. Carlos and Anitha also talk about the importance of sharks to the ecosystem and how they are...

Author, vegan, animal advocate and podcast host, Victoria Moran joins Anitha to talk about the many hats she wears to help animals. She also shares a fun story of having a drink with Sir Paul McCartney when she was seventeen! To learn about Victoria’s wonderful advocacy work, check out her website: Victoria Moran Website As a thank you to Victoria for sharing her story, Anitha donated to Poplar Sp...

Dr. Marc Bekoff, joins Anitha to share his journey into the study of animal behaviour and how humans and non-human animals are not as different as some think. Dr. Bekoff talks about the many emotions, such as love, grief and empathy, that non-human animals show. He also talks about his long time friendship with Dr. Jane Goodall and he shares exciting news of an upcoming picture book he co-wrote wi...

Shaine Kilyun joins Anitha to talk about the many ways she advocates for animals, including making wheelchairs for pets! She also shares being featured in Rebel Girls, a book series all about inspiring young women to chase their dreams! Such an uplifting episode. To learn more about Shaine and her work to help animals, check out the following link: Wheelies for Dogs and Cats on IG As a thank you t...

Ingrid Smith joins Anitha to talk about how she supports and coaches parents of trans kids. She comes to this career from her own experience of having a transgender child. Ingrid talks about the biggest concerns parents have, the importance of family and parental support to the person who comes out as LGBTQ+, parents not having to say the right thing all the time, and so much more. A great episode...

Dr. Dale Kalina Samji, a medical physician and infectious disease specialist, joins Anitha to answer questions about two very different viruses which have many folks wondering, COULD HANTAVIRUS  and/or EBOLA be the NEXT PANDEMIC? Dr. Kalina Samji shares what the medical and scientific communities currently know about these viruses, such as how they spread and how they differ from COVID-19. Should...

Animal lover Aliesha Verma joins Anitha to talk about all she does to help stray animals in India, including rescuing a puppy who couldn’t walk. Aliesha who lives in Canada, regularly returns to India to visit family. Most of her visits are spent helping the many stray animals she comes across. From feeding them to providing shelter to getting them medical care such as spaying and neutering. But o...

Jon Seymour, the founder of Tielmour Press, joins Anitha to talk about the world of publishing and how he united his love for the environment and his love of books. By their very nature, books destroy trees. Books are made from paper and paper is made from trees. As someone who cares about the environment and the preservation of trees, it was important for Jon to find a way to reduce the environme...

What would you do if you saw a shark struggling near shore? And not just a shark—a Great White Shark. Rebecca Puckett joins Anitha to talk about what she did in this exact situation. She and her partner worked for hours to help a Great White shark break free of the sandbar and swim away. Their efforts were captured on video which has gone viral! Rebecca also talks about her love for all non-human...

Tom joins Anitha to talk about his Instagram account JustAsking. US.CA , which he created to raise awareness about so many topical issues in the US and Canada. From healthcare to gun violence to racism to LGBTQ+ rights to the environment, Tom asks questions about all of these topics and more, in hopes of initiating healthy and respectful conversations from his followers.  He and Anitha also talk a...

Stef Vachon joins Anitha to talk about his life growing up in Montreal, Canada in the 1970’s as a young boy who loved to figure skate and the trauma that followed. Stef shares how the bullying and hate he endured as a child forced him to stop doing what he loved—skati Website ng, but he also shares how, with the help of his son, he has returned to the ice and reclaimed his joy. Stef talks about cr...