Spirit In Action

A visit with America's #1 progressive talk show host, Thom Hartmann, about his latest book, The Hidden History of American Oligarchy: Reclaiming Our Democracy from the Ruling Class. We've temporarily dodged the bullet of oligarchy-into-tyranny in the USA, and Thom spells it all out - the history, present, and possible future.

Raheel Raza speaks out powerfully, as a Muslim, for the rights of women & other marginalized minorities, and for an unblinking and compassionate approach to differences, including the threats posed by extremists within the religion to which she is devoted. Among her books is How Can You Possibly Be a Muslim Feminist?, and her latest book is The ABCs of Islamism: Everything You Wanted to Know about Radical Islam But Were Afraid to Ask. She was born in Pakistan, arriving in Canada some 30 years ago. Ran Meir, former Israeli correspondent with the Clarion Project, joins as co-host.

Joseph Hunt has spent a lifetime seeking to empower a world where individuals reach their potential in health, learning, & well-being, and which is compassionate & sustainable. From his service in Nigeria during the war in Biafra, to his decades as a development economist throughout Asia, to his current position as a Senior Research Scientist at Harvard's Center for Climate, Health and the Global Environment, Joseph seeks a better world for all. Inspirational work in the field can be found at the Poverty Action Lab at MIT, in the United Nations Development Goals - Sustainable Development, through the La Via Campesina/International Peasants Movement, and in the work of Economics Nobel Peace Prize recipients, MIT economists Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, and Angus Deaton.

Jennifer Kavanagh was caught up by a life-transforming Spirit, right at an age where many other people are just shifting into a lower gear, ready to coast the last stretch. After years of the normal study-family-professional life path, she was found by faith, which has included diverse tasks, like running a center for the poor and homeless, setting up micro-credit funding programs, and educating folks about simplicity & spiritual activism. Part and parcel of that education and inspiration has been a number of books she has written, and two of the most recent are Heart of Oneness and Practical Mystics. Jennifer Kavanagh lives in London, England.

Lisa Miara is at the center of The Hope Centre/Springs of Hope Foundation in the Kurdish region in Northern Iraq. The Yazidi minority in that area was devastated by the 2014 attack of ISIS on them, and Lisa found a leading to live among and nurture back to wholeness the victims of ISIS, bringing hope & love to reclaim child soldiers and horribly abused & enslaved girlls & women.

Jonathan Kuttab has a vital new perspective, potentially opening a completely new door into a future of peace and justice for Israel/Palestine. Jonathan was born & grew up in West Jerusalem till he headed to college in the US. His new book, Beyond the Two-State Solution (download a PDF of the book for free), explores a new way forward. Jonathan is a lawyer who has practiced in the USA, Palestine, and Israel, and who has founded and cofounded a wealth of organizations working for peace & justice, among them the Palestinian Center for the Study of Nonviolence, Mandela Institute for Prisoners, the Christ at the Checkpoint conference, and Nonviolence International.

When viewed with non-gender conforming eyes, the Bible has lessons that can be used to heal, instead of serving repression & exclusion. Everything is not about the Bible, but a good share of everything is in the Bible, at least if you look with the discerning eyes of Peterson Toscano, a gay man who produces the monthly Citizens Climate Radio blog, and Liam Hooper, a North Carolinian trans man of Ministries Beyond Welcome. In this episode of Bible Bash, we'll look at the various subversive ways Daniel survived and resisted the Babylonian Empire, including the way that oppressed people often must caretake their oppressors, a behavior that is true for LGBTQ people and many others. We'll also hear a bilingual reading of Federico Garcia Lorca's poem, Madrigales. In the second half, Joy Ladin shares from her book, Through the Door of Life: a Jewish Journey Between Genders with insights about Jonah. Joy holds the Gottesman Chair in English at Yeshiva University, and, in 2007, became the first (and still only) op

Guest-host Peterson Toscano of Citizens Climate Radio visits with 5 guests: Andrew Stuhl, associate professor of environmental studies and sciences at Bucknell University, Jason Davis of Climate Stories Project, poet and Master of Environmental Management from Yale University Clara Fang , photographer, writer, and climate advocatPrincella Talley, & Lynn Neuman of Artichoke Dance Company.

