On this episode Hope talks with author John Sanbonmatsu about his new book The Omnivore’s Deception : What We Get Wrong about Meat, Animals, and Ourselves . This engaging book covers a variety of philosophical aspects of meat-eating culture, offers insight into our fraught relationship with farmed animal and explores the importance of incorporating love into our ethics. John and Hope discuss humanewashing and the deception around the reality of animal farming, the cognitive dissonance of loving ...
Jun 14, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 118
In this episode, we explore the psychological aspects of living vegan on our social, emotional, and even spiritual psychology. Angela Crawford, the author of “ The Vegan Transformation: A Journey to Heal Yourself and the World ,” shares her research having interviewed hundreds of vegans to uncover common themes related to the benefits and challenges of living vegan. She talks about value alignment, the different stages of readiness for people to hear the vegan message, and the importance of incl...
May 25, 2025•54 min•Ep. 117
Fires, hurricanes, floods—animals are also victims of recent unprecedented natural disasters. Diana Hulet, an environmental writer and animal photojournalist, shares her experience documenting the destruction of the recent LA fires and its impact on animals. She witnessed distressed wildlife, people risking their lives to protect animals, and participated in animal rescues. Diana and Hope discuss the climate crisis and how all these recent “un-natural” disasters are fueled by human actions. Dian...
May 02, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 116
Erin Wing is currently serving as the Deputy Director of Investigations for Animal Outlook and previously worked as an undercover investigator. Erin completed four investigations in the dairy, chicken and aquaculture industries, including the first-ever undercover expose of salmon aquaculture in the U.S. Her work has been featured in The Washington Post, The Guardian and The New York Times. Erin’s investigations and her advocacy work shed light on the interconnection of human and animal exploita...
Apr 03, 2025•57 min•Ep. 115
Today’s show is a replay of an earlier episode with the amazing lauren Ornelas, founder of Food Empowerment Project. Food Empowerment Project is a vegan food justice nonprofit that promotes veganism, works to bring attention to the rights of farm workers, highlights the lack of access to healthy foods in Black and Brown communities, and raise awareness about the worst forms of slavery, including child labor, in the chocolate industry. Lauren has been deeply involved in animal rights activism sin...
Mar 20, 2025•33 min•Ep. 114
We are honored to have a legend on the podcast today, Seth Tibbott founded Turtle Island Foods in 1980, now the “Tofurky Company.” For 15 years Seth pursued his dream as a pioneer of the early plant-based foods movement. In 1995, Seth introduced the first nationally marketed vegan holiday roast named “Tofurky” which soon became the most well-known meat alternative brand in the US. Tofurky is now a household word (even spell check knew what I was trying to type!) It has been mentioned on numerous...
Mar 04, 2025•40 min•Ep. 113
On today's show, author and host Hope Bohanec is flying solo and offering a new analysis of the Humane Hoax. She will break down humane meat marketing jargon, unpack and categorize the harms of the humane hoax, and talk about language, labeling, speciesism, and more. Resources: BOOK: The Humane Hoax: Essays Exposing the Myth of Happy Meat, Humane Dairy, and Ethical Eggs by Hope Bohanec The Humane Hoax Project Support this podcast: Compassionate Living Hope for the Animals Podcast...
Feb 15, 2025•37 min•Ep. 112
Can you use some positive news for the new year? We’ve got you covered with this interview! Matthew Halteman has written a book called Hungry Beautiful Animals: The Joyful Case for Going Vegan and it is full of positive vegan vibes. Matthew is a professor of philosophy at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and fellow in the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, UK. He is the author of Compassionate Eating as Care of Creation and coeditor of Philosophy Comes to Dinner: Arguments About the Et...
Jan 26, 2025•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 111
Welcome to 2025! For our first podcast of the year, we dive into spiritual veganism with Hope and her husband Cogen Bohanec. They start with their genesis stories of their spiritual journeys and how they have evolved in their 25-year marriage. Then they introduce a new project, the Ahimsa Living Circle, an ongoing monthly virtual gathering to support the community of veg-curious, pre-vegans, and vegans focused on the Dharma traditions and in particular Jain Dharma, in a circle of encouragement a...
Jan 03, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 110
Isabella La Rocca González is an award-winning artist, author, and activist. Her work is part of a long tradition in art and photography: to bring to light and find beauty in the hidden, unconscious, or disregarded. As the daughter of emigrants from Mexico and Italy, she strives to reconcile values from her Indigenous roots with her European heritage. Her photographs have been exhibited internationally including a solo show at the Center for Photography in Woodstock, NY. Awards for her work incl...
