Vegan Warrior Princesses Attack!

In our continued meteoric rise to fame, we were tagged by Max S. Gordon on Twitter regarding an article he wrote about Jussie Smollet and decided to drop everything to talk about it

In This Episode

News

* Review: Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed by Men by Caroline Cruado Perez – it’s a man’s world and women don’t fit (The Times UK)* Tennessee bill would feed students even if they can’t pay for lunch (FOX 5)* Jaden Smith using his foundation to bring clean water to Flint (The Hill)* Joe Biden Calls Notorious Homophobe Mike Pence a ‘Decent Guy’ (Out.com)

Joke in the Middle

Did you hear the pun that was actually funny?

Main Topic

Nichole’s megalomania grows to new heights this week after being tagged in a Tweet by one of our faves. Actual footage of Nichole after seeing the Tweet:

( •_•) ( •_•)>⌐■_■ (⌐■_■)

We talk about an essay, I Don’t Love The Way You Lie: On Justice and Jussie Smollett, written by our beloved Max S. Gordon, king of nuance, about the Jussie Smollet incident and what it says about our perception of justice, race, sexuality in the United States, and how we use these stories as a way to avoid looking at ourselves. Amazing and highly quotable, as always, please read the essay as he delves into a lot of things we don’t and also just because his writing is so important and poignant and blunt.

We talk about some overlapping topics, but also take a look at how this highlights white as the default in the U.S., our celebrity culture around these “perfect victim” stories, and how having a justice system based on punishment prevents us from being able to process stories from victims and false claims in a way that would be 1000% more effective, empathetic, and avoid anyone’s life being “ruined.”

Plus, of course, a bunch of related but far-ranging tangents.

Nichole is somehow sick AGAIN so we decided to take it a little easy this week and talk about guilty pleasure TV that manages to not be problematic, and answer a question from a listener about if she’s “holding a grudge” by sticking to her boundaries with her abusive mother-in-law.

In This Episode

News

* Trevor Noah Defends Vegan Cory Booker Against Fox News’ Silly Scandal (VegNews)* The Supreme Court Just Struck a Huge, Unanimous Blow Against Policing For Profit (Slate)* Inmate dies after collapsing in jail cell (Fox5 San Diego)* Planned Parenthood barred from Title X under final draft rule (Modern Healthcare.com)* The Hard Lessons of Diane Feinstein’s Encounter With The Young Green New Deal Activists (New Yorker)

Joke in the Middle

Why did Waldo go to therapy? Thanks, Katherine!

TV Recommendations

* Black Lightning (Netflix | The CW): Black-centric superhero show with awesome queer and female representation.* The Orville (Hulu | Fox): A shockingly good sci-fi, Star Trek-inspired show that tackles gay and trans issues, religion, diplomacy around conflicting ethics, and more.* Sex Education (Netflix): Gillian Anderson stars as a sex therapist whose awkward son becomes a sex therapist for other teens at his school. Handles consent, body acceptance, self-esteem, sexuality, inexperience, and other high school issues really well. * You (Netflix): Nichole is OBSESSED (hehe, get it?? They do this kind of joke a LOT) with this show; about a stalker from the stalker’s point-of-view. Always frames his behavior as disturbing, not romantic, and has a lot of surprisingly “woke” lines about white privilege, gay acceptance, etc.

Advice Question

Submitted by Sarah, she/her pronouns

“When is something “holding a grudge” and something “protecting yourself from toxic people”? A little background – my mother in law is a very narcissistic person who has said/done many hurtful things in the entire 11 years that my husband and I have been together. After a recent blow up by her, my husband and I have made the decision to keep our son away from her (at least for the time being) and she accused me of holding a grudge over a text she sent us. I feel like holding a grudge is over one thing. However, after repeated abuse from her, I feel that it’s protecting ourselves, not holding grudges.

What do you think? How does forgiveness work in there? Should you ever forgive someone for being verbally abusive to you (repeatedly with no changing)? And if you don’t is that just holding a grudge?”

We got a thoughtful question from long-time listener Jackson about moderating marginalized folks while being a person who has a lot of privilege. Having had some experience with this ourselves, we tackle this quandary and the bigger philosophical issues around it with our usual gusto!

In This Episode

News

* USDA Allows Pink Slime To Be Labeled As “Ground Beef” (VegNews)* Australia Officially Ends Cosmetic Animal Testing (VegNews)* Back pay for federal contractors missing from government funding bill (NBC News)* ‘It’s Cold as Hell’: Inside a Brooklyn Jail’s Weeklong Collapse (NY Times)

Joke in the MiddleWhat do you get when you plant a kiss? Thanks, Jean!