Bahareh Zare Bahari is distinct in so many ways - as an Iranian woman who, in her early 20's, started her own school, soon shut down by the regime in Iran, who then moved to the Philippines to become a Doctor of Dentistry, and who won 3 beauty queen crowns, using the opportunity to both hold up the beauty & power of the Iranian women and people. Because of her witness, she has been threatened, nearly abducted, and had her nose broken. She is stranded precariously in the Philippines, trapped, with minimal help and protection from vengeful Iranian forces, with people all around her reluctant to step into the path of that wrath. If you wish to help, you can reach out to Bahar on Instagram or via Facebook, but better yet through an email to Ran Meir at RanMeir@gmail.com, who will channel aid to Bahar. Listen to the extended interview in the excerpts below.

The women's rights effort in Egypt looks different from that of the USA, with some overlap, addressing things like FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) and child marriage, but also economic, employment, & other civil rights. Reda Eldanbouki is the founder & executive director of the Womens Center for Guidance and Legal Awareness (WCGLA), working to ensure that women enjoy all of their human rights. Reda has faced attacks & violence because of his support for women & women's rights. Ran Meir, formerly of the Clarion Project, both provides input & acts as translator for this interview.

In an effort to support MVP (Movement Voter Project), Annie Patterson & Peter Blood of RiseUpAndSing.org organized 5 on-line benefit concerts to raise funds, consciousness, & energy to Sing Out The Vote. Focusing their concerts on particular "battleground" states & regions, they educated about the issues & organizations involved in the upcoming election, combining edification for the minds & electrifying for the spirits of their listeners. Some of the 5 concerts included music by Si Kahn of FolkVOTE, Pat & Sandy of Emma's Revolution, and Reggie Harris, enriched by commentary from Ann Nugent (Massachusetts organizer with MVP), and LaTosha Brown co-founder of Black Voters Matter. All the songs in this program, except the last, are performed by Annie Patterson & Peter Blood of RiseUpAndSing.org as part of their 9/25/20 Sing Out The Vote concert, and the songwriter is noted with each song: Which Side Are You On? - written by Florence Reece Put One Foot In Front Of The Other - written b

Jan Frase & the Community Coalition for Nonviolence helped us celebrate the U.N. International Day of Peace by a gathering of artists & activists hosted virtually by the Pablo Center at the Confluence. Presenters & performers included poet & Pastor Kathryn Reid Walker, musician Humbird/Siri, Professor Selika Ducksworth-Lawton, poet Kavon Cortez Jones, writer Michael Perry, poet Max Garland, musician Randall Adams, and MC Frank Reineke. Featured performances include: When - by Kathryn Reid Walker On The Day We Are Together - by Humbird/Siri The Battle of Birmingham - performed by Selika Ducksworth-Lawton Love Letter to Milwaukee - by Kavon Cortez Jones Gratitude - by Michael Perry Aria for the U.S. Mail and Social Distancing - by Max Garland - Un Clamor En La Noche and Imagine - Randall Adams

Religious norms & habits can't stand in the way of a community faithful to the call of Radical Love. Dave Greenlund, pastor of Peace Lutheran Church - Lauderdale shares the story of a (formerly) Missouri Synod Church whose members traveled a path to greater & greater inclusion & love, squarely facing sexism, racism, Earthcare, and gifting themselves & their neighbors with Christmas in August.

Robert P. Jones is the founder and CEO of PRRI and the author of White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity. Combining theological and historical insight with rigorous statistical analysis, Robert P. Jones searches out the DNA of white supremacy in our churches, to expose the systemic racism and lead to change. Featured Music: Oh Freedom - performed by the Golden Gospel Singers White Man - written & performed by the Michael Gungor Band

Thom Hartman just released his latest book, The Hidden History of Monopolies: How Big Business Destroyed the American Dream, and it's rich with history, analysis, insights, & solutions to the immense distortion of our economic & political systems by monopolies. Thom Hartmann is the #1 US progressive talk show host, as well as a prolific and persuasive writter.