Nov 02, 2024•48 min•Ep. 109
Do you love Halloween? Do you like to dig deep into philosophical discussions of life and death? This episode might just be for you. Today’s show is a Halloween special with something a little different. In the first half, Hope explores the theme of cannibalism in zombie, vampire, and other fantasy and horror movies and shows how these stories actually underscore our speciesist tendencies. Then, in the second half of the show, Hope and her husband Cogen, have a conversation about why people love...
Oct 15, 2024•28 min•Ep. 108
In this episode, we will delve into the discord between human rights and animal rights. This friction has been featured in various spheres: academic studies, the media, food and culture literature, food security issues, and the law which is where we will focus on today. Maneesha Deckha is Professor and Lansdowne Chair in Law at the University of Victoria in British Columbia where she directs the Animals & Society Research Initiative. Her research expertise includes critical animal law, vegan...
Sep 25, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 107
The humane hoax is alive and well all over the globe and today we are leaning how it is used in the UK. Rose Patterson is the Co-Director and Actions Coordinator for Animal Rising. After getting a masters in Animal Welfare Science, Ethics, and Law and working for World Animal Protection she joined Animal Rising in 2020. She has worked on the strategy for multiple campaigns, designed and coordinated dozens of actions and led large complex projects mobilizing hundreds of people, including the disr...
Sep 01, 2024•44 min•Ep. 106
Tracey Winter Glover is an animal caretaker, activist, author, and filmmaker. She is the co-founded and Executive Director of a non-profit intersectional pro-vegan animal rights group, Awakening Respect and Compassion for all Sentient Beings . She also started Sweet Peeps Microsanctuary , which is now home to over 50 unique and personable individuals. Tracey created and released a short award-winning documentary entitled “Until All Are Free,” is the author of Lotus of the Heart: Living Yoga for ...
Aug 01, 2024•43 min•Ep. 105
Tomas Machowicz is a photographer and filmmaker focusing on animal rescue efforts and social issues. He started documenting animal rescue in 2018 after a visit to Seebu Sanctuary in Costa Rica. Along with Molly Condit, Thomas co-founded Sanctuary Doc, a non-profit multimedia project that illuminates the major issues facing our world today by focusing on animals and the people who rescue them. Thomas considers himself a conduit for stories meant to raise the consciousness of humanity and uses pho...
Jul 15, 2024•39 min•Ep. 104
When Kimbery Carroll was first becoming an animal activist, she asked herself “Who is caring for the caretakers?” She has since dedicated herself to helping build resilient, mentally and emotionally healthy advocates. Kimberly is a coach for changemakers , campaigns strategist with Animal Justice , director of Animal Justice Academy , and a director with the Toronto Vegetarian Food Bank . With over 14 years as a coach and almost 20 years as an activist, Kimberly works with mission-driven leaders...
Jul 01, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 103
Happy PRIDE! Joining us on this special Pride episode is Honey LaBronx, The Vegan Drag Queen. Honey stared in her own YouTube vegan cooking series and traveled the world with her one-woman drag show, raising funds for local LGBTQ and animal organizations along the way. She is committed to bringing discussions about animal rights, racism, and social justice to new audiences. In 2011, she was one of eight activists arrested for blocking New York City traffic while demonstrating for marriage equali...
Jun 08, 2024•52 min•Ep. 102
Today on the podcast we have Joanne Kong and Chirstoph Wagner, and they are the Vegan Virtuosiz . Joanne and Christoph weave together live music, reflections, and the arts in inspiring events that illuminate how embracing the connections we have to the natural world and all beings can bring about transformative spiritual growth, positive change, and planetary healing. They will be featured in the upcoming documentary, Taking Note, about vegan musicians and the history of animal rights as seen th...
May 15, 2024•44 min•Ep. 101
In this presentation, Hope will explore the recent trajectory of the animal advocacy movement toward encouraging industries to transition to cage-free systems and other animal welfare campaigns. Cage-free eggs are now 40% of the US egg market and both the industry and animal advocates are promoting this as a major victory…but is this something to celebrate? Hope talks about social justice strategy, Effective Altruism, incremental change, and propose that our movement’s focus is out of balance. S...
May 01, 2024•38 min•Ep. 100
Happy Earth Day! This is an important time of year where we focus our attention on the perils facing the planet and get inspired to help her. So today our guest is Dr. Richard Twine, author of, The Climate Crisis and Other Animals (Sydney University Press, 2024). He is a professor in Sociology and Co-Director of the Centre for Human- Animal Studies (CfHAS) at Edge Hill University, UK. He also co-editor of The Rise of Critical Animal Studies – From the Margins to the Centre (Routledge, 2014) and ...
