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.

With the passing last week of Joe Elder, a bright light for peace and justice and a dear friend and neighbor to so many has left us. We feel led to bring you again the interview we did with Joe 15 years ago, so that we can all hear Joe's voice once more. Back then, we told you that Joe Elder was the recipient on October 3rd, 2009, of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Wisconsin Network for Peace & Justice. Joe has traveled the world with quiet off-the-record messages and worked for peace from Vietnam to Sri Lanka.

Many of us have been in pain about events in the Middle East for years, a pain that was horribly amplified by the massacre of Jews on October 7^th, 2023, and the horrific and disproportional retribution that followed in Gaza by Israelis. Today's guest is Sandy Green, a Jewish Quaker, formerly a Zionist, who found she could not un-see the evils perpetrated by Israel on Palestinians, not just recently, but for decades. Late in her long life, Sandy has become a visible activist, facing painful consequences, but remaining steadfast to a fuller and wider love.

Steve Chase has a long history of doing, teaching, and writing about activism, starting from the age of 13, when he first stood against war.

There was an article by Bill Durland in the May/June 2023 issue of Western Friend called Martyrs for Conscience's Sake (and there is also a 

Jonathan Kuttab has a vital new perspective, potentially opening a completely new door into a future of peace and justice for Israel/Palestine. Jonathan was born & grew up in West Jerusalem till he headed to college in the US.

For great folk music north-of-the-border, Dawud Wharnsby is the one. Homeboy of Kitchener, Ontario, with roots also in Syria and Pakistan, Dawud weaves nature, vulnerability, faith, truth, and universality into song, integrally linked to the Islamic path he walks. Occasionally he performs as part of the Abraham Jam, a Jewish-Christian-Muslim collaboration trio.

A clear-eyed, informative, powerful look at the reality of Zionism on-the-ground in the Middle East by Eve Spangler, associate professor of Sociology at Boston College. In Understanding Israel/Palestine - Race, Nation, and Human Rights in the Conflict she uses facts and experience to call us to the best framework for true peace in the Middle East.

Penny Rosenwasser is author of several books, including her latest, Hope Into Practice: Jewish Women Choosing Justice Despite Our Fears, an activist's call to repair the world. Penny is a "life-long heartfelt, rabble-rouser for social Justice" with a Ph.D. in Transformative Learning & Change.

Reese Erlich is an award winning journalist and author, and a frequent visitor to the Middle East over the past 10+ years. We start with a talk he gave at FNVW about Libya & Syria and the Arab Spring, and continue on to an visit with Reese addressing his goals in seeking out truth, starting from his organizing against Vietnam.