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The Animal Turn

Claudia Hirtenfelder

Animals are increasingly at the forefront of research questions – Not as shadows to human stories, or as beings we want to understand biologically, or for purely our benefit – but as beings who have histories, stories, and geographies of their own. Each season is set around themes with each episode unpacking a particular animal turn concept and its significance therein. Join Claudia Hirtenfelder as she delves into some of the most important ideas emerging out of this recent turn in scholarship, thinking, and being.

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  • 21 episodes
  • Avg 1 hr 27 min
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  • August 24 · 1 hr 10 min

    From the Archive: Extraterritorial Jurisdiction with Charlotte Blattner

    Charlotte Blattner discusses how international law, specifically Extraterritorial Jurisdiction, might provide a useful and productive way in which to build legal protections for animals. Date recorded: 10 April 2020 Guest: Charlotte E. Blattner is a senior researcher and lecturer at the Institute for Public Law, University of Bern. She earned her PhD in international law and animal law from the University of Basel, Switzerland, as part of the doctoral program Law and Animals. From 2017-2018, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Department of Philosophy at Queen’s University, Canada, working on animal labour as part of Animals in Philosophy, Politics, Law, and Ethics (APPLE). From 2018-2020, Blattner was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Law School’s Animal Law & Policy Program, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, to explore critical intersections of animal and environmental law. She is the author of Protecting Animals Within and Across Borders (2019, available open access here) and Animal Labour: A New Frontier of Interspecies Justice? (2020, coedited with Will Kymlicka and Kendra Coulter), both published by Oxford University Press. Blattner has argued several cases in court, including the “Primate Rights Case” currently pending at the Swiss Federal Supreme Court. Find out more about Charlotte here. Featured: Protecting Animals Within and Across Borders: Extraterritorial Jurisdiction and the Challenges of Globalization by Charlotte E. Blattner Critical Terms for Animal Studies edited by Lori Gruen featuring Kristen Stilt A.P.P.L.E Animals in Politics, Law, and Ethics researches how we live in interspecies societies and polities. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show The Animal Turn is hosted and produced by Claudia Hirtenfelder and is part of the iROAR Network. Learn more on our website. Leave a Review on Podchaser Check out The Animal Turn Merch. Support us on Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, and Buzzsprout.

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  • August 10 · 1 hr 7 min

    From the Archive: Shoalmates with Jonathan Balcombe

    [From the Archive - Enjoy!] Claudia talks to Jonathan Balcombe about fishes and their varied and incredible experiences. Using the concept of ‘shoalmates’ as a launch pad, they discuss some of the intra- and inter-species relations fishes engage in from work to cuddle and play. Date recorded: 30 November 2020 Jonathan Balcombe is a biologist with a PhD in ethology, the study of animal behavior. His books include Pleasurable Kingdom, Second Nature, The Exultant Ark, and What a Fish Knows—a New York Times best-seller now available in fifteen languages. His next book for grown-ups, Super Fly, will be published May 2021 by Penguin Books. A children’s story book about a boy and a fish is also scheduled for publication in 2021. He has taught courses in animal behavior and sentience for the Viridis Graduate Institute, and Humane Society University. He lives in Belleville, Ontario where in his spare time he enjoys biking, baking, birding, Bach, and trying to understand the neighborhood squirrels. Learn more about Jonathan and his work here. Featured: A foray into the worlds of animals and humans by Jakob von Uexküll; Sterling murmuration by canoeists; The Ocean Sunfishes by Tierney Thys et al; The Dark Hobby by Paradise Filmworks Thank you to Animals in Philosophy, Politics, Law and Ethics (A.P.P.L.E) for sponsoring this podcast, Gordon Clarke (Instagram: @_con_sol_) for the bed music, and Jeremy John (Website) for the logo. A.P.P.L.E Animals in Politics, Law, and Ethics researches how we live in interspecies societies and polities. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show The Animal Turn is hosted and produced by Claudia Hirtenfelder and is part of the iROAR Network. Learn more on our website. Leave a Review on Podchaser Check out The Animal Turn Merch. Support us on Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, and Buzzsprout.

