Freedom of Species

Savanna, Gonzalo and Nick discuss the upcoming Animal Liberation Film Festival. This event is being held from December 5-6 in Melbourne, at Cinema Nova. For more information on the festival, go to: https://alff.org.au/ Also see the Facebook event page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/25038308422432519  Additional links: We briefly discuss this article as a follow-up to an issue we raised on the previous show Poker Face and Representations of Vegans in Pop Culture: https://www.theveganreview.com/veganism-related-hate-crimes-are-on-the-rise-in-britain/  Music: Animal Liberation and Cruelty Free by Los Fastidios: https://www.losfastidios.net/ Get Up by Goldfinger: https://www.goldfingermusic.com/music/hello-destiny-goldfinger/ Yuppie Kids by Shoreline: https://purenoise.bandcamp.com/album/to-figure-out

In the early 1800s, colonial Sydney transformed from a drunken shanty town ruled by military oligarchs to a developed city ruled by pastoral capitalists. Australia’s first wool baron, John MacArthur, continued to grow his wealth while maintaining a powerful position in the colony, despite his corruption and role in overthrowing Governor William Bligh in the 1808 Rum Rebellion.  Australian wool develops into a thriving export industry as Sydney urbanises. Meanwhile, the violence of colonial and pastoral expansion have devastating impacts on local First Nations communities. In today’s show, part of the wool series, Betty takes Nick and the listeners through the events of the early 1800s surrounding the first exports of Australian wool. Music has been removed from the podcast version of the show due to copyright. Please check out the music featured:  Bligh - Rum Rebellion   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogrMXK5mVvE&list=OLAK5uy_mDELdtaMlJCn_uNBGiUYW12X0yOYzMNVE&index=6  This Land is Mine - Kev Carmody, Paul Kelly and Kelton Pell  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKjwcQ8NzVM   Dyarrubin – Charlie Needs Braces   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7B-H_JFDgo  References and useful links:  Hedrick, M. C. (2024). The Australian Woolen Industry; British Investment in Colonial Australia: Unraveling the Threads of Economic Development 1788-1850.  The Mutiny on the Bounty:  https://beaconmedia.com.au/beaconmedia/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Mutiny-on-the-Bounty-1.pdf  The Rum Rebellion:  https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/rum-rebellion https://mhnsw.au/stories/convict-sydney/john-macarthur-ambitious-volatile-self-confident/ A history of Aboriginal Sydney: https://historyofaboriginalsydney.edu.au/south-west/1810s The Appin Massacre: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-15/state-heritage-listing-for-appin-massacre-site/101765746 Doin Time podcast about the Appin Massacre memorial: https://www.3cr.org.au/dointime/episode/appin-massacre-memorial Frontier War Stories Podcast: https://koorimail.com/series/frontier-war-stories/

Katie and Nick discuss the TV show Poker Face and its representations of vegans and animal rights.  Links: “I’m a Murderer”: Poker Face’s Vegan Feeling by Brigitte N. McCray: https://www.popmatters.com/poker-face-rian-johnson-veganism Poker Face Season 2 Episode 6’s Surprising New Victim Confirms The Season’s Secret Theme by Nick Bythrow: https://screenrant.com/poker-face-season-2-episode-6-animal-victim-new-theme/ Simon Amstell’s comedy special Set Free: https://www.netflix.com/title/81045860 Animal Liberation Film Festival. 5–6 December at Cinema Nova, Melbourne: https://alff.org.au/  Music: Animal Liberation by Los Fastidios: https://www.losfastidios.net/ It’s all about the money by Montaigne: https://montaigne.bandcamp.com/album/its-hard-to-be-a-fish Foie Gras by Ceschi and Factor Chandelier: https://fakefour.bandcamp.com/track/foie-gras-produced-by-factor-chandelier iamnotforeveryone by Myles Bullen, ft Hannah Harleen: https://mylesbullen.bandcamp.com/track/iamnotforeveryone-feat-hannah-harleen

