Spirit in Action

The Raging Grannies of Madison, Wisconsin are part of a nationwide & international movement of women singing and standing for peace, justice, and creation. Three of the Madison group - Bonnie Block, Rebecca Alwin, & Barbara Park, speak of the motives, methods, & movement of older women and the songs they sing to change our world.

Tyler Norman and The Beehive Collective are tackling the big issues, like globalization, climate change, and the danger of extinction in creative and decentralized ways. Grown out of the anti-WTO movements and with an eye to encouraging, energizing methods of spurring change, an important approach to spreading the word has been super-sized graphic creations which empower alternative story-telling. Their largest project to-date has been Mesoamerica Resiste.

Part 2 of interviews about treatment courts which achieve impressive results and save lots of money. Today we visit with participants of the local Drug & Mental Health Courts - Mike Gumulauskas & Rob Bergeron.

Reformatories seldom reform, and penitentiary seldom produce penitence, but groom criminals to re-offend. For certain offenders, treatment courts achieve impressive results and save lots of money, bringing bi-partisan support.

There are struggles continuing within our country on so many fronts, often invisible to those in power or even in comfortable conditions, but badly in need of a cadre of those to faithfully walk with the beleaguered and afflicted. Then there's this book...

Greg & Terry of Magpie create beautiful, conscious music with a message, often around environmental subjects. Today they address, in word and music, issues surrounding climate change, mining, mountain-top removal, and preserving life on this planet.

Investigative reporter Greg O'Brien shares the inside story of coping with Alzheimer's Disease, an experience that mixes faith and fury.

Dawn Ravella does amazing and varied work for the healing of the world - restorative justice and prison ministries, food pantries and homeless shelters, education on social justice issues, and on and on. She is currently Director of Mission and Outreach at The Reformed Church of Bronxville, and has served Presbyterian and Catholic churches in similar roles, in addition to her work as a holistic therapist.

In writing this book, Chris Tomlinson asks himself the question, "What crimes had my ancestors committed to maintain their power and privilege? Did they know what they did was wrong? As an American and Texan, I wanted to understand the sins of our fathers."

Penny Rosenwasser is author of several books, including her latest, Hope Into Practice: Jewish Women Choosing Justice Despite Our Fears, an activist's call to repair the world. Penny is a "life-long heartfelt, rabble-rouser for social Justice" with a Ph.D. in Transformative Learning & Change.