Today John and Lisa O. discuss ways of coping with the heat, and what to make for dinner on the hottest days. Lisa's using her Vitamix to avoid turning on the oven, and John is eating a lot of raw foods, especially Ani Phyo's recipes. They discussed the Coke or yogurt debate. Which is more offensive?

John recently ate at several restaurants, including Fresh, where he tried the Prix Fixe meal for the first time, Ka Chi, which has a handful of vegan offerings, and Urban Herbivore, which also has delicious options (but get there early). The two are looking forward to trying Hogtown Vegan this week, and now know what dishes to order thanks to a review on BlogTO. Starbucks is now offering a vegan sesame noodle bistro box.

In not-so-delicious news, there's a restaurant in Brooklyn offering foie gras doughnuts. You can sign this petition to let the owner know how you feel about this (Hint: tell them it sucks). People eating a lot of foie gras doughnuts might suffer from diverticulitis. Luckily, a new study has found that vegetarians have a 31% lower chance of developing the disease, and that those with very high-fiber diets have a 41% lower chance than their very low fiber counterparts.

The Environmental Working Group has released a report called the Meat Eater's Guide to Climate and Health, which contains a lot of really interesting information. It's definitely worth checking out and passing along to friends.

John went to the Festival of India on Toronto Island last weekend and enjoyed a free meal. Lisa enjoyed a free meal at the VAST potluck yesterday.  

The Resource Centre will be closed next Saturday for the upcoming long weekend but will be open the following Saturday (August 6). Come on by for our $5 t-shirt sale in honour of Vegan T-Shirt Day.

Today's podcast is a low-carbon-footprint 34 minutes. Listen Now!

Today Emily, Lisa, and Liam (aka Emilylilili) discuss travel, criminal activity, and free hot dogs. 

If you get arrested in San Francisco, you're in luck! They offer vegan meals to prisoners, even though they're not required to by law. However, soon to be required by law are stamps and labelling indicating whether eggs come from caged hens. It's a step in the right direction. Lisa discovered last weekend that chickens enjoy spreading their wings (and also sunbathing) while on a working visit at Cedar Row Farm Sanctuary. Highly recommended! Emily will be going next week.

 If you want to travel to more exotic locales, you might want to check out Colombia World. They offer a number of tours and are vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free friendly. If you want to be fed on your flight, don't fly Porter! They've recently suspended their vegetarian meal options due to low demand. If you're looking for a free vegan meal, on the other hand, you can attend the 10,000 Tastes, 10 Billion Reasons event on August 10. There are some great sponsors, including Tofurkey, which will be giving out free hot dogs. Tickets to Gene Baur's talk at Hart House may be purchased at the TVA, Panacea, or online.

Those with a more refined palate can experience Doug McNish's triumphant return to Raw Aura, with a great-sounding tasting menu. The Secret Pickle Supper Club is holding a vegan night. Unfortunately, it's too late to buy tickets, but perhaps they'll offer more vegan meals in the future. On the other end of the spectrum, you can ogle this list of the least healthful restaurant meals available in the US, as ranked by Men's Health Magazine. 

Get ready for the Vegan T-shirt sale on August 6! Now's the time to sign up for Food Festival volunteer positions. You can check out the volunteer opportunities list at veg.ca/festival .

Today's podcast is a spiralized 37 minutes long. Listen Now!

Today Liam and John bring you their second straight dudecast, although they had some female visitors to break up the testosterone-fest.  Sari from Las Vegas came into the Resource Centre and discussed some of Toronto’s local sanctuaries which include The Roosters Inn B&B in Port Perry (TVA discount card holders get 10% off), The Donkey Sanctuary in Guelph, and Snooters just north of Toronto.

John and Liam are still digesting the pizzas that they ate a couple of weeks ago from the Magic Oven’s all you can eat Wednesday night extravaganza.  The Magic Oven at Queen and Parliament offers all you can eat pizza and salad on Wednesday nights for about $15.  The hosts agree this is a great deal for some quality grub.   

Liam was in such a pizza-eating mode that he considered driving to Syracuse, NY to go to Strong Hearts Café.  If you take a look at the menu on their website you’ll understand why Liam seriously considered the 4.5 hour drive just to go this restaurant. 

