Our Hen House 1,000th Episode Special: 17 Years of Animal Rights Predictions, Language Shifts, and Activist Reflections

This special edition of Our Hen House celebrates an extraordinary milestone — 1,000 episodes and nearly 17 years of chronicling the animal protection movement. Hosts Jasmin Singer and Mariann Sullivan take a walk down memory lane, with help from Tom Conger of Stray Dog, who analyzed nearly the entire archive to uncover patterns in the show’s predictions, language evolution, and recurring themes. From activist burnout advice in the early days to bold (and sometimes wrong) predictions about cultivated meat, Ringling Bros., SeaWorld, and gestation crates, this episode is both a retrospective and a reflection on how far the movement has come — and how much further it has to go. The episode also includes a major announcement: a partnership with Faunalytics to create a searchable digital archive of Our Hen House’s 17-year transcript corpus.

• Predictions audit: The hosts revisit predictions made on the show over the years, finding that predictions about companies, courts, and legislatures were usually right, while predictions about timing and public behavior were usually wrong — from cultivated meat timelines to whether Americans would eat less meat
• Language evolution in the animal rights movement: The episode traces how terminology has shifted, including the move from “carnism” to “speciesism,” “farm animals” to “farmed animals,” “humane meat” to cage-free labeling, and the ongoing debate over what to call cultivated meat (in vitro, clean, cultured, cultivated?)
• Activist burnout and community: Early clips reveal the hosts’ early advice on avoiding burnout through self-care, exercise, and time management — with Mariann now emphasizing that community is the single most crucial element for sustaining long-term activism
• The reducetarian debate and vegan strategy: Jasmin and Mariann discuss the tension between advocating for full veganism and supporting incremental reduction, exploring how strategy doesn’t always have to match ideology
• Major announcement — Faunalytics partnership: Our Hen House is partnering with Faunalytics to analyze 17 years of transcripts, creating a searchable digital archive where users can ask questions and instantly access relevant audio clips from the show’s history

_____________________________________________

Thank you for listening to the Our Hen House podcast! If you enjoy our podcasts, believe in our mission to effectively mainstream the movement to end the exploitation of animals, find community and solace in our shows and resources, and would like to show your support for vegan indie media, please make a donation today. All donations made before December 31 will be DOUBLED, up to $25,000, but only if we meet our goal. Contributions of any amount are hugely appreciated. Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your favorite podcatcher, and don’t forget to leave a 5-star review!

Check out Our Hen House’s other podcasts: The Animal Law Podcast, The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and the Antiracism in Animal Advocacy Audio Series.

Follow us on social media! You can find Our Hen House on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, or Bluesky.

The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.

Join hostesses Jasmin Singer and Mariann Sullivan on this unique and fun award-winning podcast that focuses on changing the world for animals.

SUBSCRIBE: iTunes | Android | Google | Stitcher | RSS