Australia

David Chandler, an Australian, joins Liam Hooper and Peterson Toscano to talk about the first chapter of the Book of Ruth

Mandy Breeze and Doug Kelly take traditional folk tunes, mostly, and transform them into vibrant, living stories and culture. With rich, beautiful vocals and creative, engaging instrumentals, you'll discover a love for traditional songs with modern impact.

Consider the names of Doug Kelly's bands over the past 35 years: Tansey's Fancy, Churinga, Sirocco, and Simple Folk, and you've got to suspect that there's something different going on here. Australian-based, Doug plays passionately and provocatively on a wide array of instruments from around the world, wedding traditional forms and tunes to evolving creativity.

Jo Vallentine was the first Australian Green Party Senator. She brought principled action to Australia's federal Senate, earning her the scorn of many "business as usual" politicians, as she served as advocate and voice in Australia's Parliament for a number of progressive issues for 8 years

Michael Neely lives in Canberra, the federal capital city of Australia. His family hosted me as I traveled with a Quaker group called the Friendly FolkDancers and Michael agreed, on the spur of the moment to share the music that speaks of his soul and talk about his life as an Australian, Catholic-raised, now attending Quaker meeting.