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Welcome to our videos about Sentientism (evidence, reason and compassion for all sentient beings). Videos of me talking about Sentientism to other groups and people are on this playlist.

You can subscribe to our Sentientism YouTube channel to get notified of new content (mostly me interviewing other people about “what’s real?” and “who matters?”and check out our playlist of other channels’ videos that are relevant to Sentientism.

If you prefer reading or listening, here’s our writing and audio (podcasts). The audio from these videos is on our own Sentientism podcast too – subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.

This video is a presentation about Sentientism given to a group of UK Humanists:

Here’s a sample of one of our #SentientistConversations series – this one is with John Adenitire:

If you’re a content creator and would be interested in making videos about Sentientism, please get in touch using our contact form on the right of this page or via @Sentientism. We’d love to help and will happily share your work in our communities.


I used to list all of our videos on this page but then I realised that’s what YouTube is for! So they’re all here. Don’t forget to subscribe and click the bell so you get notified of new releases.


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Rod Graham’s “Being”
Watch our conversation here. Rod is Associate Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Old Dominion University. He is also a writer and YouTuber. His “Being” series seeks to understand a diverse range of guests.


The Conscious Basket Show:
Listen to the episode here or on all the usual platforms or watch the video of our conversation here. Conscious Basket is a marketplace aiming to make it easy for people to make ethically conscious choices about what they’re buying.


Jeff Sebo

Sentientist Conversations: Jeff Sebo
“Change is possible but hard”

In this video, Jamie talks to author, activist and academic Jeff Sebo. Amongst many other roles, Jeff is Director of the Animal Studies M.A. Program at New York University, is a board member at Animal Charity Evaluators and is a Senior Fellow at Sentient.

We talk about spanning philosophy disciplines and taking academic thinking into the real world through activism for a multi-species political society. We discuss Jeff’s journey from considering Christian ministry, through reactionary atheism, then to a more generous interpretation of religious thinking. We cover naturalism, sentience, the nature of consciousness and much more!


Claudia Hirtenfelder - Founder and Host of The Animal Turn Podcast - The  Animal Turn | LinkedIn

Sentientist Conversations: Claudia Hirtenfelder
“Imagining a better future through our everyday decisions”

In this video, Jamie talks to the host of The Animal Turn Podcast and PhD Candidate in Geography at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada, Claudia Hirtenfelder.

We talk about cycling 6,000km across Asia using vegan power! and Claudia’s journey from Christianity to atheism. We discuss how to temper our rationality with humility and by considering diverse perspectives and how to temper our focus on the value of individual sentients with a recognition of social factors.


From Shepherd to Advocate: Why I Focus on Animal Suffering

Sentientist Conversations: Mikko Järvenpää
“Breeding into suffering is the root of the problem.”

In this video, Jamie talks to tech start-up founder and CEO (now https://candle.to/​), Mikko Järvenpää. Mikko founded & is now board chair of Sentient – an organisation dedicated to making the world a better place for all sentient beings through journalism.

We talk about growing up in the public eye in a political family in Finland, befriending and understanding sheep, the need for scepticism and humility in our rationality and the need to recognise the importance of society and relations even in an individualistic ethics.


Truth Wanted Live Call-In Show

I had the pleasure of co-hosting this live call-in show with Objectively Dan. We talked about Sentientism then fielded caller questions – including some about UFOs and whether snake monsters lie at the root of all human religion!

Truth Wanted is part of the Atheist Community of Austin stable.


Sentientist Conversations: Jasmin Singer
“A Fabulous Vegan Future!”

In this video, Jamie talks to author, activist, non-profit co-founder and podcast host, Jasmin Singer. Jasmin is the author of “The VegNews Guide to Being a Fabulous Vegan” and the memoir “Always Too Much and Never Enough“. She co-founded Our Hen House and co-hosts their podcast.

We talk about growing up celebrating both Hannukah and Christmas, going vegetarian at 19 because it fit Jasmin’s cool New York image – then going vegan and instantly dedicating her life to animal advocacy. We also discuss the parallels between religious and carnist indoctrination, the intersection of different forms of oppression and the balance between institutional and personal social change.


