Antinatalist AdvocacyFor our second episode of 2024, we're diving deep into another one of our cause areas at Antinatalist Advocacy - animal agriculture. What does eating animals have to do with antinatalism? Do antinatalists have an obligation to be vegan? And should we keep veganism and antinatalism separate in our activism? Let us know your thoughts!
TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro 05:35 How and when Ash became an antinatalist 10:18 Why Ash went vegan 14:00 Strongest arguments for going vegan 16:44 Best arguments against veganism 20:01 Arguments for keeping veganism and antinatalism separate 32:52 Do antinatalists have an obligation to be vegan? 34:59 Do vegans have an obligation to be antinatalist? 37:48 Should we target AN activism towards vegans? 42:41 Should we keep AN activism separate from vegan activism? 53:00 Experiences talking to antinatalists about veganism 54:21 Vegans refusing to become antinatalists 1:07:04 Final comments & a positive note to end on 1:13:41 Outro
Ep. 8 | Why We Should Not Eat Animals with @ashwickety4273Antinatalist Advocacy2024-02-15 | For our second episode of 2024, we're diving deep into another one of our cause areas at Antinatalist Advocacy - animal agriculture. What does eating animals have to do with antinatalism? Do antinatalists have an obligation to be vegan? And should we keep veganism and antinatalism separate in our activism? Let us know your thoughts!
TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro 05:35 How and when Ash became an antinatalist 10:18 Why Ash went vegan 14:00 Strongest arguments for going vegan 16:44 Best arguments against veganism 20:01 Arguments for keeping veganism and antinatalism separate 32:52 Do antinatalists have an obligation to be vegan? 34:59 Do vegans have an obligation to be antinatalist? 37:48 Should we target AN activism towards vegans? 42:41 Should we keep AN activism separate from vegan activism? 53:00 Experiences talking to antinatalists about veganism 54:21 Vegans refusing to become antinatalists 1:07:04 Final comments & a positive note to end on 1:13:41 Outro
Check out the links below! - Ash Wickety Instagram: instagram.com/ashwickety - Stop Having Kids: stophavingkids.org - AAC23: Building a Healthy Antinatalist Community Panel: Panel: Building a Healthy Antinatalist Community - Antinatalist Advocacy Animal Agriculture page: antinatalistadvocacy.org/animal-agricultureAAP bonus episode - Building a healthier antinatalist community with @LawrenceAntonAntinatalist Advocacy2024-07-31 | Welcome back all! We're bringing you a discussion on Lawrence's channel exploring 10 recommendations for building a healthier antinatalist community. How can we build a healthier community? What do you think of our ten recommendations? And what challenges do we face in creating a space we would all like to be a part of? Let us know your thoughts!
TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro 01:46 Conversation begins 13:30 1 - Make the intentions of spaces clear 21:06 2 - Have realistic goals 28:59 3 - Our difference are important 35:52 4 - It helps to focus on things that unite us 41:15 5 - Build bridges with other communities 48:17 6 - Online spaces need careful but fair moderation 56:04 7 - Have a culture of forgiveness 1:02:13 8 - It's good to get offline 1:07:32 9 - Community building is difficult 1:17:16 10 - Kindness goes a long way 1:27:18 Wrap-up 1:36:03 Outro
Check out the links below! - Original video: How to Build A Healthier Antinatalist Community - AAC23 panel recording: Panel: Building a Healthy Antinatalist Community - AAC23 website: antinatalistadvocacy.org/projects/aacAAP Bonus Episode - 5 Steps for Doing Good as an Antinatalist with @LawrenceAntonAntinatalist Advocacy2024-07-15 | Welcome back to another AAP bonus episode! We're bringing you a livestream from Lawrence's channel on 5 suggested steps for doing good as an antinatalist. What did you think of our list? Is there anything you would add or remove? And what do you think are effective actions we can take in our own lives to make the world that little bit better? Let us know your thoughts!
TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro 01:38 Conversation begins 08:15 Step 1 - Don't have any more children 15:43 Step 2 - Go vegan 23:58 Step 3 - Plan your career 33:14 Step 4 - Start donating 38:20 Audience questions 1:04:05 Step 5 - Build the antinatalist community 1:11:21 Outro
Check out the links below! Original video: youtube.com/watch?v=N6cFHfB3Dog Giving What We Can: givingwhatwecan.org Animal Charity Evaluators: animalcharityevaluators.orgEp. 12 | Introduction to Artificial Sentience with @spacescienceguyAntinatalist Advocacy2024-06-15 | Welcome to episode 12 of AAP! We're joined this month by return guest Space Science Guy (formerly Vegan Space Scientist) to introduce our fourth and final cause area at AA - Artificial Sentience. What on earth is artificial sentience? What does it have to do with antinatalism? And what, if anything, can we do to protect potentially sentient AI from the harms of coming into existence? Let us know your thoughts below!
TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro to the episode 02:18 Intro to Michael 05:02 Defining sentience 12:56 How Michael first became aware of artificial sentience 16:17 Why artificial sentience is an area of concern 28:07 Why this is a particularly challenging issue to address 31:57 Why might antinatalists in particular be concerned about artificial sentience? 37:02 Arguments against being concerned about artificial sentience 39:39 How we can have a positive impact on this issue 44:10 Key players in this space 47:28 Final comments / positive note to end on 53:49 Outro
TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro to the episode 02:27 Intro to Rivka 05:59 The role of temperemant in attitudes towards procreation 10:06 Objections to Benatar's and Shiffrin's antinatalist arguments 22:32 Objections to misanthropic antinatalist arguments 33:01 The opportunity cost of having children 39:14 The opportunity cost of NOT having children 42:15 Rivka's arguments for procreative permissibility 47:08 Criticisms of Effective Altruism 53:24 The dangers of 'ends justify the means' thinking 55:31 Our obligations to help others 1:01:00 Effective Altruism in practice 1:10:20 'Local' good 1:15:53 Final comments 1:19:16 A positive note to end 1:20:55 Outro
Rivka Weinberg - The Risk of a Lifetime: https://amzn.eu/d/3MwwBHe - Existence: Who needs it?: bit.ly/4bB0jtb - Risk, Responsibility, and Procreative Asymmetries: bit.ly/3wyGGDs - It Ain’t My World: https://community.scrippscollege.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/ItAintMyWorld.pdf - Do You Act As You Argue? Or Do You Argue for How You Act?: bit.ly/3wx4EyX
Check out the links below! - AAP Ep. 10: youtu.be/UxhxMQOnTGc?feature=shared - David Benatar: Better Never to Have Been: https://amzn.eu/d/enFQbw8 - Seana Shiffrin: Consent and the Morality of Procreation: bit.ly/3QJQ3qG - Effective Altruism: effectivealtruism.org - Peter Singer: Famine, Affluence, and Morality: bit.ly/4byB8aK - The Sam Bankman-Fried FTX controversy: forum.effectivealtruism.org/topics/sam-bankman-friedEp. 10 | Criticisms of Antinatalist Advocacy with Lenny and @WackyConundrumAntinatalist Advocacy2024-04-15 | Welcome to episode 10 of AAP! We were joined by Lenny and Conundrum for a 'criticisms panel' of Antinatalist Advocacy, where we handed over the reigns to our two guests to tear apart our work on AA so far. Should AA drop the word 'antinatalist' from its name? Which of our four cause areas are actually relevant for antinatalism? And why did we have such a bungled definition of antinatalism on our website? Let us know your thoughts below!
TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro to the episode 01:42 Intro to the panel 06:51 AA's definition of antinatalism 10:12 How do you 'do' antinatalist advocacy? 14:30 What is AA's end goal? 18:27 The 'antinatalist blindspot' 29:08 The empty criticisms page on the website 33:38 Doing 'the most good' 41:00 AA's emphasis on compassion 53:01 "Antinatalist should do x,y,z…" 56:50 A positive rebranding of antinatalism? 1:06:27 The role of AA as an organisation 1:11:40 AA's broad focus (i.e. the four cause areas, including wild animal suffering) 1:27:50 Lawrence's comments on the ecological niche replacement argument 1:40:08 What makes AA different from other existing organisations 1:48:56 Potential associations to avoid 1:56:54 Potential name changes 2:10:09 John's comments on sperm donation 2:16:09 Final comments 2:18:02 Outro
Check out the links below! - Conundrum's YouTube channel: youtube.com/@WackyConundrum - Voidcast Linktree: https://linktr.ee/veganvoidcast - Émile P. Torres's writings on effective altruism: xriskology.com/popularmedia - AAP Ep. 9 - Wild Animal Suffering: what it is and why it matters with Humane Hancock: youtube.com/watch?v=-g4_air6SS0 - AAC23 Pre-conference LIVESTREAM: youtube.com/watch?v=DCIwsJPE94oEp. 9 | Wild Animal Suffering: what it is and why it matters with @HumaneHancockAntinatalist Advocacy2024-03-15 | ADDENDUM [written by John] At 56:20, myself and Jack discuss the topic of antinatalists making sperm donations. I later provided some important caveats (and reiterated others) in the YouTube comments section, which you can find below. I would like to reiterate that, as stated in the comment section, whilst I see the logic behind the actions discussed being permissible under consequentialism (with the important caveats I mentioned), I do not advocate sperm donation as a form of activism. This discussion was inappropriate for the forum of The Antinatalist Advocacy Podcast as the opinions expressed were my own and do not reflect the position of Antinatalist Advocacy or the views of my fellow co-founder, Lawrence. I would therefore like to apologise for any confusion caused.
We're joined this month by animal activist Jack (aka Humane Hancock) to discuss our third cause area at AA - Wild Animal Suffering (or WAS). What is WAS? Are we playing God by trying to protect animals in nature? And should we have children and turn the world into one big car park to prevent WAS? Let us know your thoughts!
TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro 02:09 Intro to Jack & how he became an activist 16:21 How Jack became aware of antinatalism 17:57 Intro to Wild Animal Suffering (WAS) 22:43 Common arguments against taking action on WAS (intractability, 'playing god' etc) 40:18 How does WAS relate to antinatalism? 48:50 Should we have children to stop WAS? 57:52 What can we actually do to help wild animals? 1:07:17 Final thoughts on the subject 1:12:39 A positive note to end on 1:16:36 Outro
TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro 02:22 Welcome Benedictine 19:30 How Benedictine became an antinatalist 34:33 Best arguments against having children 43:06 Weakest arguments for antinatalism (is humanity a virus?) 59:00 Best counter arguments to antinatalism 1:04:56 Opportunities and challenges for antinatalist activism 1:24:02 Final thoughts on the topic of not having children 1:28:32 A positive note to end on 1:31:56 Outro
Check out the links below! Benedictine's channel: youtube.com/@benedictinethetruth Discussing antinatalism at Speaker's Corner: youtu.be/2kO-enPxK0c?si=WN45PgPY1J8sF8qv Discussing antinatalism with Extinction Rebellion: youtu.be/cyvpm-wHl_k?si=tYp4iUPI7y7pDj32 Best Speech You Will Ever Hear: youtu.be/es6U00LMmC4?si=vVj7F88tpk2zakRZAAP Bonus Episode - Pronatalist vs Antinatalist debate with @SimoneandMalcolmAntinatalist Advocacy2023-12-31 | It's NYE 2023, and we're finishing the year with a debate! Should we be having babies? Can you sometimes be justified in creating new sentient beings? And are antinatalists simply projecting their own misery onto others? Let us know your thoughts below!
TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro 02:02 Conversation begins 2:18:17 Outro
Simone & Malcolm Collins: - YouTube: @SimoneandMalcolm - Twitter: twitter.com/SimoneHCollins - Books: amazon.com/gp/product/B08FMWMFTG - School: collinsinstitute.org - Projects: pragmatistfoundation.com - Facebook: facebook.com/basedcamppodcast - Simone on HubPages: simonesmith.hubpages.comIn Conversation With... Magnus VindingAntinatalist Advocacy2023-12-26 | Magnus Vinding has written books such as Effective Altruism: How Can We Best Help Others?, Suffering-Focused Ethics: Defense and Implications, and Reasoned Politics. Magnus has also written a range of essays including The Speciesism of Leaving Nature Along and the Theoretical Case for “Wildlife Antinatalism”. Magnus is also the co-founder of the Centre for Reducing Suffering which was set-up in 2020 to develop ethical views that prioritise suffering and research ways to best reduce suffering.
ANTINATALIST ADVOCACY Newsletter: antinatalistadvocacy.org/newsletter Website: antinatalistadvocacy.orgPanel: Building a Healthy Antinatalist CommunityAntinatalist Advocacy2023-12-23 | Amanda Sukenick has been producing antinatalist content since 2010. She created the film The EFIList in 2016 and is the host of The Exploring Antinatalism Podcast. She has an up-coming book co-authored with Matti Häyry, Antinatalism, Extinction and The End of Procreative Self-Corruption.
Ash Wickety an antinatalist and animal rights activist. Ash has done extensive work with Stop Having Kids, and was the co-host of the former MNintersectional podcast.
Shweta Ramkumar is a childfree advocate who has been involved in organising and maintaining both online and in-person childfree communities in Australia. She also has experience breaking free from disempowering cultural conformity through choosing a childfree lifestyle whilst being a member of the south-asian diaspora.
ANTINATALIST ADVOCACY Newsletter: antinatalistadvocacy.org/newsletter Website: antinatalistadvocacy.orgAntinatalism & Extinction | Matti HäyryAntinatalist Advocacy2023-12-16 | Matti Häyry is a philosopher who has been a beacon of antinatalist academia in Finland for many years. Matti is widely considered to have first formalised the risk argument for antinatalism in his 2004 paper A rational cure for prereproductive stress syndrome. Matti most recently has been involved in publications such as Antinatalism – Solving everything everywhere all at once? and Imposing a Lifestyle: A New Argument for Antinatalism, and is the co-author of the upcoming book Antinatalism, Extinction and the End of Procreative Self-corruption.
ANTINATALIST ADVOCACY Newsletter: antinatalistadvocacy.org/newsletter Website: antinatalistadvocacy.orgEp. 6 | Crossover episode with @veganvoidcastAntinatalist Advocacy2023-12-15 | It's our first ever AAP crossover episode! Carlos and Lenny - the guys behind the excellent @veganvoidcast - join us for a discussion on all things antinatalist activism and advice for fellow antinatalists looking to have a positive impact on the world. Enjoy!
TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro 02:47 Welcome Carlos and Lenny 12:47 Intro to Voidcast 25:21 General thoughts on antinatalist activism 29:31 Thoughts on converting people to antinatalism 41:01 Whether or not the antinatalist community is suitable to build a social movement on 56:58 The antinatalist end goal 1:03:50 Antinatalism as an end goal vs a means to an end 1:08:10 Advice for an antinatalist looking to have a positive impact 1:19:02 Projects Carlos and Lenny are working on 1:24:07 A positive note to end on 1:27:40 Outro
ANTINATALIST ADVOCACY Newsletter: antinatalistadvocacy.org/newsletter Website: antinatalistadvocacy.orgThe Case for Genome Reform and a Bio-happiness Revolution | David PearceAntinatalist Advocacy2023-12-09 | David Pearce is a philosopher who shares a pessimistic evaluation of sentient life’s predicament with antinatalists, but advocates a different response. His response is transhumanism. David has been prolific in this area, in 1995 he wrote The Hedonistic Imperative where he lays out the case and a potential roadmap for the abolition of suffering. Since then he has given countless talks and engagements on the topic and helped establish The World Transhumanist Association, which is now known as Humanity+.