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  • August 3 · 1 hr 27 min

    Bonus: (Anti)Vivisection with Lauren Stein and Richard Miller

    Vivisection is an old word for a practice that still shapes modern medicine: using living bodies as tools for knowledge. Claudia talks with Lauren Stein and Richard Miller from the National Anti-Vivisection Society to unpack some of vivisection’s history, how scientists understand it and think through the ethics of it, as well as the emergence of alternatives to its use. Date Recorded: 22 June 2026 Lauren Stein, Ph.D., is the Director of Science and Research Programs at the National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS). She joined NAVS in 2024 after spending more than a decade in academic biomedical research focused on the interactions between the brain and body and their effects on human health. Lauren holds a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Physiology and is dedicated to advancing humane, human-relevant research technologies that replace animal use while improving scientific outcomes. Through her work at NAVS, she helps educate the public about emerging alternatives to animal testing and the future of biomedical research. Learn more at https://navs.org. Richard Miller, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus of Pharmacology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a science adviser to the National Anti-Vivisection Society. After decades conducting biomedical research, he became a leading voice for replacing animal experimentation with modern, human-relevant research methods. He is the author of The Rise and Fall of Animal Experimentation: Empathy, Science, and the Future of Research, which examines the history, ethics, and scientific limitations of animal-based research while exploring emerging alternatives. Dr. Miller has published more than 500 scientific papers and brings both firsthand laboratory experience and historical perspective to discussions about the future of science. Learn more at https://richardjmillerscientist.com. Featured: National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) The Rise and Fall of Animal Experimentation by Richard Miller On The Revolutions Of The Celestial Spheres by Nicholas Copernicus De humani corporis fabrica libri septem by Andreae Vesalii Bruxellensis A Discourse on Method by Rene Descartes. The Vacanti Mouse (The Ear Mouse) Ontario halts invasive medical testing on dogs and cats Other Episodes of The Animal Turn S5E5: Animal Testing and its Alternatives with Thomas Hartung S5E6: Brown Dog - The Forgotten Terrier Who Sparked a Movement A.P.P.L.E Animals in Politics, Law, and Ethics researches how we live in interspecies societies and polities. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show The Animal Turn is hosted and produced by Claudia Hirtenfelder and is part of the iROAR Network. Learn more on our website. Leave a Review on Podchaser Check out The Animal Turn Merch. Support us on Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, and Buzzsprout.

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  • July 30 · 1 hr 20 min

    Bonus: Haunting with Kathryn Gillespie

    Claudia talks with Kathryn Gillespie about “haunting” as a way to notice how harm and care shape everyday human–animal relationships. They discuss everything, from feeding urban crows to grieving orcas and lab beagles learning what grass feels like. They consider the role of attentiveness in relations with animals and ask what becomes visible when we stop treating violence as background noise. Date Recorded: 1 April 2026 Kathryn Gillespie, PhD, is a writer, researcher, and educator dedicated to understanding the relationships of harm and care humans have with other animals. Her work invites readers to reflect on their own connections and disconnections with animals and the natural work and imagine a path to gentler futures. She is the author of The Sound of Feathers: Attentive Living in a World Beyond Ourselves and The Cow with Ear Tag #1389. She lives at the end of the world with a wonderful human, three senior rescue horses, and a donkey with a big personality. Learn more about Kathryn via her website. Featured: The Sound of Feathers by Kathryn Gillespie The Cow with Ear Tag #1389 by Kathryn Gillespie The afterlives of the lively commodity by Kathryn Gillespie Playing Possum by Susana Monsó Animals and the Right to Politics by Sue Donaldson and Will Kymlicka Ghostly Matters by Avery F. Gordon The Spectralities Reader edited by Maria del Pilar Blanco and Esther Peeren How to do nothing by Jenny Odell Other Episodes of The Animal Turn S2E5 - Intimate Geography with Kathryn Gillespie Quote: “Haunting is one way in which abusive systems of power make themselves known and their impacts felt in everyday life, especially when they are supposedly over and done with (slavery, for instance) or when their oppressive nature is denied (as in free labor or national security). Haunting is not the same as being exploited, traumatized, or oppressed, although it usually involves these experiences or is produced by them. What's distinctive about haunting is that it is an animated state in which a repressed or unresolved social violence is making itself known, sometimes very directly, sometimes more obliquely. I used the term haunting to describe those singular yet repetitive instances when home becomes unfamiliar, when your bearings on the world lose direction, when the over-and-done-with comes alive, when what's been in your blind spot comes into view. Haunting raises specters, and it alters the experience of being in time, the way we separate the past, the present, and the future. These specters or ghosts appear when the trouble they represent and symptomize is no longer being contained or repressed or blocked from view. The ghost, as I understand it, is not the invisible or some ineffable excess. The whole essence, if you can use that word, of a ghost is that it has a real presence and demands its due, your attention. Haunting and the appearance of specters or ghosts is one way, I tried to suggest, we are notified that what's been concealed is very much alive and present, interfering precisely with those always incomplete forms of containment and repression ceaselessly directed toward us. From Ghostly Matters (page xvi). The Animal Turn is part of the iROAR, an Animals Podcasting Network and can also be found on A.P.P.L.E, LinkedIn,Blue Sky, and Instagram Thank you to Animals in Philosophy, Politics, Law and Ethics (A.P.P.L.E) for sponsoring this podcast; Gordon Clarke (Instagram: @_con_sol_) for the bed music, Jeremy John for the logo, Rebecca Shen for her design work. This episode was edited and produced by the host Claudia Towne Hirtenfelder. A.P.P.L.E Animals in Politics, Law, and Ethics researches how we live in interspecies societies and polities. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show The Animal Turn is hosted and produced by Claudia Hirtenfelder and is part of the iROAR Network. Learn more on our website. Leave a Review on Podchaser Check out The Animal Turn Merch. Support us on Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, and Buzzsprout.

