Dr. Richard D. Ryder coined the term "speciesism" in the late 1960s at a time when there were new terms such as "racism" and "sexism" more widely beginning to permeate the culture, describing a prejudice based on morally insignificant traits. This concept started to bounce around a small group of intellectuals at the University of Oxford, including the young philosopher Peter Singer, who would go on to popularize the term in his transformative book "Animal Liberation." Ryder had originally agreed to be a cowriter along with Singer, but pulled out with other work at the time. But his influence on "Animal Liberation" was significant. It was, in fact, this intellectual framework thus described beautifully in the opening monologue of the documentary "Earthlings" which led to my discovery of animal rights and directly changed the course of my life. Put simply, I am doing what I am doing today in large part due to the groundwork laid by Richard.And in fact, it was Peter Singer who graciously made the introduction to Richard at my request. I didn't know at the time how opportune a moment it was to be asking, as Peter alerted me to Richard's new book "The Ban on Hunting with Hounds and Other Campaigns Against Speciesism." Richard explained that this book would describe the massive campaign against hound hunting while simultaneously serving as a sort of autobiography. He said it would probably be his last book. The book is set to be released on December 8th. It was a real honor and treat to be able to speak with him about it, and to meet a man who gave voice to the animals throughout his entire life and indirectly changed the course of mine. Thank you, Richard.This conversation is also available on YouTube.Links:Richard's author page on AmazonWatch Earthlings

Melanie Kaplan's new book "Lab Dog" is a crowning achievement. The book is a story of Melanie's research project she undertook with her co-pilot beagle Hammy, the titular "lab dog" himself. It was to find out where Hammy came from and what had been done to him. That project ballooned into an incredibly well-researched exposé into the world of animal testing. And while she obviously had "Hammy bias," as she put it, this is a work of journalism, looking at multiple viewpoints and facets. It sort of blew my mind how little I actually knew about the subject and learned from this book. It was a joy to speak to Melanie and I hope everyone reads "Lab Dog." A blurb on the cover from Jane Goodall calls it "remarkable" and I tend to agree.This conversation is also available on YouTube.Links:Melanie's website"Lab Dog" on AmazonHammy on IGMelanie on FBWatch DominionWatch Earthlings

It would be impossible for me to capture in words the amount of gratitude I feel towards Ingrid Newkirk. The co-founder of PETA is simply a giant of the animal liberation movement. It could be argued that everything I do as an animal rights activist can be traced back in some way to Ingrid laying the groundwork. On August 1st, PETA announced that Ingrid would be stepping aside as president and remaining on as PETA's principal (which she said would change her day-to-day very little). Tracy Reiman was named PETA's new president. PETA and Ingrid are no stranger to criticism. While some of those critiques have some merit to them, I find most of them to be absurd. Speaking for myself, I can only say that Ingrid's dedication is a massive inspiration to me, something to strive to equal or exceed. A question I am constantly asking myself is: Am I making the world a better place for animals? Or: Has my presence on this planet been a net positive or a net negative? I don't know the answer to these questions, but I can confidently say that the world is a better place because of Ingrid Newkirk. Thank you, Ingrid. This conversation is also available on YouTube.Links:PETAPETA YouTubePETA IGPETA FBPETA TikTokPETA BlueSky"I Am An Animal"Watch EarthlingsWatch Dominion