I ran into Pete Bastounes at a campground in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and learned about his transition from a political conservative and a Rush Limbaugh enthusiast to a Thom Hartmann and Bernie Sanders liberal, a change that could be promising for those who wish to speak across the political & cultural spectrum. Pete Bastounes is union steward for local 150 operating engineers in Illinois, a compelling speaker, and a great hope for our future.

Past/current religious/spiritual influences:
Greek Orthodox, Evangelical Christian, Charismatic Christian, Non-affiliated

Anita Aysola was a top finalist in the 2020 Songs for Social Change contest sponsored by Renaissance Artists and Writers Association (RAWA) with her beautiful & poignant song, Heartbeat. Anita's voice is sweet & sultry, and her lyrics are evocative & moving. Mixing jazz, blues, & rock with the music from her origins in India, Anita creates new currents of music and meaning. Anita is based near Atlanta and her latest album is Beyond Our Dreams.

Past/current religious/spiritual influences:
Hindu, Eastern, Yoga, Meditation, Mindfulness

Citizens’ Climate Radio is a monthly podcast hosted by CCLer Peterson Toscano. Browse all our past episode recaps here, or listen to past episodes here, and check out the latest episode in the post below. 

In our latest podcast episode, Chantal Bilodeau tells us about Climate Change Theatre Action (CCTA) 2021. Founded in 2015, CCTA is a worldwide series of readings and performances of short climate change plays presented biennially to coincide with the United Nations COP meetings. 

The music of Niyonu Spann has depth of meaning thoroughly entwined with fine melodies and harmonies and musical acumen. We've seen her on Northern Spirit Radio once previously for Song of the Soul, and also once for Spirit In Action, focused on her work with Beyond Diversity 101. Niyonu is a change-maker and a heart-opener, not by lecturing, but by traveling side-by-side with and modeling that change that so many of us want to see in the world. She was the motivational center of the musical group called Tribe1, and currently she is the guiding alchemist and anchoring artist of the Nuyoni Singers.

Mike Ball of Dr. Mike & the Sea Monkeys and Founder/Executive Director of Lost Voices has an endless streak of creativity, and a passion for creating music that both amuses and changes people. Mike started out in the 1960's rocking it with an electric guitar, in spite of his hidden folk music passion, spent a lot of years doing all kinds of non-music work, but eventually an invite into a detention facility for young folks got Mike to reconnect with his music beginnings, and kicked off his commitment to foster the spirit of these young people through music. With a wry gift for words akin to that of John Prine, he delights, amuses, and inspires through his music.

Jeremy Lent explores the way forward for humanity & all life on Earth by a deep dive into knowledge, connection, insight, and wisdom in his latest book, The Web of Meaning: Integrating Science & Traditional Wisdom to Find Our Place in the Universe. With a careful eye to the big picture, Jeremy scrutinizes the history, components, & insights, bringing them together to empower growth in life-affirming directions. Jeremy is a vastly widely-read, widely-questing powerhouse of discernment & clarity, finding the unity in perceived individual threads, in a discipline called Liology.

Patricia Stansbury returns to guest-host Spirit in Action for the third time, with this episode adapted from her program, Groundswell, originally recorded for WRIR, Richmond Independent Radio. In late June, Patricia visited John Boyd and Kara Brewer Boyd on their farm, Let's Get Growing, in Boydton, Virginia. In this episode, she talks with Kara about the discrimination faced by Black farmers and other farmers of color. Kara explains the disparities in treatment by banks and federal agencies clearly and factually, and states it without rancor. This episode was recorded in a pole shed with a tin roof and a red pickup truck on Let's Get Growing Farm in Boydton Virginia, and produced at Epic Gardens in Bon Air, Virginia. It has been edited for time.

Geraldo Cadava is the author of The Hispanic Republican: The Shaping of An American Political Identity, from Nixon to Trump published by Ecco. He chatted with Citizens Climate Radio about the long history of Hispanics and the Republican party. He reveals what is often misunderstood about the political diversity of Latinos in America. The most asked question he gets is why any Latino voted for Donald Trump. He talks about this and a lot more. He also considers the question about Hispanic Republicans and climate change.

Geraldo Cadava is a professor of History and Latina and Latino Studies at Northwestern University. He received a Ph.D. in History from Yale University in 2008, and he received a B.A., also in History, from Dartmouth College in 2000. His areas of expertise are Latino History, the United States-Mexico Borderlands, Latin American immigration to the United States, and American politics.

In this month’s episode of the Bible Bash podcast, new co-host Don Durham leads us through a deep dive into the layered messages gleaned from Isaiah 56 - the classic text where the prophet proclaims God’s favor for foreigners and eunuchs. 

In his studious way, Don takes us through a short framing history of the distinct periods in the collection of prophetic episodes attributed to the prophet, Isaiah. Don asserts that, not only does this chapter affirm immigrants, strangers, and differently-bodied, gender-transcendent persons, the whole of Isaiah repeatedly proclaims a single unifying message: 

“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” Isaiah 1:17.”