The Antinatalist Advocacy Podcast

The Antinatalist Advocacy Podcast

By Aninatalist AdvocacySociety & CulturePhilosophy
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The Antinatalist Advocacy Podcast episodes

  • AAP bonus episode - Building a healthier antinatalist community with Lawrence Anton

    Welcome back all! We're bringing you a discussion on Lawrence's channel building upon last year's Antinatalist Advocacy conference on building a healthier antinatalist community. How can we build a healthier community? What do you think of our ten recommendations? And what challenges do we face to creating a space we would all like to be a part of? Let us know your thoughts!

     

    TIMESTAMPS

    00:00 Intro

    01:46 Conversation begins

    13:30 1 - Make the intentions of spaces clear

    21:06 2 - Have realistic goals

    28:59 3 - Our difference are important

    35:52 4 - It helps to focus on things that unite us

    41:15 5 - Build bridges with other communities 

    48:17 6 - Online spaces need careful but fair moderation

    56:04 7 - Have a culture of forgiveness 

    1:02:13 8 - It's good to get offline

    1:07:32 9 - Community building is difficult

    1:17:16 10 - Kindness goes a long way

    1:27:18 Wrap-up

    1:36:03 Outro

     

    ANTINATALIST ADVOCACY

    Newsletter:  https://antinatalistadvocacy.org/newsletter

    Website:  https://antinatalistadvocacy.org/

    YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@AntinatalistAdvocacy

    Twitter / X:  https://twitter.com/AN_advocacy 

    Instagram:  https://instagram.com/an_advocacy

     

    Check out the links below!

    • Original video: How to Build A Healthier Antinatalist Community
    • AAC23 panel recording: Panel: Building a Healthy Antinatalist Community
    • AAC23 website: https://antinatalistadvocacy.org/projects/aac
    • 1 hr 38 min
    • AAP Bonus Episode - 5 Steps for Doing Good as an Antinatalist with Lawrence Anton

      Welcome back to another AAP bonus episode! We're bringing you a livestream from Lawrence's channel on 5 suggested steps for doing good as an antinatalist. What did you think of our list? Is there anything you would add or remove? And what do you think are effective actions we can take in our own lives to make the world that little bit better? Let us know your thoughts!

      TIMESTAMPS
      00:00 Intro
      01:38 Conversation begins
      08:15 Step 1 - Don't have any more children
      15:43 Step 2 - Go vegan
      23:58 Step 3 - Plan your career
      33:14 Step 4 - Start donating
      38:20 Audience questions
      1:04:05 Step 5 - Build the antinatalist community
      1:11:21 Outro


      ANTINATALIST ADVOCACY

      Newsletter: https://antinatalistadvocacy.org/newsletter

      Website: https://antinatalistadvocacy.org/

      YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@AntinatalistAdvocacy

      Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/AN_advocacy 

      Instagram: https://instagram.com/an_advocacy

      Check out the links below!

      • Original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6cFHfB3Dog
      • Giving What We Can: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org
      • Animal Charity Evaluators: https://animalcharityevaluators.org
      • 1 hr 13 min
      • AAP Bonus Episode: AAC23 | Discussing Suffering-Focused Ethics with Magnus Vinding

        Welcome back to another AAP bonus episode! We're bringing you our final session from December's Antinatalist Advocacy conference: a conversation on suffering-focused ethics with author Magnus Vinding. Where do antintatalism and suffering-focused ethics overlap or diverge? Is there too much of a focus on achieving 'best case' outcomes, and not enough focus on avoiding moral catastrophes? And what can people practically do to reduce suffering in the world? Let us know your thoughts!

        TIMESTAMPS

        00:00 Intro

        02:10 The conversation begins

        1:02:38 Outro


        ANTINATALIST ADVOCACY

        Newsletter: https://antinatalistadvocacy.org/newsletter

        Website: https://antinatalistadvocacy.org/

        YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@AntinatalistAdvocacy

        Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/AN_advocacy 

        Instagram: https://instagram.com/an_advocacy

        Magnus Vinding

        • Website: https://magnusvinding.com/about/
        • Center for Reducing Suffering: https://centerforreducingsuffering.org/
        • Critique of MacAskill’s “Is It Good to Make Happy People?”: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/vZ4kB8gpvkfHLfz8d/critique-of-macaskill-s-is-it-good-to-make-happy-people
        • The Speciesism of Leaving Nature Alone and the Theoretical Case for “Wildlife Anti-Natalism”: https://amzn.eu/d/07rQVJ92
        • Antinatalism and reducing suffering: A case of suspicious convergence: https://magnusvinding.com/2021/02/20/antinatalism-and-reducing-suffering/
        • Check out the links below!

