Jonathan Foster's music has magic, melody and even some mirth. He's got a deep connection with the Earth, grown out his origins in the shadow of the Adirondacks of the Eastern US, now thriving in the Rockies of Northern California. His alter ego/day job is as a wetland ecologist, glimpses of which peek through his great folk-country-rock lyrics and sounds. I may even get to see him in person, performing in Trempealeau, Wisconsin July 27, 2021, at the Trempealeau Hotel.

A refreshing look beyond the distortions and rhetoric of the Islamaphobia industry in the US, Demystifying Shariah: What It Is, How It Works, and Why It’s Not Taking Over Our Country by Sumbul Ali-Karamali opens eyes to the rich & complex history & present of how Muslims try to faithfully follow God. Sumbul grew up in Southern California, and after becoming a corporate lawyer, she earned an additional degree in Islamic law. Drawing on strengths related to her English degree from Stanford, she straightforwardly shares the complex reality of Islam over the centuries and over the world, with humor, humility, and insight. Her earlier books are The Muslim Next Door: the Qur’an, the Media, and that Veil Thing and Growing up Muslim.

Who do you know who speaks at least 3 languages, has lived in several countries, performed between Renaissance Fairs year-round for 10 years, writes & sings profoundly deep & moving songs, and can play the harp & the 12-string guitar simultaneously? Ariane Lydon and no one else (to my knowlege)! Living in the Midwest for a couple decades now, Ariane brings a world of beautiful music to our land.

How do we spread the peace virus instead of perpetuating fear, hate, & injustice? Matthew Legge is author of Are We Done Fighting? Building Understanding in a World of Hate and Division, which gives us deep insights & practical skills for doing just that. Matthew has been the Peace Program Coordinator of the Canadian Friends Service Committee since 2012, and he has supported locally-led peace initiatives in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

In this month’s episode, Liam and Don take a look at Jesus’ teaching on the laborers in the vineyard through the larger story of Jesus engaging with the people. Liam explores the tendency to isolate Jesus’ teachings and parables from their story-based, literary contexts. 

Liam proposes that the author of Matthew’s gospel (like the authors of each gospel) intentionally connected the teachings with the events surrounding them. As an example, Liam considers the vineyard teaching in conversation with Jesus blessing the children (Matt 19) as he goes about the towns blessing people, tending the sick, feeding people, and teaching.

Don and Liam share some lively discussion about the implications of these teachings, especially when we consider the teachings in the context of the stories about how Jesus interacts with communities.

Listen to much of Nonviolence: An Interfaith Conversation, co-sponsored by the Norman Miller Center for Peace, Justice, and Public Understanding at St.

As the government affairs coordinator at the National Audubon Society in Washington, DC. Tykee James has a special role—organizing bird walks with members of Congress and congressional staff! Birding has been important to him ever since he started as a teen in Philadelphia.

Last year, after a racist incident against a Black birder in New York’s Central Park, Tykee James and fellow birders decided to create #BlackBirdersWeek. They had only hours to organize the event which included using social media to reveal a whole world of birding by people of color. During that week, the #BlackBirderWeek campaign had more than 600 million impressions on social media sites. It also generated national press coverages.

The work of the International Center for Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC) is to develop & share the knowledge needed for effective civil resistance, and they are providing the info in more than 60 languages to freedom, justice, & democracy workers all around the world. Hardy Merriman has been President & CEO of ICNC since 2015, and working in the field since 2003. Drawing on the best research and the most promising experience, Hardy and the ICNC are providing the vital educational support to the rapidly growing nonviolent civil resistance movements working to transform the world.

For about 10 years Richard Paul Thomas (or on FB) made music around Milwaukee, WI, as part of The Counts, The Polaras, Ron & The Continentals, The Gamblers, The Too Young to Know Anything about Pain & Suffering Singers, and also piles of great music as Susan & Richard Thomas.

Rolly Brown delivers quality, whether it's his 4x-a-week on-line Curve Flattening Concerts, his guitar instruction, his Bucks County Tai Chi, or his humane dog training info.