With Jon and Vanessa in Brazil, Joey unleashes another Non-Vegan Voices episode, this time with his Gen Z friend Shain, a walking and talking comic book encyclopedia. After an origin story of their friendship, Joey attempts to dive right into the world of superheroes, but Shain effectively pulls a "Vanessa," keeping the show anchored to its plant-based roots. Shain has to do this several times throughout the episode, as Joey seems hellbent on focusing primarily on comic books. As they continue, Shain discusses being the son of Jamaican immigrants and the grandson of a Rastafarian, prompting Joey to take a sharp left turn into his dating history with a Chinese-Jamaican woman and the "delicacy" known as Goat Head Soup. The banter continues as Shain describes the short documentary he made at the comic book store and why Joey isn't in it. They then geek out over comic books written by filmmaker and noted vegan Kevin Smith, DC's hugely successful Absolute Universe, and the burning question of whether or not Absolute Batman kills people. Before heading to a feast at Vegan Tierra, the two close out the show discussing "cupcake vegans," vegan cupcakes, and chocolate. Clearly, they were hungry!

Watch Shain's short documentary, "Comics Are Cool: Please Read Them":
https://youtu.be/ZxUmBstrE6o?si=95CN9-ohveN7Pl-C

Read Shain's debut as a comic book writer, "Meat":
https://globalcomix.com/read/17b132e9-01b8-417f-b479-ad2ee7b1bd8d/1

Trigger Warning: Shain's comic book is extremely graphic and contains animal cruelty, child abuse, gratuitous violence, and gore. I love it, but it's very dark, so the trigger warning is well-earned!

Vegans Talking Shit is hosted by Joey Di Girolamo, Jon Missirlian, and Vanessa Silva. Main podcast image artwork by Diego Orellana. Theme song "Flying" by TrackTribe. Visit @veganstalkingshit on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube and @vegans.talking.sh on TikTok. Send questions, comments, and topic ideas to veganstalkingshit@gmail.com, and you may get your email read during the show.

After clumsily handling the topic in part one, The Tofu Trio spends the second half of this two-part episode practically ignoring it altogether. Instead, they dive into niche religions like Jainism, the Hare Krishna movement, and Satanism. Eventually, Jon brings up the movie "Time Bandits," only to then confuse "The Time Machine" with "Time After Time." Vanessa then previews an upcoming trip to Brazil, and Joey reminisces about his time volunteering at farm sanctuaries, which includes his revelation that he found joy in shoveling poop. It was only a matter of time before someone on this show literally talked shit again!

Vegans Talking Shit is hosted by Joey Di Girolamo, Jon Missirlian, and Vanessa Silva. Main podcast image artwork by Diego Orellana. Theme song "Flying" by TrackTribe. Visit @veganstalkingshit on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube and @vegans.talking.sh on TikTok. Send questions, comments, and topic ideas to veganstalkingshit@gmail.com, and you may get your email read during the show.

With all the subtlety and sensitivity of a drunk ape wielding a sledgehammer, The Tofu Trio tackles the provocative (and, let's be honest, shamelessly clickbaity) question posed in today's title. In part one of a two-part episode, the group discusses the common outsider perception that a disproportionate number of vegans are gay, and the various reasons why that stereotype exists. Their clunky conversation covers, among other things, the demographics of Wilton Manors, the unsubstantiated fear that soy makes men feminine, and some of the other classic plant-based misconceptions. True to form, about half the episode is a complete detour: Vanessa unlocks the secrets of "Blue Zones" like Loma Linda, CA, Jon defends his preference for cats over dogs, and Joey launches into a passionate, slightly tragic deep dive on why his favorite dog breed, the English Bulldog, should no longer be bred.

Vegans Talking Shit is hosted by Joey Di Girolamo, Jon Missirlian, and Vanessa Silva. Main podcast image artwork by Diego Orellana. Theme song "Flying" by TrackTribe. Visit @veganstalkingshit on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube and @vegans.talking.sh on TikTok. Send questions, comments, and topic ideas to veganstalkingshit@gmail.com, and you may get your email read during the show.

The Tofu Trio continues their discussion about whether or not it's possible to be 100% vegan in the finale of their two-part episode. Having already established in part one that being 100% vegan is virtually impossible in the modern world, they provide a few more sobering examples of why that is. Once they finish crushing vegan dreams of purity, they dive into the greasy world of beef tallow before Jon drops a real party-killer: a statistic claiming vegans are more prone to depression. Vanessa and Joey play armchair psychologist to figure out why, and Jon offers his own theories. Finally, Joey recounts the time he spent 50 minutes preaching the plant-based gospel to a roomful of people, most of whom were police officers. Did his presentation change any minds? Tune in to find out!