          • Original video: https://youtu.be/AkBqFyoCIn0 
          • AAC23 website: https://antinatalistadvocacy.org/projects/aac
          • Day 1 of AAC23: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFU9Cu48WNM
          • Day 2 of AAC23: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxcR1pLFPFU
          • Tobias Baumann: 'Avoiding the Worst: How to Prevent a Moral Catastrophe': https://amzn.eu/d/0gspBHg1
          • Lawrence Anton: 'Antinatalism & the Future of Suffering | Magnus Vinding & Brian Tomasik': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO8EGHy-QQw
          • 1 hr 4 min
          • AAP Ep. 12 - Introduction to Artificial Sentience with Space Science Guy

            Welcome to episode 12 of AAP! We're joined this month by return guest Space Science Guy (formerly Vegan Space Scientist) to introduce our fourth and final cause area at AA - Artificial Sentience. What on earth is artificial sentience? What does it have to with antinatalism? And what, if anything, can we do to protect potentially sentient AI from the harms of coming into existence? Let us know your thoughts below! 

             

            TIMESTAMPS

            00:00 Intro to the episode 

            02:18 Intro to Michael

            05:02 Defining sentience
            12:56 How Michael first became aware of artificial sentience
            16:17 Why artificial sentience is an area of concern
            28:07 Why this is a particularly challenging issue to address
            31:57 Why might antinatalists in particular be concerned about artificial sentience?
            37:02 Arguments against being concerned about artificial sentience
            39:39 How we can have a positive impact on this issue
            44:10 Key players in this space
            47:28 Final comments / positive note to end on

            53:49 Outro 

             

            ANTINATALIST ADVOCACY 

            Newsletter: https://antinatalistadvocacy.org/newsletter

            Website: https://antinatalistadvocacy.org/

            YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AntinatalistAdvocacy

            Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/AN_advocacy

            Instagram: https://instagram.com/an_advocacy

             

            Space Science Guy

            • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@spacescienceguy
            • TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@spacescienceguy
            • Website: https://www.michaeldello.com/
            • Check out the links below!

              • AAP Ep. 3 - Introduction to Effective Altruism: https://youtu.be/ewOlZl1yfgM
              • Rethink Priorities: https://rethinkpriorities.org/
              • Effective Altruism: https://www.effectivealtruism.org/
              • Sentience Institute: https://www.sentienceinstitute.org/
              • Brian Tomasik: https://reducing-suffering.org/
              • Thomas Metzinger - Benevolent Artificial Anti-Natalism (BAAN): https://www.edge.org/conversation/thomas_metzinger-benevolent-artificial-anti-natalism-baan
              • Centre for Reducing Suffering: https://centerforreducingsuffering.org/
              • Center on Long-Term Risk: https://longtermrisk.org/
              • Global Catastrophic Risk Institute: https://gcrinstitute.org/
              • Legal Priorities Project: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/topics/legal-priorities-project
              • 56 min
              • AAP Bonus Episode: AAC23 | Building a Healthy Antinatalist Community

                Welcome back all! We're bringing you our panel discussion from December's Antinatalist Advocacy conference: AAC23 Antinatalism at a Crossroads. The focus of the panel was 'Building a Healthy Antinatalist Community' with three wonderful guests. Do we have a healthy antinatalist community today? If not, what are the challenges or barriers to building one? And what role can each of us play in helping to build it? Let us know your thoughts!