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  • July 20 · 1 hr 19 min

    Bonus: Deception with John Sanbonmatsu

    John Sanbonmatsu joins Claudia on the show to discuss ‘deception,’ a concept in the title of his recently published book “The Omnivore’s Deception.” We explore how deception operates in understandings of meat and human relations with animals, including how industries actively deceive the public but also how individuals engage in practices of bad faith and self-deception. Date Recorded: 25 February 2026 John Sanbonmatsu is Professor of Philosophy at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, where he teaches courses in ethics, politics, and existentialism, philosophy of technology, and other topics. He is the author of The Omnivore's Deception: What We Get Wrong about Meat, Animals, and Ourselves (NYU Press) and of The Postmodern Prince: Critical Theory, Left Strategy, and the Making of a New Political Subject (Monthly Review Press). He is also editor of the book Critical Theory and Animal Liberation (Bloomsbury). His opinion essays have appeared in Christian Science Monitor, CounterPunch, Huffington Post, and St. Louis Post-Dispatch, among other places. Learn more about him on his website. Featured: The Omnivore’s Deception by John Sanbonmatsu The Postmodern Prince by John Sanbonmatsu Animal Liberation by Peter Singer The Omnivores Dilemma by Michael Pollan The Vegetarian Myth by Lierre Keith The Women’s Room by Marilyn French The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers Moby Dick by Herman Melville Bad Faith by Jean-Paul Sartre The Animals versus man the king of the jinn by Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʼ The Jungle by Upton Sinclair The Lives of Animals by J.M. Coetzee Anti-Semite and Jew by Jean-Paul Satre Population Balance Half-Earth Socialism by Troy Vettese and Drew Pendergrass The Animal Turn is part of the iROAR, an Animals Podcasting Network and can also be found on A.P.P.L.E, LinkedIn,Blue Sky, and Instagram Thank you to Animals in Philosophy, Politics, Law and Ethics (A.P.P.L.E) for sponsoring this podcast; Gordon Clarke (Instagram: @_con_sol_) for the bed music, Jeremy John for the logo, Rebecca Shen, Christiaan Menz, Herre de Bondt, and Carlo Salzani for their content creation and support. This episode was edited and produced by the host Claudia Towne Hirtenfelder. A.P.P.L.E Animals in Politics, Law, and Ethics researches how we live in interspecies societies and polities. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show The Animal Turn is hosted and produced by Claudia Hirtenfelder and is part of the iROAR Network. Learn more on our website. Leave a Review on Podchaser Check out The Animal Turn Merch. Support us on Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, and Buzzsprout.

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  • May 25 · 1 hr 31 min

    Bonus: Animals and the Right to Politics with Sue Donaldson and Will Kymlicka

    Claudia talks to political philosophers Sue Donaldson and Will Kymlicka about their latest book Animals and the Right to Politics. They discuss the differences between societal and placed based politics, unpacking why both are necessary to enable animals’ political engagement. Date Recorded: 30 January 2026 Featured: Animals and The Right to Politics by Sue Donaldson and Will Kymlicka Animal agora: Animal citizens and the democratic challenge by Sue Donaldson Environmental Ethics as Environmental Etiquette by Jim Cheney and Anthony Weston What Comes After Entanglement by Eva Giraud Public Things by Bonnie Honig The Frontenac Axis VINE Sanctuary Other Episodes of The Animal Turn S1E1: Animal Rights with Will Kymlicka S2E7: Political Multispecies Communities with Sue Donaldson S6E1: Politics with Will Kymlicka Bonus: Koalas with Danielle Clode A.P.P.L.E Animals in Politics, Law, and Ethics researches how we live in interspecies societies and polities. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show The Animal Turn is hosted and produced by Claudia Hirtenfelder and is part of the iROAR Network. Learn more on our website. Leave a Review on Podchaser Check out The Animal Turn Merch. Support us on Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, and Buzzsprout.

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  • May 18 · 1 hr 21 min

    Bonus: Psychoanalysis and the Meat-Commodity with Teddy Duncan Jr.

    In this episode Claudia talks Teddy Duncan Jr. who departs from the Marxian consideration of the meat-commodity to think about how psychoanalysis, especially Lacanian psychoanalysis, might be useful in understanding human relations with meat. They discuss the interconnections of language, disavowal, symbolism, jouissance, and ‘the Real’ in this discussion. Date Recorded: 12 November 2025 Teddy Duncan Jr is a professor at Valencia College in Orlando, Florida. Teddy’s academic writing on subjects such as animality, psychoanalysis, pedagogy, and philosophy has been published in Between the Species, Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, the International Journal of Zizek Studies, The Latin American Literary Review, and The Midwest Quarterly. His freelance writing on art, politics, and literature has appeared in publications such as The Observer, Compact Magazine, Document Journal, and Washington Independent Review of Books, among others. His first academic book, Interpreting Meat, was released in late 2024. Get in touch with Teddy Duncan via tduncan15@valenciacollege.edu Featured: Zoological Lacan: A Lacanian Framework for Animality and Humanness by Teddy Duncan For They Know Not What They Do: Enjoyment as a Political Factorby Slavoj Žižek The Sexual Politics of Meat by Carol Adams Mythologiesby Roland Barthes Powers of Horror by Julia Kristeva Animal to Edible by Noilie Vialles Ecrits: A Selection by Jacques Lacan Human, All Too Human: "Animal Studies" and the Humanities by Cary Wolfe “Eat More Chicken” – Chick-Fil-A-Cows Ad Campaign A.P.P.L.E Animals in Politics, Law, and Ethics researches how we live in interspecies societies and polities. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show The Animal Turn is hosted and produced by Claudia Hirtenfelder and is part of the iROAR Network. Learn more on our website. Leave a Review on Podchaser Check out The Animal Turn Merch. Support us on Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, and Buzzsprout.

