Having done this program for 20 years, I have had the opportunity to see the work my guests do evolve over time, and such is the case with Eileen Flanagan.

It's been 20 years that Northern Spirit Radio has been broadcasting, and to celebrate that milestone we've set up a John McCutcheon concert event both streaming online and right here in-person, in Eau Claire, WI, on Sunday October 5^th, 2025, starting at 6:30 pm Central Time. Get more info and tickets on the NorthernSpiritRadio.org website. I've interviewed John several times, including live at a Quaker gathering at Grinnell College in Iowa on July 4^th, 2019.

We welcome back Chuck Fager, a writer & activist with some 60 years of work, and we also welcome Emma Lapsansky-Werner, the co-author of Tell It Slant: Chuck Fager, A Prophetic Life of Adventure &am

John McCutcheon is classic & cutting-edge folk music. An amazing singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, he has now produced 40 albums, performed with all kinds of musical greats, like Pete Seeger, Tom Chapin, Tom Paxton, and Carrie Newcomer. He's witty, deep, creative, prolific, and he's in person for this interview on July 4th, 2019, at Grinnell College as part of the FGC Gathering.

Jesse Palidofsky turned to writing & performing music later in life in spite of an early passion for the music. Along the way, Jesse ran folk coffeehouses and did radio shows of multiple genres of music, widening his own tastes & proclivities to include jazz, classical, soul, & other types of music.

David Arn is a story-teller, or, better yet, a verbal story-painter who came to songwriting late in life, but in time to produce 3 CDs of his music by the age of 70. He self-describes as making music of the Folk Rock, Americana, and Soft Rock varieties, but a very special attribute of his productions are the videos that he has engaged to go with his songs, allowing free rein to artists & video producers to create the videos in reaction to and synergy with David's songs.

Christine Stay & Aiden Quinn are the modern-folk duo known as Friction Farm. Starting, both, from science-geek jobs, they followed their hearts from work they were very competent at into work that they love and do exquisitely. Based from their sustainable home near Greenville, South Carolina, they make music with deep lyrics, beautiful vocals, and sumptuous instrumentals.

Jan Frase & the Community Coalition for Nonviolence helped us celebrate the U.N. International Day of Peace by a gathering of artists & activists hosted virtually by the Pablo Center at the Confluence.

Johnsmith includes exactly the right mix of heart, wonder, & whimsy in the songs he writes, combined with a flawless voice and impeccable guitar. He has produced 8 solo CDs, was a Kerrville New Folk winner, & has decades experience performing all across the USA.

Each year there's a contest sponsored by the Renaissance Artists and Writers Association called Songs for Social Change, and today we have here the winner of last year's contest. Mary Lou Fulton rated number one out of many hundreds of submissions with her song Not Going Back. What makes it all the more remarkable is that she did it with the very first song she ever released! But it was but first in a healthy line of wonderful music, as she transitioned from telling stories through journalism and newspaper, to singing stories for the world. Mary Lou Fulton joins us from Los Angeles.