Episode 147: “When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade without further introduction.”

Welcome to the 147^th episode of Our Hen House, featuring James McWilliams.
In today’s episode, we give you our thoughts, and some updates, on the horrific aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. These include everything from thoughts on forgotten animals, to updates on how this hit close to home for us – quite literally – to the glaringly obvious, yet still unspoken reality, that this kind of storm will soon be commonplace.
We’ll also tell you about the vegan vittles at Jasmin’s birthday party, including a recap of everything from henna, to upcycling, to the gluten-free cake that was forced upon us. We’ll chat about musicals, Brussels Sprouts, and the delightful items one podcast listener named after us.
Hold onto your rescued horses, folks, because today we’ll also ruminate about the dire importance of independent media, and we’ll let you in on a very prominent lefty journalist who – according to the word on the street – recently went vegan. Moving on, we’ll ask you to help someone in our community to get her stellar vegan cooking show on a PBS station near you; we’ll discuss zoos; and we’ll vent about people eating corpses right next to us on our fancy night out. Mariann will also get us up to speed on the happenings in her animal law class in a segment we like to call “The Professor and Mariann.”
Joining us today is the one and only James McWilliams, historian, scholar, and author. James will give us the inside scoop on his new book, his prolific work surrounding the Bill and Lou saga, his feelings about Jonathan Safran Foer, and why and how he ties his personal activism to his long-distance running. Don’t miss this interview with one of our favorite activists and people.
For our review, we’ll talk about a recent episode of the TV show, Bones, starring vegan activist Emily Deschanel. The new episode, entitled “The Tiger in the Tale,” brings to light important issues involving wild animals held in captivity, as well as several other through-lines that will likely prompt you to write a big fat thank you note to Fox (I’ll bet you never thought that would happen!). We’ll tell you all about it.
All that, vegan banter, and of course, current events from the world of animal rights.
This week’s news items include:

• “USDA Complaint Is PETA’s Latest Salvo in War Against Ringling Bros.” from The Daily Beast
• “Gas Chambers Banned in PA” from The Sacramento Bee
• “Victory! ‘Animal Practice’ Cancelled” from The PETA Files
• “Oxen’s Fate Is Embattled as the Abattoir Awaits” from The New York Times
• “Verbod op wilde circusdieren” from Almere Van Daag

“When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade without further introduction.” –Mark Twain
The Our Hen House podcast is sponsored by The Seed: A Vegan Experience, which is currently gearing up for a Yoga Week – 5 days of urban zen and plant-based empowerment. The Seed brings you events, conferences, and happenings that raise awareness about the many delicious, cruelty-free alternatives to animal products.
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