Freedom of Species

Claire, Ruby, Lottie and Nick discuss the animal rights themes in the Wicked movie series. We also explore representations of racism and ableism in the movies, as well as connections between racism, ableism and animal oppression.  Resources on overlapping human and animal oppression:  Food Empowerment Project on slavery: https://foodispower.org/human-labor-slavery/  Food Empowerment Project on environmental racism: https://foodispower.org/environmental-and-global/environmental-racism/ Disability and animals: https://www.thedigradio.com/podcast/beasts-of-burden-w-sunaura-taylor/  Music: Animal Liberation by Los Fastidios: https://www.losfastidios.net/ Something Bad and Defying Gravity from the Wicked movies.

On this Summer Special, Claire, Ruby, Hayden and Nick discuss Reddit stories through a social justice lens. The stories cover: appropriate attire for meeting your partner’s parents, surprise birthdays, TikTok trends, sparkling water, leave for work to care for companion animals, movie theatre etiquette when you’re allergic to dogs, sharing food on dates and calling out line cutters.  This is our final Summer Special. We will return to normal Freedom of Species programming on Jan 25. That show will analyse Wicked through an animal rights lens.  Music: Red Flags by Tom Cardy ft Montaigne. I'll Grow Up Tomorrow by The Beaches. Delete by Ninajirachi. 4chan Stan by Lily Allen.

On this Summer Special, Lottie, Hayden and Nick discuss ways to use technologies more ethically.  We will have one more Summer Special next Sunday Jan 18. Normal Freedom of Species programming will resume on Jan 25.  Music: Spotify loves ICE by Dope Knife. Heavy Foot by Mon Rovia. Robot Writes a Love Song by PUP.  Links: Book: 'Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives' by Siddharth Kara (request it from your local bookstore or library).  Listeners in the US can tell Congress to co-sponsor the Living Wage for Musicians Act! https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-co-sponsor-the-living-wage-for-musicians-act/  - Guide to buying refurbished devices: https://www.trade.com.au/blogs/blog/best-refurbished-phones-australia - Guides to recycling your phone: https://www.trade.com.au/blogs/blog/mobile-phone-recycling https://www.trade.com.au/blogs/mobile/how-to-protect-personal-data-before-selling-old-phone - Donate phones to DV Safe Phone: https://dvsafephone.org/donate-phones - Donate laptops to Glee Givers: https://gleegivers.au/donate - Recycle phones at Mobile Muster: https://www.mobilemuster.com.au/  Main brands to avoid: ️- Meta (Facebook (messenger), Instagram (messenger), WhatsApp) - Google (Chrome, Drive, Docs, Photos, YouTube, Maps, Translate) - Microsoft (Office, e.g. Word, Excel, etc., OneDrive, Edge browser) - Apple (Safari browser, Apple Music, Apple podcasts) - Amazon (Audible, Kindle, Goodreads, IMDB) - X/Twitter - Spotify - Honourable mentions: OpenAI (ChatGPT), Uber, Netflix  Alternative apps and programs: *This is a snapshot of alternatives Lottie is using that appear more ethical as of Jan 2026. The sites linked further below offer more comprehensive options for you to research and try out: - Messenging app:  Signal, ️Telegram - Email: Proton (also offer authenticator, VPN, wallet) - Social media:  Bluesky, Mastodon - Photos and storage: Proton, Ente - Documents: Proton (currently beta) - Browser/search engine: DuckDuckGo, ️Ecosia, ️Firefox - Music: Qobuz - Podcasts: Podcast Addict - Audiobooks: libro.fm Your local library (e.g. through Libby, BorrowBox) - Translate: Lingva - Maps: OsmAnd - Calendar:️ Proton - Books: Find your local bookshop (https://www.bookpeople.org.au/find-a-bookshop/), Request books from your local library,️ Kobo ereader and ebooks  - Reading journal: StoryGraph  Resources: - The Opt Out Project: Guides to leaving Google and protecting your privacy (https://www.optoutproject.net/welcome-to-the-opt-out-project/) - Roots of change - Sam Chavez. E.g. A guide to leaving Google (https://knurdology.com/podcast/de-googling-our-lives-movements-a-digital-revolution-with-stone-cairns/) - Liminal Works. E.g. Alternatives to Google and Microsoft suites (https://www.liminal-works.org/blog-announcements/replatforming-the-movement-ethical-providers-rubric-apr2025) - Brian Merchant - Blood in the Machine substack. E.g. A guide to leaving Spotify (https://substack.com/@bloodinthemachine/p-179993332) - Paris Marx - Disconnect. E.g. Alternatives to US tech companies (https://disconnect.blog/getting-off-us-tech-a-guide/) - Privacy Guides. Companies deemed to have the best privacy for different products (https://www.privacyguides.org/en/tools/) - Rise Against Big Tech (https://riseagainstbig.tech/tech/) - May First (https://mayfirst.coop/en/audio/cutting-the-cord-experiences/) - Electronic Frontier Foundation (https://www.eff.org/pages/tools) - Boycat. Companies to boycott to support DRC, Palestine and Sudan, and divest from the USA (https://boycat.io/

