MUSIC BONUS on this episode! Hope has a wonderful conversation with vegan musician Brent Ratkovich. A singer and guitarist, Brent has recently been focused on a recording project that will produce three animal rights, vegan themed songs. They will be released as an EP called Three to Set Them Free in October of 2026. Listen and enjoy two of Brent’s new songs on this episode!

Brent shares the challenges of writing vegan themed lyrics and his inspiration and process to create animal freedom songs. He also talks about activist burnout and the importance of finding balance and even joy in your life. He and Hope discuss how music and art can help us create the world we want to see, adding emotion and humane creativity to messaging.

Brent is a passionate animal advocate who launched his solo advocacy project, One Cow Army, in 2015 donning a cow mask and taking his message to the streets. Brent has worked as an animal sanctuary caregiver, co-founded an Animal Save chapter, and participated in multiple large-scale rescues of thousands of hens from egg farms. Now based in Eugene, Oregon, Brent continues his commitment to animal protection volunteering with numerous local sanctuaries, the Eugene VeganFest, and founding A.C.E. – Animal Compassion Eugene, organizing outreach events and protests.

Brent’s Social Media:

Band Camp

Bluesky, @elementalvegan.bsky.social

Youtube

Instagram

Facebook

Lyrics to Brent's Songs:

Trying

Searching for the perfect words
Hoping their voices will be heard, I’m trying
You’ll say anything to hide the truth,
cuz you don’t wanna know what they go through,
I’m trying
Knowing they never see the sun, suffer every day
to die so young, I’m crying
Why can’t you see, they struggle to be free?
Make a kinder choice, just hear your inner voice
I shouldn’t have to prove, they’re just like me and you
You’re hoping that the farmers treat them well
You’ll buy every promise they try to sell,
they’re lying
If you were in their place I’d fight for you,
Why’s it hard to see they’re friends not food,
they’re dying
Why can’t you see, they struggle to be free?
Make a kinder choice, just hear your inner voice
I shouldn’t have to prove, they’re just like me and you
I look into their eyes and someone’s there
Hoping for a world we all can share,
I’m trying

Brent Ratkovich
Copyright 2026

Not Enough

All they want is their freedom
For every reason, that you and I take for granted
Free to love and free to play
To live life their own way
But we enslave them every season
And they tell us every day
It's not enough to say humane
It's not enough that we can build a bigger cage
The billions pay the price, from all the welfare lies
The truth is there for you to see
We're told a story when we're young
Of happy farms that do no harm
And a sun that shines on everyone
But every label tells a lie
Cuz they're just babies when they die
And their fight for life is never won
Still they're screaming every day
It's not enough to say humane
It's not enough that we can build a bigger cage
The animals pay the price, through all the welfare lies
The truth is there for us to see
It's not enough to buy free range
It's not enough to hope they're killed a "better" way
We're free to say goodbye, to all the welfare lies
It's up to us to set them free
Set them free!

Brent Ratkovich
Copyright 2026

From environmental protection to animal advocacy, on this episode we explore the connection of protecting wild animals and places to a vegan ethic of nonviolence. Jack Gescheidt created his TreeSpirit Project to use art, advocacy and activism to raise awareness of our interdependence with trees, forests, wild animals and the natural world. A lifelong nature and animal lover, Jack turned professional photographer four decades ago, environmental activist two decades ago, and in the last decade, he is now a vegan educator.

Jack and Hope talk about the program of killing half a million Barred Owls to supposedly “save” the Spotted Owl in the Pacific Northwest and what “invasive species” really means. They also discuss the Pt. Ryes National Seashore Tule Elk issue where environmentalist and animal rights advocates came together to get the dairy cow operations out of this sensitive area, and won! They also talk about the problems with grass-fed animal products, rotational grazing, and how these forms of animal agriculture use extensive land and fencing that disrupt migratory animals. They share the importance of having reverence and love for nature and an ethos of protection and not destruction. But don’t worry, it’s not all doom and gloom, we end the episode with a love fest.

