Improvisational humor is an awesome tool used by The Theater of Public Policy (t2p2.net) to find new ways forward in public discourse. Co-founded by Tane Danger & Brandon Boat in 2011, they've tackled a surprisingly wide variety of issues with their creative and disarming approach, including farm policy, robotics, clean water, and religion. Back on Feb 15th they performed for the Love Your Planet Comedy Night sponsored by Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light. Check out the Full Evening or a variety of clips from that night.
The effective struggle to protect us against the destruction and desecration of the Earth draws on the powers of both mind and heart, and little can capture our hearts and open us to realities like a powerful song. We draw on the music and messages of Sarah Pirtle, David Rovics, Brian Bethke, Sara Thomsen, & Bryce Black to shine a light exposing the wrongs of fracking, mining for frac sands and copper, piping tar sands, and more.
Kevin Slick has Pennsylvanian roots, New York growth, and a Coloradan canopy. Sure, since he was 5, that music was where he was going, Kevin has been inspired by folks like Pete Seeger and the Beatles to find the soul of music. He has performed solo and with bands like Steel Pennies, Neo Pseudo, and The Amen Trio, and he's done many musical genres, including instrumental film scores, AND he wrote a song called Dancing Naked in God's Navel. There is much here to marvel at and glory in and move to.
Pete Seeger once said, "If you want to hear some of the best songs out there today...listen to Sarah Pirtle," an author and musician with deep roots which feed the abundant branches and fruits of her work for peace, wholeness, and care for the planet.
Ben Grosscup serves as director of People's Music Network. Ben initiated the PMN Song of the Month, a project to integrate inspiring new songs of freedom and struggle in today’s progressive movements. Based in Western Massachusetts, Ben can also be found singing at gatherings where people are fighting for immigrant rights and ecological justice, and resisting military violence. Twice a year, musicians and activists carrying on the tradition of music for social change gather for workshops and song-sharing at PMN Gatherings.
Stephen Lee Rich is a musician with a joke (or a comedian with a song), a yodeler, and a leading figure in the work of Musicians United to Protect Bristol Bay. Based in Madison, WI, and performing & recording frequently with Sandy Andina, Stephen is both serious and humorous and caffeine-fueled.
Mary Amel is a facilitator for the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) through FNVW/AVP Minnesota. AVP happens in 6 prisons in Minnesota and a few dozen states around the USA, and widely internationally. Mary has participated in several international AVP trainings, including in Nepal, Guatemala, and Nigeria, offering transformative, experiential, workshops which equip participants with new ways of dealing with violence and the threat of violence.
Featured Music:
Have You Been to Jail for Justice? - Anne Feeney
Libby Roderick is a world-healing singer/songwriter, best known for her song How Could Anyone. Firmly rooted in Alaska and inspired by Native Alaskan ways of thinking, Libby combines deep concern for the Earth and its creatures with beautiful music and lyrics, to inspire and equip listeners toward a better world.
Ursula Ruedenberg became Affiliate Network Manager of Pacifica at a critical time, when we were on the edge of loosing Pacifica's voice and witness. Though we're not out of the woods yet, Ursula has followed this path and done this work in faithfulness to the great tradition of peace, truth, and community which is central to Pacifica, and she is a sign of hope and inspiration for the power and future of community radio.
Ursula Ruedenberg is Affiliate Network Manager of Pacifica, doing the great work of bringing together the energies and voices of grassroots activists all over the country. Founded by peace activists, with 5 anchor stations and hundreds of affiliates, Pacifica has played a pivotal role in forming the radio and news landscape of the USA, and Ursula has played her own pivotal role over the last decade and a half.