Apr 15, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 99
National Animal Rights Day is a unique event coming up on June 2, 2024 and today we have the creator of this day of action, Aylam Orian. Aylam is a Hollywood actor, filmmaker and animal rights activist. With his non-profit "Our Planet. Theirs Too." he has established The National Animal Rights Day (N.A.R.D.) – a day of moving events dedicated to animals and their rights, which are held simultaneously in major cities every June. NARD events are now held in 50 countries around the world. He is als...
Apr 02, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 98
Today on the podcast we are joined by Faik Bourik, founder of Vegius, a provider of vegan services to support farmed animal sanctuaries worldwide. Faik is a mathematics, physics, and astronomy college instructor who combines his academic background with his roles as a professional writer and entrepreneur. Passionate about animal rights and gender equality, he founded Vegius to provide much needed financial support to farmed animal sanctuaries. Faik talks about how he fell for the humane hoax and...
Mar 15, 2024•49 min•Ep. 97
Connecting veganism to other justice causes is critical to our success and our guest today recognized this at a very young age. Zane McNeill is a scholar-activist, chair of the National Lawyers Guild’s Animal Liberation Committee, and was the co-manager of the collective Right for Animal Rights Activists. They have worked closely with the Institute of Critical Animal Studies (ICAS) and have published chapters in ICAS collections, including Vegans on Speciesism and Ableism: Ecoability Voices for ...
Mar 01, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 96
Do you want to know the truth about grass-fed beef? Regenerative grazing? Free-range eggs? This episode is jam packed with the jaw-dropping reality of greenwashing. Vasile Stanescu is an Associate Professor and Chair of Communication at Mercer University. He received his Ph.D. in the program of Modern Thought and Literature (MTL) at Stanford University. Vasile’s research focuses on greenwashing in animal agribusiness, critiques of humane meat, in vitro meat, and consumerist options for social ch...
Feb 15, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 95
News media that is sympathetic to animals is critical in creating a compassionate world. A 2023 von Liebig Award Winner, Nina Jackel is a journalist and activist known for effecting change for animals around the world through her non-profit media organization that she founded called Lady Freethinker. Nina leads numerous divisions at the organization that expose cruel and illegal activities through undercover operations and galvanizing ordinary citizens to make a difference. Hope and Nina discuss...
Feb 01, 2024•47 min•Ep. 94
Renee King-Sonnen is the Founder and Executive Director of Rowdy Girl Sanctuary that transformed from a cattle ranch to a sanctuary for more than 120 animals—the first documented beef cattle ranch converted to a 100% vegan sanctuary in history. Rowdy Girl sanctuary is changing the world for farmed animals with programs like the Rancher Advocacy Program (RAP), an educational program that inspires cattle ranchers and animal farms to consider alternatives to animal farming, and Families Choosing Co...
Dec 01, 2023•54 min•Ep. 93
This is a special short episode just for dedicated listeners. In this time of giving, I hope you will consider supporting grassroots vegan education. Please donate to Compassionate Living to support the continuation of this podcast. Thank you!
Nov 24, 2023•7 min0
This episode is dedicated to the legendary Karen Davis, PhD, founder and president of United Poultry Concerns (UPC). Karen died on Nov. 4th 2023 of cancer. Vegan since 1983, Karen was an activist, author, outspoken animal advocate, and had a sanctuary for rescued birds on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. United Poultry Concerns was the first sponsor of this podcast and our host, Hope Bohanec, worked with Karen at UPC for close to a decade from 2012 - 2021. Karen started United Poultry Concerns, th...
Nov 15, 2023•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 92
Many compassionate people and vegans are drawn to the concept of ahimsa , the Sanskrit word for non-harming or non-violence. Today we explore this concept with Dr. Jonathan Dickstein, Assistant Professor of Jain Studies at Arihanta Institute. Johnathan received a PhD in Religious Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara and his areas of research include Jain Studies, religion and ecology, comparative ethics, and South Asian religions. Jonathan and Hope discuss the spiritual reaso...
Nov 01, 2023•46 min•Ep. 91
Did you know that your veggies, fruit, beans, nuts, and seeds were probably grown with the blood, ground up bones and/or manure of farmed animals? Or the ground up bodies of fish? This episode we are talking about Veganic farming, growing food without animal products and inputs, with Meg Kelly. In 2008 Meg co-founded the Veganic Agriculture Network to promote fully plant-based food systems that are not fertilized with the byproducts of farmed animals. She now teaches the Learn Veganic online gar...
Oct 15, 2023•49 min•Ep. 90