Jack will be speaking at Compassionate Living’s Sonoma County VegFest on Saturday, September 26. He will speak about how the human tradition of treating non-human animals as inferiors, and using them for our own purposes, is not only exterminating wild animals, but all life on Earth — and ourselves.

Resources:

TreeSpirit Project

In Defense of Animals- Owl Petition

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We start this episode with a movie review from Hope of the new pro-animal film The Sheep Detective. Then we move into a conversation with Kathy Cullen, founder of Jolene's Retreat. Kathy and Hope discuss rescues and the residents of Jolene’s Retreat sanctuary. Kathy has rescued numerous small “companion” pigs and they discuss the problem of breeding “potbelly” and “teacup” designer pigs. They also talk about the importance of animal’s agency as well as friends and family units and how these are disrupted and broken up in animal agriculture and the psychological distress that can cause. But also how bonds of friendship form on sanctuaries and are not limited by species.

When Kathy Cullen was 19, she decided to go vegetarian for health reasons, but morality quickly took a front seat after realizing that she no longer wanted to be a part of animal suffering. Kathy began reading about the problems with animal agriculture and the unbelievable suffering animals endure for food, entertainment, clothing, science, etc. and decided to get involved. She joined animal rights organizations, attended animal rights conferences, visited animal sanctuaries, and finally decided to start her own sanctuary. She bought 10 acres of land in Occidental, California in and in May 2023, Jolene’s Retreat became a reality with their first rescue of a family of five pigs.

Kathy will be presenting at Compassionate Living’s Sonoma County VegFest on Saturday, September 26, 2026 in Santa Rosa, California.

Resources:

Jolene’s Retreat

Sonoma County VegFest 2026

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Compassionate Living

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Rev. Carol Saunders is an ordained Unity and interfaith minister and organizer of the Whole Planet Spirituality Forum and Retreat at Unity Village. She is the host of the podcast The Spiritual Forum; author of Wolf and the Lamb, an online ministry to awaken the world to our Oneness with all beings and author of the booklet, The Forgotten Teachings of Charles Fillmore: How Our Relationship with Animals Connects to Universal Love, Ethical Living, Spiritual Development and World Peace. Rev. Carol believes social movements are only truly effective when they are movements of love and peace.

Rev. Carol and Hope discuss the upcoming Whole Planet Spiritualty Forum and Retreat at Unity Village, The Unity Church and how the founders were ethical vegans in the early 1900s, and importance of bring love into our advocacy.

About the retreat:

This is Carol’s sixth year leading this retreat at Unity Village. At the Whole Planet Spiritualty Forum and Retreat, Rev. Carol will lead the Thursday night “getting to know one other” gathering and officially open the retreat on Friday morning where she will discuss Whole Planet Spirituality and our 2026 retreat theme, “Above All, Love All.” Attendees will delve into David Hawkin’s map of consciousness and engage in dialogue on love, healing, activism, planetary consciousness and the purpose that calls us to be.

Resources:

Whole Planet Spirituality Forum and Retreat

The Spiritual Forum Podcast

YouTube Channel

Support this podcast:

Hope for the Animals Podcast

Compassionate Living

Social Media:

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Meet Peanut: Artificial Intelligence for Vegan Encouragement

Our guest today is Jeannie Walter, she is a retired librarian, longtime animal advocate, and has created Peanut the pig, an AI coach at the center of GetYourOinkOn.com, a vegan coaching app. Peanut uses warmth, humor, and a distinct personality to help people take meaningful steps toward eating more plants. The approach is intentionally invitational: small wins, genuine encouragement, and zero guilt.

In the interview, Jeannie talks about how she got the idea to create Peanut and the importance of embracing new technologies to assist in our animal advocacy outreach. She and Hope also discuss the concerns and challenges of Artificial Intelligence, the possibilities of AI sentience, and how this could potentially support animal advocacy.

