The Antinatalist Advocacy Podcast presents interviews with interesting and knowledgeable people about how best to protect sentient beings from the harms of coming into existence. We speak with antinatalists, people who align with antinatalists on specific issues, and people who disagree with antinatalism wholeheartedly, with the sole aim of spreading ideas that can make the world a better place.
AAP Ep. 1- Introduction to Antinatalist Advocacy
John speaks with Alaanah and Lawrence, his fellow core team members at Antinatalist Advocacy (AA), to 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.
AAP Ep. 2 - Introduction to Antinatalism
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.
AAP Ep. 3 - Introduction to Effective Altruism
In this episode, John speaks with fellow antinatalist Michael (aka Vegan Space Scientist), a Researcher and Strategy Lead and at the Sentience Institute. They discuss the core ideas of Effective Altruism, the ins and outs of the EA community, and how people can use the core ideas of Effective Altruism and Antinatalism to make the world a better place.
AAP Ep. 4 - Responding to Peter Singer on Antinatalism
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.
AAP Ep. 5 - Responding to Will MacAskill on Antinatalism
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?
AAP Ep. 6 - Crossover episode with Voidcast
It's our first ever AAP crossover episode! Carlos and Lenny - the guys behind the excellent Voidcast - join us for a discussion on all things antinatalist activism and advice for fellow antinatalists looking to have a positive impact on the world.
AAP Ep. 7 - Why We Should Not Have Children with BenedictinesTheTruth
We're beginning the new year by diving deep into the reasons for not having children with YouTuber BenedictinesTheTruth. So what are the strongest (and weakest) arguments for antinatalism? Is humanity a virus on this planet? And how should we talk to natalists about the harms of having children?
AAP Ep. 8 - Why We Should Not Eat Animals with Ash Wickety
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?
AAP Ep. 9 - Wild Animal Suffering: what it is and why it matters with Humane Hancock
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?
AAP Ep. 10 - Criticisms of Antinatalist Advocacy with Lenny and Conundrum
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?
AAP Ep. 11 - Criticisms of antinatalism and Effective Altruism with Rivka Weinberg
We were really grateful this month to host Professor Rivka Weinberg to criticise the two ideologies that guide a lot of our thinking at Antinatalist Advocacy, namely antinatalism and Effective Altruism. Can it sometimes be ethical to procreate? Does Effective Altruism hold up to scrutiny in both theory and practice? And is John hopelessly misguided for being a card-carrying consequentialist? Let us know your thoughts below!
AAP Ep. 12 - Introduction to Artificial Sentience with Space Science Guy
We were joined 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!
BONUS EPISODES
How Can Antinatalists Do The Most Good?
In our first ever bonus episode, we share a recording from the first discussion John and Lawrence had on Lawrence’s YouTube channel in November 2022. They spoke about how antinatalists can do the most good. Back then John hadn't yet splashed out on a microphone, so if you can suffer through the low-quality audio, enjoy!
Update on Antinatalist Advocacy & Our Conference in December!
In this bonus episode of AAP, John speaks with Lawrence about our progress since launching Antinatalist Advocacy in July. We also preview the Antinatalist Advocacy Conference 2023 (AAC23), held for free on YouTube on the 2nd and 3rd December 2023. Enjoy!
Effective Antinatalism on Trial
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!
Pronatalist vs Antinatalist debate with Simone & Malcolm Collins
Our final bonus episode of 2023 saw Lawrence and John debate procreative ethics with famous pronatalist couple Simone and Malcolm Collins. 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!
AAP Bonus Episode - 5 Steps for Doing Good as an Antinatalist with Lawrence Anton
This bonus episode presents 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!
AAP Bonus Episode - Building a healthier antinatalist community with Lawrence Anton
This bonus episode presents another livestream from 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!