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Artwork for Knowing Animals

Knowing Animals

Josh Milburn
Animal Rights
Critical Animal Studies
Climate Crisis
Gaza
Animal Studies
War Crimes
Ecocide
Animal Welfare
Animal Ethics
Human-Animal Relations
Anthropocentrism
Sociology
Human Rights Violations
Plant-Based Transition
Capitalocene
Red Kites
Military Action
Animal Suffering
Children's Moral Judgments
Animal Consciousness

Knowing Animals is a regular 20 minutes podcast about all things related to animals and ethics; animals and the law; animals and politics; and animal advocacy. It features interviews with academic and animal advocates. It is available free so enjoy!

PublishesMonthlyEpisodes310Founded11 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
Society & CultureEducation

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Artwork for Knowing Animals

Latest Episodes

Dr Jan Dutkiewicz is an Assistant Professor of Political Science in the Department of Social Science and Cultural Studies at the Pratt Institute in New York. Much of his research focuses on the political economy of food; in addition to publishing res... more

This episode's guest is Professor Marcy Norton of the University of Pennsylvania's Department of History. She's a historian of the early modern Atlantic interested in questions about how Europeans shaped the Americas and how Native American peoples s... more

On the 250th episode of Knowing Animals, the guest is Jin Qian, a PhD candidate at Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands. She researches China's environmental governance and its global implications, with a focus on the intersection of... more

On this episode, we speak to Nathan Poirier. Nathan is an interdisciplinary critical animal studies scholar with a background in anthrozoology, sociology, and mathematics. He currently teaches at Lansing Community College in Michigan. He's the co-edi... more

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Recent Guests

Marcy Norton
Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania; author of The Tame and the Wild
University of Pennsylvania
Episode: Episode 251: Tame and wild with Marcy Norton
Jin Qian
PhD candidate researching China's environmental governance, wildlife in food systems, and animal advocacy; host of Slightly Tofu
Wageningen University and Research; Slightly Tofu
Episode: Episode 250: China's forest frogs with Jin Qian
Nathan Poirier
Interdisciplinary critical animal studies scholar
Lansing Community College, Michigan
Episode: Episode 249: Veganarchafeminism with Nathan Poirier
Eze Paez
Returning guest; tenure-track professor in jurisprudence and bioethics at Pompeu Fabra University
Pompeu Fabra University
Episode: Episode 248: Sentientist political liberalism with Eze Paez and Pablo Magaña
Pablo Magaña
New guest; Irish Research Council postdoctoral fellow at Trinity College Dublin
Trinity College Dublin
Episode: Episode 248: Sentientist political liberalism with Eze Paez and Pablo Magaña
Claire Parkinson
Professor of culture, communication and screen studies at Edge Hill University; co-director of the University Centre for Human Animal Studies
Edge Hill University
Episode: Episode 247: Animal activism on film with Claire Parkinson
Zara-Louise Stubbs
PhD student at the University of York
University of York
Episode: Episode 246: The Uncanny Gastronomic with Zara-Louise Stubbs
Walter Veit
Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Reading; author of A Philosophy for the Science of Animal Consciousness
University of Reading
Episode: Episode 245: Animal consciousness with Walter Veit
Dustin Crummett
Executive director of the Insect Institute; affiliate instructor at University of Washington Tacoma
Insect Institute; University of Washington Tacoma
Episode: Episode 244: Insect farming with Dustin Crummett

Host

Josh Milburn
Host of Knowing Animals

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars from 180 ratings
  • Inspiring

    I really enjoy the intellectual analysis in these podcasts. I have just listened to the cheese paradox episode with Devon Doherty. Devon was so articulate about the issue and really made the topic zing. Excellent.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Class b
    United Kingdoma year ago
  • opened up a whole new world

    I am a lifelong vegetarian/vegan, and a non-academic—or “layperson” if you will—who only recently discovered the world of animal studies scholarship, thanks in part to this podcast. (I knew there had to be more than just vegan pop culture! It’s a desert out there for the inquisitive, critical thinker who is disillusioned with the same old rhetoric and vegan capitalistic consumerism…) I’m not much of a podcast listener, but whenever I happen to play this one, I am fastidiously note-taking, cross-... more

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    camellia schinner
    United States3 years ago
  • Best podcast on animal studies

    Highly recommended

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    dinsil
    United Kingdom4 years ago
  • Wonderful Podcast

    I have listened to this podcast for many years. It is consistently fantastic. I have learned so much about Animal Studies from many scholars. The hosts, originally Siobhan O’Sullivan, and now Josh Milburn, are thoughtful, super smart, attentive interviewers. I so appreciate both of them. Their styles are different, but they both follow a tried-and-true format that packs a lot of content into a fairly short podcast.

