Joel Westheimer asks the deep questions and provides the important facts in What Kind of Citizen?: Educating Our Children for the Common Good. How should education in a democracy differ from that in other systems? What are the wider effects of standardized education? What kind of citizen do we want our schools to promote?

Each week, Spirit In Action brings you stories of people living lives of fruitful service, of peace, community, compassion, creative action and progressive efforts. We will trace the spiritual roots that support and nourish them in their service. Above all, we will seek out Light, Love and Helping Hands, being shared between our many neighbors on this planet, hoping to inspire and encourage you to sink deep roots and produce sacred fruit in your own life.
Spirit In Action is an hour of interviews with those providing leadership in peace, justice and "good works", interspersed with relevant music. The theme music is "The Turning of the World" performed by Sara Thomsen (written by Ruth Pellham).
Radio-Length Episodes ![]() |
Full-Length Episodes ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Podurama | Pandora | PodcastAddict | Spotify |
Workers vs Owners: Shafted
First Air Date
In Incident at the Bruce Mine Shaft, Stephen Ivancic uses historical fiction to highlight the real life issues around workers, unions, and opportunistic capitalists. Set in the iron mines of Northern Minnesota in the 1920s and focusing on the Finnish workers, some communist, some not, Stephen helps us to understand the dynamics of individualism, community, and power.
A Sustainable Life
First Air Date
While there are many sources of info on urgent environmental threats and of technological methods of dealing with those threats, few books tackle the major underlying question of how can we make a sustainable life actually be sustainable for the individual. In A Sustainable Life, Douglas Gwyn examines the essential inner work and the myriad complexities of initiating and supporting the choices of living sustainably, mostly using Quaker experience & insights as guideposts to the process.
Resister - Doing Time for Doing Good
First Air Date
Bruce Dancis is author of Resister: A Story of Protest and Prison during the Vietnam War, was raised by secular Jewish parents, nurtured at the NY Society for Ethical Culture, and became a passionate advocate for social justice and student leader as a student at Cornell U.
Supporting War Tax Resisters: Sharing the Brunt
First Air Date
The War Tax Resistance Penalty Fund (WTRPF.org) is a way to help manage the risks of conscientious objectors to paying for war, something to think seriously about as April 15th approaches.
Uncovering Black Independence History (& More)
First Air Date
In Mumbet's Declaration of Independence, Gretchen Woelfle, brings to life the true story of Elizabeth Freeman (Mumbet), whose efforts & determination led slavery to be declared unconstitutional in Massachusetts in 1783. Gretchen writes books for youth on a variety of social justice & environmental topics.
Orphanages Without Walls - in Haiti
First Air Date
Jean Alix Lusma grew up in a village near Les Cayes, Haiti. Pioneering the practice of keeping orphans in the community, instead of in an institution, Jean is working to heal people and uplift communities in Haiti through an organization, L.O.G.I.C (Let Orphans Grow In their Communities) of Christian Mission South Haiti. Jean studied at the College of the Scriptures in Louisville, Kentucky.
Time Heals All - Timebanks & Composting
First Air Date
Jamie & Zacharious Pappas dabble in magic - the magical transformations that are possible through creative processes that make bounty & beauty out of our detritus and down-time. First they founded the Chippewa Valley Timebank, knitting community out of spare talents, and now they are launching Earthbound Environmental Solutions to make rich soil out of organic waste typically buried in landfills.
A Place to Lay Your Head: Affordable Housing
First Air Date
In Making Housing Happen: Faith-based Affordable Housing Models, Jill Suzanne Shook brings together numerous models for making housing accessible to those in need. From the sweat equity ingredients of organizations like Habitat for Humanity, to adaptive reuse, to tenants taking ownership, community land trusts, and many more approaches, Jill highlights the possibilities and results of creative thoughts and dedicated spirits.
Letting My Peaches Go - Liberating Black Thought
First Air Date
Not All Poor People Are Black (and other things we need to think more about) is a collection of essays by Janet Cheatham Bell, treating the reader to the insights and experiences of a strong African American woman from Indiana. Janet speaks movingly, honestly, and inspirationally of racism, spirituality, politics, and much more. With astonishing candor and humble brilliance, Janet opens eyes and minds.