In this episode Claudia talks to public health expert Hope Ferdowsian about Phoenix Zones, a concept that captures places and practices that advance the rights, health, and well-being of people, animals, and our shared environments. They discuss how crises present opportunities for change as well as how humans and animal who have experienced trauma show capacities for resilience when they are afforded with liberty, autonomy, and dignity. 

Date Recorded: 21 September 2023. 

Hope Ferdowsian is a professor of medicine at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and the president of Phoenix Zones Initiative, a global nonprofit that uses medical and public health expertise to advance the health and well-being of people, animals, and the planet. With over two decades as an internal medicine, preventive medicine, and public health physician, she has cared for individuals who have experienced displacement and violence, and worked on policy to address human, animal, and environmental exploitation. Her work across six continents has included consultative support for national and intergovernmental policy makers. Dr. Ferdowsian’s work has been featured through Scientific American, HuffPost, BBC, Voice of America, and other international news outlets. Many of her publications, including her book, Phoenix Zones: Where Strength Is Born and Resilience Lives, focus on ethics, global public health, and the links between human, animal, and planetary rights, health, and well-being. 

Claudia (Towne) Hirtenfelder is the founder and host of The Animal Turn. She has a PhD in Geography from Queen’s University, and her research is focused on the significance of the problematization of urban animals. She was awarded the AASA Award for Popular Communication for her work on the podcast. Contact Claudia via email ([email protected]) or follow her on Twitter (@ClaudiaFTowne).

Featured: 

• Phoenix Zones: Where Strength Is Born and Resilience Lives, by Hope Ferdowsian 
• Wild Justice: The Moral Lives of Animals by Marc Bekoff and Jessica Pierce
• The Impossible Will Take a Little While by Paul Loeb

A.P.P.L.E
Animals in Philosophy, Politics, Law and Ethics (A.P.P.L.E)

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The Animal Turn is hosted and produced by Claudia Hirtenfelder and is part of iROAR Network. Find out more on our website.