Spirit in Action

Occasionally big issues, like sexual abuse, are tackled through fiction - all the better when enhanced through an alternative detective approach. In St. Mary's Private Dancer, Blair Hull explores the underworld of sex work in a murder mystery, and in Quaker Witness the issues are sexual harassment, rape, & murder, written by E. Kirsten Peters under the pen-name Irene Allen. Kirsten's Ph.D.

When we find that even well-loved and previously-respected icons are dropping left & right, we need to be asking what we can do to encourage healthy, thoughtful, & non-predatory male sexuality. Fortunately, Peter Alsop has been exploring & walking just such a path with his music for decades, taking on all the related, thorny issues with wit, insight, & song. After all, Peter is an educational psychologist, as well as a wonderful musician. Also find him on Facebook.

In Keeping It Halal: The Everyday Lives of Muslim American Teenage Boys, John O'Brien looks at the lives of the Legendz, a small group of members of the Muslim Youth Program of a mosque John worked with. The tensions of be a member of a too-often-feared religion and to be accepted as a teenager in the USA can be a real challenge, and John explores the way it works. John is Assistant Professor of Sociology at NY University - Abu Dhabi.

Peter Leidy does his work of building inclusion predominantly in the area of disabilities, and with considerable creativity, often writing new songs or crafting new lyrics for existing tunes to tell a story or convey a lesson.

Linley Dixon is senior scientist of the staff of The Cornucopia Institute, our leading organic standards watchdog & advocate. With a masters degree in Plant & Soil Science, a Ph.D.

Peterson Toscano of Citizens' Climate Radio hosts today with perspectives from people of color on climate change, from organizations and individuals about environomental & climate justice, speaking with Peggy Sheppard of WE ACT For Environmental Justice and Dr. Beverly G Ward, Field Director for Earthcare for SE Yearly Meeting.

The Road to Zero Wealth: How the Racial Wealth Divide is Hollowing Out America’s Middle Class, a report co-authored by ProsperityNow.org and The Institute for Policy Studies(see also Inequality.org). Dedrick Asante-Muhammad is Senior Fellow, Racial Wealth Divide at ProsperityNow.org, formerly with the NAACP & Al Sharpton's National Acti

Lucy Duncan does work that touches on all of the important issues of the day, like Palestine, Racism, and Immigration, in her role as Friends Relations Director for the AFSC.

Geoffrey Gates, MD, in addition to a life of professional healing work, book-ended his career with some off-the-beaten path world service. Though registered as a CO during the Vietnam War, he served as a member of IVS (International Voluntary Services) in a Vietnam war zone, 1970-71, and after his retirement served with the Peace Corps, Tanzania.

Timmon B. Wallis has spent his life building the tools of peace & getting rid of the weapons of war. In Disarming the Nuclear Argument: The Truth about Nuclear Weapons, Tim dispells the myths, clears the fog, & inspires for a better, safer, world. Tim's Ph.D. is in Peace Studies, and he's worked with Peace Brigades Intl, Peaceworkers UK, Nonviolent Peaceforce, and, most recently, with Peace & Disarmament for Quaker Peace & Social Witness in the UK.