In today’s episode of the Truth Wanted, Jon the Skeptic and Drew Bekius take a dive into animal rights before realizing the dive was deep enough to encounter octopi of potential alien origins.

Connor in UT would like to know the hosts’ opinions on animal rights being an extension of human rights. Jon mentions the struggle associated with soy allergies when going to a plant based diet. As Drew emphasizes the importance of this conversation, he describes the need to exercise mindfulness and gratefulness towards other beings on the planet. What is the best option for animal testing? How can the pain and harm be minimized?

Dee in IA says that farmed animals in the future need to reside with local farmers where farm animals are bred for food. If dogs are bred for fighting, does that make it right? What does ethical farming mean and how do we explore these practices? Would it be cool for aliens to come down and have a human farm because we are so tasty? If an animal is bred for a certain purpose, what would make that purpose ethical? Though Industry and employment are important, they are not the right reasons to keep this in practice. 

Jon in Canada saw a plate move all by itself after having a conversation about ghosts. What is your best explanation for this? How do you go about getting all the information before making the conclusion that it was caused by a ghost? Sometimes taking the position of not knowing is the way to go.

John in OH says that he can prove there is no afterlife because the mind is a separate substance from the body and consciousness is a property of the brain that can be turned off. If the mind is a process of the brain that stops when the brain dies, why is this important to theists?

Dan in Canada wonders if the awesomeness and weirdness of octopi indicates they might be from other planets. Are there other connections that go beyond this category? How would the disconnect be explained between the animal kingdom and Cephalopods if there are in fact disconnections? How convinced are you that the octopus is not of earth origin?

Thank you for tuning in! Kelley Laughlin, our backup host, joins us to close out the show. Question of the week is: What says I am an asshole without saying I am an asshole?

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