Together with her husband Adrien, Marie Karuna dreamed of creating a place where people could come and learn new skills that benefit animals, the planet, and our own communities, and in 2018, they made their dream a reality. Chival, in the beautiful Var region in the South of France, is an animal sanctuary, yoga retreat center, and a place where people from around the world can come and learn skills like permaculture, veganic gardening, and eco-construction--just the skills we need to develop our own vegan oases! Listen in and maybe you'll be inspired to start creating the world you want to live in, too.

In this episode, we’re speaking with Patti Nyman, the Intern, Volunteer, and Campaigns Manager at Animal Place, an animal sanctuary in the bucolic Sierra Nevada foothills of Northern California. Patti came to Animal Place from Toronto, Canada making a big shift from the cerebral world of academia to the hands-on world of animal activism. Patti’s start in the vegan movement coincided with her coming out and entering the LGBTQ community, and this upcoming June 15, those two formative components of her life are coming together at what looks to be a super fun event at Animal Place. Listen in to hear more about Patti, the Pride event she’s organizing (that you’re invited to), and the incredible lifesaving work that Animal Place does for animals.

In this episode of the podcast, we’re chatting with Colleen Holland, the publisher and co-founder of VegNews Magazine. Since the company's founding in 2000, she has grown the vegan lifestyle brand into an award-winning, international media company that includes not only the flagship magazine, but events, cookbooks, and yes, even vegan vacations. We loved diving deep into Colleen’s travel history and hearing what she loves best about immersing herself in other cultures, and how globetrotting can even be a path to happiness. We hope you’ll enjoy listening to the last podcast episode of 2018 as much as we enjoyed creating it. See you in 2019!

In this episode of the podcast, we’re chatting with wine expert Sunny Gandara, the wine director and in-house chef/sommelier at Vegan Wines, a wine club specializing in--you guessed it--vegan wine from around the world!

Sunny is passionate about food, wine, and veganism, and we’re really excited to have her sharing her top tips for vegan wines to sip and enjoy with your festive meals this holiday season. If you’ve always wanted to know which wines go best with curry or what to pair with with a roasted mushroom Wellington, you won’t want to miss this episode!

In this episode, we sat down with Allison Rivers Samson, a longtime vegan, ethical entrepreneur, wellness coach, Nia instructor, foodie extraordinaire, and mother to a precocious 12-year-old, Olivia, who has been vegan since birth.

Next month, Allison, her husband David, and their daughter Olivia are headed to Southeast Asia for a two-month adventure that will take them to Bali and Thailand. They’ll be visiting animal sanctuaries, eating lots of vegan food, and bridging the cultural divide as they travel from place to place. Listen in to hear more about their exciting plans, and perhaps even get inspired to bring your family on a globetrotting adventure, too.

P.S. Interested in giving someone (or yourself) the gift of The Dairy Detox mentioned in the interview? Allison is offering listeners a super-special deal of just $10 (instead of $47), or $37 off the regular price! Use code VET10 to get this awesome discount!

We’re excited to have animal advocate, radio show host, and vegan meetup organizer Alison Cole with us on this week’s episode of the podcast. Alison is based in Vancouver, British Columbia--a city we cannot wait to visit after hearing all of Alison’s vegan dining recommendations!

Listen in as Alison shares her insights on how Canada differs from the United States, gives us ideas for finding our activism niche, and clues us in to the best spots for a hearty plant-based breakfast, comfort-food brunch, and dinner in Vancouver.

In this episode of the podcast, we're talking with Niranjan Shanmuganathan, a vegan advocate and animal activist from the city of Chennai, India. Niranjan is the founder of Chennai Vegan Drinks, the former editor and publisher of vegan lifestyle magazine VegPlanet, and a Chennai navite who shares all his insider tips on where to eat, drink, and explore in his South India hometown.

If you’re lucky enough to be on a Compass Airlines flight with captain Matt Ayer steering the ship, you’ll be happy to know you’re not only flying the friendly skies, but also the animal-friendly skies! Matt, who is known across social media as The Veggie Pilot, is famous for sharing photos of his homemade vegan lunches, and for the animal rescue work he squeezes in between flights. In this episode of the podcast, Matt shares how he overcame his struggles at school to become an airline captain, tells us about some of his favorite vegan dining spots, and explains why animal sanctuaries are way better than zoos.