Here’s Species Unite’s Five Most-Listened To Podcast Episodes of This Year
A filmmaker, a neuroscientist, and a former military sniper-turned anti-poaching crusader are among our most listened-to guests for 2020.
Anti-poaching crusader Damien Mander. Credit: International Anti-Poaching Foundation
It can often be overwhelming to think about the problems that animals, humans and the environment currently face.
But there is so much hope - thanks to the countless people fighting tirelessly to create a kinder, more compassionate future. This year, Species Unite has spoken with so many inspiring and incredible individuals who have shown us just how much impact one person can have. Their stories are so important, and by listening to them, together we can help change the narrative for animals.
Here are the episodes our supporters listened to most during 2020:
Melanie Joy
Why We (Still) Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows
Melanie during her TEDX talk.
What makes the average American think that it’s OK to eat pigs, but not dogs? Questions like that are at the heart of Melanie Joy’s fascinating work on the psychology behind eating animals.
The Harvard-educated psychologist and award-winning author helps us unpack ‘carnism’ - the invisible belief system that conditions people to eat certain animals.
Kelly Guerin
Love Begets Love
Kelly on shoot with We Animals Media.
Documentary filmmaker Kelly Guerin is part of the extraordinary We Animals Media team, and has also worked independently and alongside NGOs to direct, film, and edit dozens of short films spanning topics of animal protection, environmental justice, and human rights throughout the world.
Kelly’s conversation is about what we are doing to animals and to one another, and until we make the connection that the two are completely intertwined, there’s no real stopping of any of it.
Lori Marino
Intelligent Life on Earth
Neuroscientist Lori Marino is an expert in animal behavior and intelligence, and focuses her work on whales and dolphins.
Lori has made it her life’s work, to not only study the intelligence of cetaceans, but to advocate and fight for their lives.
She’s appeared in several films and television programmes including Blackfish, and she’s currently the president of the Whale Sanctuary Project, which will be a seaside sanctuary for former performing orcas and belugas that have spent their entire lives in concrete tanks.
Damien Mander
The Anti-Poaching Crusader
Previously a Australian Royal Navy clearance diver and a special operations military sniper, Damien Mander has become an anti-poaching crusader and an environmental and animal welfare activist.
His incredible journey follows him founding the International Anti-Poaching Foundation (IAPF), which now protects over 20 million acres of African wilderness.
By training and supporting rangers, Damien’s work is helping to protect animals and support communities. And among the IAPF’s programs, is the game-changing Akashinga - Nature Protected By Women, known as the world’s first all-female, armed anti-poaching unit.
Amanda Hearst
A Better World for All Beings
Amanda Hearst is the co-founder of Well Beings, an organization that unites animal welfare and environmental protection throughout the globe.
She’s fighting everything from closing down puppy mills in the American South, to stopping deforestation in South America.
And now because of COVID-19, Well Beings’ urgent new campaign is helping to stop the next pandemic by preventing wildlife trafficking in the rainforests - which has been linked to the spread of similar coronaviruses.
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Ready for more? Check out all of Species Unite’s episodes here.
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Species Unite
A collection of stories of those who fight the good fight on behalf of animals.
The footage was reportedly recorded at Marshall BioResources in North Rose, New York, where up to 22,000 dogs - mostly beagles - are being bred for animal experimentation.