Meg and Ash have a casual discussion about the future of veganism. How veganism is intrisically linked to avocating for animal rights, how attitudes toward vegans and a vegan lifestyle are changing and the economic, ethical and societal predictions for 2050 and beyond. Audio:  How Veganism Can Change the World - The Economist https://youtu.be/hwoL6hWd4l0?si=I90qy3ICjh78fQYc Diet and identity: The rise of veganism - La Tobe University panel https://www.youtube.com/live/ChEUiH5hjZw?si=EyLAzeXesBXcQRW2 Music Dead Can Dance  Opium https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuMqDF0PFZA Amnesia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ll3TaVmIfk The Carnival is Over https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPDLJ1UU2Uk

We discussed anarcho-punk and animal rights with our guest Pat, focusing on bands that influenced us and helped shape our political awareness. Pat is a friend to many at  3CR and formerly was a co-host of Roominations and Thursday Breakfast programs.  The punk subculture, particularly the anarcho-punk and straight edge movements, has maintained a strong association with animal rights activism since the 1980s. This link has manifested in punk music lyrics, benefit concerts, direct actions, and broader lifestyle choices such as veganism. Bands like Crass, Conflict, and Flux of Pink Indians (to name just a few influential bands of this period) helped pioneer this focus, using their music and influence to promote anti-speciesism, anti-war, and DIY ethics, especially within politically charged contexts like 1980s Britain.Within anarcho-punk communities, veganism often became the norm, with punks engaging in activism through grassroots organising, zines, and participation in groups like Food Not Bombs and hunt saboteur networks.  Despite not being universally adopted across punk, animal rights have played a foundational role in shaping anarcho-punk identity and continue to influence punk’s ethical and political practices.   Bands and music we spoke about:   Crass https://crass.bandcamp.com/   Conflict https://conflictpunk.bandcamp.com   We discuss the song by Conflict - A Message to Who https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4J0kC9DQ9Q&list=RDu4J0kC9DQ9Q&start_radio=1  Discharge https://dischargeofficialmusic.bandcamp.com/album/war-is-hell  Music we played:  Crass: You're Already Dead https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-jlqSzU5WY&list=RDx-jlqSzU5WY&start_radio=1 Discharge: War's No Fairytale https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMCv_ygEnyU&list=RDSMCv_ygEnyU&start_radio=1 Discharge: Religion Instigates https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifDor77X8Cc&list=RDifDor77X8Cc&start_radio=1 Nausea: Clutches https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qouy91rckk4&list=RDQouy91rckk4&start_radio=1     Please note that for copyright reasons we cannot include the songs played on the show in the podcast. Our guests' songs have been added to the Freedom of Species Spotify playlist where possible here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3TJQujKYjGFoFP6LhBbaTS?si=bfcb55c3f763...(link is external)  Anarchist pamplets and books we mentioned that we love:  Active Distribution UK has been operating since the 1980s as a DIY and voluntary project that distributes a wide range of 'all things anarchist' and maintains a DIY and not for profit ethic. Some of their amazing A6 pamphlets that we recommend checking out are: Beasts of Burden:  https://www.activedistributionshop.org/product/beasts-of-burden-a6/  Beasts of Burden was first published in October 1999. The aim of the anonymous pamphlet was to initiate a debate between animal liberationists and revolutionaries – anarchists and communists (the author uses the term ‘communist’ repeatedly and means communism in its original sense: a stateless and classless society where people live together and ‘the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all’. Animal Liberation and Social Revolution by Brian Dominick https://www.activedistributionshop.org/product/animal-liberation-and-social-revolution/  A Vegan Perspective on Anarchism, or an Anarchist Perspective on Veganism Written by Brian Dominick in 1995 – and introducing the term “Veganarchism” – this text sets out to demonstrate that any approach to social change must be comprised of an understanding not only of social relationships, but also of the relationships between humans and non-human animals. However, it also shows that, in turn, animal liberation itself will never be a feasible approach without understanding and participating in the wider social revolutionary endeavour.  From Animals to Anarchism by Kevin Watkinson & Donal O'Driscoll https://www.activedistributionshop.org/product/from-animals-to-anarchism/   From Animals to Anarchism challenges those involved in animal activism to sort their politics out if they truly believe in liberation, but at the same time does not let anarchists off the hook – demanding that they consider more fully the nature of human-animal relations in their politics.  Veganarchism: Against All Oppression, Everywhere, All the Time by Nathan Poirier https://www.activedistributionshop.org/product/from-animals-to-anarchism/ This book's central thesis is simple: Veganism and anarchism are, and should always be thought of as, the exact same thing. Not just similar, or almost synonyms, or parallet movements.   Check out the incredible range of A6 pamphlets and books from Active Distribution UK here: https://www.activedistributionshop.org/product-category/pamphlets-booklets/     A reminder about 3CR's Regular Donor Campaign: by becoming a regular donor, your ongoing support ensures that we are able to continue to provide a platform for community issues and airing independent radio without corporate sponsorpship or government funding. 3CR is determined to stay independent and serve our community, and we do rely on community support to keep going. A regular donation helps pay the bills and provide training for the next generation of community broadcasters. If you'd like to become a regular donor, please jump online and go 3cr.org.au or call the station during business hours on phone 03 9419 8377. Show your solidarity and support 3CR.  Please share any feedback on our shows with us via freedomofspecies@gmail.com

