Volunteers in Macon, GA put up 5 miles of protected bike lanes on city streets that gave residents a new vision of what streets could be and convinced a naysaying county engineer. The Result? Permanent bike lanes. Hear from how they did it from Josh Rogers of New Town Macon and Rachel Hollar of Bike Walk Macon. Mike Lydon explains tactical urbanism and Neil Maizlish shares the amazing health benefits of cycling short distances. Co hosts Wendy Ring and Brian Curtis keep the whole circus pedaling in the same direction with another great story about climate action from the bottom up.
Launa Schweizer is lead voice & writer for New Yeller, based in Gowanus, Brooklyn, NY, dazzling musically through indie pop, prog rock, folk-rock, bluesy and jamband sounds. Previously with Bliss Point, Launa's gift with words & people is exercised in her day-job teaching English/humanities to middle schoolers at Brooklyn Heights Montessori School. Find New Yeller on Bandcamp, Reverbnation, Facebook, CDBaby, and more. Contact Bill Lienhard.
Unfortunately, Tracy Newman has far less renown for her music than her other work, but that's not so surprising given her amazing success as a writer for TV shows like Cheers and Ellen, for which she received an Emmy. Tracy was also a founder of The Groundlings, effectively the farm team for SNL. Her music can be funny and moving, whether for adults (TracyNewman.com) or for kids (RunAlongHome.com).
Scott Wittkopf helps organizations & people learn to do effective progressive messaging through his firm, Frame for the Future. It's a bit ironic that the scientific research proves that people do not make their decisions based on scientific research, but on frames, and progressives have been doing an inferior job of harnessing this knowledge to support their goals. Based on the work of George Lakoff and others, there is great untapped potential for progressive causes. Scott presented on the topic at the Eau Claire Grassroots Festival, sponsored by Wisconsin Grassroots Network.
Past/current religious/spiritual influences:
Non-affiliated, UCC - United Church of Christ
Mary Bue’s music has reverberations of all the rich and wonderful things she’s done and places she’s lived. Sure, she’s an Indie musician and yoga studio owner, but she also was a psychology major, a grunge rock devotee, and she’s a sumptuous pianist, plays hot licks on her electric guitar, is a vegan nature-lover, and is a rolling stone gathering little moss. Find her virtually on Facebook as MaryBueMusic and physically (currently) in the Twin Cities of Minnesota.
Joyann Parker was raised singing in church, became a rocker along the way, has done her share of country music, but came home to her consuming passion for the blues only 4 or 5 years ago, and the world is so much richer for it. She represented Minnesota at the 2015 International Blues Competition in Memphis and was nominated in the Costello Rising Star category of the 2018 Blues Blast Magazine awards. Also follow her on Facebook.
A local energy agency in California helps wildfire victims rebuild solar all electric homes. We hear one family's story and learn why zero carbon saves more than it costs. Along the way we meet energy efficient appliances, talk with a researchers about indoor air pollution from gas stoves, and encounter the ghost of Ronald Reagan.
In the course of working for charitable foundations and passing on 100's of millions of dollars, Edgar Villanueva came to some realizations about how the charity system works, and how it needs to change to really do good for the world. In Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance, Edgar combines analysis, story-telling, & personal vulnerability to enlighten the way forward. Edgar has served with several foundations, is a nationally-recognized expert on social justice philanthropy, and serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of Native Americans in Philanthropy. He is a member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.
Past/current religious/spiritual influences:
Christian , Pentecostal
Three American Evangelicals consider faith, theology, and global warming. Kyle Meyaard Schaap, National Organizer and spokesperson for Young Evangelicals for Climate Action (YECA) and Corina Newsome, YECA steering committee member on the diversity and civic engagement subcommittees, along with Rev.
Kristin Lems is insightful, determined, compassionate, and talented, and sees our world with eyes honed by the experience of living in Iran, Algeria, & Mongolia, the last 2 as a Fulbright scholar. She's founder of the National Women’s Music Festival in Champaign-Urbana (this year in Middleton, WI), and got Dr Demento's attention with her music, including the very clever Mammary Glands. Kristin is a professor of ESL/Bilingual Education at National Louis University with their flagship campus in Chicago.