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  • May 11 · 1 hr 28 min

    Bonus: Creature Needs with Lucy Spelman, Susan Tacent, and Christopher Kondrich

    A scientific abstract can tell you a species is declining. A story can make you feel what that loss means and why it should change how you live. In this episode Claudia talks to Lucy Spelman, Susan Tacent, and Christopher Kondrich, the co-editors behind Creature Needs, a striking book that juxtaposes conservation science with poems, essays, and fiction written in response. They discuss the book, writing as a means of connection, and the politics of conservation. Date Recorded: 29 June 2025 Featured: Creature Conserve Creature Needs: Writers Respond to the Science of Animal Conservation Edited by Christopher Kondrich, Lucy Spelman and Susan Tacent Animals and Sound on The Animal Turn Feral Atlas by Anna Tsing What is it like to be a bat? By Thomas Nagel The Animal Highlight Compassionate Conservation with Daniel Ramp, The Animal Turn The Animal Turn is part of the iROAR, an Animals Podcasting Network and can also be found on A.P.P.L.E, LinkedIn, Blue Sky, and Instagram Thank you to Animals in Philosophy, Politics, Law and Ethics (A.P.P.L.E) for sponsoring this podcast; Gordon Clarke (Instagram: @_con_sol_) for the bed music, Jeremy John for the logo, Rebecca Shen for her design work. This episode was edited and produced by the host Claudia Towne Hirtenfelder. A.P.P.L.E Animals in Politics, Law, and Ethics researches how we live in interspecies societies and polities. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show The Animal Turn is hosted and produced by Claudia Hirtenfelder and is part of the iROAR Network. Learn more on our website. Leave a Review on Podchaser Check out The Animal Turn Merch. Support us on Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, and Buzzsprout.

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  • S8 · E11
    Dec 29, 2025 · 1 hr 10 min

    S8EB: Monstrous Others with Rachel Dean-Ruzicka

    We explore how Stranger Things signals a new monstrous moment, moving from unknowable creatures to human-made villains, and what that shift says about power, identity, and culture. Along the way, we ask how animals get coded as monsters and when their agency is reclaimed or removed in film and TV. Date Recorded: 22 April 2025 Featured: Tolerance Discourse and Young Adult Holocaust Literatureby Rachel Dean-Ruzicka Paranormal Maturation: Uncanny Teenagers and Canny Killers by Rachel Dean-Ruzicka Of Scrivens and Sparks: Girl Geniuses in Young Adult Dystopian Fiction by Rachel Dean-Ruzicka Monster Culture (Seven Theses) by Jeffrey Jerome Cohen The Monster Theory Reader by Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer Stranger Things Cocaine Bear Mickey 17 Okja Random Number Generator Horror Podcast No. 9 Nature Trail to Hell Monsters, Heroes, and Others: Unpacking Power in Media and Politics through Race or Species A.P.P.L.E Animals in Politics, Law, and Ethics researches how we live in interspecies societies and polities. iROAR Network iROAR brings together podcasts that aim is to make the world a better place for animals. Georgia Institute of Technology School of Modern Language, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, School of Literature, Media, & Commun Pollination Project The Pollination Project empowers volunteers across by providing the funding they need. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show The Animal Turn is hosted and produced by Claudia Hirtenfelder and is part of the iROAR Network. Learn more on our website. Leave a Review on Podchaser Check out The Animal Turn Merch. Support us on Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, and Buzzsprout.

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  • S8 · E10
    Dec 29, 2025 · 1 hr 28 min

    S8E10: Grad Review with Gina Song Lopez and Taylor Jobling

    Gina Song Lopez, researching vegan movements in Taiwan and China through the lens of local culture and social media, and Taylor Jobling, a law lecturer unpacking how Australia’s legislation categorises animals, come on to the show to discuss the main themes and tensions to emerge in Season 8, Animals and Media Date Recorded: 8 December 2025 Featured: What Comes After Entanglement by Eva Giraud The Birth of Korean Cool by Euny Hong The Omnivore’s Deception by John Sanbonmatsu Animals and the Rights to Politics by Sue Donaldson and Will Kymlicka An analytical framework to understand the problematization of urban (historical) animals by Claudia Hirtenfelder Black Fish Finding Nemo Flow The Cove Cowspiracy Earthlings A.P.P.L.E Animals in Politics, Law, and Ethics researches how we live in interspecies societies and polities. iROAR Network iROAR brings together podcasts that aim is to make the world a better place for animals. Georgia Institute of Technology School of Modern Language, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, School of Literature, Media, & Commun Pollination Project The Pollination Project empowers volunteers across by providing the funding they need. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show The Animal Turn is hosted and produced by Claudia Hirtenfelder and is part of the iROAR Network. Learn more on our website. Leave a Review on Podchaser Check out The Animal Turn Merch. Support us on Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, and Buzzsprout.