Randall S. Abate, J.D. | Directory | Monmouth University

Sentientist Conversations: Randall Abate
“How can I have been morally asleep for so long?”

In this video, Jamie talks to author and environmental, animal, climate and constitutional law professor Randall Abate. Randall’s books include “What Can Animal Law Learn From Environmental Law?” and “Climate Change and the Voiceless: Protecting Future Generations, Wildlife, and Natural Resources”.

We talk about Catholic and eastern religions and spirituality; the social challenges of giving up animal products; neoliberalism, capitalism and eco-marxism and how the animal and environmental law fields can learn from each other and help drive change.


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Sentientist Conversations: Josh Gellers
“De-centring the human”

In this video, Jamie talks to author and associate professor Josh Gellers. Josh’s work spans animal, environmental and artificial intelligence ethics and law. He is a research fellow with the Earth System Governance Project and is a Fulbright scholar. He is Author of “Rights for Robots”.

We talk about growing up in a culturally Jewish household, non-human rights (animal, robot or otherwise) and how to take a pluralistic approach that “wades in the waters of other ways of knowing” without slipping into a relativism that excuses causing needless harm.


Sentientist Conversations: Graham Bessellieu
“Diverse sentients could live in mutual symbiosis”

In this video, Jamie talks to artist, photographer and video/audio content producer Graham Bessellieu.

We talk about Graham’s Christian upbringing (and singing), his turn to a naturalistic, Sentientist ethics, ending animal farming and exploitation and the potential for a Deutschian, Star Trek future for all sentients.


Lifecoach

Sentientist Conversations: Gill Coombs
“Being in balance with ourselves and the biosphere”

In this video, Jamie talks to author, coach & counsellor, Gill Coombs. Gill was a UK parliamentary candidate for the Green Party. She focuses on helping people live in balance with themselves & the rest of the living world. Her books include “The Trembling Warrior”, “Hearing our Calling” & “The Game”.

We talk about turning away from Christianity but retaining a personal sense of the transcendent, the intrinsic value of sentient life, whether plants are sentient and whether “life eats life” justifies some consumption of animal products.


Jamie Harris

Sentientist Conversations: Jamie Harris
“How can we do the most good?”

In this video, Jamie talks to Jamie Harris. Jamie is co-founder of and researcher at the non-profit Animal Advocacy Careers, a researcher at the Sentience Institute and host of the Sentience Institute Podcast (subscribe!).

We talk about growing up in a non-religious environment, going ~vegan at 4-5 years old!, which types of entities might be sentient, whether other factors beyond sentience have moral value, Effective Altruism, long-termism and how best to make social change happen.


Paul Shapiro

Sentientist Conversations: Paul Shapiro
“Let’s end humanity’s war on the rest of the planet.”

In this video, Jamie talks to Better Meat CEO, Animal Rights Hall of Famer, TED talker, Business for Good podcast host and Clean Meat author, Paul Shapiro.

We talk about Paul’s animal advocacy journey (he co-founded Compassion over Killing, now Animal Outlook, while still at school) and the potential for new technologies to render animal farming obselete.


Sentientist Conversations: Roman Yampolskiy
“Humans might one day need to beg AIs for our sentient rights.”

In this video, Jamie talks to artificial intelligence, computer science and cyber security professor Roman Yampolskiy.

We talk about radically open-minded naturalism, the moral importance of freedom and the implications for human, animal and even artificial intelligence ethics.


Vicky Bond

Sentientist Conversations: Vicky Bond
“As a vet I felt helpless… but change can happen so fast now.”

In this video, Jamie talks to the Managing Director of The Humane League UK, Vicky Bond.

Vicky tells me about her personal philosophical journey and how, after working as a veterinary surgeon in the animal agriculture industry, she left to focus her career on campaigning for non-human animals.


Floris van den Berg

Sentientist Conversations: Floris van den Berg
“No victim, no problem!”