A special Spirit In Action show by guest-host Peterson Toscano of Citizens Climate Radio on finding political unity in dealing with the climate crisis. Visits with members of the Conservative Climate Lobby, and speakers from their DC lobby day, give hope for bringing red and blue together for a united response to the crisis of our generation. We hear from 5 participants of the lobby day, from Alex Flint, the Exec Director at Alliance for Market Solutions, from Jim Tolbert, the Conservative Outreach Director, and from conservative fellow, Jacob Abel. The author of The 100% Solution. A Plan for Solving Climate Change, Solomon Goldstein-Rose shares his vision for dealing with the problem, and Peterson Toscano shares from his personal story of change, drawing on inspiration from poet Walt Whitman. In February, Citizens Climate Radio host Peterson Toscano traveled to Washington, D.C., for CCLs first ever Conservative Climate Lobby Day. More than 90 people attended from all over the country to meet with Republican

When Billy Talen puts on his big hair, a clerical collar, & his brightly-colored blazer, he becomes Rev. Billy & The Church of Stop Shopping, raising spirits & a holy ruckus for the Earth in myriad ways. With creativity, humor, & grim seriousness, Billy, Savitri D, & the other members of the Stop Shopping Choir put their bodies & voices on the line for issues like racism, police brutality, consumerism, Monsanto, Standing Rock or many other things. For 18 years they have been interceding for the Earth & Justice with Creative Resistance, Direct Action, & Spiritual Trespassing in NYC & beyond. Featured Music: Rev Billy's Sermon from episode 17: Extinction and the Urban Hipster - from Rev. Billy Radio weekly podcast Shopocalypse - by Rev. Billy & The Stop Shopping Choir End of the World - by Rev. Billy & The Stop Shopping Choir

Mary Ann Percy has found essence in nature since she was a child, expecting that work in ecology was to be her path. Alas, defeated by chemistry, she looked to Spirit for clarity about the work she was intended to do. With a leading into work with palliative care and hospice volunteer training, she works as Kulshan Cares. Her training in dealing with health & illness challenges and life transitions further prepared her to facilitate Joanna Macy's The Work That Reconnects. Mary Ann serves the Circle of Life through writing, training, & growth through Quaker Earthcare Witness and other groups, Quaker and non-Quaker. Among her writings is A New Story for Earth in Western Friend.

Carl Magruder, born in 1969, multiracial, & growing up around Berkeley, is a real child of the 60's, complete with his TheEarthQuaker email identity. Along the way he got schooled by Spirit, led to seminary, & into his current work as a palliative care chaplain. Carl Magruder sees wide and deep, & brings forth the words to excite healing energy for the Earth & humans, around race, and between peoples. A few of the places you can read, listen to, and see Carl Magruder: FGC Bible Half-Hour 2020: Monday, Tuesday, Wedsnesday, Thursday, Friday A Conversation On Grief, Death, And Dying - Part One, with 3 Quaker chaplains: Carl Magruder, Blake Arnall, and Lari Keeler. Carl's articles in Western Friend include Lifting the Veil, article from Western Friend (Darcy Stanley) and Desert Church.

Guest-host Peterson Toscano of Citizens Climate Radio brings inspiration & joy to today's program, visiting with Hannah Pickard from NNOCCI, Sean Dague from Citizens Climate Lobby, Environmental Health Expert Dr. Natasha DeJarnett, Jennie Carlisle and Laura England from the Climate Stories Collaborative at Appalachian State University, and Violet Kitchen, artist and illustrator of The 100% Solution: A Plan for Solving Climate Change. Also included are Olivia Oguadinma, podcaster from Nigeria of the Gems on Earth podcast and Shane Petzer, artist and Quaker in South Africa with the Magpie Art Collective. And don't forget to tune in for Peterson's Zoom presentation on August 18, 2020 at the BTS Summer Art Series.