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  • S8 · E9
    Dec 22, 2025 · 1 hr 34 min

    S8E9: News with Shatabdi Chakrabarti, Jessica Scott-Reid, and Jan Dutkiewicz

    In this episode we bring together a photojournalist from India, a Canadian columnist, and a political scientist/reporter to discuss animals and the news. We discuss different types of news as well as some of the challenges that come with creating news content that focuses on animals. Date Recorded: 4 June 2025 Featured: How to Spot Misinformation and Bias About Climate and Food in the News by Jessica Scott-Reid Meatsplaining by Jason Hannan Feed the People by Jan Dutkiewicz and Gabriel N. Rosenberg Mother Cow, Mother India by Yamini Narayanan Netflix’s Liver King Doc skips the meat of the story by Jessica Scott-Reid An animal rights activist was in court on criminal charges. Why was the case suddenly dismissed? On The Guardian Sentient Media Free Willy We Animals Future Perfect on Vox Animal Rights on The New Republic Animals on The Guardian Animals Rights Activism on The Intercept Animals on Wired Animals on New York Times Animal Justice Dairy Farming Investigations Pandas on the New York Times A.P.P.L.E Animals in Politics, Law, and Ethics researches how we live in interspecies societies and polities. iROAR Network iROAR brings together podcasts that aim is to make the world a better place for animals. Georgia Institute of Technology School of Modern Language, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, School of Literature, Media, & Commun Pollination Project The Pollination Project empowers volunteers across by providing the funding they need. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show The Animal Turn is hosted and produced by Claudia Hirtenfelder and is part of the iROAR Network. Learn more on our website. Leave a Review on Podchaser Check out The Animal Turn Merch. Support us on Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, and Buzzsprout.

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  • S8 · E8
    Dec 22, 2025 · 1 hr 35 min

    S8E8: Film and TV with Lynda Korimboccus and Ankita Rathour

    In this episode Ankita Rathour and Lynda Korimboccus join Claudia to discuss the interconnections of film, tv, and animals. Together they touch on everything from the Peppa Pig paradox in children’s media to the shifting role of animals in Hindi cinema, nationalism and caste politics. Date Recorded: 2 May 2025 Featured: The Subaltern Gazes: Commentary on Amit Masurkar's Sherni by Ankita Rathour. Pig-ignorant: The Peppa Pig Paradox. Investigating Contradictory Childhood Consumption by Lynda M Korimboccus Animal representation on UK children’s television by Lynda M Korimboccus Can the Subaltern Speak by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak From Symbolic to Agential: The Evolution of Natural Representation in Indian Eco-Sensitive Filmsby Rakesh Kumar Pankaj and Dibyakusum Ray The Dreaded Comparison: Human and Animal Slaveryby Spiegel, Marjorie Human supremacism: why are animal rights activists still the “orphans of the left”?by Will Kymlicka When different is ambivalence: Strategic ignorance about meat consumptionby Marleen C. Onwezen and Cor N. van der Weele Humane Jobs: A Political Economic Vision for Interspecies Solidarity and Human–Animal Wellbeing by Kendra Coulter Advertising oppression: the reproduction of anthroparchy in UK children's and" family" television by Kate F. Stewart and Matthew Cole Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell. Animal Farm by George Orwell. Mother Cow, Mother India by Yamini Narayanan The Sexual Politics of Meat by Carol J Adams The Desi Gaze, a podcast by Ankita Rathour. Tribe Animal Sanctuary Peppa Pig RRR (Rise, Roar, Revolt) Tigress Sherni Alvin and the Chimpmunks Haathi Mere Saathi The Elephant Whisperers Matilda and the Brace Escape Earthlings Blackfish Wicked Azaad Article 15 War Horse Babe The Last Pig Deliverance (Short) A.P.P.L.E Animals in Politics, Law, and Ethics researches how we live in interspecies societies and polities. Georgia Institute of Technology School of Modern Language, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, School of Literature, Media, & Commun iROAR Network iROAR brings together podcasts that aim is to make the world a better place for animals. Pollination Project The Pollination Project empowers volunteers across by providing the funding they need. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show The Animal Turn is hosted and produced by Claudia Hirtenfelder and is part of the iROAR Network. Learn more on our website. Leave a Review on Podchaser Check out The Animal Turn Merch. Support us on Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, and Buzzsprout.

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  • S8 · E7
    Dec 15, 2025 · 1 hr 24 min

    S8E7: Social Media with Laura Fernández, Amanda Weiss, and Siobhan Speiran

    Guests Laura Fernández, Amanda Weiss, and Siobhan Speiran join Claudia to discuss case studies as wide ranging as Japanese animal cafes, Spanish bull fighting, and Costa Rican sanctuaries to unfurl the complex relations of social media and animals. Together they probe how social media packages animals as content, why that changes real lives, and where activism, policy, and platform design can push back. Date Recorded: 11 April 2025 Featured: Han Heroes and Yamato Warriors: Competing Masculinities in Chinese and Japanese War Cinema by Amanda Weiss Critical Animal and Media Studies by Núria Almiron, Matthew Cole, Carrie P. Freeman Media Theories and the Crossroads of Critical Animal and Media Studies by Debra Merskin Wounded men of feminism: Exploring regimes of male victimhood in the Spanish manosphere by Elisa García Mingo and Silvia Díaz Fernández A field-based Conservation Welfare Assessment Framework for Costa Rican primate sanctuaries by Siobhan Sperian The Emotional politics of images: moral shock, explicit violence and strategic visual communication in the animal liberation movement by Laura Fernández Animal Traffic: Lively Capital in the Global Exotic Pet Trade by Rosemary-Claire Collard Big Cat Reporting Tool by Four Paws About Looking by John Berger The Philosopher and the Wolf by Mark Rowlands. Social Media Cruelty Coalition Seoul Zebra Escape Stop Animals Selfie Campaign The Civet Project Global Federation of Sanctuaries Earthlings Fugitive cows in Quebec captured after months on the run Tiger King Chimp Crazy A.P.P.L.E Animals in Politics, Law, and Ethics researches how we live in interspecies societies and polities. iROAR Network iROAR brings together podcasts that aim is to make the world a better place for animals. Georgia Institute of Technology School of Modern Language, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, School of Literature, Media, & Commun Pollination Project The Pollination Project empowers volunteers across by providing the funding they need. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show The Animal Turn is hosted and produced by Claudia Hirtenfelder and is part of the iROAR Network. Learn more on our website. Leave a Review on Podchaser Check out The Animal Turn Merch. Support us on Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, and Buzzsprout.