River, Rain, Brook and Creek are four wild-born dingo puppies whose lives took a turn when their mother was shot by a farmer in their first few weeks of life. The puppies were destined to be drowned until a neighbour intervened and organised for the puppies to be sent to a dingo rescue. In today’s show, Betty Melon shares her experience staying with dingo carers Alix Livingstone and Zeph Thomson along with their 5 adult dingoes, 3 dogs, 1 cat and 4 fostered dingo puppies. Betty and Trev unpack the challenges and rewards of caring for less domesticated canines like huskies and dingoes and the legacy of domestic dog breeding. We move on to discuss the environmental and animal impact of the dingo fence and ‘wild dog control’ methods on Australian ecosystems. We finish with a poem reading inspired by the stories of the dingoes. For more information about dingoes and dingo adoption, please follow Defend the Wild: https://www.defendthewild.org/ And Dingo Culture: https://www.dingoculture.com/ ABC article about the Australian dingo fence: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-09/dingo-fence-map-ecology-farming-predator-sheep-extinction/101711608 Listen to our interview with Alix and Sonya here:https://www.3cr.org.au/freedomofspecies/episode/dingo-talks-sonya-alix Music played:  Dingo – John Williamson   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ_Yl5EnmbE Change is coming - Emma Donovan & Liz Stringer   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0iJzfSZt5w Lil' Red riding hood - Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaTIg1mwq8Q&list=RDBaTIg1mwq8Q&start_radio=1

Lottie, Hayden and Nick explore what it would look like to have an ecologically sustainable world and how veganism fits in with that. The discussion draws on ideas from the books Half-Earth Socialism: A Plan to Save the Future from Extinction, Climate Change and Pandemics by Drew Pendergrass and Troy Vettesse, and Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet by Hannah Ritchie.   Links: Half Earth Socialism book: https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/2650-half-earth-socialism Half Earth Socialism game: https://play.half.earth/ Interview with Half Earth Socialism author Drew Pendergass, on Green Left Radio – 3CR: https://www.3cr.org.au/greenleftradio/episode/half-earth-socialism-77-years-nakba Not the End of the World book: https://www.penguin.com.au/books/not-the-end-of-the-world-9781529931242 The Substack of Hannah Ritchie, Not the End of the World author: https://www.sustainabilitybynumbers.com/  Music: Animal Liberation by Los Fastidios: https://www.losfastidios.net/ Making Do by Lake Street Drive: https://www.lakestreetdive.com/ End of the World by Miley Cyrus: https://mileycyrus.lnk.to/listen Dirty Paws by Of Monsters and Men: https://www.ofmonstersandmen.com/music/