Po Boy sandwhich at Hogtown. Source

However, Liam’s desire for comfort food maybe satiated closer to home with the opening of The Hogtown Vegan.  This is the sister restaurant of Hot Beans and is located at 834 Bloor Street West.  Their menu includes such classics as mac ‘n cheese and po’ boys. Read a review  and see great pictures of their food from Luke, TVA's Food Fair Coordinator.

Liam almost began to sing Take Me Out To The Ballgame, but instead simply began to tell podcast listeners about Soy Happy.  Soy Happy is known for trying to get veggie options into Major League Baseball stadiums.    

On Saturdays there is the Brickworks Farmer’s Market where you can get fresh Ontario produce and some prepared vegan snacks.  Liam enjoyed eating raw salads prepared by Oakville’s very own Nzyme.

This episode is a strong-hearted 35 minutes.

Today Lisa O. and Emily try to figure out ways to out-segue John and Liam's 'dudecast' while handling all of the vegan scavenger hunt excitement ongoing at the resource centre.  The 'ladycast' opens with a special shout out from one vegan scavenger hunt team, and includes three other 'hellos' mid-way through the podcast - so look out!  Things on the scavenger hunt list this year included pictures with TVA RC members, photos of vegans reading animal rights books, and photos of vegans flexing. 

Speaking of flexing, Lisa mentions a vegan body builder who is currently in Toronto.  People who think vegans don't get enough protein or can't build muscle mass should take a look at this guy.  If you are a body builder, and use bronze tanner to highlight your physique, or if you are just a regular person who cleans now and again, you might enjoy some eco-friendly DIY cleaning products that make use of things you have right in your cupboard. Things that might not be in your cupboard?  Breast milk from a cow.  Yes, you heard right.  Scientists in China have found a way to genetically-manipulate cows to produce human breast milk.  Lisa and Emily think that this is not a good use of scientific dollars, and that cows should be left to live peaceful un-exploited lives in the country.  You might find Carrie Underwood in the country too, since she grew on a farm, and sings country music.  A vegetarian since 13, Underwood recently announced she has become vegan, for health reasons.  Whatever your reason for being veggie or vegan, you probably like to go out now and again for dinner at a restaurant.  Lisa O. mentions a site from which you can order free cards to give to different restaurant managers, to let them know you'd like to see more (or any) delicious vegetarian and vegan options available on the menu.  For vegetarians or vegans who like vegetables and fruits, or people who like things clean, Lisa and Emily discuss the EWG's Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists, highlighting the best produce to buy organic, and the ones that it won't hurt to buy conventional.  Lisa closes the podcast with a shout-out to some special listeners that visited the resource centre all the way from Cleveland, Ohio and recommended the restaurant The Flaming Ice Cube.  She and Emily hope they enjoyed their stay in Toronto!

This podcast was a segue-spectacular 22 minutes.

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This week, John and Emily talk about compassion, cooking, kittens, and scavengers hunts, among others.  First and foremost, Compassion Week comes to a close today with a talk by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau at 4pm and the Compassion Marketplace which runs until 6pm.  Tickets are still available at the door for the talk and admission to the marketplace is free.  If you can't make it to Christie St for Colleen and the marketplace, come out to the Raw/Vegan Food Festival on Bathurst to check out other food, clothing, and information options.  If you find that neither of these plans work for you, maybe you can find some time in your schedule to join the Toronto Vegan Scavenger Hunt and spend the day finding things (count how many times 'find' appeared in that sentence.  See?  You're a natural!) on June 25th.  Or, if you are looking to volunteer, check out some of the great volunteer opportunities now available at the TVA.

In terms of food, John mentions that there is a new Pizzaiolo open on the Danforth for pizza lovers (or pizza-likers).  There is also a Pizzaiolo on Queen that apparently is not new, except to Emily who has only recently discovered it. For those who prefer to cook at home, consider trying the vegan quiche recipe from Colleen Patrick-Goudrea's The Vegan Table or the peanut butter cups from Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet for a gourmet meal that is sure to please.  The recipes are Emily tested and approved. For that final bunch of you who prefer to eat at home but not necessarily cook at home, word on the street has it that Udupi Palace now delivers! If you are one of those lucky individuals who finds your address falls within their delivery zone, add the number to your speed dial now.

