The Simple Heart w/ Wayne Hsiung

A historic ban on factory farms is on the ballot in the heart of Big Ag this November – and early polling suggests it has a chance at victory.

I speak to Curtis Vollmar, the President of Compassionate Bay, who breaks down the wild developments in Sonoma County.

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Follow Curtis Vollmar:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/F1v3K

XTwitter: https://x.com/Curtis_V0llmar

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@curtis_v0llmar

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/curtis-vollmar-31324b84/

Register to join the “Yes on J: End Factory Farming Convergence” in August: bit.ly/EFFC

Coalition to End Factory Farms:

www.yesonj.vote (https://www.endfactoryfarming.vote/)

https://www.instagram.com/endfactoryfarmingsoco/

https://www.facebook.com/coalitiontoendfactoryfarming

https://x.com/YesOnJ_

Compassionate Bay:

https://www.instagram.com/compassionatebay/

https://www.facebook.com/compassionatebay

https://x.com/Compassion8Bay

https://www.linkedin.com/company/compassionate-bay/

DxE: https://www.DxE.io_takeaction

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Chapters:

Chapter 1) 00:00-16:45 Intro, DxE & Compassionate Bay, Ballot Initiative (#YesOnMeasureJ) in Sonoma County, voting in California, & putting animal rights in the mainstream conversation

Chapter 2) 16:46-58:40 The start & ongoing story of the Ballot Initiative in Sonoma County, CAFOs, Golden Gate Fields Race Track, water subsidies & pollution of animal agriculture (“Sonoma aroma”), & politics in Sonoma County

Chapter 3) 58:41-1:22:53 Ballot initiatives by all movements, modern democracy, & joining other communities

Chapter 4) 1:22:54-1:49:33 Public health concerns in Sonoma County, more on story of the Ballot Initiative in Sonoma County, shout-outs to people working on the Ballot Initiative campaign, animal rescuer Zoe Rosenberg’s upcoming trial in Sonoma County, & support the Ballot Initiative in Sonoma County (yesonj.vote), join the “Yes on J: End Factory Farming Convergence” in August (Register: bit.ly/EFFC), & hope for the world

Chapter 5) 1:49:34-1:49:49 Outro video - Thank you for watching! Please Subscribe. Acknowledgments to the Podcast Team: Joe Allman, Adam Durand, Chloe Leffakis, & Jeremy Loeb

Imagine being shy and putting yourself in positions where people will scream at you, attack you, and literally bring out a whip to lash you and your friends. That’s Jack Higgs.

Jack is an influencer, animal rights activist, and long-time companion to Tash Peterson. And he’s got fascinating lessons in courage, disruption, and how to create change.

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Follow Jack Higgs:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/jackhiggs269/

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@jackhiggs269

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jackhiggs269

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jackhiggs269

Links: linktr.ee/jackhiggs

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Chapters:

Chapter 1) 00:00-22:21 Intro, Australian activists, Jack taking action with Tash Peterson, documenting animal rights actions, urban area actions vs rural area actions, & laws in Australia & the United States

Chapter 2) 22:22-58:28 Civil court cases against Jack & Tash, civil court cases against other activists, the story of the protest at the restaurant that banned vegans, why some people react violently to protests, & talking rationally with people trolling protests

Chapter 3) 58:29-1:31:22 Effective animal rights activism & many animal rights activists in Australia, Australian cultural influences, Jack deciding to take action for animals, be bold & authentic when telling the truth for animals, & self-improvement through self-critique (both good & bad)

Chapter 4) 1:31:23- 1:40:58 Authentic speeches, the mind-body connection, what gives Jack hope in the animal rights movement, & follow Jack on social media (links above)

Chapter 5) 1:40:59-1:41:14 Outro video - Thank you for watching! Please Subscribe. Acknowledgments to the Podcast Team: Joe Allman, Adam Durand, Chloe Leffakis, & Jeremy Loeb

Episode 22: Reason is the source of moral truth. There are few people on this planet who have done more to defend that proposition than Peter Singer. And I was honored to sit down with Peter, nearly 50 years after the publication of Animal Liberation, to see what he’s learned about the journey to a reason-based system of ethics.

Substack: https://boldreasoningwithpetersinger.substack.com/

Website: https://www.petersinger.info/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peter__singer/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PeterSingerOfficialPage

XTwitter: https://twitter.com/PeterSinger

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petersinger/

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

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The Simple Heart on Substack - Subscribe to Wayne Hsiung's newsletter to learn more about the #RightToRescue at https://simpleheart.org!