In this video, Jamie talks to atheist, vegan, activist philosopher and author, Floris van den Berg.

We discuss Floris’ “Eco-Humanism”, his new book “On Green Liberty“, as well as how he is “not a moral realist, not a moral relativist, but a moral universalist.”


Sentientist Conversations: Naomi Smith
“We’ll look back on this era of humanity as barbaric.”

In this video, Jamie talks to the CEO of Best for Britain, Naomi Smith.

We discuss how Naomi’s personal philosophy has evolved, including her experience of religious sectarianism in Northern Ireland, being excluded from a religious education class and feeling a deep affinity for non-human animals from an early age.


David Pearce (transhumanist), September 2013.jpg

Sentientist Conversations: David Pearce
“Compassion alone is not enough – We need to systematise benevolence.”

In this video, Jamie talks to philosopher and co-founder of the World Transhumanist Organisation (now Humanity+), David Pearce.

We talk about the evolution of David’s naturalistic, sentiocentric philosophy and his “Hedonistic Imperative” – the moral obligation to work towards the abolition of suffering in all sentient life.


John Adenitire

Sentientist Conversations: John Adenitire
“From Sunday School Teacher to Sentientist Academic.”

In this video, Jamie talks to legal and rights academic and author (as well as professional cellist and dancer!), John Adenitire.

We talk about John’s life story so far and the implications of his naturalistic, sentiocentric philosophy and his pluralistic perspective on moral value.


Stijn Bruers [International Animal Rights Conference: 5.+6 ...

Sentientist Conversations: Stijn Bruers
“My enemy, which I will destroy, is arbitrariness!”

In this video, Jamie talks to academic (philosophy, physics and economics!), activist and president of Effective Altruism Belgium, Stijn Bruers.

We talk about what’s real, what matters and how rejecting unwanted arbitrariness, both in epistemology and ethics, leads us to Sentientism.


Sentientist Conversations: Zion Lights
“Do you want a habitable planet for your children?”

In this video, Jamie talks to environmental activist Zion Lights.

We talk about what’s real, what matters and the importance of taking a rational, compassionate approach to the climate change challenge.


Joe Wills

Sentientist Conversations: Joe Wills
“We have a golden opportunity to re-imagine our relationships with non-human animals.”

In this video, Jamie talks to University of Leicester Law and Rights Lecturer and Author, Joe Wills.

We talk about what’s real, what matters morally, and the implications of Sentientism for animal advocacy, wild animal ethics and human animal ethics. We talk about the challenges of breaking social norms and indoctrination and how we can tap into latent human cross-species compassion.


A J Jacobs

Sentientist Conversations: AJ Jacobs
“I love the Sentientism philosophy – we should see all sentient beings as our extended family.”

In this video, Jamie talks to New York Times bestselling (4 times!) author and journalist, AJ Jacobs.

We talk about what’s real, what matters, and how AJ’s “personal experimentation” writing projects help us all learn about evidence, reason and compassion. From living biblically for a year and thanking everyone involved in making his morning coffee, to helping us understand how we’re all connected.


The Joy of Fostering. Are you missing a dog in your life… | by Carole  Raphaelle Davis | Age of Awareness | Medium

Sentientist Conversations: Carole Raphaelle Davis (parts one and two)
“Sentientism feels like home!”

In this video, Jamie talks to actress, singer/song-writer, author and activist Carole Raphaelle Davis about Sentientism, what she believes and what matters morally. In our second conversation, we talk about the intersection of Hollywood and Sentientism – and what it’s like to have Prince throw a creationist tantrum when you take him to a natural history museum.

Carole is an actress, recording artist, writer and activist best known for her roles in Sex and the City and Madam Secretary and for her songwriting with Prince. Find out more about her activism and her work at https://caroleraphaelledavis.com/


The Bridge: Jamie Woodhouse and Sentientism
I loved this conversation with fellow Sentientist John Lamberton on his pod/vidcast the Bridge. Most of our discussion is about my personal views so “many Sentientists will disagree”…


Future Design Podcast

Future Design:
Watch the video of our conversation about Sentientism on YouTube here. You can also listen to the audio via Apple, Spotify or the other usual podcast platforms.
The Future Design Podcast by Takatoshi Shibayama is about the technologies and ideas that improve ourselves and the world around us.

