Stressful, challenging, daunting times call for special medicine. Al Gini, author of The Importance of Being Funny: Why We Need More Jokes in Our Lives, believes that humor is a vital ingredient in good emotional/mental health. Al is Professor of Business Ethics at the Quinlan School of Business at Loyola University, and for decades was the "resident philosopher" on NPR's affiliate WBEZ in Chicago.

Malinda Maynor Lowery's new book is The Lumbee Indians: An American Struggle. Malinda is Associate Professor of History at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and is also a member of the Lumbee Tribe, the largest Native American tribe east of the Mississippi River.

John Peck is Executive Director of Family Farm Defenders, which supports sustainable agriculture, farm worker rights, animal welfare, consumer safety, fair trade, & food sovereignty. In addition, John teaches Economics "against the text" and also Environmental Studies at Madison College, runs a farm, does poetry, and thinks deeply.

Past/current religious/spiritual influences:
Catholic Worker, Pagan, Unitarian Universalist

Brad Laird is a Wobbly Quaker, official member of the Michiana IWW and a Quaker in good standing. That’s not all he is, by any means - he’s a Girl Scout Troop Leader, passionate husband, father, and grandfather, Chair of the board of directors of South Bend, Indiana’s Community for Peace & Nonviolence.

Government of, by, & for the People is built by the kind of Spirit that Christine Ashley & Katie Breslin draw on to make flourish the work of FCNL, as Quaker Field Secretary & Young Adult Program Manager, respectively. They make advocacy rewarding & lively from their offices facing the Hart Senate Office Building in D.C.

Hayley Hathaway is passionate about the relationships between ecology, economy, and faith. She is publications director for Quaker Earthcare Witness and lives as part of the South of Monadnock Community, after having spent 6 years with Casa de los Amigos in Mexico City.

Peterson Toscano of Citizen's Climate Radio visits with 5 guests, on topics including climate comedy with Brian Ettling, climate-coping lessons from the Netherlands with Edgar Westerhof of Arcadis North America, environmental racism with Brentin Mock, and poetry from

Robert B. Jones, Sr works joyfully to build bridges of understanding through music in an organization & project called Common Chords. Using tools of music, story-telling, history, & inspiration, Robert brings pleasure and insight to diverse audiences. Part of his richness is that he is also pastor of Sweet Kingdom Missionary Baptist Church of inner-city Detroit, where he seeks to inspire & heal the world in other ways.

Iris Graville is an author, book artist, and a former nurse. Her memoir, Hiking Naked: A Quaker Woman's Search for Balance shares her quest for meaningful & life-balancing work. The journey took Iris & her family far off the grid, radically exploring simplified living, freeing her to find her own answers to the big questions, less controlled by society's prompting.

Pam Taylor's work with Environmentally Concerned Citizens of South Central Michigan is an inspiring example of citizen-driven environmentalism which informs & guides govt with feet firmly rooted in both agrarian living & scientific scrutiny. NoCAFOs is her goal, sustainable agriculture is her means, and good neighbor living her ethic.