The Australian wool industry carried the nation’s economy for much of the 19th and 20th century and played a significant role in growing the wealth of the British Empire, while displacing Indigenous populations and devastating ecosystems. In today’s show, part of the wool series, Betty Melon takes Meg and the listeners through the events of the 1700s leading up to the creation of the Australian wool industry. We set the scene on the historic importance of wool to Great Britain, leading to the eradication of wolves and the brutality of the Scottish Highland clearances. We move on to follow the schemes of Australia’s first wool baron, John MacArthur, as he becomes the wealthiest man in New South Wales and the impact of the colonial settlement on the people of the Eora Nations. As we reflect on the colonial history of Australia, we recognise the parallels between the actions of Australian governments of the 19th century against First Nations people and the actions of the modern Israeli state against the Palestinian people. It was wrong then and its wrong now. Sanctions save lives. We call for the Australian government to take decisive and immediate action to sanction Israel. Our friend of the show, Anas Arafat, is the founder of the organisation ‘Plant the Land Gaza’. Before Israel started relentlessly bombing Gaza in October 2023, Anas had been working on several food growing projects with the goal of long-term food sovereignty for the people of Gaza. Since then, the IDF has completely decimated the land and cut off food supply to people in Gaza. Despite this atrocity happening before our eyes, Anas continues to do his food distribution work, bringing critical relief to people in his community. However, Anas has recently been hit with an unimaginable personal tragedy, losing 13 family members when their home was bombed by the IDF on July 14th. We pay our respects to Anas and to the memory of his family. We will remember them.  We send our love, condolences and solidarity to Anas and his family.  You can support Anas and his mutual aid work in Gaza through our fundraiser: https://gofund.me/aa4facc0 Thank-you to our program’s sponsor  Project Fresh Start https://projectfreshstart.org.au/ Music has been removed from the podcast version of the show due to copyright. Please check out the music featured: Happy Australia Day - Luke O’Shea, Kevin Bennett https://lukeoshea.com/happy-australia-day-new-single-video-from-there-in-the-ochre/ Sing me a Story - Luke O’Shea, Lyn Bowtell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBkgqnTUUf0 Dharawal – Luke O’Shea, Jade Kennedy https://lukeoshea.com/new-music-from-luke-oshea-a-powerful-new-single-dharawal/References: https://www.compassioninfoodbusiness.com/rethinking-food/people-planet-animals/planet-land-use/ https://guides.sl.nsw.gov.au/convicts-bound-for-australia/second_fleet https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/macarthur-john-2390 https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Great-Wolf-Slayers-Of-England/ https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks13/1302011h.html#ch-02 https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/merino-sheep-introduced https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/pemulwuy-13147 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=130FeeGAz10&t=3s

Our guest on today's show is Meg Edge. We chat about Meg's career as a vegan professional athlete in MMA (mixed martial arts), and discuss straight edge and the hardcore scene.     Bio:    Meg is a self-described jack of all trades, master of none. Over the past decade or so, she has worked for and volunteered with various animal rights and conservation organisations, as well as having been a professional athlete (yes, a vegan one) and coach. She is a writer and a musician, currently in Naarm-based hardcore band TIMEPEACE and previously in the staunchly vegan Straight Edge band Judas Wolf. She currently lives on Wadawurrung Country with her furry family - Mahoney, Rogue, and Bean.   Links:    Follow Meg's band Timepeace and find dates of upcoming shows and their EP released here: https://www.instagram.com/timepeaceworld/?hl=en    Masochist https://www.instagram.com/masochistpunk/?hl=en     Hayley Williams https://www.instagram.com/yelyahwilliams/?hl=en   Music we played:   Snared - Judas Wolf https://judasxwolf.bandcamp.com/track/snared   Masochist - Hoax https://masochistpunk.bandcamp.com/track/hoax   Mirtazapine - Hayley Williams https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMrh5CW6IhI     Please note that for copyright reasons we cannot include the songs played on the show in the podcast. Our guests' songs have been added to the Freedom of Species Spotify playlist where possible here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3TJQujKYjGFoFP6LhBbaTS?si=bfcb55c3f763...(link is external)    Thank you for listening. Please contact us with any feedback on our shows at freedomofspecies@gmail.com

