The Simple Heart w/ Wayne Hsiung

My best friend was born to kill. It was not her choice, and perhaps not her fault. But she has a history of violence that would make a serial killer squirm. There was the time she ripped open someone’s head and left their ear hanging from a string of skin. Or the time that she grabbed her victim’s throat so tightly that the screams went silent. It was like someone hit the mute button on a horror movie. But perhaps the worst incident occurred in my own home. I came back to my apartment one day to blood on the kitchen floor. I heard whimpering from the bedroom. “What hell is going on!” I rushed in and saw my best friend’s sister on the ground, with her face sliced half open. I rushed her to the hospital where her cheek was surgically rebuilt. The perpetrator showed no remorse for the attack. You might be wondering why I am friends with someone like this. The easiest answer is that my best friend is a dog — to be precise, an American Staffordshire Terrier rescued from a dog fighting circle — and so are her victims. But the easiest answer is often not the best one. And here is the right answer: Lisa is my best friend because she taught me what it means to love. Read Wayne’s other writings here (Substack) Music by Moby: Everything That Rises

Duncan Watts, the Stevens University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, is a living legend. HIs paper, Collective Dynamics of Small-World Networks, is one of the most cited papers in the history of sociology. (There are Nobel Prize winners who have fewer citations in their career than that single paper by Duncan.) And while his name is not well known outside of academia, he has transformed multiple disciplines with his path breaking work in what is now known as “network science” – a blend of computer science, sociology, and mathematics that has changed the way we think about human behavior.  And by “we”, I include me.  As a young and aspiring social scientist in the early 2000s, I came across Duncan’s work and was blown away by what it seemed to show. Human beings, it seemed, operated as if they were just nodes in a network. And you could no more understand the behavior of a single human, in isolation, than you could understand the human brain by looking at a single neuron. It was the connections between us, and not our individual characteristics, that drive change.  And it turns out that, when we look at those connections, human beings are far closer to each other than you might think. Indeed, no matter how big a society gets, human beings seem to follow a rule that has been described as Six Degrees of Separation.  This insight, and Duncan’s other work on networks, led me down a strange and circuitous path, from law professor to animal rights activist. You’ll hear about this in the podcast. But the most important application of his work, in my life, was the formation of the grassroots animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere, or DxE.  You see, Duncan’s research on networks showed that it wasn’t necessarily the most connected people –the Oprah Winfreys or the Barack Obamas – who were driving change. Rather, it was networks of easy-to-activate ordinary people who were causing cascades of change. DxE was an attempt to deploy this research to build a movement for animal rights.  This conversation is particularly important right now. I am in my second day of trial, in a felony trial that could land me in prison for years. But the industry, which is attempting to cut the head off the snake, is destined to fail. The reason is simple: they simply don’t understand how social change works. It’s not the leaders, but the masses of people who form the movement that the leaders represent, who ultimately drive change. And when you take out one leader, new leaders rise up.  That is one of the many reasons why, no matter what happens in this trial, the movement will win. There are a lot of other practical tips, about living a good and productive life, that you’ll get from this podcast. For example, you’ll learn how to think about risk. And how creativity stems from unexpected social connections. And how a legendary social scientist maintains his intellectual humility.  But maybe the most important thing we can learn is to stay open. Especially when people are making efforts to hurt you – including imprisonment, in my case – it’s easy to stay closed off. But Duncan’s work shows us that it’s the connections we make, and not the ones we close off, that will ultimately create change. Small Worlds: The Dynamics of Networks between Order and Randomness Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age Everything Is Obvious: How Common Sense Fails Us Music by Moby: Everything That Rises

Today I’m in preliminary hearings in Sonoma County, California, relating to the mass open rescue of dozens of dying animals from some of the largest factory farms in the nation. In less than two weeks, I’ll face my first felony trial in Transylvania County, North Carolina, where I’m being prosecuted for seeking to protect a baby goat named Rain, who was sick and destined to be killed.  It can often feel like all the forces of government are against us – not to mention the rest of society – which is why it’s so important to talk to people like Evan Wolfson, the legendary gay rights activist and lawyer who predicted almost 40 years ago that gay marriage would become a constitutional right. You see, Evan’s story shows us that, when an idea’s time has come, nothing can stop change.  In 1983, as a young Harvard law student, Evan wrote a thesis arguing that gay marriage is constitutional right. Most lawyers and scholars scoffed at his argument. He had trouble finding professors who would advise him on his paper. And even many in the movement thought his vision was too radical, and too big. But Evan believed that marriage was the defining campaign of the gay rights movement. It represented everything LGBTQ folks at the time dreamed of – for their love to be celebrated, and legally recognized, rather than shunned. And he was right. Gay marriage became the law of the land when, in 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that it was every citizen’s constitutional right.  There’s so much more Evan shares in this podcast, from his personal adventures in Togo to the bitter infighting that nearly tore him from the movement. But above all, as we approach trial, Evan’s words teach us that we have to hold the vision in our hearts, even as powerful institutions try to destroy us. If we do that, even the moments that seem like defeats will ultimately take us down the path to victory. Freedom to Marry Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality, and Gay People's Right to Marry Music by Moby: Everything That Rises

