Our Hen House: Vegan & Animal Rights Movement | Stories from the Frontlines of Animal Liberation
Jasmin Singer and Mariann Sullivan
Recent Episodes
This episode explores how writers can authentically represent animals in literature with authors and publishers John Yunker and Midge Raymond, who discuss their new book Animal Writes and their Writing for Animals workshop. They share techniques for portraying animals as individuals rather than stereotypes, and offer guidance for writers who want to advocate for animals through their work.
This episode explores:
- How to write about animals authentically, portraying them as individuals rather than stereotypes
- The challenges of publishing animal-centered literature and reaching mainstream audiences
- Using pronouns properly when writing about animals to avoid objectification
- Examples of successful books that effectively portray animals in literature
- The upcoming January 2026 submission period for Ashland Creek Press, which specializes in animal and environmental literature
ABOUT OUR GUESTS
Midge Raymond is the author of the novels Floreana and My Last Continent, the short-story collection Forgetting English, and, with coauthor John Yunker, the mystery novel Devils Island and the nonfiction book Animal Writes. Find Midge online at MidgeRaymond.com.
John Yunker writes short stories, plays and novels focused on the complex and often conflicted relationships between humans and animals. He is co-author, with Midge Raymond, of the mystery Devils Island and the nonfiction book Animal Writes, and author of The Tourist Trail and Where Oceans Hide Their Dead. Find John online at JohnYunker.com.
Midge and John are co-founders of Ashland Creek Press, a vegan publisher devoted to animal and environmental literature.
We are thrilled to expand the accessibility of our podcast by offering written transcripts of the interviews! Click here to read this episode's interview.
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Thank you for listening to the Our Hen House podcast! If you enjoy our podcasts, believe in our mission to effectively mainstream the movement to end the exploitation of animals, find community and solace in our shows and resources, and would like to show your support for vegan indie media, please make a donation today.
Between now and December 31, every donation up to $20,000 will be tripled! Contributions of any amount will go towards our fundraising goal and are hugely appreciated. Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!
Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your favorite podcatcher, and don’t forget to leave a 5-star review!
Check out Our Hen House’s other podcasts: The Animal Law Podcast, The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and the Antiracism in Animal Advocacy Audio Series.
Follow us on social media! You can find Our Hen House on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, or Bluesky.
The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.
This episode explores the changing landscape for animals as major media companies and the fashion industry take a stand against fur, while activists continue to face challenges in their fight for justice. Jasmin and Mariann discuss recent victories in the fur-free movement, including Hearst magazines and New York Fashion Week banning fur, alongside the sobering news of activist Zoe Rosenberg’s jail sentence for her work exposing animal suffering at a Purdue facility.
This episode explores:
- The significant progress in the fur-free movement with Hearst Magazines banning fur from publications like Harper’s Bazaar and Cosmopolitan
- How New York Fashion Week’s fur ban represents a major shift in the fashion industry’s approach to animal products
- Activist Zoe Rosenberg’s inspiring response to her 90-day jail sentence for exposing conditions at a Purdue facility
- The problematic $12 billion farmer bailout primarily benefiting commodity farms that produce animal feed
- Literary works centering animal perspectives, including Kendra Coulter’s novel “The Tortoise’s Tale”
RESOURCES
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Thank you for listening to the Our Hen House podcast! If you enjoy our podcasts, believe in our mission to effectively mainstream the movement to end the exploitation of animals, find community and solace in our shows and resources, and would like to show your support for vegan indie media, please make a donation today.
Between now and December 31, every donation up to $20,000 will be tripled! Contributions of any amount will go towards our fundraising goal and are hugely appreciated. Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!
Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your favorite podcatcher, and don’t forget to leave a 5-star review!
Check out Our Hen House’s other podcasts: The Animal Law Podcast, The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and the Antiracism in Animal Advocacy Audio Series.
Follow us on social media! You can find Our Hen House on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or Bluesky.
