The Bearded Vegans

This week The Bearded Vegans bring you an in depth review of A Prayer For Compassion, a new documentary making an appeal to veganism from a religious perspective. As two non-believers, Paul and Andy will see how the film stacks up! In addition to reviewing the film itself, they'll also discuss many of the points the film brings up, such as if being healthy should be a religious imperative and much much more! You can always reach The Bearded Vegans by emailing TheBeardedVegans@gmail.com or visiting TheBeardedVegans.com

We are coming at you with a bonus episode featuring a panel that Andy was honored to be a part of at the Portland vegfest in which he joins Chelsea Lincoln (Fat Vegan Voice) and Callie Coker (Vegan Warrior Princesses Attack!) to discuss body neutrality, fat liberation, honoring body diversity and how these issues intersect with the vegan movement. Topics covered include how fat phobia manifests itself within the animal liberation movement, why it harms activists and conflicts with the vegan ideology. Why oppressed groups shouldn't have to bear their pain in order to be taken seriously or prove their humanity. The fetishization of pain and suffering and resulting cycles of trauma. How body-size oriented activism creates and bolsters eating disorders. Why trolls don't actually care about health. And much much much more! You can always reach the podcast by emailing TheBeardedVegans@gmail.com or visiting TheBeardedVegans.com

In this week's mini episode The Bearded Vegans bring you an interview with andrew from Project FANG, a group working to bridge an often ignored aspect of political prisoner support, making it possible for prisoners to receive visits from their loved ones. They'll talk about what exactly is a political prisoner, why it is crucial to support them, the necessity of including prisoners in the process, and where can someone start when they feel intimidated by the prospect of writing that first letter. You can always reach The Bearded Vegans by emailing TheBeardedVegans@gmail.com or visiting TheBeardedVegans.com.

After pouring over dozens and dozens of the latest offerings from the most high profile vegan news sources, Paul and Andy found themselves pausing to ask "why is this news?" From articles that seem to try and create something out of absolutely nothing, to those that potentially promote corporations and institutions that run directly counter to the idea of collective liberation, they turn their lens towards some of the most lauded news sites and ponder what the point of it all is. Do we need these news stories? And ultimately ask, is it irresponsible to report on or share these types of stories? You can always reach The Bearded Vegans by emailing TheBeardedVegans@gmail.com or visiting TheBeardedVegans.com

In this week's mini episode, Paul and Andy respond to a listener question wondering how can we overcome apathy in those who agree that animals should not be exploited but just don't care enough to actually make any changes that would align their actions with that belief? Additionally, they'll discuss what it truly means to "care" and whether or not we should spend out time trying to convince others to care. You can always reach The Bearded Vegans by emailing TheBeardedVegans@gmail.com or visiting TheBeardedVegans.com.

In this week's mini episode, Paul and Andy respond to a listener question wondering how can we overcome apathy in those who agree that animals should not be exploited but just don't care enough to actually make any changes that would align their actions with that belief? Additionally, they'll discuss what it truly means to "care" and whether or not we should spend out time trying to convince others to care. You can always reach The Bearded Vegans by emailing TheBeardedVegans@gmail.com or visiting TheBeardedVegans.com.

This week The Bearded Vegans bring you a news round up, where they'll discuss a variety of news stories that have caught their interest over the past few weeks. Starting with the struggle to save nine lambs from slaughter at Antioch College, moving on to the curious case of a vegan who was tricked into eating animal flesh and responded by calling the cops. They end with a lengthy discussion of an upcoming UK TV show, Meat The Family, in which "unrepentant carnivores" will be forced to bond with a farmed animal for three weeks and then choose between killing and eating the animal or going vegetarian. Lots to chew on in this one! You can always reach The Bearded Vegans by emailing TheBeardedVegans@gmail.com or visiting TheBeardedVegans.com.