Leighton Woodhouse is a journalist, video producer, and dear friend – and one of the sharpest people I know. Shant Mesrobian is a former Obama staffer who, along with Leighton, has become a key voice in what I call the “post-left” critique of the modern Democratic Party. You see, both Leighton and Shant come from classic leftist backgrounds: labor organizing, progressive journalism, etc. But they both have reached the conclusion that the modern Democratic Party, captured by corporate and elite interests, is harnessing identity politics to trample on the working class.  You don’t have to agree with them – I don’t – to think their critique is worth listening to. And there is some troubling data to suggest there’s merit to their argument. For example, of the 10 most wealthy congressional districts, 100% – every single one! – is now a Democratic bastion. Is the modern “left” becoming a movement controlled by power and wealth? I don’t think that’s the case, as I argue in the podcast. But there are real risks that Leighton and Shant are pointing out. And if we’re not mindful of them, we could truly see progressive movements captured by corporate interests, and a reversal of political alignments that doesn’t just shake up our political traditions. It could very well lead to a violent populist uprising. Read Leighton Woodhouse - Substack Read Shant Mesrobian - Substack Music by Moby: Everything That Rises

“It seems odd that we would just let the world burn.” That was the title for a piece Ezra Klein wrote for the New York Times a few months ago. And it captures a truth about our civilization’s trajectory. If we don’t act — and act urgently — all life on earth is at risk.  Yet, even with Democrats in power, action on climate change has been nonexistent. We are watching as the world burns.  But not all of us. Alex Marquardt is co-founder of a group that defends the climate by defending the activists risking everything to save it. And his experiences, from suing Harvard as a law student to defending activists blocking fossil fuel transit lines, should give us all hope for the future — and teach us how change actually happens. (Hint: it’s typically not at elite institutions like Harvard.)  The last week has been a hard one, as many of you who follow me probably know. I lost someone very important to me. But if there’s a solution to grief, it’s hope. And I’m proud to share this podcast today because so much of what Alex shares gives me hope for the future. The Climate Defense Project The Backlash Effect, Michael Klarman Music by Moby: Everything That Rises

Soon the state will be presenting evidence against Priya Sawhney regarding an alleged “conspiracy” to burglarize and steal animals from some of the largest factory farms in the U.S., including Petaluma Poultry – the largest organic poultry producer in the nation.  All of the animals from Petaluma Poultry were unable to stand. Some had rotting, gaping wounds, including some so deep and necrotic that we could see their exposed bone. This was verified by the state’s own veterinarian, yet instead of charging the company, one of the largest in Sonoma County, California, the government has come after Priya and others (including me) for setting up a veterinary tent and giving the animals care.  The comic book villainy in this case would almost be funny if it didn’t have dire consequences. First, Priya and I face felony charges and potentially years in prison. But second, and more importantly, the government’s response here shows how the industry and government are acting to manipulate the public – what Priya calls “projection” – into supporting practices that, if they saw them first hand, would inspire outrage and horror.  But the projection goes deeper than that. Because it’s not just lies about facts. It’s a lie about who we are, as a community, as a species, and as individual human beings. I don’t want to say too much more because it’ll give way what unfolds in this podcast. Give it a listen. I think you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. And you’ll see why, like so many, I am inspired by Priya every day, and honored to have her as a co-founder of DxE, and a dear friend. The Intercept Video on Priya DxE’s First Open Rescue “Truth Matters” Photo of Priya above from Philip Montgomery, Wired Magazine Music by Moby: Everything That Rises