If you've been thinking about finding a special someone to snuggle with now that summer has come, consider checking out one of the numerous animal shelters and rescues in the city to secure your very own special animal friend.  There are lots of cats and dogs available, and now that spring has sprung and the summer is here, there are lots of kittens too.  Any one of these little folks would be happy to find a new friend in you.  So check it out!

Finally, Emily comments on some gossip delivered to her by her sister about a new feature in Elle magazine in which Emma Stone wears an ostrich feather dress and a pair of lambskin overalls.  The moral of this story?  Don't forget to ask questions about where things come from and what they're made of - and don't be afraid to say "no thanks" if something doesn't fill your ethical standards.  Emily and John only hope more celebs will do the same.

This podcast was a compassionate 29 minutes.

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This week, the Li-Li team (Liam and Lisa O.) have all kinds of news to discuss. Shawn C. emailed to report that there's another vegan-friendly soft serve yogurt shop with a topping bar at Yonge and Wellesley. It's called Yogurt Spoon, and is Liam-tested-and-approved.

A new study suggests that a vegetarian diet is good for the kidneys. Not good for the kidneys or the rest of the body are these unhealthy "healthy" food items from major fast food chains. The US government has issued MyPlate, a replacement for the food pyramid of dietary recommendations that is an improvement over the old version, but there is still a need for subsidy reform. PCRM (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) has a number of action items that allow you to help animals by sending messages to hospitals and other facilities using animals for training and testing purposes. By quickly filling out a form, you can help chimpanzees, pigs, and other animals in need.

A fancy new haute cuisine vegan restaurant called True Bistro has opened in Boston. In local eatery news, you can check out the directory update page for details about Fresh's new mid-day deal, Boardwalk Chocolates' new offerings, and more. Snakes and Lattes board game cafe offers vegan donuts, nanaimo bars, and cupcakes. The cafe also recently stopped charging an extra $.50 for soymilk. 

In the gossip corner this week, we have news about Steve O. and Mike Tyson, both of whom are vocal vegans.

Today's podcast was a solemn 38 minutes.

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Today Liam and Lisa O. discuss the recent revelation that there are two soft-serve shops with vegan options on Bloor St. (YoYo's Yogurt Cafe and Menchie's ), which they are looking forward to trying now that the weather's finally warming up. Read more about this in "Tikka Tastes Toronto" in the Summer edition of TVA's  LIfelines members' newsletter. 

Image source

The Edmonton edition of the Metro observes that veganism is coming into vogue, and that while vegans are still considered annoying as dinner guests, at least they're now regarded as healthy, slim, and sexy. Also coming into vogue is a new trend away from using commercial hair care products. Lisa O. has been trying to go "no 'poo" and is eschewing shampoo in favour of baking soda, vinegar, and a new homemade flax seed "hair gel" courtesy of this article on The Hairpin. Let us know if you're trying this too, and what your results have been!

There are a lot of veg-related things to see, do, and participate in over the next few weeks. Forks Over Knives, a pro-vegan film, is currently playing at the Cumberland 4 Alliance cinemas in Yorkville. The Veggie Pride Parade is taking place next Saturday (June 4) from 11:30-3:30pm. If you want to participate, perform, or be a sponsor or donor, contact the organizing team by clicking the Contact Us link on the event's website. You can also print out and distribute posters for the event.

We also have posters and postcards for the upcoming Compassion Week event. If you'd like to distribute some in your neighbourhood, you might win a free ticket to see Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's talk on June 11th. Not able to distribute posters? You can receive a free ticket to the talk if you  bring your friends and family (buy three tickets get the fourth free). Contact blazarus@veg.ca for details. There have been lots of new updates in the speaker lineup, marketplace vendors list, and Compassion Cafe, so check out the Compassion Week website to find out all the new information.

