Spirit In Action

Bob Bruninga is near the end of his work as an aerospace engineer at the US Navel Academy and is passionate about electric cars and solar energy. He built his first electric car way back in 1970, led his neighborhoods implimentation of alternative energy, and helped Annapolis Friends Meeting in their installation of net zero energy solar panels. Hes the lead author of a new book, Energy Choices: Opportunities to Make Wise Decisions for a Sustainable Future, and he knows where-of he writes - lots to be learned here, even for the well-informed. Check out Bob's Ham Radio website - with links to his solar/electric pages.

Brad Laird is a Wobbly Quaker, official member of the Michiana IWW and a Quaker in good standing. Thats not all he is, by any means - hes a Girl Scout Troop Leader, passionate husband, father, and grandfather, Chair of the board of directors of South Bend, Indianas Community for Peace & Nonviolence. And one more item that makes him particularly interesting to us, he was once destined to be a Lutheran Minister, he considers himself to be a post-theist, post-atheist, deeply committed to his work for the nurture and healing of the world, both in practical and spiritual ways. Featured Music: Joe Hill - performed by Joe Jencks on Links in the Chain

Racism is deeply rooted in the USA, and entwined with religion. Katharine Gerbner, author of Christian Slavery: Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World, helps uproot the attitudes and untwine the prejudices in the hope of finding a clear way forward. Katharine is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Minnesota.

Government of, by, & for the People is built by the kind of Spirit that Christine Ashley & Katie Breslin draw on to make flourish the work of FCNL, as Quaker Field Secretary & Young Adult Program Manager, respectively. They make advocacy rewarding & lively from their offices facing the Hart Senate Office Building in D.C. with the banner proclaiming Love Thy Neighbor - No Exceptions.

Hayley Hathaway is passionate about the relationships between ecology, economy, and faith. She is publications director for Quaker Earthcare Witness and lives as part of the South of Monadnock Community, after having spent 6 years with Casa de los Amigos in Mexico City. She wrote about her search for intentional community in a Friends Journal article about the Twin Oaks community. Featured Music: Circle of Friends - by Susan Grace Somos El Barco - performed by Sue Kranz, on Cambridgeport School's Greatest Hits

Peterson Toscano of Citizen's Climate Radio visits with 5 guests, on topics including climate comedy with Brian Ettling, climate-coping lessons from the Netherlands with Edgar Westerhof of Arcadis North America, environmental racism with Brentin Mock, and poetry from River Hymns by Tyree Daye. Extended Notes: Conversations about climate change can get downright dire and dreary. But isnt there room for comedy? Brian Ettling is a comic who is not ashamed to pull out a rubber chicken for a gag. He joinsPeterson Toscano for a lively conversation about climate comedy. Superstorm Sandy shocked the New York Metropolitan area in 2012. By some freak coincidence, right before this epic storm hit, Edgar Westerhof moved to New York City from the Netherlands. Not only does he come from a country that knows a lot about flooding, but Edgar is also an expert in integrated urban water management. Since Sandy, Edgar has become the National Director for Flood Risk and Resiliency for Arcadis North America. After 10 years of repo

Robert B. Jones, Sr works joyfully to build bridges of understanding through music in an organization & project called Common Chords. Using tools of music, story-telling, history, & inspiration, Robert brings pleasure and insight to diverse audiences. Part of his richness is that he is also pastor of Sweet Kingdom Missionary Baptist Church of inner-city Detroit, where he seeks to inspire & heal the world in other ways. Featured Music, all performed by Robert B. Jones, Sr: Deportee - written by Woody Guthrie One Dime Blues - written by Blind Lemon Jefferson Will Cunningham - written by Robert B. Jones, Sr Change Gonna Come - written by Sam Cooke

Iris Graville is an author, book artist, and a former nurse. Her memoir, Hiking Naked: A Quaker Woman's Search for Balance shares her quest for meaningful & life-balancing work. The journey took Iris & her family far off the grid, radically exploring simplified living, freeing her to find her own answers to the big questions, less controled by society's prompting.