Peanut is also part of something larger. GetYourOinkOn.com exists in part to raise money to feed real animals at sanctuaries — connecting every user's journey to the animals whose lives depend on it. Peanut is one of several AI animal coaches in the Messy Barnyard ecosystem, a suite of apps built around the idea that animals are among the most powerful ambassadors for their own cause.

Resources:

Website to meet Peanut: http://getyouroinkon.com/

Website: Messy Barnyard

The Creator (film)

Humans (TV series)

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Why should be care about bees? Why should we avoid honey and beeswax? Vegans want to eliminate as much harm, exploitation, and killing as possible. When animals are farmed for profit, there is always compromise of their wellbeing, and bees farmed for their honey and beeswax are no exception. Ethical veganism is about getting justice over the species barrier, and in this case it’s concern for the amazing, beautiful bee.

In this short episode, our host Hope Bohanec offers her knowledge about honey bees. We learn about their fascinating and complex lives, details of honey farming practices, and the truth about how our interference and manipulation of bees is hurting them and the entire planet.

Vegans are careful to read ingredients, to make sure no animal products are in our meals, we scrutinize products for animal testing, but what about a 401k? What about an investment portfolio? What kind of animal use and abuse do investments support? More than you would ever consider putting your money into if you had a choice. Our guest today is working on a solution. Claire Smith and her team have a first of its kind vegan investment option tailored to exclude any and all animal exploitation.

Claire Smith is the founder of humane investment platform Beyond Investing. She is a vegan and environmentalist with 38 years’ experience in finance and investment at top-tier banks and investment houses. Beyond Investing creates investment programs designed for animal advocates and climate-conscious investors in both public listed equity markets and venture capital. Based in Switzerland, Claire is the founder of Beyond Cruelty Foundation, formed to campaign for zero animal exploitation and to fund safe havens for animals. This foundation will also receive a portion of profits of companies under the Beyond Investing umbrella.

Resources:

Websites:

www.beyondinvesting.com

www.veganetf.com

Social media links:

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BeyondInvest

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beyond-investing/

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

Support this podcast:

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Compassionate Living

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Tapping into fandom with animal protection and vegan messages, The Protego Foundation accesses sci-fi, fantasy, and other other devoted fan communities to advocate for animals. Our guest is Brittany Drake, campaigns director for The Protego Foundation. Brittany talks about the foundation’s creative campaigns such as getting vegan butter beer offered at the Harry Potter theme parks, a Game of Thrones inspired campaign encouraging vendors at fan conventions not to use wild animals as props for photos, and their latest campaign around the release of the movie sequel, Wicked For Good.

Brittany and Hope go on to talk about the animal rights and vegan themes in numerous movies and televisions entertainment, unpacking the animal personhood vision of Wicked, the strong animal characters in The Wizard of Oz, disturbing animal eating parallels in Stargate Atlantis, and vegetarianism in Avatar: The Last Airbender. They also talk about how the use of fictional creatures and characters can garner an audience's imagination and empathy for animals.

Brittany Drake is the campaigns director for The Protego Foundation. She has helped with countless campaigns and seen several achieve success including Starbucks’ dropping of the vegan upcharge for nondairy milks, Harvard and UMass closing their monkey labs, and Farmer John closing their Los Angeles slaughterhouse. In addition to her campaign work, she has rescued farmed animals and been arrested for civil disobedience on multiple occasions.

Resources:

The Protego Foundation

The Protego Foundation Mailing List

(related) Hope for the Animals Podcast, episode 127: From Teddy Bears to Talking Fish: Children’s Media and Animal Personhood with Cogen and Hope Bohanec

Recommended Movies:

Wicked and Wicked For Good

Remarkably Bright Creatures

Chimp Crazy

Okja

Support this podcast:

Hope for the Animals Podcast

Compassionate Living

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