The Scotiabank Marathon Team is now recruiting runners, walkers, and sponsors. Sign up to run or walk the 5k, 1/2 marathon, or full marathon as part of the TVA team and help raise money to support the TVA. There are some great incentives to join, including a discounted race registration fee, and prizes.

Back in the Gossip Corner, we have more details about Ginnifer Goodwin's return to omnivorism, and Mark Zuckerberg's adoption of a diet in which he'll only eat animals he's killed himself. 

Today's podcast is a flaxen-haired 30 minutes.

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This podcast started with a bang, or should I say, a ‘bean’ as we discovered that Hot Beans’ TVP filling recipe is available on the Canadian Parents website. If you feel so inclined, you can cook the filling up for yourself, or, if you are feeling lazy, you can just head to Hot Beans and have them make it for you.  Speaking of lazy, The Laziest Vegans in the World blog posts regularly about vegan convenience foods and easy-to-make vegan recipes. Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s boyfriend is the blog’s author, and it looks like it has some delicious and interesting ideas.

There are also many updates to the Vegetarian Directory,, including mention of a new vegan protein imported from Italy, soy and rice whipped cream in a can from Panacea, and chocolate bars modeled after childhood favourites, like peanut butter cups.  Bring on the nostalgia!  Also, now available in assorted grocery shops is a new flavour of Daiya cheese: Captain “Pepper” Jack Sparrow, also known as pepperjack.  If I were a pirate, I would definitely say “yarrr.”  If you have the appetite of a pirate, feel free to check out an all you can eat salad and pizza deal at the Magic Oven at Queen and Parliament on Wednesdays after 5pm (for $14.95).

We are heading into a whirlwind of great events, including a variety of “1st annuals”.  May 28 is the 1st annual TARVE (Toronto Animal Rights & Vegan Expo) and June 11 is the 1st annual Toronto Raw Vegan Festival .  If that weren’t enough, Compassion Week this year runs June 6-12.  Saturday June 11 features some great marketplace events at Wychward Barns, as well as a talk by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, who is an author of numerous cookbooks and an inspired and motivating speaker.  She’s also got great hair, so there you go.

In terms of worldwide adventures, Liam was in New York recently, and had some amazing food, including vegan milkshakes.  Determined to keep the trip alive, even on the way home, he discovered a great restaurant in Syracuse (not the one Shakespeare wrote about, but we won’t hold that against it) called Strong Hearts Cafe , where, would you believe it, they ALSO had amazing food and more vegan milkshakes.

Finally, some celebrity gossip to close the podcast. Alicia Silverstone, author of The Kind Diet, has had a baby boy.  She and her husband will be raising their new baby as a vegan, and given her knowledge of food and nutrition choices, I think they’ll set a great example.  Ginnifer Goodwin (a B-list celebrity according to Liam, primarily because he can’t think of who she is), who has been very active in the animal rights scene, has gone from vegan to vegetarian, for nutritional reasons.  While one can’t help but find it a bit disconcerting that someone of such financial means can’t make proper eating happen, as Liam said, “to each their own.”  Everyone has to find what works for them, while hopefully continuing to make as many humane choices as possible. 

That’s all for now, folks.  This week’s podcast was a creamy milkshake 29 minutes.

This week, Liam, Emily, and Lisa (Mighty-)O have a lot of news to discuss! For one thing, Mighty-O Donuts in Seattle has WON a Food Network Competition, going up against non-veg restaurants to create a breakfast donut.

There's a new raw restaurant opening up in Burlington, resulting from a merge between Wild Seed and Naked Sprout. Is there a new trend of vegan restaurants opening up in wealthy suburbs? There are some good new places in the Burlington area, including Kindfood and Nzyme (in Oakville). So far, Emily has tried the Bunner's Bakery Veggielicious special, and Lisa has tried the special at Rawlicious, where David was featured on CTV news earlier this week! It turns out that Mercy for Animals has been running a Vegan Week event similar to Veggielicious in four cities in the US.

