The Switch: Going Green for March Break Travel
Release Date: 03/10/2025
Fashion's Future is Fur-Free featuring PJ Smith
Defender Radio and The Switch
September is fashion month, with massive week-long events in major cities worldwide, including New York, London, Milan and Paris. And the question on many peoples’ minds is: will we be seeing fur, or will more designers choose to go fur-free? PJ Smith, Director of Fashion Policy for Humane World for Animals thinks the future of the industry is fur-free, and joins Defender Radio to discuss trends, textile innovation, and what gives him optimism. SHOW NOTES Humane World for Animals: Humane World for Animals Woolrich Campaign: Want to suggest topics for Defender Radio? Reach out to us at...
info_outline
Canmore Cougar Tragedy Update feat. John Marriott and Maggie Spizziri
Defender Radio and The Switch
The tragic story of a locally beloved cougar being killed near Canmore, Alberta, earlier this year was heartbreaking. John Marriott, an award-winning wildlife photographer and co-founder of Exposed Wildlife Conservancy shared his harrowing experience with Defender Radio – along with his discovery of two cougar kits, orphaned by the incident. Several months later, the cougar kits were transferred to Parc Safari in Quebec, and the outcry for policy change in Alberta rages on. To share more about these updates and introduce the new Executive Director of Exposed Wildlife Conservancy, John...
info_outline
Bring Back the Night: Light Pollution featuring Tijana Selak
Defender Radio and The Switch
From streetlights to skyscrapers and everything in between, lighting up the night can help keep people safe. But, this often excessive lighting has a consequence: light pollution. Native wildlife across Canada gets impacted by light pollution in many ways–and they're not alone. Humans, too, are impacted in surprising ways by our bright night skies. Tijana Selak, Wildlife Campaigns and Advocacy Manager at The Fur-Bearers, joins The Switch to talk about the impacts of light pollution on wildlife, humans, and the simple solutions that can help us make a switch for the better. SHOW NOTES:...
info_outline
Navigating Climate Grief featuring Dr. Shawna Weaver
Defender Radio and The Switch
Wildfires and drought, floods and ice storms, and a seemingly never-ending news cycle of chaos around us is a lot. I’ll be honest – there are days I want to hide from it all myself. But carrying the weight of what’s happening to the natural world around us isn’t new, and it has a name – climate grief. This intense grief and anxiety can come from any source and impact anyone. It can be the terrifying scenes of wildfires across Canada, the floods impacting other parts of the world, or even noticing the subtle quiet in greenspaces, once filled with bird calls and buzzing insects. But...
info_outline
The Mink VIRUS Act featuring Devan Schowe
Defender Radio and The Switch
Mink fur farms are a virus’s favourite place. There’s lots of opportunity to transmit, mutate, and lead to more virulent strains that threaten public health. With the devastating economic impact of H5N1 or avian flu in the news, the reintroduction of the Mink Virus Act to the United States Congress is well timed. To share what this legislation is about, why it matters, and how people on both sides of the border can support it, Devan Schowe, Campaigns Associate for joins Defender Radio. SHOW NOTES Photo of a mink on a Canadian fur farm by We Animals. BornFree USA's Mink VIRUS Act page and...
info_outline
The Canmore cougar tragedy featuring John E. Marriott
Defender Radio and The Switch
Anyone who follows John E. Marriott or Exposed Wildlife Conservancy on social media knows that a cougar John had tracked for many years was killed near Canmore, Alberta, earlier this year. It led to two orphaned kits, a harrowing experience for John, and a clear mission: to share this story with the public and lead to change for wildlife in Alberta. To give us the story from the very beginning and what he wants to see happen next, John Marriott joins Defender Radio. SHOW NOTES: Photo of the orphaned cougars provided by John E. Marriott / WildernessPrints.com Exposed Wildlife Conservancy:...
info_outline
A Dam Good Conversation: Ben Goldfarb on Beavers, Wetlands, and Rewilding the World
Defender Radio and The Switch
Fifty years ago this week, Canada officially made beavers one of our national symbols. In celebrating this anniversary – and the many ecological services and benefits provided by beavers – The Fur-Bearers have a bit of beaver fever. And who better to talk to about beavers than , the journalist behind . This book has made big waves since it landed in 2018, and Ben joins Defender Radio to share how he started out writing Eager, what he loves about beavers, his newer works, and how we can look to beavers for hope in uncertain times. SHOW NOTES: Cover photo by jamesvancouver / Getty Images Ben...
info_outline
Canada's Most Distinct Species featuring Emma Kominek
Defender Radio and The Switch
Canada’s iconic wildlife include moose, beavers, and wolves. But of the many species of vertebrate, which are the most evolutionarily distinct? And why does that matter? A team of researchers from Simon Fraser University (emma Kominek, Olivia Cornies, Arne Ø. Mooers, and Wildlife Preservation Canada's Hannah McCurdy-Adams) explored these questions in their paper, , published in the journal . The final list included some not so surprising results – like beavers being near the top for mammals, and some unusual species that aren’t commonly known, like mudpuppies, an amphibian that can...
info_outline
The Switch: Going Green for March Break Travel
Defender Radio and The Switch
Whether you’re heading south to escape the cold, across the provinces for an adventure, or just a town over for a quick getaway, there are a lot of choices we can make while travelling for March Break that reduce our impact on the environment – and can even improve it. SHOW NOTES Episode art photo by Petmal / Getty Images Want to suggest topics for Defender Radio and The Switch? Reach out to us at by visiting DefenderRadio.com or engaging host Michael Howie on social media via Instagram (), Facebook (, or Bluesky (. Defender Radio and The Switch is produced by The Fur-Bearers...
info_outline
Takaya's Ongoing Legacy featuring Cheryl Alexander
Defender Radio and The Switch
The journey of Takaya the Lone wolf on Vancouver Island was one of hope, inspiration, and ultimately tragedy. Cheryl Alexander, acclaimed conservation photographer and Founding Executive Director of Takaya’s Legacy has shared her story countless times – but this past year the story took a new twist. An iconic photo of Takaya, taken by Cheryl, was used by a wolf hunting guide’s website without permission. This not only created a social media outrage, but put the spotlight back on the pressures facing wolves in British Columbia and the need to connect public belief with policy. To share...
info_outlineWhether you’re heading south to escape the cold, across the provinces for an adventure, or just a town over for a quick getaway, there are a lot of choices we can make while travelling for March Break that reduce our impact on the environment – and can even improve it.
SHOW NOTES
Episode art photo by Petmal / Getty Images
Want to suggest topics for Defender Radio and The Switch? Reach out to us at [email protected], by visiting DefenderRadio.com or engaging host Michael Howie on social media via Instagram (www.instagram.com/howiemichael), Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DefenderRadio), or Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/defenderradio.bsky.social).
Defender Radio and The Switch is produced by The Fur-Bearers (www.TheFurBearers.com), a charitable non-partisan organization whose mandate is to advocate on behalf of fur-bearing animals in the wild and in confinement, promote coexistence solutions in communities and protect the habitats of fur-bearing animals across Canada. You can follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram (www.instagram.com/furbearers), Twitter (www.twitter.com/furbearers) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FurFree).