18 months ago we had the privilege of interviewing Chief Richard Quiet Thunder Gilbert, a deep visit about his place in creation, and that of his tribe, the Lenni Lenape people, and about their lessons of right relationship with the Earth. Listen to that interview here.
Kori Riesenweber sings sweetly, delightfully, and movingly. She used to perform with Beacon James, but currently performs most with Girl Band, but also solo, with Caleb Horne, as Thistledown, and in other configurations. Just past the birth of her second child, she finally released her first solo recording, a 5-song EP. Visit her on Facebook or via Kori's YouTube channel
Edgar Villanueva is back on Spirit In Action with an importantly updated edition of his book, Decolonizing Wealth 2nd Edition: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance. As a member of the Lumbee tribe of North Carolina and with his experience serving several philanthropic foundations, giving away $25 million a year, Edgar has piercing insights as to the pros and cons of those claiming to help the less fortunate, and he sees the deeper ways that philanthropy is part of the problem, and the way forward to some real solutions.
Kathy Baughman McLeod, SVP, Atlantic Council & Director, Adrienne Arsht - Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center reveals the many risks that come with extreme heat. She also provides multiple solutions, including innovative ways to use insurance to change the way we build and respond to extreme weather.
Guest-host Patricia Stansbury (AKA Sunny Gardener) shares interviews with 2 different guests. First up is Duron Chavis and building Resiliency Gardens is Duron’s life work. Learn local food systems & how they intertwine with justice, prudence and hard work. Part 2 is a visit with Joseph Rogers. He has been part of the Virginia Defenders of Freedom, Justice and Equality since the year a domestic terrorist killed a woman with his car on the streets of Charlottesville at a Unite the Right Rally. A 7th-Generation Virginian, his ancestor Martha Ann Fields was enslaved when she was born in Hanover County.
Whether it's supercharged indie rock, bittersweet pop, or something completely new, Brian Kelly/Oceanography will expose your heart. Brian can powerfully channel Roy Orbison and his song, Crying, and he can make you think you're with Neil Young, but mostly he's himself, and that's an excellent thing. Along the way he played and sang with the Butte County All Stars, Food, and with Silence The Bird. Brian is located in Oakland, CA, bringing music to the wider world.
Past/current religious & spiritual influences: Catholic, Transcendental Meditation, Non-affiliated
Bonnie Koloc was a major presence in music, especially folk music, on the Chicago scene in the early 1970's, along with John Prine and Steve Goodman, one of the big 3 folk musicians there. She was a constant presence on the stage in those years, churning out 4 albums in 4 years, singing not only folk but jazz and blues. Eventually she wondered away from Chicago, including stints with other forms of art, like musical theater and visual art. Her travels finally brought her back home to Iowa where she's had the happiest years of her life. Bonnie Koloc joins us from Decorah, Iowa.
Past/current religious/spiritual influences: Catholic, Gregorian Chant, Earth-Centered, Non-affiliated
In These Walls Between Us – A Memoir of Friendship Across Race and Class Wendy Sanford helps us all travel with her a path away from white supremacy, white privilege, and micro-aggressions, to true interracial friendship, by witnessing Wendy's journey of growth & self-examination. Wendy first met Mary Norman when Mary was hired as a domestic worker for Wendy's family during a summer vacation in the mid-1950's, and the ensuing decades provided constant lessons of insight and refinement.
Jessica Smucker is today's SOS guest, and she believes the best way to change the world is to channel our pain into connection. Jessica is one very captivating person, both musically and otherwise. She worked on movies, is a published poet & a social justice warrior, came into music through a rock band called The Sleeping World, and she knows all the two-letter words in Scrabble, so don't even think of challenging her. Raised Mennonite from Amish grandparents, she's been enriched by and moved beyond them to her own path. For a fun, quirky new song of hers, check out Let's Get a Tree.
Past/current religious/spiritual influences: Mennonite
In mid-August, Liam and Don were joined by Portland Maine’s Poet Laureate, Maya Williams. Maya is not only a creative, gifted spoken word artist and poet, they are also a suicide survivor, theological thinker, and utterly enchanting person.
In this episode, Maya shares their poem, “Judas and Suicide,” and offers us a thought-provoking and spiritually penetrating reframing of the traditional religious views of suicidal ideation and suicide. Maya, Don, and Liam then talk honestly and openly about this sensitive topic, as Maya offers us a glimpse of a God who is present in our suffering and accompanies us, rejecting human views of sin and drenching us in grace and loving understanding that the world is, sometimes, a hard place to be.
Before closing, Maya offers us another poem to consider.
Read about Maya and read Maya’s work at https://www.mayawilliamspoet.com/