Main TopicThis week, we’re tackling a tough and thoughtful question from listener Jackson about moderating marginalized folks who are creating havoc in online spaces. As two whites who try to provide a safe but also free-thinking, community-building space in the VWPA Society, we understand the challenges inherent in recognizing your own privilege compared to someone else but still needing to handle disputes in a fair manner that protects others in the group. Jackson writes: There’s a member of the group who’s been causing problems for quite some time, but I’ve struggled to kick him out or try to police his tone because he is aboriginal and often speaks from a place of hurt for what white people like myself have done to his people’s land. I’ve also become a personal friend of his and can see his good intentions even though they come across as being rude and disrespectful to other group members. For example, he posted the below comic the other day that compares the AR movement to the women’s rights movement. He often speaks of intersectionality, but uses it to justify comparing oppressions like calling carnists nazis, using the term animal holocaust, etc. I’ve had members of the local Jewish community as well as local feminists come to me asking me to do something about his behaviour. I’ve spoken to him about it several times and he’s apologized to me and promised to be more careful, but it keeps happening. He also started a big nasty anti-vaxx debate a few days ago that almost made the group combust. I’m just wondering if you’ve had any experience dealing with a similar situation, and if so if you have any advice on if there are any action steps I can take to try and keep the peace. If I just do what multiple people have told me to do and kick him out of the group, it would be a straight white cis male silencing and ostracizing an aboriginal activist who is just trying to fight for oppressed beings. Quite a conundrum :(

In an unexpected turn of events, we decided to finally come out on today’s episode. Forgive us for being a bit scattered and a little tipsy!

In This Episode

News

* Vegan-led Children’s Protest Demands Adults Take Climate Action (VegNews)* House Democrats Propose $15 Minimum Wage With New Majority (Huffington Post)* 12-Year-Old Activist Challenges Pope Francis To Go Vegan for One Million Dollars (VegNews)* Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Urges Kids to Save the Planet by Ditching Meat and Dairy (VegNews)* Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Expertly Explains Our Corrupt Campaign Finance System in Just 5 Minutes (Elle)

Joke in the MiddleWhat do you experience when you hear a clever joke? Thanks, John!

Main TopicSo…we initially recorded the main topic to talk about our experiences with cishet (cisgender, heterosexual) dating and our frustrations with the way we see gender roles reinforced and try to break away from them, but none of it really made sense without knowing that we have both realized over the last year or so that we are queer (both identify as pansexual) and Nichole is nonbinary (identifies as genderqueer, which she’ll talk about more on another episode).Since this was taped late after dinner, it’s probably all over the place, but we’re happy and excited to be out so we can talk about our experiences more openly in the future. Happy Valentine’s!

Today we’re celebrating our 4 year anniversary with really bad jokes, rants, and walk down memory lane…

In This Episode

Today we talk about how our friendship started and the progression of our anti-capitalist activism, Nichole tells a handful of really bad jokes written by kids, and then the princesses go off on movie and TV related rants.

Thank you all for your support; 4 years is a big milestone and we couldn’t have gotten here without you! <3

Today we discuss some current events at length, and then talk about a question posed by a member of the VWPA Society that questions the ethics of having a job that is not vegan, and that might require you to go directly against your vegan morals.

In This Episode

News

* Los Angeles Teachers’ Strike to End as Deal Is Reached (NY Times)* Trump Signs Bill Reopening Government for 3 Weeks in Surprise Retreat From Wall (NY Times)* Knowingly exposing others to HIV will no longer be a felony in California (LA Times)* Supreme Court Permits Trump’s Transgender Military Ban To Move Forward (HuffPost)

Joke in the MiddleWhen does a joke become a ‘dad joke?’ Thanks, Meghan!

Main TopicKirsten (k- EAR-sten), she/herI’m struggling and I’m needing different points of view on this topic. I work in the restaurant industry and have for close to 15 years. It’s the only career I’ve ever known and a career I previously adored… then came veganism. I’m new to veganism (8/18) and have struggled with the ethics of my job since making the transition. I have worked in every position (other than the owner) and am currently working with a hospitality group in their corporate office. I work in the accounts receivable department and was originally very excited for the upward move in the company. The reality of this job is weighing on my heart, however. Every day I come into work I start my day with verifying and approving invoices for dairy, meat, seafood, etc… My approval then, in turn, leads to vendors getting compensation for animal products. My hospitality group has added many vegan options to their restaurants’ menus and they frequently seek out my advice on how to better serve the vegan community. With this being said, is my job aligning with ethics? The answer is a resounding no. I was curious, what is your opinion on vegans working in a non-vegan hospitality job? Would you consider this to be more ‘immoral’ than say a corporate office job with a tech company? Lastly is it worth it to stay and influence the company, knowing they will never be a fully vegan company? Sincerely, the vegan who can’t get off the struggle bus.

