For this episode, Meghan and Taryn discuss selective empathy and the power of individual stories. Why is it that some individual stories capture people so intensely? And why do some stories garner empathy and attention, but others don’t in the same way? We use the recent(ish) story of Punch, the Japanese macaque monkey at the Ichikawa City Zoo, as a starting point in exploring this phenomenon. Being The Anti-Captivity Podcast, it’s easy to come up with negatives to these sorts of stories, but are there any positives? Listen to Episode 5 to find out!

Find us on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/anticaptivitypod/]

Episode Resources and Mentions:

Humane World article [https://www.humaneworld.org/en/all-animals/wildlife-exploitation-social-media]

Stories [https://www.instagram.com/p/DVPDDTVE7H7/?img_index=9&igsh=MWluM2VucTA2MHFlbQ==] from a wildlife vet

Sheldrick wildlife trust [https://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/]



Ep. 5. Selective Empathy: Punch and the Power of Individual Stories

In this episode, Meghan and Taryn chat about “Are Prisons Obsolete” by Angela Y. Davis, as the first installment of “media club”! They summarise key concepts in this foundational text on prison abolition.

Email us with questions/comments: anticaptivitypod@gmail.com

Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/anticaptivitypod/]

Resources:

The Last Graduation documentary [https://vimeo.com/436197098]

What a World Without Prisons Could Look Like [https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=m6X1i8khmt8]

Why is this happening? Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/why-is-this-happening-the-chris-hayes-podcast/id1382983397?i=1000457157242]

Ep. 4. Media Club: Are Prisons Obsolete?

For this episode of The Anti-Captivity Podcast, Taryn and Meghan discuss zoos, more specifically their supposed role in wildlife conservation. In the 1970/80’s the modern conservation role of zoos began to emerge. Zoos saw their role as protectors of endangered species. Was this shift out of genuine concern for the ecosystems and all that depend on them or was it bells and whistles to give the appearance that “Captivity for Conservation” was the best solution to the impending extinction of so many wild animals?

Email anticaptivitypod@gmail.com

Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/anticaptivitypod/] 

Resources:

Animal Oppression and Capitalism, Edited by David Nibert

Chapter 4, ZooBiz: The Conservation of Business? - Rob Laidlaw

https://www.bloomsbury.com/ca/animal-oppression-and-capitalism-9781440850738/

Critical Animal Studies, Thinking the Unthinkable, Edited by John Sorenson

Chapter 9, Looking at Fragments of Nature: A Perspective on Zoo and Aquarium Captivity - Rob Laidlaw

https://canadianscholars.ca/book/critical-animal-studies/

Captivity for Conservation? Zoos at a Crossroads by Jozef Keulartz

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10806-015-9537-z

Zooland, The Institution of Captivity by Irus Braverman

https://www.sup.org/books/law/zooland

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/23914885/zoo-animals-conservation-endangered-threatened-species-sanctuaries

https://earth.org/wild-animal-captivity/

https://www.worldanimalprotection.us/latest/blogs/keeping-wild-animals-captivity-not-conservation-heres-why/

https://www.zoocheck.com/

https://www.aza.org/

Recommendations:

https://www.wildhope.tv/

https://www.akashinga.org/about-us/akashinga-rangers

https://www.instagram.com/futurezoos?igsh=dWYxOGkxc3Z0YzM1

https://www.animocracy.ca/e/episode-7-confronting-animal-captivity-in-canada-with-rob-laidlaw/

https://nyupress.org/9781479886753/fearing-the-black-body/

Ep. 3. Zoos and the Con of Conservation

This second episode is not what we had expected to do, but the world is a very heavy place right now, and our collective outrage and overwhelm are normal and healthy. So, we talk about that, and where we fit into the bigger picture of it all, while finding balance, community, and active hope.

Email us: anticaptivitypod@gmail.com

Find us on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/anticaptivitypod/]

Articles mentioned:

Maintaining Advocacy and Wellness in Times of Digitally Broadcast Genocides | by Cassie from I-CCH [https://i-cch.medium.com/maintaining-advocacy-and-wellness-in-times-digitally-broadcast-genocides-3f28a56a4ed9]

Practical Tips for Alleviating the Distress of Depression or Anxiety Resulting from the U.S. Genocide in Palestine - CounterPunch.org [https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/01/31/practical-tips-for-alleviating-the-distress-of-depression-or-anxiety-resulting-from-the-u-s-genocide-in-palestine/]

I feel despair about the state of the world. How can I find the courage to not abandon hope? | Australian lifestyle | The Guardian [https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/article/2024/jul/12/i-feel-despair-about-the-state-of-the-world-how-can-i-find-the-courage-to-not-abandon-hope]

Ep.2. The World is Burning but We're Still Here

Welcome to our first episode! Co-hosts Taryn & Meghan talk about how this podcast came to be and what is to come. We hope that it will evolve into a meaningful, interactive space for discourse with our listeners around the subject of captivity. Listen and let us know what you think! Dm, comment, share on Instagram, or email us with your feedback and thoughts. Let’s deconstruct the fallacy that the systems and institutions of imprisonment of any living being, are necessary or just, together.

Find us on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/anticaptivitypod?igsh=MTF5MWFkbnJ6ODQ4ag%3D%3D&utm_source=qr]

Check out the post on white veganism [https://www.instagram.com/p/CKho3XHhOyB/?igsh=aDZ1bW1keTNxbDE=] by Yvette Baker (@collectiveabolition).

Further Reading:

Ijeoma Oluo article [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/aug/16/instagram-user-accused-of-capitalising-off-ijeoma-oluos-anti-racist-book]

2022 article on White Veganism by Queer Brown Vegan [https://queerbrownvegan.com/what-is-white-veganism/]

Ep. 1.  Until All Are Free

The Anti-Captivity Podcast centres around human and other animal captivity. Co-hosts Taryn and Meghan discuss everything from the ethics of zoos and aquariums to prison abolition, through an anti-oppressive lens. None are free until all are free.

Find us on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/anticaptivitypod?igsh=MTF5MWFkbnJ6ODQ4ag%3D%3D&utm_source=qr]