In this interview, we welcomed my fellow Australian animal advocate, James Aspey
James has overcome some huge hurdles in his life and is a true inspiration. He conquered leukaemia, drug abuse and bulimia before becoming one of Australia’s most well-known animal advocates.
Grabbing global attention in 2015 after breaking a year long vow of silence in a powerful TV interview seen by millions, James has continued devoting himself to activism ever since, with a focus on peace, justice and fairness.
In 2016 he was tattooed for 24 hours to raise money for charity. He travels the world giving entertaining speeches on his journey from being an apathetic meat eater to a passionate animal advocate.
His viral speech has been viewed over 8 million times and is described as one of the most inspiring animal advocacy speeches ever delivered.
To listen to James' interview please click HERE
Episode 24 features long time vegan and pro-intersectionality justice advocate, Christopher Sebastian.
Sebastian is a long time vegan and social justice advocate. He focuses on examining the complex relationships between speciesism, racism, and queer oppression, and he organises discussions relative to exploring the intersectionality of veganism and other movements for social justice.
Sebastian is speaking at the Brighton Vegfest this weekend.
To listen to the interview please click HERE, or use the player below.
Episode 21 features farmer-turned-advocate Harold Brown.
Harold Brown, who is featured in the documentary Peaceable Kingdom, The Journey Home, spent over half of his life working in animal agriculture. Growing up on a beef farm in Michigan and later working in the dairy industry, Harold has been involved in the behind the scenes operations of food production that uses other animals. Today Harold is an activist advocating for sustainable food production, social and environmental justice, animal rights and peace through non-violence. Audio podcast, approx. 25 minutes.
Episode 12 features Dr. Will Tuttle.
Will is the author of the bestselling book, The World Peace Diet. He has been vegan since 1980, and is a former Dharma Master in the Zen Buddhist tradition. Will, along with his partner Madeleine - a Swiss visionary artist, has been travelling full time since 1995, bringing the message of radical inclusion and peace to humans all over the planet. If he could sum up his message in a simple phrase, it would be: Respect for all life. Audio podcast, 25 mins.
Episode 84 features advocate and activist Prof. Steven Best, Ph. D.
Steve Best is an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Texas at El Paso, but he’s perhaps best known as an advocate for the liberation of the earth and all who live on it - humans as well as other animals.
Steve has published 13 books and hundreds of articles and has been active nationally and internationally for more than 3 decades, challenging the conventional wisdom on topics ranging from environmentalism to sexual liberation to animal rights. Dr. Best joined us to speak about his new book, The Politics of Total Liberation: Revolution in the 21st Century. Audio podcast, approx. 65 minutes.
To listen to Steve's interview please click HERE
Episode 83 features Paul Shapiro of the Humane Society of the United States.
Since 2005 Paul Shapiro has been the Vice President for Farm Animal Protection for the Humane Society of the United States. Prior to joining the HSUS, Paul was, for 10 years, the founder and campaigns director of Compassion Over Killing, a group he initially began while still in high school.
Paul joins us today to speak about what he learned from 10 years in grassroots activism, the role of the HSUS in the animal rights movement and some of the controversy surrounding it, and how advocates and activists can be most effective for other animals. Audio podcast, approx. 72 minutes.
Episode 81 features long time advocate and author Will Tuttle Ph. D.
In early 2014 Dr. Will Tuttle, who holds a masters in humanities and a Ph.D in education, completed an international speaking tour, traveling to Taiwan, throughout Australia, and to New Zealand. In this podcast, Dr. Tuttle speaks with ARZone about his work and to tell us about his experience speaking to sold out audiences throughout his tour. Audio Podcast, approx 44 minutes.
The author of the best selling book, The World Peace Diet, Dr. Tuttle's work makes explicit the invisible connections between our food, our culture and a broad range of social, economic and environmental problems. He offers solutions to these problems based on a respect for all living beings.
Episode 76 features the founder and president of The Pollination Project, Ari Nessel.
The Pollination Project is an organisation that gives seed grants and loans to individual change-makers throughout the world, focusing on social justice, environmental sustainability, and community health & wellness. (ARZone has been the very grateful recipient of one of these grants.)
Ari Nessel oversees a real estate company that focuses on the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit. With his wife, Becky, a doctor who cares for underserved populations, he shares the desire to serve others. For his efforts to promote animal rights and protect the environment, Ari was awarded with PETA's "Compassionate Company" Proggy Award.
Ari discusses why he has chosen to spend his time, energy, and resources on advocacy for human and other animals, what the Pollination Project has helped motivated individual people to accomplish, how advocates can best reach the general public and much more. Audio podcast, approx. 50 minutes.
Episode 74 features vegan advocate and author Kathy Divine.
Kathy, from Sydney, Australia, has been vegan for 9 years and vegetarian for 12 years before that. She speaks with ARZone about her latest book, Plant Powered Men. We ask her about how she chose those who contributed to the book, why she feels that it's important that a book about veganism focus on men, and what she learned in the process of interviewing 38 vegan men from around the globe. Audio podcast, approx. 19 mins.
Kathy’s mission is to share the benefits of the vegan lifestyle with as many people as possible, and to help empower others toward making compassionate decisions.
In 2009 Kathy started an interview-based blog – vegansarecool.com - where she presents the views of other vegans from around the planet.
In 2011 she published two books – Forever 21 and Vegans Are Cool. In 2012, she launched the Vegan of the Year Awards.