Natalie Portman has jumped off the vegan wagon, caving to pregnancy cravings for non-vegan sweets. Liam, having never been pregnant, refrains from judging. There are certainly plenty of vegan treats available in Toronto right now. Check out this page from our directory for news on veganized creme eggs, marshmallow peeps, and other holiday goodies, including raw chocolates. Hot Beans has just started serving cinnamon buns with cream cheese frosting (but be sure to arrive just after they open if you want to snag one for yourself.) In other sweets news, Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero's new addition to their dessert trilogy is going to be about pies! A new series on Animal Planet will feature another vegan baker, in a show called Sweet Avenger.

A recent list of America's 10 best sandwiches has been veganized, and you can ogle the results and even check out the recipes to make some of your own. The photos are all "safe" to look at, since they don't contain any meat. Unfortunately, the same can't be said of VegNews, which it turns out has been featuring stock photos of non-vegan food and labeling them vegan. A recent article on NPR shares findings about the many types of drug-resistant bacteria which are being found on grocery store meat. If you want to make avoiding eating meat even easier, enter to win Gardein's contest! You can also save some money by signing up for Vegan Cuts and Ethical Deal.

Today's podcast is a sweet 35 minutes.

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Today Liam, Angela, Dax and John have the opportunity to try out more of Hot Beans while talking about the ins and outs of  vegetarianism. 
There are lots of cool events coming up in the not too distant future: 
• On April 27th and April 30th TVA participates in the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sales.
• Toronto will have a Vegan Scavenger Hunt.
• Veggielicious is taking place right now; get out there inhabitants of the GTA and try some good vegan eats.

Last, but not least:
• The podcasters discuss the age old debate: vegan donut vs. non-vegan donut. A battle to the death.
• There is news about the best hummus in Toronto. One can't go wrong with pureed chickpeas.
• More travel reports as it pertains to eating vegetarian food while travelling. Check out some reports from eating vegan in Asia.
- There are a couple of headlines which are sensationalized that put a damper on the vegan parade, but that won't bring us down for too long.

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So today, we (Trisha and Emily) thought we would be making the podcast alone, and were a bit concerned that the podcast would never see the light of day or would be composed of laughter intermingled with awkward silences.  However, lucky for us Luke stopped by, and saved the podcast day.  If you are listening now, it's thanks to Luke.

What did we talk about?  Well, many things.  First of all, there is a new cafe called T.A.N. that has opened up on Baldwin St. just down from the TVA.  They have fair-trade coffee and Sweets from the Earth cookies (baked in-house - they are awesome). Hot Beans had its usual mention - the donuts are still amazing.

Trisha also made mention that Martha Stewart is having a vegan episode with Kathy Freston and Biz Stone, which is exciting, and puts her in the same league as Oprah, another omnimedia mogel.  Trisha also thought it important, however, to remind everybody that Ellen also has a talkshow (but not a magazine or radio show or own network...wait...back to the point at hand) and is vegan and thus every one of her talkshows is a vegan episode.  Kind of.  She often has vegan chefs prepare meals as demonstrations and so forth.

Upcoming Events: Vegan Rock! at The Boat!   Veggielicious!   Compassion Week!  Food Festival!  Earth Hour! (That's tonight). Can you tell we are excited?  And hungry. 

Also, TVA was selected as one of three finalists in the Green Toronto Awards - the winner will be announced in April 15th!

KindFood was also discussed at length, and anyone in or around the Burlington area (or anyone anywhere for that matter) should check it out.  The desserts on their website look tremendous.

Also, Trisha is heading off to Farm Sanctuary soon and will be sending regular updates on life at the sanctuary.  Emily is reading Farm Sanctuary which is about life at the sanctuary.  So...there you go.  All bases covered.

This podcast was an omnimedia conquering 19 minutes.

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Today John and Liam (“Left Eye” Lopes) are believers in their friends as they receive lots of good information from loved ones and random listeners, and this leads to a lengthy show.

Lisa P. writes in about some of the new vegan processed foods that are on the market which were displayed at Expo West.  She balances this out by writing in about her experiences at The Thrive Juice Bar which she discusses here.

Lisa O. lets the podcast team know about a list of vegan fair trade chocolate.  She points out that Boardwalk Chocolates is not on the list, but they are fair trade.