                More on the guests below:

                • Amanda Sukenick has been producing antinatalist content since 2010. She created the film The EFIList in 2016 and is the host of The Exploring Antinatalism Podcast. She recently co-authored a book with Matti Häyry, 'Antinatalism, Extinction and The End of Procreative Self-Corruption'.
                • Ash Wickety an antinatalist and animal rights activist. Ash has done extensive work with Stop Having Kids, and was the co-host of the former MNintersectional podcast.
                • Shweta Ramkumar is a childfree advocate who has been involved in organising and maintaining both online and in-person childfree communities in Australia. She also has experience breaking free from disempowering cultural conformity through choosing a childfree lifestyle whilst being a member of the south-asian diaspora.
                • TIMESTAMPS

                  00:00 Intro

                  01:15 The panel begins

                  57:15 Outro


                  ANTINATALIST ADVOCACY

                  Newsletter: https://antinatalistadvocacy.org/newsletter

                  Website: https://antinatalistadvocacy.org/

                  YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@AntinatalistAdvocacy

                  Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/AN_advocacy 

                  Instagram: https://instagram.com/an_advocacy

                  Check out the links below!

                  • Original video: https://youtu.be/AkBqFyoCIn0 
                  • AAC23 website: https://antinatalistadvocacy.org/projects/aac
                  • Day 1 of AAC23: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFU9Cu48WNM
                  • Day 2 of AAC23: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxcR1pLFPFU
                  • 59 min
                  • AAP Ep. 11 - Criticisms of antinatalism and Effective Altruism with Rivka Weinberg

                    Welcome back to AAP! We were really grateful this month to host Professor Rivka Weinberg to criticise the two ideologies that guide a lot of our thinking at Antinatalist Advocacy, namely antinatalism and Effective Altruism. Can it sometimes be ethical to procreate? Does Effective Altruism hold up to scrutiny in both theory and practice? And is John hopelessly misguided for being a card-carrying consequentialist? Let us know your thoughts below!

                     

                    TIMESTAMPS

                    00:00 Intro to the episode

                    02:27 Intro to Rivka

                    05:59 The role of temperemant in attitudes towards procreation
                    10:06 Objections to Benatar's and Shiffrin's antinatalist arguments 
                    22:32 Objections to misanthropic antinatalist arguments
                    33:01 The opportunity cost of having children 
                    39:14 The opportunity cost of NOT having children
                    42:15 Rivka's arguments for procreative permissibility
                    47:08 Criticisms of Effective Altruism
                    53:24 The dangers of 'ends justify the means' thinking
                    55:31 Our obligations to help others
                    1:01:00 Effective Altruism in practice
                    1:10:20 'Local' good
                    1:15:53 Final comments
                    1:19:16 A positive note to end
                    1:20:55 Outro

                     

                    ANTINATALIST ADVOCACY

                    Newsletter: https://antinatalistadvocacy.org/newsletter

                    Website: https://antinatalistadvocacy.org/

                    YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@AntinatalistAdvocacy

                    Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/AN_advocacy

                    Instagram: https://instagram.com/an_advocacy

                     
                    Rivka Weinberg

                    • The Risk of a Lifetime: https://amzn.eu/d/3MwwBHe
                    • Existence: Who needs it?: https://bit.ly/4bB0jtb
                    • Risk, Responsibility, and Procreative Asymmetries: https://bit.ly/3wyGGDs
                    •  It Ain’t My World: https://community.scrippscollege.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/ItAintMyWorld.pdf
                    • Do You Act As You Argue? Or Do You Argue for How You Act?: https://bit.ly/3wx4EyX
                    • Check out the links below!

                      • AAP Ep. 10: https://youtu.be/UxhxMQOnTGc?feature=shared
                      • David Benatar: Better Never to Have Been: https://amzn.eu/d/enFQbw8
                      • Seana Shiffrin: Consent and the Morality of Procreation: https://bit.ly/3QJQ3qG
                      • Effective Altruism: https://www.effectivealtruism.org/
                      • Peter Singer: Famine, Affluence, and Morality: https://bit.ly/4byB8aK
                      • The Sam Bankman-Fried FTX controversy: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/topics/sam-bankman-fried
                      • 1 hr 23 min
                      • AAP Bonus Episode: Wild Animal Contraception | Oscar Horta

                        Welcome back all! We're bringing you the fourth talk from December's Antinatalist Advocacy conference: AAC23 Antinatalism at a Crossroads. As you surely know by now, we're releasing the audio of our five talks and one panel discussion over the next few months to help share the ideas discussed a little wider. 

