Kindness is Everything

Anitha and the Kindness Is Everything Podcast welcome listeners to the first ASK A DOCTOR session. Once a month, Anitha and her husband, Dr. Matthew Robinson, will discuss a topical medical issue. In this inaugural episode, they talk about cognitive decline and aging. If you’ve ever wondered about— Normal memory issues as one ages versus early signs of dementia Supports in the community to help so...

Ryan and Mallory Phillips were brought together by a mutual love for a tiny calf. They join Anitha to talk not only about their incredible ‘how did you meet’ story, which Anitha thought should be made into a movie, but also what it’s like to share a home with a menagerie of animals, such as pigs, chickens, cows and many other amazing beings, they call family. Ryan also talks about his path to sanc...

Episode 79: Kindness Is Helping Parents Age With Compassion Anitha’s sister, Shaila Rao, joins her to talk about the realities of life with aging parents. They share the heartache of witnessing their mom’s health decline due to a rare neurodegenerative disease that affects her mobility and cognitive function. They also discuss their concern and admiration for their 90-year-old dad's determination...

Episode 78: Kindness Is Making The Inside Scouts!   Mitali Banerjee Ruths joins Anitha to talk about her journey from Medical Doctor to author to creating books about diverse characters, and how kindness intersects all these aspects of her life A very fun and engaging conversation. To learn more about Mitali and the books she writes, click on the following links: https://www.mitaliruths.com/ https...

Episode 77-Kindness Is Celebrating 35 Years Together! A very special and personal episode for Anitha as her husband, Matt Robinson, joins her to talk about celebrating their 35th Wedding Anniversary. They share stories of their early years together, being a mixed-race couple, having kids, and the ups and downs of a relationship that’s spanned many decades. Anitha is super grateful to Matt, who is...

Episode 76: Kindness Is Creating Rainbow Spaces In 2021 Nadia Kean-Ayub created Rainbow Spaces. She joins Anitha to talk about what motivated her to start this organization, how this group helps youth in the LGBTQ+ community, and how much they have grown in just three years. Nadia also shares her favourite ways to support folks in the queer community by being an A+ Ally Affirm who they are Accept...

Jenny McQueen is a true hero for animals. She joins Anitha to talk about leading and participating in peaceful anti-fur protests, bearing witness of animals as they are trucked off to slaughter, co-founding Animal Rights Toronto, and so much more. Jenny has been arrested eight times for peacefully raising awareness about violence against animals, in particular those used in the animal agricultural...

The incredible Paige Graham joins Anitha to talk about the many dogs, cats, pigs and chickens she has adopted and shares her home with. Paige began her animal rescue journey in 2010 as a foster for a dog rescue. She soon realized senior animals and those with complex medical needs are sadly often deemed "unadoptable". With her background in nursing and her huge heart, Paige decided she would give...

Episode 73: Kindness Is Being a Koala Crusader Nine-year old Malani Harris loves everything about Koala’s, including their scat! Malani does A LOT to help koala’s such as planting trees, donating birthday money, creating an Instagram account dedicated to koalas, and much more! She and her family travel around Australia looking for koalas, always maintaining a respectable distance. Such a fun episo...

Valentin Gruener achieved his childhood goal to live in Africa and work with wildlife, and not just any wildlife. Val has spent the past twelve years raising, caring and loving Sirga, a lioness who came into his life when she was around ten days old. Val talks about what it’s like sharing his life with a wild lion, including some heart-warming stories. He also talks about the reasons for the devas...

Derek Walter’s life took a dramatic turn when his then partner, Steve Jenkins brought home a tiny little pig named Esther. Derek talks to Anitha about how this small being created huge and wonderful changes in his life. Derek quickly fell in love with Esther, became one of her two dads, moved from a suburb to the country so Esther could have all the space a pig needed, welcomed even more farm anim...

Kaila and Waian, the incredible sisters who created The Original Surfers, join Anitha to talk about their initiative to reach out to teens and raise awareness to protect oceans and the marine animals who live there. These amazing young women also share what it’s like working with a sibling and much more!  To learn more about The Original Surfers, please click on the following links:  https://www.t...

Thirteen-year-old Justin Sather joins Anitha to talk about his love for one of Earth’s smallest beings—frogs.   Justin shares how a children’s book and a childhood blanket inspired Justin to clean up his community's wetland, and how that project has grown to cleaning up rivers and oceans, protecting acres of rainforest and collaborating with other young people from all over the world.   A truly in...