As well as covering the basics of Sentientism and its implications, we discussed how it’s much harder for some communities to move to rationality & compassion where their way of life is deeply bound to animal fishing/farming and to tradition. We also discuss how individuals can make personal changes but also help to drive institutional changes that might have even greater impact.


Association of Black Humanists

The Association of Black Humanists kindly invited me (Jamie) to talk about Sentientism at their regular MeetUp on 23rd May 2020.

Here’s the video of the session. There were some great questions and thoughtful discussions. Make sure you subscribe to the ABA YouTube channel while you’re there.


Dilemma Hangout with Jay Shapiro
A nearly 3 hour, wide ranging conversation covering many aspects of Sentientism and its potential implications. Jay signs up as a Sentientist towards the end – although he probably was at the beginning too.


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Ask A Philosopher Live Stream
An interesting, open question and answer session hosted by Anna Gullub and Daniel Estrada of “Ask A Philosopher“. I cover the basics of Sentientism but go into some of my personal views too – so many Sentientists will disagree. Our central discussion focuses on whether morality should be grounded in sentience, suffering and flourishing – or not be grounded at all, rather emerging from a negotiated consensus.


Free Thought Prophet:
This is the video version of our Sentientism conversation on YouTube (I’m audio only due to the state of my Covid19 lockdown beard). You can also listen to the Sentientism podcast episode online or on any of the usual platforms. The Free Thought Prophet focuses on freedom of thought, atheism, science, secularism and Irish whiskey (apparently there is no other kind).

This was a less formal conversation, partly because of the whiskey (I may have had a beer too). The hosts and I agree when it comes to religion, the supernatural and atheism. One of the hosts, John, has been vegetarian for years. He continues to see animal farming as an ethical horror but is now relaxing his vegetarianism re: eating wild, culled deer. Our conversation continues on Twitter.


All Things Risk:
The YouTube version (audio only) of our podcast (listen to the episode about Sentientism on their website, via Apple or all the usual platforms).
The All Things Risk podcast by Ben Cattaneo explores the themes of risk, uncertainty and resilience in every aspect of life.

This was an engaging, broad ranging conversation about sentientism. Assessing and managing risk (in simple terms, the potential for bad things to happen) is an important part of the sentientist commitment to evidence and reason.


Sentientism YouTube
This YouTube playlist includes the videos we’ve found so far about Sentientism. Most so far are YouTube of the podcast interviews we’ve done.

You can also subscribe to our Sentientism YouTube channel now that we’ve created our first “Sentientist Conversation” video. Why not get in touch and do some more with us?


Latest work

Head and shoulders shot of Monica Murphy, Bill Wasik and a dog family member sitting together.

“This great unresolved tension of modern life” – Monica Murphy & Bill Wasik – Sentientism Ep:214

Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy are the authors of "Our Kindred Creatures". A Sentientism conversation about "what's real?", "who matters?" and "how to make a better world?"
More

“This great unresolved tension of modern life” – Monica Murphy & Bill Wasik – Sentientism Ep:214

Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy are the authors of "Our Kindred Creatures". A Sentientism conversation about "what's real?", "who matters?" and "how to make a better world?"
More

“Spirituality is a great way in which capitalism commodifies people’s belief” – Richard Twine – Sentientism Ep:213

Richard Twine is Reader in Sociology at Edge Hill University. A Sentientism conversation about "what's real?", "who matters?" and "How to make a better future?"
More

“You don’t really have to convince people to be compassionate” – Jesse Tandler – New Roots Institute – Sentientism Ep:212

Jesse Tandler is MD of New Roots Institute. A Sentientism conversation about "what's real?", "who matters?" and "how to make a better world?"
More

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