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  • S8 · E6
    Dec 8, 2025 · 1 hr 37 min

    S8E6: Podcasting and Education with María Carreras and Kate Acton

    We celebrate 100 episodes by asking how podcasting can teach, build community, and improve animal welfare across languages, disciplines, and daily routines. Guests Maria Carreras and Kate Acton share concrete changes, strategic insights, and challenges that reshape how we listen to animals and to each other. Date Recorded: 11 April 2025 Featured: When Animals Speak by Eva Meijer The Sexual Politics of Meat by Carol J Adams. Inside of a Dog by Alexandra Horowitz Evaluating the Addition of Positive Reinforcement for Learning a Frightening Task: A Pilot Study With Horses by Camie R Heleski et al The Ventriloquist’s Burden: Animal Advocacy and the Problem of Speaking for Others by Lauren Corman Preliminary evidence supporting the use of equine science podcasts to bridge the gap between scientists and horse enthusiasts to improve horse welfare by Kate Acton and others. iROAR Network Culture and Animals Foundation Conversations in Equine Science podcast ECA Podcast Animals Ethics Review Journal for Critical Animal Studies Derercho Animals podcast Minding animals podcast Comme un poisson dans l'eau UCD Veterinary Nursing Podcast The Animal Highlight A.P.P.L.E Animals in Politics, Law, and Ethics researches how we live in interspecies societies and polities. iROAR Network iROAR brings together podcasts that aim is to make the world a better place for animals. Pollination Project The Pollination Project empowers volunteers across by providing the funding they need. Georgia Institute of Technology School of Modern Language, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, School of Literature, Media, & Commun Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show The Animal Turn is hosted and produced by Claudia Hirtenfelder and is part of the iROAR Network. Learn more on our website. Leave a Review on Podchaser Check out The Animal Turn Merch. Support us on Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, and Buzzsprout.

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  • S8 · E5
    Oct 13, 2025 · 1 hr 47 min

    S8E5: Gaming with Keung Yoon Bae, Osvaldo Cleger, and Michael Rübsamen

    Gaming is one of the most consumed forms of media globally making it an important space from to explore human-animal relations. In this episode, media scholars Michael Rübsamen, Osvaldo Cleger, and Keung Yoon Bae discuss the interconnections of gaming, representation, and identity and what the significance of this might be for considerations of animals. Date Recorded: 3 February 2025 Featured: The Witcher Without morals in a moral world - the expanding moral circle of The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt by Magnus Johansson and Michael Rübsamen Thoughts towards an Ontology of Play by Eugene Fink Homo Ludens: A Study of Play Element in Culture by Johan Huizinga Why Animals can’t get enough of touch screen technology by Jason Goldman Red Dead Redemption 2 Westworld Grand Theft Auto Assassin’s Creed Disco Elysium Death Stranding Borderlands The Lend of Zelda Unravel Dungeons and Dragons Remember to Leave a Review on Podchaser and to check out The Animal Turn Merch. You can also support the show financially via Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, and Buzzsprout. Thank you to Animals in Philosophy, Politics, Law and Ethics (A.P.P.L.E) for sponsoring this podcast; and the the pollination project, the School of Modern Language, the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, as well as the School of Literature, Media, and Communication at Georgia Tech University for co-sponsoring this season. The bed music was composed by Gordon Clarke and the logo designed by Jeremy John. This episode was produced, hosted, and edited by Claudia Hirtenfelder. A.P.P.L.E Animals in Politics, Law, and Ethics researches how we live in interspecies societies and polities. iROAR Network iROAR brings together podcasts that aim is to make the world a better place for animals. Georgia Institute of Technology School of Modern Language, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, School of Literature, Media, & Commun Pollination Project The Pollination Project empowers volunteers across by providing the funding they need. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show The Animal Turn is hosted and produced by Claudia Hirtenfelder and is part of the iROAR Network. Learn more on our website. Leave a Review on Podchaser Check out The Animal Turn Merch. Support us on Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, and Buzzsprout.

