Humor

Lou & Peter Berryman are known for their unstoppable humor & wordplay, and for their distinctive guitar & accordion instrumentation. Based in Madison, WI, they've churned out many hundreds of songs on topics large & small, staving off the weight of the world with terminal laughter syndrome. There's no one like them as you will know by browsing their Lou & Peter's Big Songbook.

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.

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

Most activists recognize the strength to social action groups of drawing power from across the racial and sex/gender landscape, but too few recognize the key effects of class. In Missing Class: Strengthening Social Movement Groups by Seeing Class Cultures, Betsy Leondar-Wright shines a focused light on the opportunities for pulling together as never before, by seeing the many ways in which social class impacts our thoughts, actions, and organizing.

Improvisational humor is an awesome tool used by The Theater of Public Policy (t2p2.net) to find new ways forward in public discourse. Co-founded by Tane Danger & Brandon Boat in 2011, they've tackled a surprisingly wide variety of issues with their creative and disarming approach, including farm policy, robotics, clean water, and religion. Back on Feb 15th they performed for the Love Your Planet Comedy Night sponsored by Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light.

Stephen Lee Rich is a musician with a joke (or a comedian with a song), a yodeler, and a leading figure in the work of Musicians United to Protect Bristol Bay. Based in Madison, WI, and performing & recording frequently with Sandy Andina, Stephen is both serious and humorous and caffeine-fueled.

Joe Wenke has just released You Got To Be Kidding: A Cultural Arsonist’s Literal Reading of the Bible, and with humor and sometimes sarcasm, he brings new, unjaded eyes to the writings of the Bible. He aims to disarm those who would use the Bible for oppression and domination and is seriously focused on making you laugh on the way to the unshackling. Joe has been a corporate speech writer, a stand-up comedian, and has trademarked the Cultural Arsonist moniker.

Peter Alsop is a singer/songwriter/worldchanger whose songs can be deep and moving, but frequently use humor to invite us to look at something new and life-altering. Violence, Food, Risk-taking, Societal Privilege and many more issues are in his non-violent sights!