
From Teddy Bears to Talking Fish: Children’s Media and Animal Personhood with Cogen and Hope Bohanec
From Hope for the Animals by Hope Bohanec
December 2, 2025 · 1h 6m · Episode 127
About this episode
Hope and Cogen discuss the portrayal of animal personhood in children's media and its impact on our perception of animals.
Hope’s husband, Cogen, returns to the show for a unique discussion on the portrayal of animal personhood in media. They delve into the evolution of children’s entertainment and examine the representation of animals as individual, intelligent persons. Cogen and Hope explore how the depiction of animal personhood in these films has shaped our perception of animals. From Mickey Mouse to Charlotte’s Web and the Muppets, they examine how we have come to empathize with animals and recognize their e...
People in this episode
Host: Hope Bohanec
Guest: Cogen
Topics covered
- animal personhood
- children's media
- empathy towards animals
- representation of animals
- evolution of entertainment
Keywords
- animal personhood
- children's media
- empathy
- Mickey Mouse
- Charlotte’s Web
- Muppets
- entertainment evolution
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Mickey Mouse, Charlotte’s Web, the Muppets
More episodes of Hope for the Animals
- Vegan Visibility with Kathleen Gage · June 2, 2026 · 40 min
- Cage-Free Cracked Open with Amber Canavan · May 14, 2026 · 54 min
- Voting for a Compassionate Future with David Michelson · April 21, 2026 · 1h 6m
- Vegan Made Easy with Joanne Kong · April 2, 2026 · 1h 5m
- Men and Meat: Culture, Identity, and Politics with Jan Liband · March 12, 2026 · 1h 7m
- REPLAY: The Humane Hoax in Media with Lisa Barca, PhD · February 25, 2026 · 43 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Hope for the Animals podcast page.