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Chapters:

Chapter 1) 00:00-28:05 Intro, Peter’s teachers over the years, Peter’s books “Animal Liberation” & “Animal Liberation Now,” & morality/moral truthsChapter

2) 28:06-45:04:xx Hopeful & confident for the future of animal rights, Australian activists, animal welfare, & political/legal change

Chapter 3) 45:05-57:52 Humane washing, RSPCA & Animal Rising investigations, public cognitive dissonance, & social habits

Chapter 4) 57:53-1:08:21 Animal rights counter-arguments & philosophical questions of animals’ quality of life

Chapter 5) 1:08:22-1:21:42 Peter’s foundational work “Famine, Affluence, & Morality” & insights for ethical life, Effective Altruism movement, Sam Bankman-Fried/FTX, & long-term/short-term goals

Chapter 6) 1:21:43-1:24:19 Important things Peter has done & learned & listen to Peter’s podcast “Lives Well Lived” and follow him on social media

Chapter 7) 1:24:20-1:24:37 Outro video - Thank you for watching! Please Subscribe. Acknowledgments to the Podcast Team: Joe Allman, Adam Durand, Chloe Leffakis, & Jeremy Loeb

Episode 21: Can violence ever be justified? In the wake of the Trump assassination attempt, I had an intense discussion with Richard Burgess, aka Vegan Gains.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vegangains.real/

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VeganGainsOfficialAllan

Lichtman: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Keys_to_the_White_House

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Chapters:

Chapter 1) 00:00-40:01 Intro, political figures, cats, violence vs. nonviolence, predicting election outcomes, fighting Hitler & Nazis, & fighting Milošević (when President of Serbia) Chapter 2) 40:02-1:05:45 Systems shaping political figures, North Korea, Hong Kong, how Mandela & King are remembered, MAGA party, & Thomas Crooks

Chapter 3) 1:05:46-1:44:05 Democrats pandering to republicans, threats to American Democracy, MAGA as more than a white nationalist movement, broad republican support for Trump, Wayne bullied as a teen, Richard bullied as a kid, the fifth amendment, & baby humans vs baby animals

Chapter 4) 1:44:06-1:46:48 Final thoughts: veganism, honesty, bravery, agreeing to disagree

Chapter 5) 1:46:49-1:47:04 Outro video - Thank you for watching! Please Subscribe. Acknowledgments to the Podcast Team: Joe Allman, Adam Durand, Chloe Leffakis, & Jeremy Loeb

Episode 20: The meat industry isn’t just lying. It’s engaged in a crime spree of epic proportions.

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Animal Rising's RSPCA Investigation video: https://youtu.be/OfM5VRMl7wk

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Chapters:

Chapter 1) 00:00-18:02 Intro, biggest investigation: 45 RSPCA Assured Farms, mutilated & sick animals, diseases from animals, & all farms have animal cruelty

Chapter 2) 18:03-28:58 Society’s perspective & relationships to animals, fish farms & devastation to oceans, & animal cruelty laws

Chapter 3) 28:59-43:13 Charlie’s rescue, sick & injured farm animals, the “Right to Rescue” animals according to the law, 280 laws/standards violated by RSPCA, & no more land or labor possible for animal agriculture

Chapter 4) 43:14-46:25 Charlie’s recovery in an animal sanctuary, Wayne’s opinion on what RSPCA should do to prevent cruelty, & let us know what you think!

Chapter 5) 46:26- 46:43 Outro video: Thank you for watching! Please Subscribe. Acknowledgments to the Podcast Team: Joe Allman, Adam Durand, Chloe Leffakis, & Jeremy Loeb

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Full reaction video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ypsKkmIRlO0

Everyone is wrong about why Thomas Crooks tried to kill Donald Trump.

Episode 18: One of the most reputable animal welfare organizations in the world, the RSPCA, spent millions of dollars certifying the meat that consumers buy in the United Kingdom. They put their stamp of approval on the products – initially, “Freedom Food” then “RSPCA Assured” – and even big companies like McDonald’s joined the program. Then Rose Patterson and her team at Animal Rising looked into the farms. And what they found, to most consumers, was shocking: thousands of animals crammed into filthy factory farms.

I speak to Rose about what she saw inside dozens of RSPCA farms, and why the promise of “humane meat” is consistently broken. If you’re wondering about humane meat yourself – or you have friends and family who are in that place – you’re not going to want to miss this conversation. Billions of lives are hanging in the balance.

