Is Animal Welfare the Next MAHA? With Astra Taylor
Astra Taylor joins Fighting Fascism to discuss the right’s growing interest in animal welfare, the politics of animal rights, and what the left risks overlooking.
The Nation Podcasts
Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
Is Animal Welfare the Next MAHA? w/ Astra Taylor / Fighting Fascism
Something weird is happening on the far right. MAGA influencers are calling out the pork industry. RFK Jr. is taking credit for militant animal rescue actions. And the animal welfare movement is taking notice. Astra Taylor joins us again to talk about a forthcoming article she and Aaron co-authored on the shifting political terrain around animal rights. The core question: Could this be the new MAHA (Make America Healthy Again)? A few years ago, it was impossible to imagine that crunchy moms who hate Monsanto would become a key part of Trump’s electoral coalition. But here we are, in part because Democrats created a vacuum on health issues that the right stepped into. We think something similar could be happening today with animal rights—which, if the left doesn’t wake up, could be very bad for all of us.
Fighting Fascism Podcast is produced by Nik Damants in collaboration with The Nation.
Intro song and music by Horse Radish.
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Robert F Kennedy Jr speaks during an “Eat Real Food” rally in Austin, Texas, on Thursday, Feb 26, 2026.
(Jordan Vonderhaar / Bloomberg via Getty Images)Something weird is happening on the far right. MAGA influencers are calling out the pork industry. RFK Jr. is taking credit for militant animal rescue actions. And the animal welfare movement is taking notice. Astra Taylor joins us again to talk about a forthcoming article she and Aaron coauthored on the shifting political terrain around animal rights. The core question: Could this be the new MAHA (Make America Healthy Again)? A few years ago, it was impossible to imagine that crunchy moms who hate Monsanto would become a key part of Trump’s electoral coalition. But here we are, in part because Democrats created a vacuum on health issues that the right stepped into. We think something similar could be happening today with animal rights—which, if the left doesn’t wake up, could be very bad for all of us.
The Fighting Fascism podcast is produced by Nik Damants in collaboration with The Nation.
Intro song and music by Horse Radish.
Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: thenation.com/subscribe.
The Nation Podcasts
Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
Brazil Also Fought Fascism! w/ Andre Pagliarini / Fighting Fascism
Hey! Smile! Good things are happening! The U.S. had an amazing election just now… and we weren’t the only ones. Brazil also recently experienced a massive victory against fascism, with President Lula defeating Flavio Bolsonaro (their equivalent of Don Trump Jr.) in a come-from-behind win that we frankly weren’t expecting.
To get the skinny on Lula, the Brazilian far right, and the lessons we can learn from this election, we spoke with Andre Pagliarini, a scholar of Brazilian politics and the guy who literally wrote the book on President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (the Fighting Fascism family’s second favorite DaSilva).
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Search Results placeholder
