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About Kyle Johannsen
I’m an academic philosopher who does research in animal and environmental ethics, and in political philosophy. I’m currently Sessional Faculty Member in the Department of Philosophy at Trent University, and I’m a member of the Animals in Philosophy, Politics, Law, and Ethics (A.P.P.L.E.) research group at Queen's University. My most recent authored book – Wild Animal Ethics: The Moral and Political Problem of Wild Animal Suffering (Routledge) – attracted enough attention that I was invited to do some interviews: I appeared on the New Books in Philosophy, Knowing Animals, Sentientism, and Herbivorize Predators podcasts; and I was interviewed on the Canadian news show Forum Daily. I'm mainly interested in interviewing authors of animal studies books, especially animal studies books connected to philosophy, effective altruism, environmental studies, or political science. I'm also interested in interviewing authors of literary books that explore animal studies themes.Kyle Johannsen is an academic philosopher who does research in animal and environmental ethics, and in political philosophy. His most recent authored book is Wild Animal Ethics: The Moral and Political Problem of Wild Animal Suffering (Routledge, 2021). His personal website is here.
NBN Episodes hosted by Kyle:
February 21, 2026
Food, Justice, and Animals
How would we eat if animals had rights? A standard assumption is that our food systems would be plant-based. But maybe we should reject this assumptio…
January 13, 2026
Feminism in the Wild
In Feminism in the Wild: How Human Biases Shape Our Understanding of Animal Behavior (MIT Press, 2025), Ambika Kamath and Melina Packer reveal how sci…
December 1, 2025
Wilderness, Morality, and Value
What if wilderness is bad for wildlife? This question motivates the philosophical investigation in Wilderness, Morality, and Value (Lexington Books, …
October 21, 2025
Multispecies Assemblies
Animals speak. Plants do too. Seas and mountains are not a mute background to human actions, but have interests and agency. Many more-than-human being…
August 5, 2025
What Are Zoos For?
Are zoos an anachronism in the 21st century when we can watch animals in their natural habitat, close-up from our couches without worrying about cruel…
June 29, 2025
Should We Go Extinct?
These days it’s harder than ever to watch TV, scroll social media, or even just sit at home looking out of the window without contemplating the questi…
April 26, 2025
The Moral Circle: Who Matters, What Matters, and Why
Today, human exceptionalism is the norm. Despite occasional nods to animal welfare, we prioritize humanity, often neglecting the welfare of a vast num…
March 6, 2025
Queer Ducks (and Other Animals)
In this episode, I talk to Eliot Schrefer about his book Queer Ducks (and Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality (Katherine Tegen Books…
January 1, 2025
Meet the Neighbors
What does the science of animal intelligence mean for how we understand and live with the wild creatures around us? Honeybees deliberate democratical…
November 21, 2024
Consider the Turkey
A turkey is the centerpiece of countless Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Yet most of us know almost nothing about today’s specially bred, commerci…
August 26, 2024
The Humane Hoax
As consumers become increasingly aware of the animal agriculture industry’s cruelty and environmental devastation, clever industry marketers are adapt…
March 19, 2024
Animals and Capital
In the 20th century, capitalist animal agriculture emerged with a twofold mission: to ruthlessly exploit animals for their labour time and enlarge hum…
January 8, 2024
How to End Injustice Everywhere
In this eye-opening and compelling work, psychologist Melanie Joy reveals the common denominator driving all forms of injustice. The mentality that dr…
October 8, 2023
Defending Animals
Beloved dogs and cats. Magnificent horses and mountain gorillas. Curious chickens. What do we actually do to protect animals from harm—and is it enoug…
July 31, 2023
Your Robot Dog Will Die
Today I talked to Arin Greenwood about her new book Your Robot Dog Will Die (Soho, 2019). When a global genetic experiment goes awry and canines stop…
April 21, 2023
Edibility and in Vitro Meat
Consumers and policy makers have unprecedented choices to make in the years to come about how and what we eat. If we continue down our current path of…
April 12, 2023
Meat Me Halfway
We know that eating animals is bad for the planet and bad for our health, and yet we do it anyway. Ask anyone in the plant-based movement and the solu…
March 4, 2023
What We Fed to the Manticore
Through nine emotionally vivid stories, all narrated from animal perspectives, Talia Lakshmi Kolluri’s debut collection explores themes of environment…
January 28, 2023
Animals in Irish Society
Irish vegan studies are poised for increasing relevance as climate change threatens the legitimacy and longevity of animal agriculture and widespread …
December 2, 2022
The Vegan Matrix
A short guidebook to understanding and discussing privilege among vegans and vegan organizations in the wake of #metoo, including how to establish acc…
November 18, 2022
The Animals in that Country
In this episode, I talk to Dr. Laura Jean McKay about her award-winning novel The Animals in that Country (Scribe US, 2020). Hard-drinking, foul-mout…
August 31, 2022
Just Fodder
Animal lovers who feed meat to other animals are faced with a paradox: perhaps fewer animals would be harmed if they stopped feeding the ones they lov…
August 16, 2022
The Subjugation of Canadian Wildlife
Hardly a day goes by without news of the extinction or endangerment of yet another animal species, followed by urgent but largely unheeded calls for a…