S8E6: Podcasting and Education with María Carreras and Kate Acton
We celebrate 100 episodes by asking how podcasting can teach, build community, and improve animal welfare across languages, disciplines, and daily routines. Guests María Carreras and Kate Acton share concrete changes, strategic insights, and challenges that reshape how we listen to animals and to each other.
Kate Actonis an assistant professor in veterinary education and cohost of the Conversations in Equine Science podcast, which explores evidence-based horse care through accessible, research-driven discussion. She is the lead author of a 2024 study published in Equine Veterinary Education exploring how science-based podcasts can influence equine management decisions and support animal welfare. Kate is particularly interested in how podcasting fosters para-social relationships that can support behavioural change and knowledge translation in veterinary and animal care contexts. You can follow her work on LinkedIn or listen to the podcast on Spotify and other platforms.
María R. Carreras is a lecturer in Strategic Communication at Halmstad University, Sweden, and also teaches the course Critical Animal Studies – Animals in Society, Culture and the Media at Lund University. She holds a PhD in Communication from UPF Barcelona, where her dissertation focused on the communication strategies employed by dairy industry lobbies. Alongside her academic career, María has a professional background in public relations, journalism, translation, and graphic design. She actively contributes to various activist initiatives, offering support in translation, editing, design, and communication. She was, for instance, part of the Spanish translation teams for The Sexual Politics of Meat by Carol J. Adams and Interspecies Ethics by Cynthia Willett.
Mentioned:
When Animals Speak by Eva Meijer
The Sexual Politics of Meatby Carol J Adams.
Inside of a Dog by Alexandra Horowitz
Evaluating the Addition of Positive Reinforcement for Learning a Frightening Task: A Pilot Study With Horses by Camie R Heleski et al
The Ventriloquist’s Burden: Animal Advocacy and the Problem of Speaking for Others by Lauren Corman
Preliminary evidence supporting the use of equine science podcasts to bridge the gap between scientists and horse enthusiasts to improve horse welfare by Kate Acton and others.
“Science podcasts can help horse owners to be aware and understand the latest research trends and advancements in equine health, behaviour, and management… enabling them to make more informed decisions when it comes to their horse's welfare" (Acton, McLean & MacKay, 2024).
“Of course, feminists would never tolerate men trying to run the movement against sexism. And, could you imagine what would have happened if, when I was doing anti-racist work, I had run around saying ‘I am the voice of the Black man’!? There are no such natural checks on self-importance in the animal liberation movement. We have people running around claiming to be “the voice of the voiceless” as if animals don’t have voices of their own. That heroic attitude makes it easy to assume that you know what’s best for the animals without stopping to wonder what they might say if you asked them and were able to understand their answers” (jones, 2015).
Thank you to Animals in Philosophy, Politics, Law and Ethics (A.P.P.L.E) for sponsoring this podcast; and the the pollination project, the School of Modern Language, the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, as well as the School of Literature, Media, and Communication at Georgia Tech University for co-sponsoring this season. The bed music was composed by Gordon Clarke and the logo designed by Jeremy John. This episode was produced, hosted, and edited by Claudia Hirtenfelder