                        This episode includes Oscar Horta's talk on the ethical considerations of wild animal contraception. Can we really reduce suffering in the wild through giving animals contraceptives? What are the risks and opportunities? And what does this have to do with antinatalism? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

                        TIMESTAMPS

                        00:00 Intro

                        01:55 Intro to Oscar Horta

                        03:40 Oscar's talk begins

                        32:10 Q&A

                        58:20 Outro


                        ANTINATALIST ADVOCACY

                        Newsletter: https://antinatalistadvocacy.org/newsletter

                        Website: https://antinatalistadvocacy.org/

                        YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@AntinatalistAdvocacy

                        Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/AN_advocacy 

                        Instagram: https://instagram.com/an_advocacy

                        Oscar Horta

                        • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Horta
                        • Making a Stand for Animals: https://www.routledge.com/Making-a-Stand-for-Animals/Horta/p/book/9781032259758
                        • Animal Ethics: https://www.animal-ethics.org/
                        • Check out the links below!

                          • Original video: https://youtu.be/AkBqFyoCIn0 
                          • AAC23 website: https://antinatalistadvocacy.org/projects/aac
                          • Day 1 of AAC23: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFU9Cu48WNM
                          • Day 2 of AAC23: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxcR1pLFPFU
                          • 1 hr
                          • AAP Ep. 10 - Criticisms of Antinatalist Advocacy with Lenny and @WackyConundrum

                            Welcome to episode 10 of AAP! We were joined by Lenny and Conundrum for a 'criticisms panel' of Antinatalist Advocacy, where we handed over the reigns to our two guests to tear apart our work on AA so far. Should AA drop the word 'antinatalist' from its name? Which of our four cause areas are actually relevant for antinatalism? And why did we have such a bungled definition of antinatalism on our website? Let us know your thoughts below!

                             

                            TIMESTAMPS

                            00:00 Intro to the episode

                            01:42 Intro to the panel

                            06:51 AA's definition of antinatalism

                            10:12 How do you 'do' antinatalist advocacy?

                            14:30 What is AA's end goal?

                            18:27 The 'antinatalist blindspot'

                            29:08 The empty criticisms page on the website

                            33:38 Doing 'the most good'

                            41:00 AA's emphasis on compassion

                            53:01 "Antinatalist should do x,y,z…"

                            56:50 A positive rebranding of antinatalism?

                            1:06:27 The role of AA as an organisation

                            1:11:40 AA's broad focus (i.e. the four cause areas, including wild animal suffering)

                            1:27:50 Lawrence's comments on the ecological niche replacement argument

                            1:40:08 What makes AA different from other existing organisations

                            1:48:56 Potential associations to avoid

                            1:56:54 Potential name changes

                            2:10:09 John's comments on sperm donation

                            2:16:09 Final comments

                            2:18:02 Outro

                             

                            ANTINATALIST ADVOCACY

                            Newsletter: https://antinatalistadvocacy.org/newsletter

                            Website: https://antinatalistadvocacy.org/

                            YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@AntinatalistAdvocacy

                            Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/AN_advocacy

                            Instagram: https://instagram.com/an_advocacy

                             

                            Check out the links below!

                            • Conundrum's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@WackyConundrum
                            • Voidcast Linktree: https://linktr.ee/veganvoidcast
                            • Émile P. Torres's writings on effective altruism: https://www.xriskology.com/popularmedia
                            • AAP Ep. 9 - Wild Animal Suffering: what it is and why it matters with Humane Hancock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g4_air6SS0
                            • AAC23 Pre-conference LIVESTREAM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCIwsJPE94o
                            • 2 hr 20 min
                            • AAP Bonus Episode: Antinatalism & Extinction | Matti Häyry (AAC23)

                              Welcome back to AAP! This month we're bringing you the third talk from December's Antinatalist Advocacy conference: AAC23 Antinatalism at a Crossroads. As we mentioned previously, we'll be releasing the audio of our five talks and one panel discussion over the next few months to help share the ideas discussed a little wider. 