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  • S8 · E4
    Oct 10, 2025 · 1 hr 39 min

    S8E4: Popular Media and Pests with Lu Liu, Debra Merskin, and Emily Major

    In this episode we animals, power, and popular media. Emily Major, Debra Merskin, and Lu Liu help to think through how animals are manufactured as “pests” and “icons” in media and how those labels shape empathy, policy, and everyday cruelty towards animals. Date Recorded: 15 January 2025 Featured: Animals and Media Mass Media and Society edited by Debra Merskin Seeing Species by Debra Merskin Media, Minorities and Meaning by Debra Merskin Communicating Nature by Julia B. Corbett. Projecting on Predators by Debra Merskin Slayers, rippers, and blitzes: dark humor and the justification of cruelty to possums in online media in New Zealand by Emily Major. Brushtail possums and species-inclusive social work in Aotearoa New Zealand by Emily Major Slayers, rippers, and blitzes: dark humor and the justification of cruelty to possums in online media in New Zealand by Emily Major Playful Killing: Animals and Socialist Childhood in 1950s People's Republic of China by Lu Liu Panda Politics by Rosemary-Claire Collard We Animals Sentient Media A.P.P.L.E Animals in Politics, Law, and Ethics researches how we live in interspecies societies and polities. Georgia Institute of Technology School of Modern Language, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, School of Literature, Media, & Commun Pollination Project The Pollination Project empowers volunteers across by providing the funding they need. iROAR Network iROAR brings together podcasts that aim is to make the world a better place for animals. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show The Animal Turn is hosted and produced by Claudia Hirtenfelder and is part of the iROAR Network. Learn more on our website. Leave a Review on Podchaser Check out The Animal Turn Merch. Support us on Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, and Buzzsprout.

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  • S8 · E3
    Sep 29, 2025 · 1 hr 55 min

    S8E3: Rhetoric and Supremacy with S. Marek Muller, David Rooney, and Lauren Corman

    In this episode we discuss how rhetorical constructions of animality, and humanity are mobilized to serve specific power structures, including white supremacy and colonialism. Lauren Corman, David Rooney, and S. Marek Muller come on the show to talk about some of the complex networks of media influence and consumption that shape such thought. Date Recorded: 19 February 2025 Mentioned: “Pageantry of aggression”: QAnon, animality, and the violent pursuit of whiteness by Lauren Corman Long live the Liver King: right-wing carnivorism and the digital dissemination of primal rhetoric by Marek Muller, David Rooney, and Cecilia Cerja Interspecies Subjectivity with Lauren Corman on The Animal Turn Dangerous Crossings by Claire Jean Kim Decolonization is not a Metaphor by Eve tuck and K. Wayne Yang Nature's Wild by Andil Gosine Sexual Politics of Meat by Carol Adams Petro-masculinity: Fossil Fuels and Authoritarian Desire by Cara Daggett The Animal ThereforeI I am by Jacques Derrida Animals and Capital by Dinesh Wadiwel Multispecies Disposability: Taxonomies of Power in a Global Pandemic by Darren Chang and Lauren Corman Becoming Human by Zakiyyah ImanJackson Murder and Mattering in Harambe's House by Claire Jean Kim Examined Life Animal Voices Radio Show Everyone in Mongolia drives a Prius Birds aren't real? How a conspiracy takes flight – TED TALKS Credits: Thank you to A.P.P.L.E for sponsoring this podcast; and the the pollination project, the School of Modern Language, the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, as well as the School of Literature, Media, and Communication at Georgia Tech University for co-sponsoring this season. The bed music was composed by Gordon Clarke and the logo designed by Jeremy John. This episode was produced, hosted, and edited by Claudia Hirtenfelder. A.P.P.L.E Animals in Politics, Law, and Ethics researches how we live in interspecies societies and polities. iROAR Network iROAR brings together podcasts that aim is to make the world a better place for animals. Georgia Institute of Technology School of Modern Language, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, School of Literature, Media, & Commun Pollination Project The Pollination Project empowers volunteers across by providing the funding they need. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show The Animal Turn is hosted and produced by Claudia Hirtenfelder and is part of the iROAR Network. Learn more on our website. Leave a Review on Podchaser Check out The Animal Turn Merch. Support us on Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, and Buzzsprout.

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  • S8 · E2
    Sep 22, 2025 · 1 hr 37 min

    S8E2: (Mis)representation and Activism with Christopher Eubanks and Carrie Freeman

    Carrie Freeman and Christopher Eubanks join Claudia on the show to explore animal (mis)representation in media. They examine some of the ways in which animals are represented in activist messaging and the interconnections of animal rights with other social justice movements. Date Recorded: 29 February 2025 Featured: The Human Animal Earthling by Carrie Freeman Critical Animal and Media Studies by Núria Almiron, Matthew Cole, Carrie P. Freeman Framing Farming by Carrie Freeman What a Fish Knows by Jonathan Balcombe Animals in Media on The Animal Turn. Animal Activism Starter Guide Advocacy Guide for BIPOC Activists – by APEX Advocacy In Tune to Nature with Carrie Freeman Animals and Media Style Guidelines by Carrie Freeman and Debra Merskin Human supremacism: why are animal rights activists still the “orphans of the left”? by Will Kymlicka Crossings by Ben Goldfarb Social Movement Mobilization and Feminism with Corey Lee Wrenn on The Animal Turn Society and Animals (Film Reviews) Cowspriacy The Smell of Money Credits: Thank you to Animals in Philosophy, Politics, Law and Ethics (A.P.P.L.E) for sponsoring this podcast; and the the pollination project, the School of Modern Language, the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, as well as the School of Literature, Media, and Communication at Georgia Tech University for co-sponsoring this season. The bed music was composed by Gordon Clarke and the logo designed by Jeremy John. This episode was produced, hosted, and edited by Claudia Hirtenfelder. A.P.P.L.E Animals in Politics, Law, and Ethics researches how we live in interspecies societies and polities. iROAR Network iROAR brings together podcasts that aim is to make the world a better place for animals. Georgia Institute of Technology School of Modern Language, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, School of Literature, Media, & Commun Pollination Project The Pollination Project empowers volunteers across by providing the funding they need. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show The Animal Turn is hosted and produced by Claudia Hirtenfelder and is part of the iROAR Network. Learn more on our website. Leave a Review on Podchaser Check out The Animal Turn Merch. Support us on Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, and Buzzsprout.

