After a couple years hiatus, we welcome back Patricia Stansbury (AKA Sunny Gardener) as guest-host for today's Spirit In Action, sharing programming from her What Wakes Me Up shows on WRIR - Richmond Independent Radio. She speaks with 2 different military veterans, one who served in Vietnam, one who served in the Middle East, about their experiences, some while in the military, and some from after their time in the military, things like PTSD, community, veteran benefits, and much more.

Few people have quite such wide roots across the globe, both the motivation & outgrowth of a life of compassionate work in many countries. Jens Braun grew up in Ecuador, the son of parents who had worked as missionaries and with the Peace Corps.

Don Neufeld's decades of service in social work, in child welfare, and in private practice has deeply equipped him for insights into a wide variety of men's (and society's) issues, like violence, fathering, and masculinity - and more. He's authored a number of books, including A New Hope and Living That Matters.

In 1987 David & Lise Abazs bought and built their off-the-grid Round River Farm, in Finland, Minnesota,

Anita Sanchez's books are mostly targeted toward young readers, anything from preschool to adult, and they help all readers fall in love with aspects of our world and nature that most ignore, whether talking about puddles, poison ivy, gardens, or visiting the night.

Gabrielle Cerberville is known to some as Chaotic Forager, to others as Mushroom Auntie, but you will certainly experience her as a person deeply connected to all the residents of the Earth, not only humans. Gabrielle's passions are wide-ranging, including music composition & gourmet cuisine, but she is especially known for thoughtfully bringing the fruits of the Earth to her table, and to teaching others of right relationship to our non-human cousins.

Sami Awad lives in Bethlehem, and has been dedicated to nonviolent action since his teen years, inspired by his uncle, Mubarak Awad. In a conflict focused on Jews and Muslims, Christian Palestinians are sometimes erased from the picture by many outsiders, although they have been an integral part of the Holy Land for many centuries.

In his book, The Prophetic Lens: The Camera and Black Moral Agency from MLK to Darnella Frazier, Phil Allen Jr. examines the history & the future of Black wholeness in the USA, especially the ways in which people of color have been made invisible, & how their power is being reclaimed through open eyes & lenses.

Thom Hartmann's completely articulate voice & extensive knowledge & insights all combine to insure his place as the USA's #1 progressive talk show host. His more than 30 books are equally compelling, and today we talk with Thom about his latest, The Hidden one of the most articulate voices of progressive radio in the USA, and he's a compelling writer as well.

Our guest-host today is Jan Spencer, and he'll describe his book disguised as a website - A Primer For Paradigm Shift. The Primer is dense with usable information explaining why, how and what paradigm shift can look like in the real world. Paradigm shift is not a fuzzy future utopia, it's a here-and-now work-in-progress. The more people are engaged, the better, so listen and then check out what you have to add to the book/Primer/website!