Anitha is joined by M.O. Yuksel and Omar Abed, two creators who write books for children. In addition to talking about their amazing books, M.O. and Omar share their thoughts about the role of a children’s author when actual children in the world are being harmed.  It’s an honest conversation about an important issue. To connect and learn more about these incredible authors, please click on the li...

Anitha chats with Rainbow Mosho, an incredible artist on the autism spectrum.  Rainbow uses her art and her voice to raise awareness about issues such as autism, endangered animals and vitiligo.  Her art has been exhibited in Dubai, Beijing, Belgium, NYC, LA, Miami, Tennessee.  Her thoughts: " Autism Acceptance is an opportunity to share about the marvels and challenges faced by incredible beings...

Many of us see and walk past folks who live in parks, street alcoves and under bridges, but rarely do we stop. Anitha's guest, Lorraine Lam, not only stopped, she wanted to help. Lorraine chats with Anitha about the homeless crisis and her involvement in finding a solution. Here are some action points for listeners who want to get involved in trying to solve the housing crisis.  Follow social medi...

Anitha was over-the-moon star struck to chat with the incomparable Gene Baur. Gene is the founder of the Farm Sanctuary, an animal advocate, author and so much more. He has been on shows such as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Larry King Live, and now The Kindness Is Everything podcast! Gene talks about his incredible journey from doing commercials to promote companies like McDonalds and KFC,...

With issues such as climate change, food insecurity and animal welfare all related to/caused by the animal agricultural industry, Anitha is thrilled to continue her discussion around veganism. Anitha is joined by Kelly Chianciola and her two lovely daughters, Dani and Lana. All three talk about their decision to become vegan and how it has impacted their lives. They also tackle questions like—Why...

A bit late for Veganuary, but never a bad time to talk about health, animal welfare and all things vegan. Devorah Bowen joins Anitha to talk about journey from becoming a vegan to her incredible social media account, The Yummy Vegan. They also delve into topics such as, where do vegans get their protein, why are there vegan-haters, the diabolical yet ingenious marketing of the dairy industry and o...

For the first episode of 2024, Anitha chats with educator and education and equity consultant, Rabia Khokhar. Spurred by her desire to showcase diverse stories, Rabia created Rabia Reads, her Instagram account where she recommends picture books with diverse main characters. Anitha and Rabia chat all about books, including her current favourite book. Hair Oil Magic by Anu Chouhan If you’d like to l...

Thirteen-year-old Evie Mutsch, joins Anitha to talk about her very cool clothing line called Eco Evie. Made from recycled water bottles, Eco Evie has stopped over 30,000 water bottles from going into landfills. In addition to creating beautiful clothes, Evie donates a portion of all sales to charities supporting animals, the environment and people. To learn more about Eco Evie, check out the follo...

After a break that included a not so fun surgery and a very fun trip to Sumatra, Anitha is thrilled to be back podcasting. Here she chats with Zach Skow, the founder of Marley’s Mutts and the Pawsitive Change Program. Zach openly talks about his health struggles and how volunteering at a dog shelter literally saved his life. As a way of giving back to the dogs who helped him when he needed it, Zac...

Some people have a huge heart. Susie Cogswell is one of those incredible humans who not only has a huge heart, but willingly allows it to be broken over and over again. Susie joins Anitha to talk about her journey in animal rescue and what it’s like to adopt, foster and love senior dogs. Sadly, senior dogs can find themselves in shelters for a variety of reasons. Unfortunately, these dogs are ofte...

Twelve-year old Jack Dalton joins Anitha to talk about the many ways he helps animals, including his favorite animal, the orangutan. Through his YouTube Videos, public speaking engagements, fundraising efforts and writing a picture book, Jack has raised funds and awareness for critically endangered orangutans. In fact, as of March 2023, Jack has helped plant over 13,000 trees to reforest habitat f...

Ten-year old Normani Hamilton joins Anitha to talk about all the wonderful things she is doing to empower other black children. From writing and publishing her first book to entering pageants, Normani hopes to inspire other children to love themselves just the way they are. To learn more about Normani’s efforts to help critically ill children, click here: https://give.gktw.org/fundraiser/4520867 T...