President Trump has been wreaking havoc in so many corners of our country, including the disruption caused by his executive order to dismantle all DEI (Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion) programs throughout the country. Harvard has been the most prominent school to refuse the order, causing joy & celebration among many. Today we're talking with John Bach about Harvard's policies and ethics from his perspective as a Harvard chaplain. As a Quaker, John's credentials are experiential instead of academic or educational, including his work with the Civil Rights movement, his time in prison as a draft refuser, and his work as a house painter. John is also author of Short Time: A Season’s Prison Journal, around John's short stint in prison for civil disobedience.

Past/present religious/spiritual influences: UCC, Quaker

I first interviewed Tim Case early in 2024, after the release of his Great Big Moon EP, a reemergence of his music after more than a decade on the back-burner, but then he turned right around and released his new album, House of Mirrors, just recently. Before leaving Madison, Tim was on the cusp of music success as part of Ghost Town Council, but now he performs mostly solo, though also collaborating with Songa (Mario & Sherry Friedel), and with members of the Chippewa Valley Songwriter Circle, among others. Tim's musical quest is for truth, accessed through heart-opening music & he does it well.

Most of the time it is the top officials in an organization who are interviewed to learn about & understand the group, but today we're exploring The Sierra Club from the ground up. Paul Wagner has been very active with The Sierra Club for over forty years, connecting at the local, Chippewa Valley level, within the state of Wisconsin, and also nationally. Paul walks us through the club, its way of functioning, and the kind of work it accomplishes, including through its volunteer vacations, service trips with an Earth-connecting core. With a ground-level view, we get to see the wonderful aspects and possibilities of The Sierra Club. Paul Wagner joins us in person, in Eau Claire, WI, to share his experience.

We've had Annie Patterson as a guest many times on NSR programs, but today we're going full-spectrum on Annie. She's known by many as a folk singer and the co-creator of the group singing songbooks, Rise Up Singing and Rise Again, but she also performs a variety of music genres like swing, blues, soul, gospel and more with groups like Dear Ella and Girls from Mars, and others. We're headed to Amherst, MA, to visit with the full-spectrum Annie Patterson.

Past/present religious/spiritual influences: Methodist, Quaker

All featured music is written & performed by Annie Patterson, unless otherwise indicated:

Wayne Finegar is Executive Director of QuakerHouse, a resource located in Fayetteville, SC, which provides counseling and support to service members who are questioning their role in the military; educates them, their families, and the public about military issues, and advocates for a more peaceful world. Check out the GI Rights Hotline and also their Conscientious Objection resources. We're homing in on a specific topic of importance with the rise of the Project 2025 agenda and its added pressure for building the military, specifically being prepared for the military draft and the preparation necessary for those who may want to claim conscientious objection.

We've got a very different experience for you today and it's called shape-note singing, or sometimes sacred harp singing. Our guest, Jim Page (or James Page when in print) gives us a rich taste-test of this venerable tradition of American religious singing for laypersons. I've only been around shape-note singing a couple times, and I have to admit that what you'll hear today is only a faint echo of the music experienced in person. Jim, by the way, has written his own shape-note songs, included in the 2 music books he's written which you can find via this site by searching James Page. Though he won't be sharing any of his own songs today, you can contact Jim to learn more. Rest assured that he has led vast amounts of shape-note singing over the decades, and you can learn a lot more at fasola.org

Noel Paul Stookey's first band was the Birds of Paradise, but he rose to prominence in the 1960s as part of Peter, Paul & Mary, and has produced around 19 solo albums. Noel's music & work are deep in healing & connecting directions, including OneLightManyCandles.org and MusicToLife.org, both which he helped found. Follow Noel's Substack posts for deep, funny, & profound posts on the state of the world.

Past/present religious/spiritual influences: Catholic, CS Lewis, Surprised By Joy, Emily Dickinson, Non-denominational Christian

We're going back in time to the end of World War II today for SIA, to get to know about one of the 151 Civilian Public Service camps, this one for the “bad boys” of the conscientious objectors. Our guest is Jane Kopecky, and we'll be visiting about her book, World War II Conscientious Objectors - Germfask, Michigan: The Alcatraz Camp. Jane grew up in the area near the CPS camp, in a remote area of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and she had to dig deep to unearth a full accounting of this camp where COs were sent into obscurity. What Jane discovered was a set of truly inspirational people, surrounded by a hostile society.

Past/present religious/spiritual influences: Mennonite, Non-affiliated

Steve Hazell is an inspiration for all of us, for both the quality and depth of his songs. In his youth Steve performed with Wolverine Willy and the Blues Toads, but now he's mostly, but not always, a solo act. Interestingly, the best way to get Steve's music is to email Steve. You'll get a good glimpse of Steve and his journey with music in his book, The Kindred Path, about the Green Apple Folk Music Society. Steve's is music with deep heart, and sterling quality. Steve Hazell joins us from Sun Prairie, WI

Past/present religious/spiritual influences: Methodist, Congregational, Non-affiliated

Prepare yourself for a thorough musical delight today as we head to Cleveland, Ohio for a visit with Charlie Mosbrook. Besides his exquisite guitar, piano, lyrics, & voice, Charlie has a rich backstory and forestory. A heavy-duty triathlon athlete, Charlie had a spinal cord injury that left him a high-functioning quadriplegic, and he used the life detour to delve deeper into his music, pouring his passion and compassion into organizations like Music to Life and Stop the Hate. In the past 15 years he's released 9 albums and more, touching hearts and raising up the world.

Past/present religious/spiritual influences: UCC, Presbyterian, Thich Nhat Hanh, Native American, Jewish