Brenda Asterino guest-hosts Spirit In Action today, sharing a 2014 speech in Seattle, WA, by John Dear, former Jesuit priest, nonviolence activist & teacher, and author of 35-plus books. John Dear's life and choices brought him to leave his Jesuit life as he practices a path that follows his religious belief and his love for humanity. Hear of his experiences with many spiritual souls including the Dalai Lama, MLK Jr, Nelson Mandela, and many others. John Dear’s words are inspiring and he defines nonviolence in a way that speaks to our hearts and our heads. With humor and his experiences in our country and around the world, he teaches us and enthralls us with a larger scope and broader context for living.
Tom Smith, known as the World's Fastest Filker, has been making and sharing music at science fiction and fantasy conventions since 1985. He's written in many musical genres, including folk, rock, jazz, gospel, and showtunes; and can write incredibly funny political commentary just as easily as heart-felt eulogy. Today Tom shares with us a few of the songs that mean the most to him. You can find and purchase Tom's music on his Bandcamp page and support him through his Patreon page.
Past/present religious/spiritual influences: Lutheran, Methodist, Atheist
All songs in this program are written & performed by Tom Smith:
Today guest-host Peterson Toscano brings a potpourri of audio from his occasional podcast called Bubble and Squeak. He takes conversations, personal stories, radio comedies, and recordings of random sounds, then mashes them altogether. Our show today comes in six parts. #1: Writer Wendy Sandford talks about being part of the creation of the groundbreaking women’s health book, Our Bodies Ourselves.
Chuck Collins, longtime activist with inequality.org, is a devoted worker for the good, and with his latest book, Altar to an Erupting Sun, he has become an amazing novelist.
Guest-host Peterson Toscano shares moving, insightful, and transformational portions of his Quakers Today podcast, dealing with all kinds of issues of interest to all listeners, things like spirituality, inclusion/separation, transgender understandings, manumission & reparations from slavery, abusive religion, and deep, personal, transformation. Below is some of the detail & lots of links.
A visit with Helen Jaccard, VFP Golden Rule Project Manager, about the work, history, purpose, & travels of the sailboat The Golden Rule, from its origins protesting nuclear testing in the Marshall Island back in 1958, and onward to its resurrection in the early 2010's, to continue education and organizing against nuclear dangers. The boat & tour are are project of Veterans for Peace, exposing the true costs of war & militarism since 1985.
Featured Music/Clips:
Making Waves: The Rebirth of the Golden Rule - Intro clip to the documentary
Tim Grimm delivers moving music grown out of the soil of the Midwest, music that's flavored folk, country, and Americana, and by the end of this program you'll have songs lodged in your heart that you'll carry with you for the rest of your life. For the first years of his professional life, Tim was in theater and movies, and you likely met him in that guise before he moved, 25 years ago, to where making music has been his livelihood and passion, including the tours he leads yearly to places like Scotland, and he also helps organize & host the Red Dirt Folk Salon.
Parfaite Ntahuba led a concerted effort in Burundi so that the 2020 national elections might have a much better outcome than the bloody results of the 2015 elections.