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  • S8 · E1
    Sep 15, 2025 · 1 hr 49 min

    S8E1: Trans-Speciesism and the MARS Test with Natalie Khazaal, Tobias Linné, and Ellen Gorsevski

    The Animal Turn podcast launches Season 8 with a dive into the intersections of media, racism, and speciesism. Tobias Linné, Ellen Gorsevski, and Natalie Khazaal join Claudia on the show to discuss how race and species intersect each other in animated film and the development of their Media Analysis of Racism and Speciesism (MARS) test to evaluate the ways in which they do. Date Recorded: 31 March 2025 Featured: Media, Racism, Speciesism: Issues and Solutions for Creaturely Racism in the Anthropocene edited by Natalie Khazaal, Ellen Gorsevski and Tobias Linné Media Analysis of Racism and Speciesism (MARS) test finds Oscars so AnthropoScenic in contemporary animated films by Natalie Khazaal, Ellen Gorsevski and Tobias Linné Many meats and many milks? by Tobias Linné Intersectionality, Identity Politics and Violence Against Women of Color by Kimberlé Crenshaw Critical Animal and Media Studies edited by Núria Almiron, Matthew Cole, Carrie P. Freeman Connecting racial and species justice: Towards an Afrocentric animal advocacy by Luis Cordeiro-Rodrigues Afro-Dog by Bénédicte Boisseron The dreaded comparison: human and animal slavery by Marjorie Spiegel A.P.P.L.E Animals in Politics, Law, and Ethics researches how we live in interspecies societies and polities. Pollination Project The Pollination Project empowers volunteers across by providing the funding they need. Georgia Institute of Technology School of Modern Language, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, School of Literature, Media, & Commun iROAR Network iROAR brings together podcasts that aim is to make the world a better place for animals. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show The Animal Turn is hosted and produced by Claudia Hirtenfelder and is part of the iROAR Network. Learn more on our website. Leave a Review on Podchaser Check out The Animal Turn Merch. Support us on Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, and Buzzsprout.

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  • Sep 8, 2025 · 1 hr 25 min

    Bonus: Death with Katja M. Guenther and Julian Paul Keenan

    Death permeates our relationships with animals, yet we rarely confront the complex ethical questions it raises. In this conversation with Katja Guenther and Julian Paul Keenan, editors of "When Animals Die," we delve into the emerging field of animal death studies - an interdisciplinary approach examining how animals experience and humans justify animal death. Date Recorded: 21 April 2025 Katja M. Guenther is Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies at the University of California, Riverside, where her research and teaching focus on gender, feminist activism and social movements, human-animal relationships, and the state. Her work centers on improving our understanding of how and why inequalities of gender, race, class, dis/ability, and species reproduce so reliably, and what we can do to challenge these inequalities. Most recently, she is co-editor of When Animals Die: Examining Justifications and Envisioning Justice (New York University Press, 2024). She is the author of The Lives and Deaths of Shelter Animals (Stanford University Press, 2020), winner of the 2021 American Sociological Association’s Section on Animals and Society Distinguished Book Award, Making Their Place: Feminism After Socialism in Eastern Germany (Stanford University Press, 2010), and numerous journal articles. Learn more: www.katjamguenther.com. Julian Paul Keenan is a Professor of Biology and Psychology at Montclair State University in New Jersey, USA. His focus on animals has centered around consciousness and cognition attempting to understand how vastly different nervous systems have evolved. Dr. Keenan is the founder of the journal Social Neuroscience and he is the first to identify the neural substrates of self-awareness. Featured: When Animals Die by Katja M. Guenther and Julian Paul Keenan The Lives and Deaths of Shelter Animals by Katja M. Guenther Animals and urban gentrification: Displacement and injustice in the trans-species city by Phil Hubbard and Andrew Brooks Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet by ben Goldfarb Killer Cities by Nigel Thrift Living Car-Free in Arizona, on Purpose and Happily on The New York Times Don’t farm bugs by Jeff Sebo Stop Octopus Farming Petition Animal Testing and its alternatives with Thomas Hartung on The Animal Turn Re-Animalization with Krithika Srinivasan on The Animal Turn A.P.P.L.E Animals in Politics, Law, and Ethics researches how we live in interspecies societies and polities. iROAR Network iROAR brings together podcasts that aim is to make the world a better place for animals. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show The Animal Turn is hosted and produced by Claudia Hirtenfelder and is part of the iROAR Network. Learn more on our website. Leave a Review on Podchaser Check out The Animal Turn Merch. Support us on Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, and Buzzsprout.

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Showing 1–20 of 21 episodes