Angela informs the podcasters about a veggie runner’s blog and a vegan backpacker’s blog.  The latter ties in nicely as John has a chance to sit down with Marco and speak about his travels as it pertains to veganism in Honduras and Guatemala.  Marco is a good source of information.

Liam and John also hear from Marty who has a response to the last couple of podcasts which address the Spice Goddess.

Other topics covered on today’s show:  roti, White Lotus, Hot Beans, The Worldwide Vegan Bakesale, and Veggielicious.

This week’s show is a son of a Bahama 48 minutes.

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Today John and Emily respond to last week's podcast with their own thoughts on the Food Network. John reports that he watched two and a half shows yesterday and did not see a single vegetable being used in the shows. Emily also reiterates that it is not exactly a vegetarian friendly form of media.

Since this is Emily's first time on the podcast she gets to introduce herself and her vegetarian background. For those of you who don't have a lot of supportive family out there you're going to be jealous as Emily has a sister and a parent who is vegetarian.  

The two podcast co-hosts also discuss Hot Beans and their donuts (the new dessert trend according to Emily). Liam reports that the price has gone up, but that won't stop him from spending the extra fifty cents ($2 total) from eating them up like they are going out of style. John is going to have to research this phenomenon by visiting Hot Beans post-haste to try the donuts out.  (NOTE: John went to Hot Beans after his volunteer shift.  Hot Beans is not at 160 August as he reports on the podcast.  Hot Beans is located at 160 Baldwin.  160 Augusta is a hard ware store and, no, they do not sell vegan donuts.) 

Most importantly Veggielicious is going to be upon us quicker than you think. If you don't get excited about this you need to check your pulse. You will have the chance to win some great prizes by being active on Twitter and Facebook. Download a poster here, print it and post it to spread the word!

This week's episode is a Buddha Bowl of goodness 27 minutes.

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Today, Liam, Trisha, and Lisa O.  started off the show by talking about new TV shows. Liam discovered Spice Goddess on the Food Network, a show on Indian cooking that showcases a lot of vegetarian meals. Lisa O. heard about a new channel being launched by Swiss Chalet that will show chickens roasting in an open flame oven 24 hours a day for 13 weeks. Liam has a great suggestion to show battery-caged chickens on the channels directly on either side of the new Swiss Chalet channel.

Trisha talked about her upcoming three-month animal care internship at Farm Sanctuary's Watkins Glen location . She's excited to work with the animals and scoop some poop! We look forward to hearing about her experience when she returns in July.

Image courtesy of Hot Beans

Liam just returned from a trip to the Bahamas, where he enjoyed himself but ended up eating a lot of instant noodles. We were spoiled today in the food department, however, as we all sampled some of Hot Beans' offerings. It's a new all-vegan eatery in Kensington Market with a Mexican-inspired menu and VEGAN DONUTS for just $1.50 each. We highly recommend the "pulled pork" jackfruit taco filling, and we also hear that the seitan burrito is tasty. There are a few new veg-friendly places that have recently opened around the GTA, so check out the directory updates page to find out more info!

Liam is excited to try the new breast milk ice cream on offer in London. The flavour Baby Gaga is Madagascan vanilla with lemon zest. Lisa and Trisha, while supportive of breastfeeding, were trying not to gag during the discussion. What do you think of it, listeners?

Liam was lucky enough to attend the Boardwalk Chocolates tasting party at Panacea, where he sampled eight flavours and also discovered that Tofurkey now makes Daiya-covered pizzas. His favourite flavour is the Italian Sausage Pizza. He also stopped by Mylk Un Cookies recently, but was turned away, as they accept cash only (word to the wise!).

Check out Barnivore to find out whether your alcohol is vegan. Liam discovered that Guinness isn't, but Lisa learned that German beers must be vegan by law, so that's always a safe route.

After a recent podcast, Barbi suggested the resources petfinder.com, which lists animals up for adoption at hundreds of shelters, and Gentle Giants in California, which is run by the guy who played Robin in the original Batman movies, and specializes in large dogs.

Check out the volunteer section of the site for many current volunteer opportunities.

Today's podcast was a jacked-up jackfruit 30 minutes.

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