                              This episode includes Matti Häyry's presentation on antinatalism and extinction. Does antinatalism autimatically entail extinction? Ist it possible to have an antinatalist movement without extinction as its end goal? And has Lawrence Anton been exposed as a natalist apologist? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

                              TIMESTAMPS

                              00:00 Intro

                              01:40 Intro to Matti Häyry

                              03:55 Matti's talk begins

                              32:50 Q&A

                              56:40 Outro


                              ANTINATALIST ADVOCACY

                              Newsletter: https://antinatalistadvocacy.org/newsletter

                              Website: https://antinatalistadvocacy.org/

                              YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@AntinatalistAdvocacy

                              Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/AN_advocacy 

                              Instagram: https://instagram.com/an_advocacy

                              Matti Häyry

                              • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matti_H%C3%A4yry
                              • Antinatalism, Extinction, and the End of Procreative Self-Corruption: https://wordery.com/antinatalism-extinction-and-the-end-of-procreative-self-corruption-matti-hyry-9781009455305
                              • Hankikanto: Falling into the Anti/Natal Abyss #1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEEp4jOzR3w
                              • Confessions of an Antinatalist Philosopher: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cambridge-quarterly-of-healthcare-ethics/article/confessions-of-an-antinatalist-philosopher/C181644401A98E5EE0D35568D06E64B4
                              • Check out the links below!

                                • Original video: https://youtu.be/zmmVLk5YJzA?si=l_OYHzd_aXLqSAfb
                                • AAC23 website: https://antinatalistadvocacy.org/projects/aac
                                • Day 1 of AAC23: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFU9Cu48WNM
                                • Day 2 of AAC23: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxcR1pLFPFU
                                • 58 min
                                • AAP Ep. 9 - Wild Animal Suffering: what it is and why it matters with Humane Hancock

                                  ADDENDUM [written by John]
                                  At 56:20, myself and Jack discuss the topic of antinatalists making sperm donations. I later provided some important caveats (and reiterated others) in the YouTube comment section. I would like to reiterate that, as stated in the comment section, whilst I see the logic behind the actions discussed being permissible under consequentialism (with the important caveats I mentioned), I do not advocate sperm donation as a form of activism. This discussion was inappropriate for the forum of The Antinatalist Advocacy Podcast as the opinions expressed were my own and do not reflect the position of Antinatalist Advocacy or the views of my fellow co-founder, Lawrence. I would therefore like to apologise for any confusion caused.

                                  We're joined this month by animal activist Jack (aka Humane Hancock) to discuss our third cause area at AA - Wild Animal Suffering (or WAS). What is WAS? Are we playing God by trying to protect animals in nature? And should we have children and turn the world into one big car park to prevent WAS? Let us know your thoughts!

                                  TIMESTAMPS
                                  00:00 Intro
                                  02:09 Intro to Jack & how he became an activist
                                  16:21 How Jack became aware of antinatalism
                                  17:57 Intro to Wild Animal Suffering (WAS)
                                  22:43 Common arguments against taking action on WAS (intractability, 'playing god' etc)
                                  40:18 How does WAS relate to antinatalism?
                                  48:50 Should we have children to stop WAS?
                                  57:52 What can we actually do to help wild animals?
                                  1:07:17 Final thoughts on the subject
                                  1:12:39 A positive note to end on
                                  1:16:36 Outro

                                  ANTINATALIST ADVOCACY
                                  Newsletter: https://antinatalistadvocacy.org/newsletter
                                  Website: https://antinatalistadvocacy.org/
                                  YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@AntinatalistAdvocacy
                                  Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/AN_advocacy  
                                  Instagram: https://instagram.com/an_advocacy 

                                  Check out the links below!
                                  - Humane Hancock's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@HumaneHancock
                                  - Humane Hancock's Instagram: instagram.com/humanehancock
                                  - WAS playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3DYHJ1o1Q0z5Np9lR2BGl4_QqP2SLw5c
                                  - AA's page on WAS: https://antinatalistadvocacy.org/wild-animal-suffering

                                  1 hr 18 min

                                About The Antinatalist Advocacy Podcast

                                From the publisher's feed

                                The Antinatalist Advocacy Podcast presents interviews with interesting and knowledgeable people about how best to protect sentient beings from the harms of coming into existence. We speak with…