The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.
In this week’s edition of Rising Anxieties, Mariann Sullivan dives into the animal agriculture industry’s latest nightmares—which, unsurprisingly, include you. From hand-wringing about the movement’s supposed $865 million war chest to the Reddit whistleblower exposing paid anti-vegan trolls, we’re clearly living rent-free in Big Ag’s collective consciousness. Meanwhile, Iowa’s 110 billion pounds of untracked manure mysteriously “disappears,” Zoe Rosenberg faces jail time for saving four chickens, and ranchers demand a “level playing field” with wolves—as if predators who evolved over millennia should politely avoid the cattle grazing on their ancestral hunting grounds.
This episode explores:
- How animal agriculture industry leaders are tracking and fretting over the rising influence and funding of animal rights activism, particularly Open Philanthropy’s $168 million investment
- The disturbing case of activist Zoe Rosenberg, sentenced to 90 days in jail and $102,000 in restitution for rescuing four sick chickens from a slaughterhouse
- A Reddit whistleblower’s revelation about coordinated industry efforts to discredit veganism online through fake accounts and manufactured negative experiences
- Iowa’s catastrophic environmental crisis with 110 billion pounds of factory farm manure going untracked annually, coinciding with rising cancer rates
- The ongoing conflict between cattle ranchers and wolves, with producers demanding “management tools” while grazing their cows on the predators’ natural habitat
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Thank you for listening to the Our Hen House podcast! If you enjoy our podcasts, believe in our mission to effectively mainstream the movement to end the exploitation of animals, find community and solace in our shows and resources, and would like to show your support for vegan indie media, please make a donation today.
Between now and December 31, every donation up to $20,000 will be tripled! Contributions of any amount will go towards our fundraising goal and are hugely appreciated. Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!
Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your favorite podcatcher, and don’t forget to leave a 5-star review!
Check out Our Hen House’s other podcasts: The Animal Law Podcast, The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and the Antiracism in Animal Advocacy Audio Series.
Follow us on social media! You can find Our Hen House on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, or Bluesky.
The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.
This episode continues our special series featuring the Animal Policy Alliance, showcasing how policy advocates are creating institutional change for animals across America. Jodi Gruhn of Wholesome Minnesota, Judy Wolf of Animal Protection New Mexico, and Brenna Anderst of the Animal Policy Alliance discuss their collaborative strategies to increase plant-based food accessibility in schools and government institutions while building powerful coalitions that amplify their impact.
This episode explores:
- How the Animal Policy Alliance connects and strengthens local advocacy organizations
- Strategic policy approaches to introduce plant-based options in schools and government cafeterias
- Countering dairy industry influence through health equity and environmental messaging, including Animal Protection New Mexico’s Dairy’s Not Fair program
- The power of framing plant-based options as an expansion rather than a restriction
- Grassroots initiatives gaining momentum for plant-based milk alternatives in school lunch programs
ABOUT OUR GUESTS
Jodi Gruhn is a fierce advocate for compassionate living creating change by bringing plant-based nutrition directly to Minnesota’s youth. As Director of Wholesome Minnesota, a project of Compassionate Action for Animals, she’s transforming school food systems from the inside out—driving policy initiatives that put plant-based options on cafeteria trays while building community partnerships. Jodi works directly in classrooms teaching students to cook delicious plant-based food and energizes environmental clubs, cultivating a generation that understands the power of their food choices to honor animals, their own health, and the environment.
Judy Wolf is the Chief Program and Policy Officer for Humane Communities for Animal Protection New Mexico and has extensive professional experience working in a variety of non-profit organizations, both overseas and in the United States. Her career comprises multiple directorships and program development roles for community-based agencies, advocacy organizations, and international institutions. Judy has a passion for the protection and welfare of animals and has been a volunteer and supporter of animal welfare organizations for many years.