Justin Marceau is an anomaly. He grew up in rural Montana, in a family that raised animals on their own property. Yet he is now a leading advocate for animal rights. He went to the Air Force Academy to become a pilot. Yet he went to Harvard Law School to study ways to challenge our government and now defends people who take direct action – breaking laws where necessary. But perhaps most curiously, he is a lawyer in a nation with the highest incarceration rate in the world. Yet he does not believe in any traditional notion of “punishment.” It’s hard to explain how much of a departure this is from conventional legal thinking. Our entire system of justice is built on the idea that incarceration and other forms of punishment are crucial to stopping wrongdoing. But what if that idea is all wrong? What if the evidence on punishment shows that, in many cases, it just reinforces the very wrongs that it is trying to correct?  Animal cruelty is the example we discuss in this podcast. But the logic here is both deeper and broader than that. Justin asks us to reimagine justice, and in the process, we may just have to reimagine ourselves. That’s precisely what Justin did. And we can learn something not just from his important intellectual work, including his recent book Beyond Cages, but from his personal story of change. Beyond Cages: Animal Law and Criminal Punishment (Justin Marceau’s book) Palliative Animal Law: The War on Animal Cruelty - Harvard Law Review Music by Moby: Everything That Rises

It’s a strange time to be talking positively about sacrifice. Over the past year, so many people have lost their businesses, their communities, even their lives. And it seems absurd, perhaps even offensive, to draw something good from that sacrifice. But that’s exactly what we need to do, on both a personal and collective level, to make progress. And Matt Johnson is one of the best people I can think of to talk about that. Matt was living a pretty normal life, and a pretty comfortable life, in his home state of Iowa when he first heard about Direct Action Everywhere. But that ordinary existence was jolted when Matt, a lifetime vegetarian in a sea of animal farming, saw people taking chances to make the world a better place. But I don’t think anyone could have predicted the dramatic transformation that Matt would go through, after seeing a single protest at a Chipotle on social media. From topless protests of Bernie Sanders to investigations of ventilation shutdown, Matt has been one of the biggest newsmakers in animal rights history. The most important thing we can hear from here, however, is on the power of sacrifice. I have met few people, maybe not any, more willing to give whatever it takes to help make the world a better place. And while that is often a hard thing -- you’ll hear my voice shaking, and tears come to my eyes, as I talk to Matt about the challenges he’s facing -- it also brings a joy, of sorts, that cannot be matched by any other experience in the world. This is a long one, but it’s a good one. Listen to the end. You won’t regret it.

Almira Tanner is the Lead Organizer of Direct Action Everywhere (DxE). At first glance, she might not be who you picture when you hear “leader of radical animal liberation network.” Growing up in verdant Vancouver, Canada, she went straight from kindergarten through grad school, finished as valedictorian of her undergraduate class, never stepped out of line, and—God forbid—never had any run-ins with the law. So how did this mild-mannered, upright kid grow up to become the animal agriculture industry’s most feared enemy? In this episode, Wayne and Almira uncover what drove her to leave her career, her country, and her comfort behind, only to live a life of voluntary indigence with the prospect of imprisonment. They discuss what it’s like to be at the helm of a social movement, the need to balance community relationships and enforce professional standards, and what it takes to be a true leader and agent of change. This is an Uprising: How Nonviolent Revolt is Shaping the 21st Century – Paul & Mark Engler Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose – Tony Hsieh Every Twelve Seconds – Timothy Pachirat Why David Sometimes Wins – Marshall Gantz Donate to DxE Music by Moby: Everything That Rises

Hadar Aviram—legal scholar, author, and human and animal rights activist—is the Thomas Miller Professor at UC Hastings College of the Law. She holds law and criminology degrees from Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a Ph.D. in Jurisprudence and Social Policy from UC Berkeley, where she studied as a Fulbright Fellow and a Regents Intern. Hadar specializes in criminal justice and civil rights from a socio-legal perspective. Prior to her illustrious career as one of the world's premier scholars and media commentators on criminal justice, Hadar worked in the trenches as a public defender in Israel. In this episode, Wayne and Hadar talk about the national reckoning over police brutality and racism; the culture of toxic masculinity permeating police departments; the science behind pervasive implicit bias and tribalistic tendencies that develop in the first few years of our lives; and the moral licensing that helps us justify our bad behavior. How do we solve this? Well, there may be no magic bullet, but Wayne and Hadar reveal some key steps we can take—as individuals, as societies—to move us in the right direction. “There is no one thing that is a magic bullet that is going to fix the horrors that we're seeing in American streets.” “We're all marinating in stereotypes.” Judge Richard Posner Hadar's most recent book (2020) - Yesterday's Monsters: The Manson Family Cases and the Illusion of Parole Hadar's book (2019) - The Legal Process and the Promise of Justice Hadar's first book (2015) - Cheap On Crime Recession: Era Politics and the Transformation of American Punishment Just Babies: The Origins of Good And Evil - Paul Bloom (2014) Identity Crisis: The 2016 Presidential Campaign and the Battle for the Meaning of America - John Sides, Michael Tesler, and Lynn Vavreck (2018) Music by Moby: Everything That Rises