MAGA’s Fight for Animal Rights (w/ Astra Taylor & Aaron Regunberg) [Teaser]

Listen to the rest of this premium episode by subscribing at patreon.com/knowyourenemy. We talk to Astra Taylor and Aaron Regunberg about their recent New Republic article about MAGA's embrace of animal rights—which, like RFK Jr. and "Make America Healthy Again," has allowed them to make inroads with constituencies typically associated with the left. What actually is the Trumpist right's vision of animal rights, and how does it differ from the left's? What might the matter reveal about the curious, combustible politics of this moment? And what should the left learn from this, not just when it comes to animal rights but the opportunities they seem to keep giving conservatives to offer compelling alternatives to the left on key issues? We take up these questions and more. Sources: Astra Taylor & Aaron Regunberg, "How MAGA Stole Animal Rights from the Left," New Republic, Aug 17, 2026 — "Is Animal Rights the Next MAHA?" The Bemusement Tapes, Aug 17, 2026 Daniel Engber, "MAGA's Animal Nationalism," The Atlantic, Feb 22, 2026 Matthew Scully, Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy (2002) Jay Caspian Kang, "Why an Agnostic Animal-Rights Activist Went to Seminary," New Yorker, Jan 27, 2026 Pope Francis, Laudato si': On Care for Our Common Home (2015) Sunaura Taylor, Beasts of Burden , (2017) Astra Taylor and Sunaura Taylor, “Our Animals, Ourselves,” Lux, Jan 2022. Out in September: Astra Taylor & Naomi Klein, End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World