The Animal Turn artwork

Social Sciences · Claudia Hirtenfelder

The Animal Turn

by Claudia Hirtenfelder

Animals are increasingly at the forefront of research questions – Not as shadows to human stories, or as beings we want to understand biologically, or for purely our benefit – but as beings who have histories, stories, and geographies of their own. Each season is set around themes with each episode unpacking a particular animal turn concept and its significance therein. Join Claudia Hirtenfelder as she delves into some of the most important ideas emerging out of this recent turn in scholarship, thinking, and being.

Chart trend

Position in the Social Sciences chart (US), last 90 days.

#73
all-time peak
8
days in the top 100 since Nov 2024

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

S9E1: Animals' Cultural Histories with Sandra Swart

Claudia speaks with historian Sandra Swart about the importance of recognising animals’ cultural histories. They discuss the maturation of animal history as a field and f

Sep 7
1 h 37 min

From the Archive: Extraterritorial Jurisdiction with Charlotte Blattner

Charlotte Blattner discusses how international law, specifically Extraterritorial Jurisdiction, might provide a useful and productive way in which to build legal protecti

Aug 24
1 h 10 min

From the Archive: Shoalmates with Jonathan Balcombe

[From the Archive - Enjoy!] Claudia talks to Jonathan Balcombe about fishes and their varied and incredible experiences. Using the concept of ‘shoalmates’ as a launch pa

Aug 10
1 h 07 min

Bonus: (Anti)Vivisection with Lauren Stein and Richard Miller

Vivisection is an old word for a practice that still shapes modern medicine: using living bodies as tools for knowledge. Claudia talks with Lauren Stein and Richard Mille

Aug 3
1 h 27 min

Bonus: Haunting with Kathryn Gillespie

Claudia talks with Kathryn Gillespie about “haunting” as a way to notice how harm and care shape everyday human–animal relationships. They discuss everything, from feedin

Jul 30
1 h 20 min

Bonus: Deception with John Sanbonmatsu

John Sanbonmatsu joins Claudia on the show to discuss ‘deception,’ a concept in the title of his recently published book “The Omnivore’s Deception.” We explore how decept

Jul 20
1 h 19 min

Bonus: Animals and the Right to Politics with Sue Donaldson and Will Kymlicka

Claudia talks to political philosophers Sue Donaldson and Will Kymlicka about their latest book Animals and the Right to Politics. They discuss the differences between so

May 25
1 h 31 min

Bonus: Psychoanalysis and the Meat-Commodity with Teddy Duncan Jr.

In this episode Claudia talks Teddy Duncan Jr. who departs from the Marxian consideration of the meat-commodity to think about how psychoanalysis, especially Lacanian psy

May 18
1 h 21 min

Bonus: Creature Needs with Lucy Spelman, Susan Tacent, and Christopher Kondrich

A scientific abstract can tell you a species is declining. A story can make you feel what that loss means and why it should change how you live. In this episode Claudia t

May 11
1 h 28 min

S8EB: Monstrous Others with Rachel Dean-Ruzicka

We explore how Stranger Things signals a new monstrous moment, moving from unknowable creatures to human-made villains, and what that shift says about power, identity, an

Dec 29 2025
1 h 10 min

S8E10: Grad Review with Gina Song Lopez and Taylor Jobling

Gina Song Lopez, researching vegan movements in Taiwan and China through the lens of local culture and social media, and Taylor Jobling, a law lecturer unpacking how Aust

Dec 29 2025
1 h 28 min

S8E9: News with Shatabdi Chakrabarti, Jessica Scott-Reid, and Jan Dutkiewicz

In this episode we bring together a photojournalist from India, a Canadian columnist, and a political scientist/reporter to discuss animals and the news. We discuss diffe

Dec 22 2025
1 h 34 min

S8E8: Film and TV with Lynda Korimboccus and Ankita Rathour

In this episode Ankita Rathour and Lynda Korimboccus join Claudia to discuss the interconnections of film, tv, and animals. Together they touch on everything from the Pep

Dec 22 2025
1 h 35 min

S8E7: Social Media with Laura Fernández, Amanda Weiss, and Siobhan Speiran

Guests Laura Fernández, Amanda Weiss, and Siobhan Speiran join Claudia to discuss case studies as wide ranging as Japanese animal cafes, Spanish bull fighting, and Costa

Dec 15 2025
1 h 24 min

S8E6: Podcasting and Education with María Carreras and Kate Acton

We celebrate 100 episodes by asking how podcasting can teach, build community, and improve animal welfare across languages, disciplines, and daily routines. Guests Maria

Dec 8 2025
1 h 37 min

S8E5: Gaming with Keung Yoon Bae, Osvaldo Cleger, and Michael Rübsamen

Gaming is one of the most consumed forms of media globally making it an important space from to explore human-animal relations. In this episode, media scholars Michael Rü

Oct 13 2025
1 h 47 min

S8E4: Popular Media and Pests with Lu Liu, Debra Merskin, and Emily Major

In this episode we animals, power, and popular media. Emily Major, Debra Merskin, and Lu Liu help to think through how animals are manufactured as “pests” and “icons” in

Oct 10 2025
1 h 39 min

S8E3: Rhetoric and Supremacy with S. Marek Muller, David Rooney, and Lauren Corman

In this episode we discuss how rhetorical constructions of animality, and humanity are mobilized to serve specific power structures, including white supremacy and colonia

Sep 29 2025
1 h 55 min

S8E2: (Mis)representation and Activism with Christopher Eubanks and Carrie Freeman

Carrie Freeman and Christopher Eubanks join Claudia on the show to explore animal (mis)representation in media. They examine some of the ways in which animals are represe

Sep 22 2025
1 h 37 min

S8E1: Trans-Speciesism and the MARS Test with Natalie Khazaal, Tobias Linné, and Ellen Gorsevski

The Animal Turn podcast launches Season 8 with a dive into the intersections of media, racism, and speciesism. Tobias Linné, Ellen Gorsevski, and Natalie Khazaal join Cla

Sep 15 2025
1 h 49 min

Chart positions

Where The Animal Turn ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 8, 2026).

#190 ▼ 57 Social Sciences US

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