We’re popping off about the government shutdown today – this irresponsible pressure test that we’re all failing. Plus, capitalism sucks. Shocking, coming from us, we know…

In This Episode

News

* A Vegan Slammed Aldi For Selling ‘Flexitarian’ Burgers – But Maybe Aldi’s Right (Plantbased News)* Hawaii Bans Wild Animals In Circuses (Live Kindly)

Joke in the MiddleWhy don’t lions like playing cards in the jungle?

Main TopicWe’re very cranky this week, be warned. Today Callie pops off about the government shutdown while Nichole tries to form coherent sentences, up until she finds a burst of rage-energy near the end.

We talk about how fucked up the shutdown is, how many people are affected and how those people may never recover their lost wages. But we also talk about the rash of “heartwarming” stories being shared and how they are not heartwarming at all, rather a way to keep us all focused on the “good” so we don’t get pissed enough to fucking riot, like we should.

References

* Q&A: Everything You Should Know About Government Shutdowns (CRFB)* What Is and Isn’t Affected by the Government Shutdown (NY Times) * As Shutdown Grinds On, Internal FAA E-Mail Warns Workers About ‘Political Activity’ (The Young Turks)* There are no “feel-good” government shutdown stories (Vox)

We were inspired by yet another awesome post in the VWPA Society. This week, we discuss how, or if, vegan activism is any different from Christian evangelism, or any other type of religious conversion tactics.

In This Episode

News

* Wife Of California Governor Will Go By ‘First Partner’ Instead Of ‘First Lady’ (HuffPost)* SUPREME COURT REJECTS APPEAL OF CALIFORNIA FOIE GRAS BAN (VegNews)* Piers Morgan Reveals Hospitalized for Gastritis, Blames Vegan Sausage Roll (Daily Mail UK) * Correction about socialism comments on a previous episode (Twitter)

JokeWhat does a nosy pepper do? Thanks, Tori!

Main Topic

A recent post in the VWPA Society reminded us that we had somehow not talked about vegan activism being compared to proselytizing and whether this comparison holds any merit. We approached this topic from our atheist perspectives, and took our time to explore all angles. A great conversation inspired by one of our amazing listeners!

Remember if you have a question for the show, you can always email it to us through the form on our contact page, we’d love to hear from you!

We answer a listener question from our fave, Mohera, and then talk about being intentional with our time as a form of resistance.

In This Episode

News

* California Becomes First State to Ban Retail Sale of Dogs, Cats and Rabbits (NBC)* Gordon Ramsay’s Restaurant Launches it’s First-Ever Vegan Menu (Live Kindly)* World’s First ‘No Kill Eggs’ Hit Shelves in Germany – And ‘Could Save Billions of Chicks’ (Plant-based News)* Dutch ministry makes ‘vegetarian’ the standard option at official dinners (Kinder World)

JokeWhat do you call a snake with no clothes? Thanks, Brianna!

Advice QuestionFrom Mohera, she/her pronouns: I attend a small university in the South.  I really love my school because it’s in my hometown where I grew up and both my parents have taught there since before I was born.  I work very hard to be a good student.  I’m a chemical engineering/math double major (#womeninstem) and I’m really involved on and off campus.  As you can probably imagine, our school is very white, to say the least, and it’s not super diverse at all.  Knowing all this, I’ve worked really hard to represent my university and I’m so blessed and thankful for all the opportunities that I’ve gotten.  However, a good friend of mine indirectly said to me in a fairly recent conversation that I was basically getting all of these opportunities because I’m Indian and my parents’ reputation had a lot to do with it (I born here in the US, but my parents are immigrants from India).  That really bothered me.  I’d hate to think that I’ve been selected for all of these things just because of my ethnicity, but I’ve worked very hard to create a good reputation for myself aside from my parents.  Even though I’m a minority woman, I’m very aware of my privilege, which is why I try and give back.  I’m definitely not perfect, but I’m trying to do better.  I just wanted to know what you all think about this.  Am I really just a token child?

Main TopicCallie has been putting a lot of thought into how she spends her time since getting a job where she works from home full-time. We talk about being intentional with our time, and how this can be a form of resistance in an age where everything around us is designed to make us seek numbness, to be addictive, to be distracting, to cause us to lose track of time in ways that we don’t intend.

Hello kittens, Happy New Year! Considering the last two years have been rough, and the next two are not showing any signs of slowing, we’re here today to talk about how we can stay strong in the upcoming months.

In This Episode

Today we go over our favorite tips for staying strong as an activists, and as a sensitive humans, so we have the power to fight the good fight for another year.

We were so inspired by a question submitted in the VWPA Society for our recent advice episode: “What gives you the strength to not give up? In veganism, but also in other endeavours.” that we decided to dedicate an entire episode to it. Though not very planned out, we think the conversation that we had in this episode was important.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on what keeps you strong when the world feels like it’s burning around you!