Inspirational stories of participants of the March For Our Lives in Washington DC & St Paul, Minnesota: Myron Buchholz, retired high school history teacher, Donna Wagner Backus, former high school math teacher who attended with her daughter & granddaughter, and Christine Ashley, Quaker Field Secretary for FCNL, who hosted marchers at their DC lobbying center.

Mild-mannered, big-hearted Joel Pace finds expression for his wide-ranging passions and intellect both in the English Dept at UW-EC and in writing and performing as part of Irie Sol, with its authentic Jamaican chat/DJing and soaring, soulful melodies backed by blazing bebop horns, wailing guitar, and tight drum and bass, and with Eggplant Heroes, who blend multi-part harmonies with guitar, trumpet, violin, mandolin, and bass, to present an eclectic mix of originals, literary adaptations, mountain gospel, and folk.

Maria Dunn is a passionate and inspired storyteller and songwriter with a voice to charm us all. Born in Scotland but having lived almost all of her life near Edmonton, Alberta, Maria combines old world music and roots with Canadian life and people to produce beautiful, moving music.

Though every day should be Earth Day, we are generally ignorant of so much of what nature holds for us, near at hand. Erin LaFaive of Full Circle Herbals has produced her Learning Herbalism Wookbook to help people learn their way to health through our plant resources. Samuel Thayer of Forager's Harvest has released his 3rd-in-a-series book, Incredible Wild Edibles: 36 Plants That Can Change Your Life, with ever more penetrating understanding of ways forward to healing the gulf between modern life and a healthy rootedness in the land.

Claire Vaye Watkins, author of the cli-fi novel, Gold Fame Citrus, is Peterson Toscano's special guest. Claire talks about her book and the importance of storytelling in this time of climate change.

Cody Diekhoff is Chicago Farmer, a consummate story-teller combined with heartfelt tunes & evocative voice. Coming of age when punk/grunge rock was the alternative thing, he got hooked on an alternative to the alternative by Hank Williams, leading to a kind of alt-country/folk/Americana style all his own. Cody is from a farming family in small-town Illinois, did good time in Chicago, and has settled in between with his wife, the artist creator of Twice Upon A String who makes Upcycled Instrument String Jewelry.

Gem Andrews is born & raised in Northeast England, around Liverpool, so it was a bit of a surprise to find that the beautiful music she makes owes much to Americana and Alt-country influences. All the more since she's spent the last few years in Berlin, Germany. Honesty, vulnerability, and twang come powerfully through Gem's music.

Our ways of thinking about the Earth, and our place in it, produce radically different outcomes for life on the planet, including a possible ecological crash for humanity and many other species. Changing those ways of thinking will be central to a better future, which led Jeremy Lent, author, integrator, and founder of The Liology Institute, to shine a light on our journey, of thought & action in his profound new book is The Patterning Instinct: A Cultural History of Humanity's Search for Meaning. This is the last in a 3-part series.

Past/current religious/spiritual influences:

Buddhism, Earth-Based Spirituality, Jewish, Taoist 

All Featured Music:
Creation Is Laughing - by Carol Johnson

In searching for the why of what we need to do to have a sustainable world, we need to sort out our connection to the Earth, and Jeremy Lent, author, integrator, and founder of The Liology Institute, does that in his amazing new book is The Patterning Instinct: A Cultural History of Humanity's Search for Meaning. This is part 2 of a 3-part series.

Past/current religious/spiritual influences:

Buddhism, Earth-Based Spirituality, Jewish, Taoist 

All Featured Music:
We Belong to the Earth - by Magpie
Swimming to the Other Side - by Magpie
BONUS: Earth Anthem - by The Turtles

The Minnesota Music Coalition is a statewide network of artists, industry professionals and music supporters who care about creating and sustaining a vibrant popular music community. Ellen Stanley, aka Mother Banjo, is their executive director and shares samples of the wonderful work & music across genres from the coalition.