Pam Taylor's work with Environmentally Concerned Citizens of South Central Michigan is an inspiring example of citizen-driven environmentalism which informs & guides govt with feet firmly rooted in both agrarian living & scientific scrutiny. NoCAFOs is her goal, sustainable agriculture is her means, and good neighbor living her ethic. She's a big fan of Wendall Berry agrarian living, She received the 2016 Petoskey Prize from the Michigan Environmental Council. Additional related resources: Sierra Club video Follow the Manure, and A Watershed Moment: Michigan CAFO Mapping Report. Featured Music: Four Lane Highways & Mobile Homes - by Tom Neilson

Hellen Lunkuse Waiswa Tanyinga is a women's (and human) rights pioneer in Uganda and the founder of the Rape Hurts Foundation. At the age of 11 she was raped while doing the tradtionally female job of hauling water, and she transformed that pain into healing & power for herself, women, and all abused people. As the 1st female graduate of the prestigious East African Makerere University in Kampala, she's on the cutting edge and a hero to women and to many men in Uganda. Original Air Date: 08/27/2017

Peterson Toscano is an amazing and innovative thinker whose acting talent reaps revolutionary insights with his video, Transfigurations: Transgressing Gender in the Bible. With humor, drama, and insight, Peterson unearths a wide range of non-gender compliant people & passages hidden in plain sight in the Bible, for LGBTQI and Straight to see. Original Air Date: 06/11/2017

J.E. McNeil has powerful points of view, but she also has a profound devotion to communication and unity, skills and attributes fostered by the Conversations with the Other trainings she presents widely. If you're interested in making it possible for all the family to gather together at holidays, or for our dysfunctional national family to once again be united, J.E. can help all of us to learn to communicate without arguing, understand without capitulating.

Sami Rasouli came to the USA in 1976, returning to Iraq after the US invasion, where he was founder of the Muslim Peacemaker Teams. Sami shares a very different perspective of the cause and effect of the US invasion of Iraq, due to his vantage point on the ground in the country, and has put his life at the service of peace and healing for his country of birth. Original Air Date: 06/23/2018

Billie Holiday still looms larger than life even close to 60 years after her death. At the nexus of complicated subjects like race, drugs, sexuality, & music, she acts as a compelling subject for those seeking to understand our society's trajectory, especially when religion is added as a layer to the experience. The Religion Around series seeks to look deeply into the relationships around our most evocative individuals, so it is no surprise that Penn State University Press asked Tracy Fessenden, interim director of the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies at Arizona State University, to write Religion Around Billie Holiday, or that the scrutiny yields Strange Fruit. Featured Music: Strange Fruit - by Billie Holiday

Last year, David Bucura became overall coordinator for AGLI (African Great Lakes Initiative) of Friends Peace Teams, working on peace and reconciliation in the nations of that region: Rwanda, Burundi, Congo (DRC), Kenya, Uganda, & Tanzania. They've had amazing results using AVP (Alternatives to Violence Project) and Healing and Rebuilding Our Communities (HROC) processes.

The impact of addiction can shape our lives in unexpected ways. Spencer T. and his guests on The Recovery Show podcast carry the message of healing for those affected by addiction and alcoholism. We explore the 12-steps of Al-Anon and see how working the steps can offer solutions to personal challenges we all face. Another good resource is Recovered Podcast Featured Music: Black Dog - by Anastasia Vishnevsky A Small Flashlight - by Carrie Newcomer Original Air Date: 06/02/2018

Bias & prejudice are hard-wired in us, we've got the studies to prove it, so what can we do about bias, hate, & division. In Our Search For Belonging: How Our Need to Connect Is Tearing Us Apart by Howard J. Ross we explore the mind, our behavior, & our possibility of acting better than we're programmed for. Original Air Date: 05/19/2018

Guest host Peterson Toscano of Citizen's Climate Radio looks at psychological effects of climate change with Dr. Lise Van Susteren, discusses environmental health with Dr. Natasha DeJarnett, and we see the Artic Circle through the eyes of artist Fritz Horstman. Finally, Claire Vaye Watkins, author of cli-fi novel, Gold Fame Citrus, uses storytelling to explore the consequences of our actions and work.

Thousands of groups sprang up across the USA very shortly after the election of Donald Trump, all as part of the Indivisible movement of resistance to the assault on our nation's well-being. A local branch sprouted here in the Chippewa Valley. An early participant and communications activist with the group is Rachel Hart-Brinson, and the newly-selected leader is Ann Francis. One of the many activities they sponsored was a Nonviolence Training workshop led by James Handley.

Part 2 of visits with participants of the March For Our Lives witness in St Paul, MN, Eau Claire, WI, and Washington, DC, with special focus on the voices & work of youth. Bonni Knight taught HS French & public speaking skills for many years & writes for VolumeOne, Zariah Whitacre has been active with a number of clubs & organizations, among them Amnesty International, and Thomas Finegar's passion is theater at Atholtan HS in Columbia, MD.