Vegans Talking Shit is hosted by Joey Di Girolamo, Jon Missirlian, and Vanessa Silva. Main podcast image artwork by Diego Orellana. Theme song "Flying" by TrackTribe. Visit @veganstalkingshit on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube and @vegans.talking.sh on TikTok. Send questions, comments, and topic ideas to veganstalkingshit@gmail.com, and you may get your email read during the show.

Many fellow herbivores claim to be 100% vegan, but is that really possible? Between the hidden animal byproducts in your wallpaper, tires, and computer screens, achieving vegan perfection is a lot harder than you might think. In part one of a two-part episode, The Tofu Trio discusses whether or not striving for a 100% vegan lifestyle is realistic. Spoiler alert: They admit that it's nearly impossible almost immediately. As usual, they veer off topic quite a bit. In fact, the show kicks off with Joey presenting a comic book that, while lacking market significance, holds great sentimental value for him. Vanessa then debuts her latest knitting project, which somehow managed to make Jon sick, before Jon responds to a listener email questioning his frequent use of ChatGPT. Don't worry. They do eventually get to the topic at hand. They just don't spend a lot of time on it. Maybe they'll do better in part two next week. Another spoiler alert: They don't.

Vegans Talking Shit is hosted by Joey Di Girolamo, Jon Missirlian, and Vanessa Silva. Main podcast image artwork by Diego Orellana. Theme song "Flying" by TrackTribe. Visit @veganstalkingshit on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube and @vegans.talking.sh on TikTok. Send questions, comments, and topic ideas to veganstalkingshit@gmail.com, and you may get your email read during the show.

The Tofu Trio began the new year by looking back at their goals and hopes for 2025, but in today's episode of Vegans Talking Shit, they're officially setting their sights on 2026. Among the many topics covered in this episode, they discuss the plight of stray dogs and cats, the elusive importance of sleep, the complexities of starting a vegan travel company, and the questionable ethics of naming a pig "Bacon." Will Joey, Jon, and Vanessa actually meet their respective goals this time? Will their hopes come to fruition? Probably not, but they'll be reviewing the footage at the end of the year regardless. Tune in now to hear the goals and hopes, then check back in a year to see if they're celebrating or making excuses!

Vegans Talking Shit is hosted by Joey Di Girolamo, Jon Missirlian, and Vanessa Silva. Main podcast image artwork by Diego Orellana. Theme song "Flying" by TrackTribe. Visit @veganstalkingshit on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube and @vegans.talking.sh on TikTok. Send questions, comments, and topic ideas to veganstalkingshit@gmail.com, and you may get your email read during the show.

In the conclusion of their two-part episode, The Tofu Trio reviews the vegan-related milestones they hoped to see in 2025 and the reality of how things actually unfolded. Spoiler alert: It wasn't pretty. Vegan cheese hasn't improved all that much, plant milks are failing to outsell dairy, and vegan breakfasts remain elusive. Furthermore, lab-grown meat is still prohibitively expensive, and instead of an industry boom, the number of plant-based restaurants has actually dwindled. 2025 wasn't just disappointing, it may have been worse than the year before. There's plenty more in this jumbo-sized episode: Joey sounds off on why Mark Cuban is a sore loser, Jon defends Leonardo DiCaprio's inconsistent environmentalism, and Vanessa laments Eleven Madison Park's retreat from an exclusively plant-based menu. Plus, the trio discusses cholesterol, Hippeas, IKEA's vegan offerings, and much more. All that, plus a cameo from Bob the Cat!

Vegans Talking Shit is hosted by Joey Di Girolamo, Jon Missirlian, and Vanessa Silva. Main podcast image artwork by Diego Orellana. Theme song "Flying" by TrackTribe. Visit @veganstalkingshit on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube and @vegans.talking.sh on TikTok. Send questions, comments, and topic ideas to veganstalkingshit@gmail.com, and you may get your email read during the show.

Almost exactly one year ago today, Vegans Talking Shit released the episode "Goals and Hopes for 2025." Now that a year has gone by, did The Tofu Trio meet those goals? And did their hopes come to fruition? After Joey's solo episode last week, the gang is back together to discuss. But first, the conversation kicks off with Jon and Vanessa's recent trip to Canada, highlighting the local vegan food scene and Jon's hockey-filled itinerary. The trio then dives deep into their progress on their 2025 goals, but they save the discussion regarding their hopes for part two. Listeners will have to tune in next week for the conclusion!

Vegans Talking Shit is hosted by Joey Di Girolamo, Jon Missirlian, and Vanessa Silva. Main podcast image artwork by Diego Orellana. Theme song "Flying" by TrackTribe. Visit @veganstalkingshit on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube and @vegans.talking.sh on TikTok. Send questions, comments, and topic ideas to veganstalkingshit@gmail.com, and you may get your email read during the show.