Mikko Jarvenpaa

“Breeding into suffering is the root of the problem.” – Sentient Media founder Mikko Järvenpää – New Sentientist Conversation

Mikko is a tech start-up founder and CEO (now https://candle.to/​). He founded & is now board chair of Sentient Media – an organisation dedicated to making the world a better place for all sentient beings through journalism.In these Sentientist Conversations, we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?”. Sentientism is “evidence, commitment & compassion for all sentient beings.”

Jasmin Singer headshot

“A Fabulous Vegan Future!” – Jasmin Singer – New Sentientist Conversation

Jamie talks to author, activist, non-profit co-founder and podcast host, Jasmin Singer. Jasmin is the author of “The VegNews Guide to Being a Fabulous Vegan” and the memoir “Always Too Much and Never Enough“. She co-founded Our Hen House and co-hosts their podcast.We talk about growing up celebrating both Hannukah and Christmas, going vegetarian at 19 because it fit Jasmin’s cool New York image – then going vegan and instantly dedicating her life to animal advocacy. We also discuss the parallels between religious and carnist indoctrination, the intersection of different forms of oppression and the balance between institutional and personal social change.

Randall Abate headshot

“How can I have been morally asleep for so long?” – Prof Randall Abate – New Sentientist Conversation

Randall is an author and environmental, animal, climate and constitutional law professor at Monmouth University in New Jersey. His books include “What Can Animal Law Learn From Environmental Law?” and “Climate Change and the Voiceless: Protecting Future Generations, Wildlife, and Natural Resources”.

Josh Gellers

Happy New Year! Also “De-centring the human” – New Sentientist Conversation with Josh Gellers

In this video, Jamie talks to author and associate professor Josh Gellers. Josh’s work spans animal, environmental and artificial intelligence ethics and law. He is a research fellow with the Earth System Governance Project and is a Fulbright scholar. He is Author of “Rights for Robots”.

We talk about growing up in a culturally Jewish household, non-human rights (animal, robot or otherwise) and how to take a pluralistic approach that “wades in the waters of other ways of knowing” without slipping into a relativism that excuses causing needless harm.

Paul Shapiro

“Let’s end humanity’s war on the rest of the planet” – Better Meat CEO & Animal Rights Hall of Famer Paul Shapiro – New Sentientist Conversation

In this video, Jamie talks to Better Meat CEO, Animal Rights Hall of Famer, TED talker, Business for Good podcast host and Clean Meat author, Paul Shapiro.We talk about Paul’s animal advocacy journey (he co-founded Compassion over Killing, now Animal Outlook, while still at school) and the potential for new technologies to render animal farming obselete.

Roman Yampolskiy

“Humans might one day need to beg AIs for our sentient rights” – AI expert Roman Yampolskiy – New Sentientist Conversation

Roman is a Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Louisville. He is known for his work on behavioral biometrics, the security of cyberworlds and artificial intelligence safety. He founded the field of intellectology – the analysis of the forms and limits of intelligence.

Floris van den Berg

“No victim, no problem!” – New Sentientist Conversation video with philosopher Floris van den Berg

In this video, Jamie talks to atheist, vegan, activist philosopher and author, Floris van den Berg.We discuss Floris’ “Eco-Humanism”, his new book “On Green Liberty“, as well as how he is “not a moral realist, not a moral relativist, but a moral universalist.”