This week The Bearded Vegans bring you a news round up, where they'll discuss a variety of news stories that have caught their interest over the past few weeks. Starting with the struggle to save nine lambs from slaughter at Antioch College, moving on to the curious case of a vegan who was tricked into eating animal flesh and responded by calling the cops. They end with a lengthy discussion of an upcoming UK TV show, Meat The Family, in which "unrepentant carnivores" will be forced to bond with a farmed animal for three weeks and then choose between killing and eating the animal or going vegetarian. Lots to chew on in this one! You can always reach The Bearded Vegans by emailing TheBeardedVegans@gmail.com or visiting TheBeardedVegans.com.

In this week's mini episode Paul and Andy discuss the California Fur Ban and the respond to a listener question asking whether we should make a big deal about our veganniversary. Is such an occasion a time to brag or boast, a time to make educational posts, or should we consider our number of years vegan to be of little importance? Does celebrating veg anniversaries put too much attention on vegans and not enough on the victims? They'll do their best to dig in! You can always reach The Bearded Vegans by emailing TheBeardedVegans@gmail.com or visiting TheBeardedVegans.com.

In this week's mini episode Paul and Andy discuss the California Fur Ban and the respond to a listener question asking whether we should make a big deal about our veganniversary. Is such an occasion a time to brag or boast, a time to make educational posts, or should we consider our number of years vegan to be of little importance? Does celebrating veg anniversaries put too much attention on vegans and not enough on the victims? They'll do their best to dig in! You can always reach The Bearded Vegans by emailing TheBeardedVegans@gmail.com or visiting TheBeardedVegans.com.

This week we respond to a listener wondering if it's possible to be a dog trainer and a Good Vegan at the same time. While some amount of training maybe beneficial for a dog's safety, where is the line drawn between keeping a dog safe and doing things that are purely for human benefit. And ultimately, even if some training is for the dog's benefit, is it ultimately unethical to force another sentient being to conform to human societal standards when we're the ones who created the problem in the first place? Get ready for tangent city, as this is a much more complicated issue than we first anticipated! You can always reach The Bearded Vegans by emailing TheBeardedVegans@gmail.com or visiting TheBeardedVegans.com

This week we respond to a listener wondering if it's possible to be a dog trainer and a Good Vegan at the same time. While some amount of training maybe beneficial for a dog's safety, where is the line drawn between keeping a dog safe and doing things that are purely for human benefit. And ultimately, even if some training is for the dog's benefit, is it ultimately unethical to force another sentient being to conform to human societal standards when we're the ones who created the problem in the first place? Get ready for tangent city, as this is a much more complicated issue than we first anticipated! You can always reach The Bearded Vegans by emailing TheBeardedVegans@gmail.com or visiting TheBeardedVegans.com

Paul and Andy are so pleased to bring you their recent episode recorded live at the Halifax Vegfest. They take the opportunity to respond to a few listener emails, including an activist who is feeling burnt out but doesn't want to stop doing their activism and wonders if there is a way to engage in self care that doesn't require taking time off from activism. Then they discuss the ethics of sanctuaries using the wool from their residents to make clothes for human use. After that, they turn the mic over to the audience to answer a variety of questions, comments and concerns. You can always reach The Bearded Vegans by emailing TheBeardedVegans@gmail.com or visiting TheBeardedVegans.com.

Paul and Andy are so pleased to bring you their recent episode recorded live at the Halifax Vegfest. They take the opportunity to respond to a few listener emails, including an activist who is feeling burnt out but doesn't want to stop doing their activism and wonders if there is a way to engage in self care that doesn't require taking time off from activism. Then they discuss the ethics of sanctuaries using the wool from their residents to make clothes for human use. After that, they turn the mic over to the audience to answer a variety of questions, comments and concerns. You can always reach The Bearded Vegans by emailing TheBeardedVegans@gmail.com or visiting TheBeardedVegans.com.

We made it to episode 200 and we are taking the opportunity to reflect on where we've been and where we're going by answering listener questions related to all things podcast. We'll discuss the creative process, podcast pet peeves, what we would have done differently if we had a chance to start over, the hows and whys of the podcast's evolution from day one and much much more! You can always reach The Bearded Vegans by emailing TheBeardedVegans@gmail.com or visiting TheBeardedVegans.com .