Membership in the Middle Class has plummeted over the past 40 years, making the American Dream out-of-reach for a great many Americans. Thom Hartmann addresses the history, present, & possible future of this saga in his book, The Hidden History of The American Dream: The Demise of the Middle Class – And How to Rescue Our Future. In addition to our visit with Thom Hartmann, we speak to former History & World Studies teacher, Myron Buchholz, discussing the nuts & bolts of how we got here and how we can get back to a healthy & thriving American experience.

Will Fudeman (also on Bandcamp) joins us to share his second Song of the Soul, most of it based on music from his newly released album, What It Takes. Will's work & avocation life have included social work, therapy, acupuncture, Qi Gong, & all kinds of world-healing activism & music from his home in Ithaca, New York. He was first our guest back in 2019.

Part 3 of our tribute to Tom Prasada-Rao, this time through the stories and songs selected by 3 of the women in Tom's life: his sister, Patty Prasada-Rao, his ex-wife and musical partner in the Dreamsicles, Cary Cooper, and his friend, mentee, and co-performer, Annette Wasilik.

As we travel over 3 continents in search of international understanding, connection, and peace, our guest is Daniel Mamah, and he is the author of As The Rivers Merge: A Story of Love, War, and Perseverance Across Continents. Daniel & his siblings were raised between their mother's Hungary, their father's Nigeria, and in a couple other countries, with all the intricacies of attitudes, culture, and history that result in the face of major differences of perspective. Daniel's ability to see and share nuances and complexities draws on his lived experience and is enhanced by his experience as a professor of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine.

Past/present religious/spiritual influences: Anglican, Episcopal, Catholic

Part 2 of a tribute to Tom Prasada-Rao, who passed on 6/19/24. Today's stories & music are shared by the other members of The Sherpas, Michael Lille & Tom Kimmel. The trio was formed in the aftermath of the Kerrville Folk Festival in 1993, when all 3 were individual winners in the New Folk competition, and their musical collaboration continued through Tom's passing.

Emma Condori Mamani does the work of connection and compassion from her home base in La Paz, Bolivia. Emma has witnessed dramatic changes to the roles of indigenous Bolivians in that society, changes that have led her to higher education and work with the Friends International Bilingual Center. Climate Change has produced dramatic and life-threatening effect in the high ranges of Bolivia, and Emma is working hard to mitigate the dangerous consequences on her community through the Food Security Project, and potatoes.

Part 1 of a tribute to Tom Prasada-Rao, who passed on 6/19/24. Today's stories & music are shared by the other members of the Fox Run Five: Neale Eckstein, Matt Nakoa, Eric Schwartz, & Jagoda. For close to a decade these 5 musicians gathered annually for a week-long session of songwriting in community, with Tom as a special magical center to their work & love. Watch videos of many of their songs on the FoxRunStudio channel on YouTube.

In this eye-opening episode, guest-hosted by Keisha McKenzie, Nicole Diroff, Allen Ewing-Merrill, and Ben Yosua Davis of the BTS Center and their Climate Changed Podcast, they bring you an enlightening conversation with Eileen Flanagan, a Quaker author, activist, and organizer who strives to make activism more effective, with a deep-dive by Keisha and Nicole into topics that challenge how we approach climate change, social justice, and activism.

George Lakey is many things to many people, including activist, organizer, author, professor, father, and friend. And now he's a movie star, of sorts, due to a feature-length documentary film, called Citizen George, directed by Glenn Holsten. Archival footage, interviews, and animation tell the stories of George’s decades of activism and participation in movements for justice throughout his life. The film shows George’s evolution over time highlighting spiritual inspiration, and the dynamic role of community in enabling activists to face danger and violence, aiding audiences who are highly anxious about today’s crises.

Jan Spencer is back today to guest-host today Spirit In Action with the 3rd installment of his series Primer for Paradigm Shift – the needed ways of seeing and thinking about the world in order to become sustainable and to leave our world-wrecking ways behind us. We're working with Jan on Creating A Preferred Future and today he'll be combining the philosophy and ideas behind this work with real-life stories and examples of putting it into practice, like the work of Local 2020.