In this episode (#450) I speak with Aryenish Birdie, the founder and executive director of Encompass, a nonprofit working to make the animal protection movement more racially diverse, equitable, and inclusive. Here we discuss the book, Antiracism in Animal Advocacy: Igniting Cultural Transformation, by Jasmin Singer; Aryenish wrote the foreword. The book features a series of essays by 16 authors reflecting the diversity of the movement. We also discuss the antiracism trainings that Aryenish runs with the Racial Equality Institute.
In the second half we feature world traveler and social entrepreneur Lucas Spiegel and discuss his new vegan travel memoir The Weight of Empathy, where he recounts his 22-month trip volunteering at animal sanctuaries on four continents and discusses the ways these experiences changed his life and the way he sees the world.