Ever been told an animal is a "problem"? From the deer in our backyards and the pigeons in our cities to the elephants on their ancestral lands, we constantly label other species as pests, nuisances, and issues to be solved. But what if the real problem isn't the animal themselves, but the way we choose to see them?

In this episode, Claudia Hirtenfelder, host of the acclaimed podcast The Animal Turn and a brilliant geographer, unravels the surprising process of how we "make" animals into problems. She introduces her powerful concept of "problematization" — the social and historical system where animals are first labelled as a problem in our laws and conversations, and then managed, or even removed, because of it.

We'll explore the consequences of this labeling and discover how this framework explains not just the history of cows in one Canadian city, but the global stories of creatures from coyotes and badgers to sea gulls and squirrels. Get ready to have your perspective flipped. Tune in to ask the critical question: When we call an animal a problem, what are we really saying about ourselves?

Website/Socials & Books:

Claudia Hirtenfelder

Podcast: https://www.theanimalturnpodcast.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudia-hirtenfelder-a360241a

Article: "An analytical framework to understand the problematization of urban (historical) animals" https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/25148486241281227

Other links

Vienna Animal Studies Group: https://www.viennaanimalstudies.com

Phoenix Zones: https://www.phoenixzonesinitiative.org

Transformation Austria: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=10009315345939

Wild crows inhabiting the city use it to their advantage - David Attenborough - BBC wildlife https://youtu.be/BGPGknpq3e0?si=HVn4TpZuTJWOcFTG

Straying Home: A film essay with urban animals https://youtu.be/kfITJ9zDU5w?si=LKHljLvR2nFjt3ne

by just wondering https://justwondering.io/beyond-speciesism-beyond-humanism-beyond/

"Turkey's street-living dogs: Thoughts in light of Turkey's controversial 'adoption' law", by Emilia Leese https://open.substack.com/pub/emilialeese/p/turkeys-street-living-dogs

Emi Leese

https://emilialeese.substack.com

http://thinklikeavegan.com

http://emilialeese.com

Instagram @emi.leese

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@thinklikeavegan/videos

Credits

Host: Emilia A. Leese

Guest: Claudia Hirtenfelder

Production & Engineering: Jim Moore of Bloody Vegans Productions; https://www.bloodyvegansproductions.com

Graphics: Catherine Dorrell https://www.messyvegancook.com

Music

Opening theme: “Flashbacks” by Jenny Moore’s Mystic Business

Interlude: "No Time" by Matthew Gerstenberger

Closing theme: “Tear Things Up” by Jenny Moore’s Mystic Business

This podcast is part of iROAR, the Animals Podcasting Network https://iroarpod.com