If you would like to support us via a donation, please contact us at contact@antinatalistadvocacy.org or via the Contact Us page on our website.AAC23 Day 1 | Antinatalist AdvocacyAntinatalist Advocacy2023-12-02 | Welcome to Day 1 of the Antinatalist Advocacy Conference 2023. We're excited to bring you the world's first virtual antinatalist conference.
Ask your questions: https://forms.gle/wFrpKe9HZ6R3eiMA7
Join us for a post-conference hangout: discord.gg/QfUSJXpRvq (We will begin accepting people once Day 1 has ended.)
If you would like to support us via a donation, please contact us at contact@antinatalistadvocacy.org or via the Contact Us page on our website.AAP Bonus Episode: Effective Antinatalism on TrialAntinatalist Advocacy2023-11-30 | This bonus episode sees John and Lawrence respond to concerns from their fellow antinatalists about applying an Effective Altruist lens to antinatalism. Are we trying to take antinatalism down the wrong path? Let us know your thoughts!
TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro 02:20 Intro to the livestream 10:40 Recap of the previous video ('How ANTINATALISTS Can Do the MOST GOOD') 13:37 Lawrence and John start responding to written feedback 24:41 Alex joins the stream 1:05:20 Rob joins the stream and Alex leaves 1:35:20 Alex leaves and Lawrence and John respond to more written feedback 1:57:45 Outro
Check out the links below! Original video on Lawrence Anton's channel: youtu.be/4GEUrDNpGfE?si=arL6tkA6nWLALYyC How ANTINATALISTS Can Do the MOST GOOD: youtu.be/MWd0Q1SN9jY?si=qWcnivpbOH5DtcE_ Effective Altruism: effectivealtruism.org Give Well: givewell.org 80,000 Hours: 80000hours.orgAAC23 Pre-conference LIVESTREAM!! 🔴Antinatalist Advocacy2023-11-20 | Join us for our first ever livestream. We'll be answering your questions about the AAC23. Submit your questions here: https://forms.gle/AiJUot5j3QkfH4YF7Ep. 5 | Responding to Will MacAskill on Antinatalism with @LawrenceAntonAntinatalist Advocacy2023-11-14 | In this episode, John and Lawrence respond to philosopher Will MacAskill, for many the leading figure of Effective Altruism, on the subject of antinatalism. Is antinatalism worth taking seriously? Would human extinction be bad? And are antinatalists welcome in the EA community? Listen to find out!
TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro 02:04 Purpose of this episode 05:29 Our thoughts on Will MacAskill 13:04 "Too nihilistic and divorced from humane values" comment 32:03 "Positively glad that the world exists" comment 38:09 Question 1: Does MacAskill take human extinction seriously enough? 56:01 Question 2: Are antinatalists welcome in the EA community? 1:10:36 A positive note to end on 1:18:05 Outro
Check out the links below! - Original video: youtube.com/watch?v=YWwllIcYrvw - Conference page: antinatalistadvocacy.org/projects/aac-2023Ep. 4 | Responding to Peter Singer on Antinatalism with @LawrenceAntonAntinatalist Advocacy2023-10-15 | In this episode, John and Lawrence respond to philosopher Peter Singer, for many the father of Effective Altruism, on the subject of antinatalism. In particular, they discuss if it is a harm to create sentient beings who will die prematurely (in this case, 'happy' chickens), and whether vegans and others looking to do good in the world should have children. Enjoy!
TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro 02:34 Welcome Lawrence 08:45 Purpose of this episode 14:30 Our views on Effective Altruism 25:42 Our views on Peter Singer specifically 34:46 Question 1: Is it a harm to create sentient beings who will die prematurely? 57:33 Question 2: Should vegans (and others looking to do good in the world) have children? 1:22:25 Final thoughts on Peter Singer and antinatalism 1:24:15 A positive note to end on 1:30:29 Outro
TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro 03:02 How John became an antinatalist 09:36 Brief into to Effective Altruism (EA) 14:03 The link between antinatalism and EA 16:52 What antinatalists can learn from EA's successes 22:41 What antinatalists can learn from EA's challenges 27:52 Reluctant longtermism 34:38 The four cause areas of antinatalist activism 49:49 People working in this space 53:00 Possible objections from the antinatalist community 1:02:42 Possible objections from the EA community 1:10:45 How academia might react to antinatalist activism 1:17:30 Tangible steps to have an impact 1:20:21 Final thoughts 1:24:24 Outro
TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro to the episode 02:59 Welcome Michael 04:32 Discovering antinatalism 08:37 Going vegan 11:31 Coming across Effective Altruism (EA) 17:26 Core EA ideas 22:36 How these ideas have evolved over time 31:04 Choosing causes / charities to support 40:26 Challenges / downsides of core EA ideas 43:43 Intro to the EA community 54:58 Challenges / downsides of the community 1:04:43 Balancing doing good with living a good life 1:07:42 Relationship between EA and antinatalism 1:18:37 Opportunities for impact across communities 1:22:14 Opportunity cost of having children 1:26:30 What Michael is currently working on 1:31:41 Things to be positive about 1:35:26 Outro to the episode
Check out the links below! Michael's website: michaeldello.com Vegan Space Scientist: youtube.com/@VeganSpaceScientist Effective Altruism: effectivealtruism.org EA TED Talk: youtube.com/watch?v=Diuv3XZQXyc Peter Singer's 'Famine, Affluence and Morality' article: https://rintintin.colorado.edu/~vancecd/phil308/Singer2.pdfEp. 2 | Introduction to Antinatalism with Amanda SukenickAntinatalist Advocacy2023-08-15 | In our first full AAP episode, John speaks with host of the Exploring Antinatalism podcast (and all-round legend of the antinatalist community) Amanda 'Oldphan' Sukenick. They discuss the core ideas of antinatalist philosophy, the ins and outs of the antinatalist community, and how antinatalists can have more of a positive impact on the world. Enjoy!
TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro to the episode 02:33 Welcome Amanda 03:28 Amanda's introduction to antinatalism 05:24 Amanda's first videos / early days of YouTube 08:49 What is Antinatalism? 13:13 Life sucking 16:48 Strengths and challenges of the philosophy 38:46 Antinatalism as a magic pill 44:10 Intro to the antinatalist community 53:43 Positive aspects of the AN community 59:56 Antinatalist activism 1:10:02 Forming alliances with other movements 1:13:07 Unlocking the potential of the AN community 1:16:05 What Amanda is currently working on 1:17:31 Final thoughts on antinatalism 1:20:12 Things to be positive about 1:23:40 Outro to the episode
Check out the links below! The Exploring Antinatalism Podcast: youtube.com/@UCA8FKcLhdLOHkZtrsGJGUoA The Efilist: youtube.com/watch?v=bAuU-MAZ18Y Interview with Soft White Underbelly: youtube.com/watch?v=rw0PYbG1eyU The Recent History of Antinatalism Online: youtube.com/watch?v=SR7s4vesPTYEp. 1 | Introduction to Antinatalist AdvocacyAntinatalist Advocacy2023-07-01 | In this episode of AAP, John speaks with Alaanah and Lawrence – his fellow core team members at Antinatalist Advocacy (AA). They introduce themselves, the organisation, and their plans for AA going forward. John also forgets to introduce himself, as well as forgetting at times to stand close to his microphone.
UPDATE Shortly after this episode, due to unforeseen circumstances, Alaanah stepped away from the AA team, but it was a pleasure working with her and we wish her well going forward. As such, Embracing Antinatalism (our lifestyle podcast) is currently on hold. However, our other projects are going ahead as planned, so keep your eyes peeled!
TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro to the episode 01:47 Meet the AA team 09:26: Introduction to AA 12:23 AA's four cause areas 20:19 Opportunities and challenges of looking broader than human procreation 23:41 AA's planned activities 29:44 Upcoming projects 38:56 Plans for the AAP podcast 42:06 Things to be positive about 46:27 Outro to the episode