RSPCA Investigation video: https://youtu.be/OfM5VRMl7wk 

IG: https://www.instagram.com/rose__patterson/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rose-patterson-b0b4a9306/ 

Animal Rising:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Animal.Rising 

IG: https://www.instagram.com/animal.rising/ 

FB: https://www.facebook.com/AnimalRising 

XTwitter: https://twitter.com/AnimalRising  

Website: https://www.animalrising.org/ 

The Simple Heart on Substack - Subscribe to Wayne Hsiung's newsletter to learn more about the #RightToRescue at https://simpleheart.org!

Chapters:

Chapter 1) 00:00-33:24 Intro, Animal Rising (AR), RSPCA investigations, animal welfare, meat reduction, public honesty, & The Grand National campaign & Plant-based Universities campaign in the UK

Chapter 2) 33:25-56:15  Animal rights messaging, university campaigns, other activism movements, & sustaining activism

Chapter 3) 56:16-1:27:54 Conversations with the RSPCA, many investigations & open rescues in the UK, training investigators, & security culture/strategic capacity

Chapter 4) 1:27:55-1:51:07 AR’s nonviolence trainings, public perception of actions, legal charges, arrests, & upcoming trials of AR activists, organizing mistakes made in the US, & AR legal support of activists

Chapter 5) 1:51:08-1:59:xx A movement of compassion, how you can help Animal Rising (links above), & upcoming trials in the UK

Chapter 6) 1:59:xx-1:59:26 Outro video - Thank you for watching! Please Subscribe. Acknowledgments to the Podcast Team: Joe Allman, Adam Durand, Chloe Leffakis, & Jeremy Loeb

For decades, the vivisection industry and government covered up the torture of puppies like Julie, a blind beagle at Ridglan Farms. For one year, she lived alone in a 2’ x 4’ metal cage, where the wire flooring dug into her paws. Then, on April 17, 2017, she was saved.

I tell the story of Julie’s rescue with Jeremy this week. And in the next few weeks, we go to court in an effort to save them all.

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Chapters:

Chapter 1) 00:00-20:25 Intro, behaviors of animals in cages, the Ridglan special prosecutor hearing, Ridglan Trial charges dropped, history, voting, & politics

Chapter 2) 20:26-1:29:11 The story of Ridglan Beagle Rescue in April 2017, why Wayne decided to rescue dogs in America, animal rights activism in China, & conflict with activists in the US

Chapter 3) 1:29:12-1:51:17 Julie’s behavior inside Ridglan, rescued two dogs from Ridglan, the pain that dogs feel during experiments, going back inside Ridglan to rescue Julie, & taking smart risks as a team lead

Chapter 4) 1:51:18-2:00:51 Seeing Julie, Anna, & Lucy after the rescue, reactions to being criminally charged in 2020, & reactions to criminal charges being dismissed in 2024

Chapter 5) 2:00:52-2:10:35 Politics can change for the better, other stories of open rescues, & you can be a part of the animal rights movement and support the July 10th hearing to appoint a Special Prosecutor against Ridglan Farms

Chapter 6) Outro video 2:10:36 to 2:10:57 - Thank you for watching! Please Subscribe. Acknowledgments to the Podcast Team: Joe Allman, Adam Durand, Chloe Leffakis, & Jeremy Loeb

For decades, the government has been covering up the torture of tens of thousands of dogs – and even trying to imprison those who blow the whistle on the abuse. On July 10, we will be in court to turn the tables on the industry and present evidence to support our petition to appoint a “special prosecutor” against Ridglan Farms. This is one of the wildest stories I’ve ever told. And if it ends the way I hope it will, it will mean freedom for 60,000 dogs.

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Chapter 1 00:00-05:05 Why there’s a problem

Chapter 2 05:06-10:07 How I got involved

Chapter 3 10:08-13:53 Open Rescue / Conditions in Ridglan Farms

Chapter 4 13:54-16:33 Response from the authorities 

Chapter 5 16:34-24:12 The case for a Special Prosecutor

Chapter 6 24:13-30:16 First Category of Evidence: Flooring and foot injuries

Chapter 7 30:17-38:09 Second Category of Evidence: Improper shelter

Chapter 8 38:10-47:55 Third Category of Evidence: Surgical mutilation

Chapter 9 47:56-54:04 Establishing that the prosecutor has declined to prosecute

Chapter 10 54:05-58:17 Final Thoughts

Chapter 11 58:19-58:33 Outro video - Thank you for watching! Please Subscribe. Acknowledgments to the Podcast Team: Joe Allman, Adam Durand, Chloe Leffakis, & Jeremy Loeb

Most of us avoid being controversial. Tash Peterson does the opposite - and she’s become one of the most influential animal advocates in the world as a result.