Naijha Wright-Brown is the Executive Director of the Black Veg Society, a 501c3 non-profit organization that educates predominantly Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities on the benefits of holistic living, the plant-based diet, and veganism.  She is also the co-creator of Vegan Soulfest and Maryland Vegan Restaurant Month. Naijha shares her journey creating a soul food restaurant called The Land of Kush as well as an incredibly successful Black-focused vegan festival all while running the Black Veg Society. Naijha is on a mission to help people find their vegan soul! R ..read more

On today’s episode we have a recurring guest joining us, Hope’s husband, Cogen Bohanec. Hope and Cogen start us off with a big announcement and then Cogen discusses his work as a constructive theologian in the Dharma Traditions and how he connects Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist Dharma with environmental and animal rights issues. He talks about eco-psychology, eco-theology, karma theory, and the dangers of “human exceptionalism.” Cogen also talks about his recent writings regarding animal personhood, animals’ intrinsic value, and how we can remove systems of oppression through religious and cultural ..read more

On today’s episode we have a recurring guest joining us, Hope’s husband, Cogen Bohanec. Hope and Cogen start us off with a big announcement and then Cogen discusses his work as a constructive theologian in the Dharma Traditions and how he connects Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist Dharma with environmental and animal rights issues. He talks about eco-phycology, eco-theology, karma theory, and the dangers of “human exceptionalism.” Cogen also talks about his recent writings regarding animal personhood, animals’ intrinsic value, and how we can remove systems of oppression though religious and cultural t ..read more

Ryuji Chua is an animal activist and filmmaker who is currently working as a video producer at Surge Activism, an advisor for the Vegan Hacktivists, and was recently featured on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah to talk about animal rights and his latest independent documentary "How Conscious Can A Fish Be?" Hope and Ryuji talk about the importance of including fish in our advocacy and discuss fish pain, fish sentience, and fish farms. Ryuji offers advice about effective communication as a vegan, how focusing on the animals is critical for our messaging, and  how protecting wild animals is ..read more

 Today Hope starts us off with some interesting information about lobsters, crabs, oysters, and other marine life. Then we have Kathy Stevens joining us. Kathy is the founder & director of Catskill Animal Sanctuary, a 150-acre refuge in New York’s Hudson Valley for 11 different species of farmed animals. She was an educator for many years and in 2001, she co-founded Catskill Animal Sanctuary, where her love of teaching, her belief that education has the power to transform, and her love of animals come together. One of the world’s leading sanctuaries for farmed animals, Catskill has sa ..read more

Happy Holidays! In this episode, Hope is flying solo and  wanted to share with you some exciting things coming up in the new year for Compassionate Living and our signature projects, the Humane Hoax Project and the Ahimsa Living Project. She also talks about the mixed message of the holidays with tidings of love and peace wrapped up with overconsumption and meat eating.   “If we haven’t changed our hearts and we just change our habits, then any progress is built on a flawed foundation” -Hope Bohanec  DONATE TO COMPASSIONATE LIVING’S MATCHING CHALLENGE ..read more

Elly Nakajima is the founder and director of Animal Alliance Asia – a movement building organization dedicated to empowering and training animal justice activists across Asia. Born in Japan and currently based in the UK, Elly is passionate about building a more inclusive, culturally relevant, and effective movement across Asia. She was one of the first Japanese language educational content providers for vegan advocates in Japan.  Hope and Elly discuss the need for vegan advocacy to adapt and change for different cultures and different audiences in Asia. Elly explains why truly local leade ..read more

This episode is a rebroadcast of a solo show from last year at this time where Hope explores the Thanksgiving holiday in the US, the malleability of tradition, and the plight of the millions of turkeys that suffer and are killed for the holidays. We hope you enjoy this episode replay. Happy ThanksLiving!  ..read more

Dr. Jason Hannan is Associate Professor in the Department of Rhetoric, Writing, & Communications at the University of Winnipeg. He is the editor of Meatsplaining: The Animal Agriculture Industry and the Rhetoric of Denial. Jason and Hope talk about this edited volume and about “meatsplaining” as a PR tactic of the animal agriculture industry. They talk about how animal exploiters use the law, social media, anti-vegan trolling, and the humane hoax to justify and sanitize atrocities in animal farming. They also talk about Jason’s current book project, New White Saviors: The Colonial Mytholog ..read more

Welcome to our spooky and fun episode where Hope explores the connection between Halloween, horror movies, and veganism. Then we have Marla Rose joining us. Marla and her husband, John Beske, own Vegan Street Media,  a full-service marketing, design, and communications company for vegan businesses and nonprofits. Marla also co-founded Chicago VeganMania, a popular festival that ran for ten years, and the author of several books including Fun, Festive and Fabulous: Vegan Holidays for Everyone and Humane Halloween: 22 Quirky, Fun and Bewitching Vegan Recipes for the Spirit of the Season.&nb ..read more