Spirit in Action

With tensions so high currently between left/right, religious/secular, and more, it's time to revisit an article by Kat Griffith called  Conversations from the Heartland , from  Friends Journal . Kat compassionately & with insight observes the problems & solutions around dealing with  them! . Kat teaches a variety of subjects at the high school level, sometimes taking heat f...

Peterson Toscano of  Citizens Climate Radio  sits in today as host of Spirit In Action, adding to our Climate Change IQ and giving us reasons for hope and diligence in face of some very compelling needs. As always, Peterson does it with style, creativity, and a generous helping of his brand-name quirky humor & comedy. His guests today include Cathy Orlando, Clara Fang, Piper Christia...

NSR's event, Broadcasting From The Heartland, was graced by speeches by Mike McCabe of  BlueJeansNation.com  and Matthew Rothschild of  Wisconsin Democracy Campaign , enhanced by the

The USA has by far the highest rate of incarceration in the world, and James Kilgore spells out the many causes and factors and results of this in Understanding Mass Incarceration: A People's Guide to the Key Civil Rights Struggle of Our Time .

There's a lot of questions, disgust & even despair about our elections, especially in this year's presidential contest. History teacher and recent congressional candidate Myron Buchholz can put the experience in context of 200+ years of democracy in the US. Why the electoral college, who could vote, how can people be prevented from voting, and do our votes count, historically and currently - t...

For much of his life of activism, Bayard Rustin was asked to stay invisible, even as he was a leading organizer behind a number of crucial actions, including the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom, because he was gay. Bayard Rustin, Invisible Activist is a biography for young folks which paints a vivid portrait of Bayard's life.

A clear-eyed, informative, powerful look at the reality of Zionism on-the-ground in the Middle East by Eve Spangler , associate professor of Sociology at Boston College. In Understanding Israel/Palestine - Race, Nation, and Human Rights in the Conflict she uses facts and experience to call us to the best framework for true peace in the Middle East.

Judith Plaskow and  Carol P. Christ  helped to found the study of women & religion, starting in Yale University.

Most Americans would be at least leery of moving to Liberia, West Africa, from a comfortable home in the Midwest USA, especially with 4 teenagers in tow, but not everyone is as faithful to God's call as are Mark & Peggy Halvorsen.

Shelley Tanenbaum  &  Judy Lumb  share their experiences on the ground at the 

Roy Taylor III and RT3 Architects help people & organizations live more sustainably on the Earth, with the wide range of building & renovation & life-style ideas that reduce our impact in terms of materials, energy, water, & more. This is far more than alternative energy, this is the full-system outlook.

Tieraona Low Dog has lived Integrative Medicine, learning both practical & spiritual wisdom, including herbalism, from her Native American grandmothers, working as a massage therapist and midwife, and then becoming a Medical Doctor. With laser-focused intelligence and ocean-wide heart, Tieraona teaches healthful lives in simple, inspirational, and compelling ways.

Anti-war activists and military folks are predisposed to see each other as "the enemy", but even mainstream or conservative folks can have a very difficult time truly welcoming home vets. Zachary Moon is very concerned about treating vets as real people, not political or theological pawns in some game. Relatively few Quakers serve in the military, even as chaplains, as Zachary does, and too few kn...

We had a house party, sponsored by MoveOn.org to watch Michael Moore's lastest documentary, Where to Invade Next . About 20 people came together to be inspired by other countries that have found ways to make a better world, and we hear the reactions of Myron Buchholz, Patty Scott, Donna Berry, & Bill Jaskowiak. SEE BONUS EXCERPTS

Black Girls have double challenges in successfully navigating school, dealing with both racism & sexism. Monique W. Morris , author of Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools explores both the problems and the solutions. She is co-founder of the National Black Women's Justice Institute and author of 3 other books, including Too Beautiful for Words: A Novel .

Keefe Keeley, Executive Director of the Savanna Institute , explains their goal of exploring the potential of savanna-based systems to become ecologically sound, agriculturally productive, and economically viable alternatives to the corn-soybean rotation which currently dominates. Keefe has a masters in Agroforestry.

For decades there has been a political war about abortion where the only acceptable answers were pro-choice or pro-life. Aspen Baker , founder of Exhale & author of Pro-Voice: How to Keep Listening When The World Wants a Fight , has been advocating for empathic listening to women who've had abortions as a new path to peace in the abortion wars.

Greenfire Farm is a vortex of environmental thought, research, and action, located near Athens, Ohio, and Dick Hogan is at the center of that energy. With penetrating ideas about how we need to think about our place in creation, there are equally transformative lifestyle methods being studied.

A visit with 3 people connected with UWEC's alternative spring break trip, the Civil Rights Pilgrimage . Kiersten Bauer has been a student participant in the pilgrimage twice. Jodi Thesing-Ritter is UW-EC Associate Dean of Students and teacher of Women's Studies, and she is the founder of the pilgrimage in 2008, and Bluegold Beginnings more recently.

If a progressive author writes an insightful world-changing book, but no one hears it, does it really matter? The intent of Gail Leondar Public Relations is to make sure that such voices do get heard and are added to the forces for change. Gail Leondar-Wright and her business partner, Peter Bermudes, amplify the message of progressives by connecting them up to a nation-wide web of radio broadcaste...

Christina Crosby became a quadriplegic in mid-life because of a bicycle accident, totally changing her life and introducing her to the ranks of the 'disabled'. Christina is very familiar, experientially and scholastically, with other minority roles, as a professor of both English and Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Wesleyan University .

A look at the ills of our healthcare coverage system, with special attention to the coverage gap resulting from opposition to the ACA/Affordable Care Act. Tom Rowley shares his song & video about The Healthcare Blues , and his passion for fixing the system, working in rural Missouri, near Cabool.

A powerful advocate for democracy and progressive causes, Matt Rothschild led The Progressive Magazine for most of 32 years, and in now Executive Director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign . Matt has a birds-eye view of the nuts and bolts of government, elections, & the success or failure of democracy.

After 20 years in the Navy, Leah Bolger retired into full-time work as a peace activist. Leah is active almost everywhere, is the first female president of the national Veterans for Peace, works on the World Beyond War project, acts as Secretary of Defense for the Green Shadow Cabinet, coordinates the Drones Quilt Project, and chairs the VFP Drones Working Group.

Dan Nerhaugen's Daily Progressive is a great source of inspiration & knowledge, highlighting change-makers and events which have tilted the world in a progressive direction, and promise more in the future. Succinct, rich, and diverse, there are tidbits, with links to those interested in going deeper, for some really transformative people and events.