Brenna Anderst is the Senior Policy Advisor at The Humane League, where she provides support to members of the Animal Policy Alliance through local, state, and federal policy research, model legislation drafting, and legislative and campaign strategy development. Prior to joining The Humane League, Brenna directed the legislative campaigns, lobbying efforts, and educational initiatives of an animal protection organization and farmed animal sanctuary in Washington state and was a founding member of the Animal Policy Alliance. In this role, Brenna led, or was involved in, the advancement of 20+ state and local level laws protecting animals. Her wide range of policy experience includes working with organizations and advocates locally and across the country on issues related to companion and farmed animal protections, animal cruelty enforcement reform, retail pet sales regulations, plant-based food procurement, and more.
We are thrilled to expand the accessibility of our podcast by offering written transcripts of the interviews! Click here to read this episode's interview.
_____________________________________________
The Animal Policy Alliance, established by The Humane League, is a powerful collective of local and state-level animal advocacy groups throughout the United States. We serve as a trusted resource, providing knowledge, strategies, connection opportunities, and grants to our member organizations. We lead with purpose, empowering alliance members to build toward our shared vision of a world without animal abuse.
_____________________________________________
Thank you for listening to the Our Hen House podcast! If you enjoy our podcasts, believe in our mission to effectively mainstream the movement to end the exploitation of animals, find community and solace in our shows and resources, and would like to show your support for vegan indie media, please make a donation today.
Between now and December 31, every donation up to $20,000 will be tripled! Contributions of any amount will go towards our fundraising goal and are hugely appreciated. Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!
Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your favorite podcatcher, and don’t forget to leave a 5-star review!
Check out Our Hen House’s other podcasts: The Animal Law Podcast, The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and the Antiracism in Animal Advocacy Audio Series.
Follow us on social media! You can find Our Hen House on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, or Bluesky.
The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.
In this week’s episode of The Hen Report, Jasmin and Mariann explore how animal rights themes are increasingly appearing in mainstream media – from the explicit animal liberation narrative in Wicked to the vegan consciousness in Apple TV’s Pluribus. They celebrate recent policy victories while examining why veganism often faces social resistance, emphasizing that effective advocacy keeps animals, not vegan identity, at the center of the conversation.
This episode explores:
- How the film “Wicked” presents a powerful animal liberation narrative that some viewers surprisingly miss
- Recent policy wins, including the CDC’s unexpected end to monkey research and Poland’s fur farming ban
- The psychological dynamics behind why vegans face social resistance and how to effectively navigate those conversations
- Why centering animals rather than vegan identity leads to more productive advocacy
- The importance of celebrating incremental victories in animal rights, like societal shifts away from fur
RESOURCES
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- Have your say in the EU’s public consultation on animal welfare.
- The Internet Loves These “Gay Sheep.” The Real Story Is Much Darker.
- The Dutch Senate has voted to phase out public funding for primate experiments
- Exclusive: CDC to end all monkey research
- Poland’s president signs fur farming ban into law
- Dr Gemma Newman Explains ‘Why People Seem To Hate Vegans’ And What To Do About It
- Bed & Breakup
- Governing Bodies: A Memoir, a Confluence, a Watershed
- The Goat Conspiracy with Nicole Schonemann
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_____________________________________________
Thank you for listening to the Our Hen House podcast! If you enjoy our podcasts, believe in our mission to effectively mainstream the movement to end the exploitation of animals, find community and solace in our shows and resources, and would like to show your support for vegan indie media, please make a donation today.
Between now and December 31, every donation up to $20,000 will be tripled! Contributions of any amount will go towards our fundraising goal and are hugely appreciated. Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!
Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your favorite podcatcher, and don’t forget to leave a 5-star review!
Check out Our Hen House’s other podcasts: The Animal Law Podcast, The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and the Antiracism in Animal Advocacy Audio Series.
Follow us on social media! You can find Our Hen House on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or Bluesky.
The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.