In today’s show, Betty and Trev discuss the impact of persistent meat propaganda on the general perception of veganism and plant-based nutrition. Meat propaganda refers to marketing and media efforts that promote consumption of animal products while downplaying their environmental and health impacts. This can include misleading information that aims to protect the interests of meat, livestock and fishing industries, while discrediting veganism and undermining movements for animal liberation. In recent years, meat propaganda has been increasingly associated with far-right and nationalist influencers. Misinformation campaigns backed by the meat industry have primarily spread on the social media platform ‘X’. We  explore why most people ignore animal rights issues and finish on sharing why we’ve stayed vegan long-term.  Articles referenced:  Jessica Scott-Reid  https://sentientmedia.org/big-meat-rebrand-disinformation/  https://corporateknights.com/category-food/beef-lobbying-mba-downplays-climate-change-impact/  Changing Markets Foundation  https://changingmarkets.org/op-ed-what-do-the-meat-industry-far-right-and-major-internet-conspiracy-theories-have-in-common/  Collective Fashion Justice  https://www.collectivefashionjustice.org/leather  Music played:  40 year old vegan – Chokeules:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n-SfgK3ITcAll the good girls go to hell – Billie Ellish:  https://soundcloud.com/billieeilish/all-the-good-girls-go-to-hell  Animal Kingdom – Prince:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYgmpW6e9Ek   Happy Holidays to all our listeners. Tune in on Sundays at 1pm for annual summer specials.

Elise and Savanna discuss their dream vegan menus as we make the case for vegan eating as celebration rather than deprivation. Savanna is now a part of the Freedom of Species team, so keep your eye out for her shows in 2026!  Links: This episode is based on the format of the foodie podcast Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster, but with a vegan twist. For those wanting to check out that show, an episode we particularly recommend features the dream menu of vegan comedian Simon Amstell (episode 112): https://shows.acast.com/offmenu/episodes/ep112-simonamstell You can also hear our previous shows in this format – Nick’s menu: https://www.3cr.org.au/freedomofspecies/episode/mock-meat-and-potatoes-nick%E2%80%99s-dream-vegan-menu Hayden and Lottie’s menus: https://www.3cr.org.au/freedomofspecies/episode/what%E2%80%99s-menu-our-dream-vegan-communist-utopia Hayden’s vegan breakfasts from around the world: https://www.reddit.com/r/ShittyVeganFoodPorn/comments/1o09bpa/my_partner_and_i_are_making_a_veganised_breakfast/  Music: Animal Liberation by Los Fastidios: https://www.losfastidios.net/ Foie Gras by Ceschi and Factor Chandelier: https://fakefour.bandcamp.com/track/foie-gras-produced-by-factor-chandelier Coyotes by Modest Mouse: https://modestmouse.bandcamp.com/track/coyotes The Funeral by Local Resident Failure: https://peerecords.bandcamp.com/track/the-funeral

Test your knowledge of animal liberation film by seeing if you can think of the answers quicker than the listeners who texted in during the live show. There are questions about recent movies, including some related to the upcoming Animal Liberation Film Festival, but also questions on older movies going back as far as 1995!  The Animal Liberation Film Festival 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  Music: Animal liberation by Los Fastidios: https://www.losfastidios.net/ The most expensive chips I’ve ever had by the Decline and Dal Failure: https://disconnectdisconnectrecords.bandcamp.com/track/the-most-expensive-chips-ive-ever-had This won’t last forever by Ceschi and Factor Chandelier: https://ceschi.bandcamp.com/track/this-wont-last-forever Cat guy by Propagandhi: https://propagandhi.bandcamp.com/track/cat-guy

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