The Original Omelas: The Case of the Animals vs. Man

The Original Omelas: The Case of the Animals vs. Man

April 21, 2026 · 46 min

About this episode

The episode explores a 10th-century Islamic fable where animals put mankind on trial for environmental crimes, questioning human exceptionalism and complicity.

And when the child cannot speak for itself? Humanity’s first global lawsuit! In this 10th-century Islamic fable, animals put mankind on trial for the crimes of the extraction economy. We unsettle the habitus of human exceptionalism to ask: would we change the story’s ending because we couldn’t handle our own complicity? Discover the original […]

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Host: Steve Chisnell

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Books & works: The Original Omelas, 10th-century Islamic fable

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