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.

A retrospective of many, but not all, of the Minnesota-based Song of the Soul guests of 2018. There's gospel, folk/Americana, country, blues, rock, and more from: Mother Banjo (Ellen Stanley), Sarah Morris, Charlie Parr, Annie Fitzgerald, Braden Canfield, Joyann Parker, Kristin Lems. Click on the date to listen to the full interview.

George Lakey's new book, How We Win: A Guide to Nonviolent Direct Action Campaigning brings it all together and changes the prospects for a better world. Drawing on some 60 years experience in all kinds of social change movements & having trained activists from dozens of nations, George is a true expert and a great communicator. Among other resources, he led the creation of the Global Nonviolent Action Database and the organization Training For Change.

Past/current religious/spiritual influences:
Evangelical Christian, Quaker

Barb Tilsen became a devotee of folk music in the early '60s, and has spent a life mixing music, activism, and enrichment of children. Her circles of music & work have included the People's Music Network, the Midwest People's Music Network, and the Children's Music Network (CMN) - watch the video of Let The World Be Well - and she was the founder/early curator of the CMN Song Library.

Alaine Duncan of Integrative Healing Works started her education in the area of western science, but after contracting hepatitis C, found much-needed help through acupuncture & Asian medicine. Her new book is The Tao of Trauma: A Practitioner's Guide For Integrating Five Element Theory and Trauma Treatment. In it Alaine & co-author Kathy Kain significantly add resources for a hard-to-treat condition.

Past/current religious/spiritual influences:
Presbyterian, Quaker, Taoist 

Featured Music:
Northwest Passage Revisited - by Evalyn Parry, listen to Song of the Soul interview

Vicky Emerson touches the heart with Americana-rooted music with country tinges telling stories of relationship & connection. A mentor in the Minnesota Music Coalition and a touring partner of Sarah Morris as The Home Fires, Vicky has lived on both coasts and is now happily at home in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Dr. Katharine Hayhoe is a climate scientist, a professor in the Department of Political Science and director of theClimate Science Center at Texas Tech University. She is also a brilliant climate communicator and the host of the Global Weirding web series. She chats with show host, Peterson Toscano, about what has changed since she her famous address at the 2015 Citizens Climate International Conference. There is no more speculation; climate change is here. She talks about the many ways people are adapting, and she provides excellent climate communication tips. Dr. Hayhoe also reveals where she finds hope in these troubling times.