VegHist Ep 8: Contacts. Indian Sufism, Bhakti, Akbar, Portuguese Christianity, and Gaudiya Vaishnavism; with Sanjukta Gupta; in Agra, Delhi, and London

When conquerors who profess Islam or Christianity rule over Indian vegetarians, the conversations about food ethics go both ways.
Episode 8: Contacts
Ian discovers the ecstatic dancing and singing shared by Sufis and Hindus – including westerners singing Hare Krishna in London’s main shopping street. In Delhi, he finds out about the inquisition that started with European antisemitism and ended with Indians being forced to eat beef.
And in the royal city of Agra, he visits a shrine built to commemorate a conversation about religion and vegetarianism between a Jain saint and the Mughal emperor Akbar. He uncovers the fascinating story of this heretic emperor who advocated vegetarianism.
At the halfway point of this 15-part history of vegetarianism, the traditions of East and West come together. From hereon, it’s all one story.
Play or download (52MB MP3 37min) (via iTunes) or read transcript.
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#VeganHour Live: Listen
Listen back to #VeganHour Live
This is what happened on April 15th when Melissa “Ms Cupcake” Morgan and I went live on Resonance 104.4FM during #VeganHour. Our conversation ran from accidentally vegan Beef and Tomato Flavour Pot Noodles to running vegan businesses. Vegan registered dietitian Marty Davey even phoned in to answer questions that had come up on Twitter.
(29 min) Play or download (31MB MP3) (other formats)