Leslie Davis is from Milwaukee, WI, where she is a psychologist for the state’s largest free medical clinic, providing services to principally undocumented immigrants. In 2019 Leslie Davis expanded her compassionate outreach by making 4 extended sojourns on the US-Mexican border, starting with the Dilley Detention Center in Texas, attempting to provide much-needed service from both her general energy and compassion, and also from her skills as a clinical psychologist.
Kelly Lundeen was a founder of Just Peace from the Chippewa Valley back in 2001, spent time in Milwaukee at the Casa Maria Catholic Worker House, which led her to do accompaniment work in Columbia as part of the International Peace Observatory. But her work recently, back in Wisconsin, has been as a mother of 3 and as staff for Nukewatch, working for a nuclear-free future since 1979. The folks at Nukewatch have been sentinels for the safety, well-being, and future of our country by their investigation of and action on nuclear weapons and nuclear power in the USA.
Claudia Schmidt & Sally Rogers are a soul-deep musical combination. Sally is perhaps more closely associated with the folk music genre, and while Claudia has done a lot of folk, she's also well-known and loved for her expeditions into the jazz world. Whenever they combine their voices & music, there is an alchemy that transmutes music into magic. Both tell stories & capture images to rivet the heart & guide us on a better, more fulfilling, path.
Dean Stevens writes & shares the music of compassion & connection. Raised in Costa Rica, living in Boston, Dean's life is overflowingly rich with international & local roots & work. Check out his fairer-than-fair-trade coffee from El Salvador, visit the Community Church of Boston where he does music & administrative work, or travel with him to Central America, you'll be singing joyfully all the way.
Our guest is David Hartsough, author of Waging Peace: Global Adventures of a Lifelong Activist, a wonderful book combining the stories and inspiration for a better world that David has lived out and been witness to. David has gone inspirationally into the crucial events of the past 60 years, in the Civil Rights movement, across the Berlin Wall, working against nuclear weapons, traveling in solidarity with the people of Central America & Kosovo and making himself available everywhere that people need compassion and support. He’s a founder of many organizations including the Nonviolent Peaceforce and World Beyond War.
Past/current religious/spiritual influences:
Quaker
Have you ever wondered, "Who might be bisexual in the Bible?" Drawing on the scholarship of Rabbi Mark Sameth, author of the New York Times essay, Is God Transgender? Liam Hooper digs into the story of Judah, the son of Jacob, and an encounter he had with another man.
Sally Rogers has been a fountain of folk music for 4 decades (check out her 40 Years, 40 Songs collection), now sung all around the country & world. Her classics include Lovely Agnes, Touch of the Master's Hand, & Circle of the Sun, and there are ever-more greats coming. Her last visit with us was 2007. In addition to her work as a music teacher in schools, she's been a long-time co-host for the 3rd Friday Song Swap at Vanilla Bean in Pomfret, CT.
How we communicate frequently makes all the difference between war/peace, connection/division, and safety/danger, and a very strong tool for effective, compassionate, dialogue is Nonviolent Communication (NVC). Claire Bates has been passionate about learning and teaching NVC since 2013, teaching people how to live well with others. Trainings & resources for your area can be found at Center for Nonviolent Communication (cnvc.org), such as the Needs Inventory mentioned in this interview.
Past/current religious/spiritual influences:
Quaker
In this episode you will meet a fellow climate action figure. Solemi Hernandez finds great joy and fulfillment in the climate work she does. In hearing some of her own story, we hope it inspires you in your own. Originally from Venezuela, Solemi has lived in the US state of Florida for the past 17 years. She seeks to improve conditions for immigrant farm workers. She is also raising her two sons, and Solemi has taken on a very big mission. She wants to save the world starting in her own community.
Dean Stevens brought together recordings of Christmas-related songs which are well out of the US mainstream. He calls the collection Holiday Songs you Won’t Hear at the Mall, and they range from funny to serious, some are in Spanish, and many call to a deeper look at values and stories we should really be living out.