    Currently, this is my favorite podcast in the realm of consideration of non-hum... more

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Mychael McNeeley
    United States5 years ago
  • Excellent podcast, covers a wide range of topics and is very illuminating

    Podcast Addict
    5
    TianyiQ
    5 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

High-quality production and consistently strong guest lineups are commonly mentioned positives.
Some feedback notes audio quality improvements over time, with overwhelming praise for content and host preparation.
Listeners appreciate the rigorous questioning and depth of guests while keeping episodes approachable.
The show offers clear, engaging, and accessible discussions on complex animal studies topics.

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Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Episode 251: Tame and wild with Marcy Norton
Q: You discuss the emergence of pet keeping in Europe after encounters with Indigenous Americans. How does that relate to familiarized animals and the broader history you're outlining?
Exposure to familiarized animals, which emphasize companionship and kinship, helped seed the modern concept of the pet in Europe, illustrating how cross-cultural contact reshaped European attitudes toward animals beyond utilitarian purposes and linking to a broader historical arc from vassal animals to domesticated pets.
Episode 251: Tame and wild with Marcy Norton
Q: What role does demonology play in these dynamics of animal subjectivity, and how does it connect to the European demonization of animals?
Demonology functions as a symbolic space where people negotiate the tension between acknowledging animal subjectivity and continuing objectifying practices, linking depictions of hell and demonic animal transformations to real-world anxieties about animal perspectives while also revealing cultural continuities across Europe and the Americas.
Episode 251: Tame and wild with Marcy Norton
Q: How did familiarization differ from livestock husbandry, and what does that tell us about cultural logics around animals in different regions?
Familiarization involves taming individual wild animals to become kin-like companions, without turning them into food or implements; livestock husbandry, in contrast, centers on producing animals for consumption or use, creating a structural gap between eater and feed, and it shapes a distinct set of ethical and cultural logics across regions like Amazonia versus Eurasia.
Episode 251: Tame and wild with Marcy Norton
Q: Could you introduce the European hunting versus Indigenous predation distinction and explain what these modes tell us about animal subjectivity?
European hunting often involved mediation through vassal animals like dogs and horses, creating an intersubjective relationship with prey, while Indigenous predation tended to be more direct and contingent, with a stronger emphasis on the hunter taking on attributes of the prey and a more pronounced sense that prey and predator can switch roles.
Episode 251: Tame and wild with Marcy Norton
Q: So central to your approach in Tame and the Wild is this idea of modes of interaction. So what are modes of interaction and why are they important?
Modes of interaction are categories like hunting, predation, husbandry, and familiarization that organize how humans relate to animals across cultures; they illuminate how animal subjectivity is recognized or denied and show how different social and ecological contexts shape human-animal relations.

Audience Metrics

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Frequently Asked Questions About Knowing Animals

What is Knowing Animals about and what kind of topics does it cover?

This show centers on animal ethics, rights, welfare, and governance through expert interviews and thoughtful debate. Episodes frequently explore how humans relate to nonhuman animals across history, law, culture, and policy, with rigorous analyses from scholars and activists. Notable strengths include a consistently concise 20-minute format, a focus on interdisciplinarity, and a habit of inviting diverse voices—from philosophy and anthropology to activism and policy—to illuminate complex animal studies topics. Listeners can expect clear explanations, thoughtful questioning, and accessible takes on academic debates and real-world impact in animal protection and governance.

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Which podcasts are similar to Knowing Animals?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Knowing Animals:

1. Our Hen House: Vegan & Animal Rights Movement | Stories from the Frontlines of Animal Liberation
2. 5-4
3. The Animal Liberation Hour
4. Hope for the Animals
5. In Bed With The Right

How many episodes of Knowing Animals are there?

Knowing Animals launched 11 years ago and published 310 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact Knowing Animals?

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What guests have appeared on Knowing Animals?

Recent guests on Knowing Animals include:

1. Marcy Norton
2. Jin Qian
3. Nathan Poirier
4. Eze Paez
5. Pablo Magaña
6. Claire Parkinson
7. Zara-Louise Stubbs
8. Walter Veit

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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