Selika Ducksworth-Lawton is Professor of History at UW-Eau Claire and an educator & activist, raising awareness and working for our civil rights. From a rural black Louisianan upbringing, Selika has an incisive perspective on race & cultural dynamics in the USA. She serves on the executive board of Wisconsin's ACLU, is co-author of The Pipeline, and wrote a chapter, Have Gun Will Travel, in the newly released book, Black Veterans, Politics, and Civil Right in 20th Century America.
Lena Elizabeth writes and sings music straight from the heart, using her songs to transform experiences like depression, crippling anxiety, & an eating disorder into health and wholeness. While clearly growing from folk-music infused ground, she has a blues-rooted voice, and the combination of these & other influences is magical. Check out her transformation of the Everly Brothers' song, Bye, Bye, Love, so that it sounds like the lyrics, with Sarah Morris and her Toilet Tunes.
Lou & Peter Berryman are known for their unstoppable humor & wordplay, and for their distinctive guitar & accordion instrumentation. Based in Madison, WI, they've churned out many hundreds of songs on topics large & small, staving off the weight of the world with terminal laughter syndrome. There's no one like them as you will know by browsing their Lou & Peter's Big Songbook.
Robert Friedman, founder of Prosperity Now, & author of A Few Thousand Dollars: Sparking Prosperity for Everyone, says, "Given a chance, low-income people do amazing things and can be, not just beneficiaries, trainees, employees, but entrepreneurs, home-owners, college material, skilled workers, creators of wealth". He shares the proof and the means to reversing income inequality and increasing prosperity for our nation.
Wendy Martin is part country, folk, Americana, and rock, but she is completely a golden throat and a golden heart. She wrote her first song, a really viable song complete with harmonies & instrumentation, at age 5, so it's a great pity that shyness and care for her children and family delayed the release of her musical gifts to the world by decades. She's here now, a great reason to be thankful for her voice, lyrics, & stories.
Stuart Stotts is a powerful singer/songwriter, storyteller, & writer. Although he's made a living for around 30 years focusing mostly on youth & schools, many of his most popular and requested songs are targeted at grown-up audiences. Present for the founding of the Children's Music Network, Stuart also played for a stretch as part of the social change rock group, Tongue N Groove.
Two coal miners from Appalachia open up about the risks and challenges of mining. Michael Ray Whitten from West Virginia and Nick Mullins from Kentucky come from families that have been mining for generations. They talk to show host, Peterson Toscano, about the physical toll mining had on their fathers. After seeing the damage to miners and to the land, they are now speaking out about the need to transition away from coal mining jobs. Dr. Nathasha DeJarnett from the National Environmental Health Organizationjoins the conversation to talk about Black Lung Disease and the health risks miners in rural communities face. Listen in to this informative and moving discussion.
Henna Hundal of Harvard Radio hosts Spirit In Action this week. Her first guest is Paul Hoffman, an American coxswain who competed in the 1968 & 1972 Summer Olympics, and a supporter of the Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR). Her second guest is Dr. Howard Bauchner, editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), concerning initiatives to expand the digital reach of JAMA and the publishing in JAMA of President Obama's piece on US Health Care Reform.
Jerry Edwards acts as an educational conduit between the medical system and Plain Communities (Amish, Mennonnite & other people who cautiously engage with mainstream technology & practices). In particular, he has been sharing in medical circles an inexpensive & effective technique for burn & wound treatment, innovated among the Amish about 30 years ago. A significant issue is trust & mutual respect for the different priorities & decisions of Plain folks accessing medical services.
Jerry has helped organize a February 12, 2019, Plain Medical/Burn & Wounds Conference at the La Crosse, WI, Gunderson Campus, in the ICE House (Integrated Center for Education - 1827 Sims Place), 8:30 am - 5 pm.
David Van Dyke is deeply passionate about the music he writes & plays, even more so than the science he teaches to middle school students. Obsessive about chord progressions, authors, and Evel Knievel, his songs reverberate with the rich & varied inputs of his passions. David sometimes performs solo, sometimes with his father as The Backsliders, and sometimes with the full band, The Van Dyke Revue.