On the show today, our guest is Nathan Poirier who returned to continue our discussion about veganarchism. We talked about some of the ideas raised in Nathan's solo book and the edited books, and also highlighted some ideas that are often not examined. Our first conversation about veganarchism aired in a previous show which is available here: https://www.3cr.org.au/freedomofspecies/episode/veganarchism-against-all-oppression-everywhere-all-time-nathan-poirier Note: in the third section of the podcast, we left it unedited and we talk about various topics such as intersectionality, that critical animal studies is not so radical anymore (probably need a  whole show to cover this), abolition, Angela Davis and more. We decided to leave in our chat unedited as a more representative overview of the conversation.    Nathan's bio:   Nathan Poirier is an independent scholar-activist who has edited or authored books that span topics like critical animal studies, veganarchism, non/human coexistence, and a forthcoming two-volume A6 set on black anarchism. Nathan is an ambassador for the Office of Empowerment (essential the DEI organization) at Lansing Community College where Nathan is a full time math tutor. Nathan enjoys bringing people and causes together so that individuals can constructively challenge each other socially and intellectually to create a better world for all. It is Nathan's continuous goal to push their own boundaries as well as others' in terms of how critical, radical thought relates to everyday life. Preferring to be somewhat of an intellectual  "jack of all trades", Nathan does not consider themselves an expert in anything and primarily hops between topics of intellectual inquiry (and back again) trying to learn a bit of everything. This orientation fits in with and helped lead to their theorizing veganism and anarchism as the same thing - and together as a theory of everything.     Links:     Books:   Veganarchism: Against All Oppression, Everywhere, All the time by Nathan Poirier (2025) https://www.activedistributionshop.org/product/vegananarchism-a6/    Veganarchism: Making Veganism and Anarchism Dangerous Again (edited by Will Boisseau and Nathan Poirier, 2024) https://www.activedistributionshop.org/product/vegananarchism/    Active Distribution has been around since the 1980s, as a DIY and voluntary project to support our scenes. Run by Jon for over thirty years, he’s now stepped back to focus on Active Distribution Publishing, and a crew based in Bristol have been running the distro side of things. Still keeping things priced as low as possible, distributing a wide range of ‘all things anarchist’ and maintaining a DIY and not for profit ethic. You can also find the books via PM Press:  The PM Press US links are below.:  Veganarchism: Against All Oppression, Everywhere, All the Time: https://pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1851  Veganarchism: Making veganism and Anarchism Dangerous Again: https://pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1850     PM Press is an independent, radical publisher of critically necessary books for our tumultuous times. Our aim is to deliver bold political ideas and vital stories to all walks of life and arm the dreamers to demand the impossible. Founded in 2007 by a small group of people with decades of publishing, media, and organizing experience, we have sold millions of copies of our books, most often one at a time, face to face. We’re old enough to know what we’re doing and young enough to know what’s at stake. Join us to create a better world.   Books we mentioned in the last section of our discussion:  Racism as Zoological Witchcraft: A Guide to Getting Out by Aph Ko (2019) https://lanternpm.org/book/racism-as-zoological-witchcraft/  Expanding the Critical Animal Studies Imagination: Essays in Solidarty and Total Liberation by Nathan Poirier (Volume editor), Sarah Tomasello (Volume editors), Amber E. George (Volume editor) (2024) https://www.peterlang.com/document/1298884  Building Multispecies Resistance Against Exploitation: Stories from the Frontlines of Labor and Animal Rights by Zane McNeill (2024) https://www.peterlang.com/document/1359054 Some links of interest:Are you an anarchist? The answer may surprise you!https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/david-graeber-are-you-an-anarchist-the-answer-may-surprise-you Christoper Sebastian on exploring radical veganism https://strivingwithsystems.com/2017/05/15/exploring-radical-veganism/  Traumatized and Thriving on Instagram - resource on Decolonize Your Life for Beginners https://www.instagram.com/traumatized_thriving/?hl=en       Music we played on the show:Everlast - The Culling https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tqzr2f1cZv4Bob Dylan - Masters of War https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEmI_FT4YHUBob Dylan - With God on our Side  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y2FuDY6Q4M.       Please note that for copyright reasons we cannot include the songs played on the show in the podcast. Our guests' songs have been added to the Freedom of Species Spotify playlist where possible here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3TJQujKYjGFoFP6LhBbaTS?si=bfcb55c3f763...(link is external)    Thank you for listening. Please contact us with any feedback on our shows at freedomofspecies@gmail.com