Ruah Swennerfelt has lots of experience in the Transition Town movement, locally, regionally, religiously, nationally, and internationally, and has now written of much of it in Rising to the Challenge: The Transition Movement & People of Faith. Ruah helps us map the way forward to resilience of environment, energy, & lifestyle.>

Change is not a top-down phenomenon, but a bottom-up reality. Populism is the American Way.

We take portions of our Social Safety Net for granted, but not so long ago the proposals for Social Security & the like brought charges of communism!

Freebo has an impressive musical pedigree, having recorded, performed & toured with oodles of luminaries, including Ringo Starr, John Mayall, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Maria Muldaur, and including 10 years playing bass with Bonnie Raitt. After decades doing other people's music, he found his calling to write his own songs, and it has fueled a rich collection of musical styles united by a strong spiritual undercurrent and, sometimes, overcurrent.

We had a house party, sponsored by MoveOn.org to watch Michael Moore's lastest documentary, Where to Invade Next. About 20 people came together to be inspired by other countries that have found ways to make a better world, and we hear the reactions of Myron Buchholz, Patty Scott, Donna Berry, & Bill Jaskowiak. SEE BONUS EXCERPTS

Myron has observed the historic results of raising & lowering trade barriers. There are reasonable (and low) barriers, but what the TPP, NAFTA and other such agreements bring/have brought us is "free" trade, but not FAIR trade, and that makes all the difference.

How did public schools start in the USA, and are they really for everyone? Myron knows!

Black Girls have double challenges in successfully navigating school, dealing with both racism & sexism. Monique W. Morris, author of Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools explores both the problems and the solutions. She is co-founder of the National Black Women's Justice Institute and author of 3 other books, including Too Beautiful for Words: A Novel.

Max Garland is a professional backslider, was Wisconsin's Poet Laureate 2013-2015, and makes music as part of Eggplant Heroes. With deep roots in Western Kentucky and a 'lover's quarrel' with the religion of his childhood, Max retired recently from teaching in the UW-EC English Dept.. Look for the bonus song & excerpts!

Keefe Keeley, Executive Director of the Savanna Institute, explains their goal of exploring the potential of savanna-based systems to become ecologically sound, agriculturally productive, and economically viable alternatives to the corn-soybean rotation which currently dominates. Keefe has a masters in Agroforestry.