Tom Neilson is a folk singer's folk singer, using his songs to bring you all the news and issues that are of vital importance to the physical and ethical well-being of Americans but which get short-shrift in mainstream media. It's not a surprise at all that Just Plain Folks International gave Tom awards this year for best Traditional Folk Album & best Social Commentary album. He also does stirring spoken word pieces, some of them shared today.

Religious/Spiritual Influences – Methodist, Quaker

Melanie Joy presents deep thought and a check on our clouded view of reality in the new edition of her book, Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: an Introduction to Carnism, in which she introduces the concept of carnism & explores the psychological mechanisms that buttress the dysfunctional, arbitrary, and unhealthy way that people decide which animals we eat and which we keep as pets. And the questions are foundational to our lives, explored in further detail in her other books, about empathy, connection, violence, nonviolence, and healthy relationships.

We live in a world with stronger and more frequent extreme weather events. As a result, giving and receiving hospitality is becoming the new normal for humans. Citizens’ Climate Radio host Peterson Toscano speaks with public theologian Jayme R. Reaves and public health expert Dr. Natasha DeJarnett. What are the risks leading to more displacement? What are the dilemmas and challenges of housing, feeding, and creating more space for people uprooted from homes during extreme weather?

Heather Pierson fell in love with music & the piano at a tender age, growing into singing in choirs & playing the guitar along the way. Music of all sorts of genres are her spirit & lifeblood. She was a part of Garajh Mahal, doing progressive rock, then with the country-leaning North Atlantic Band. Heather was one-third of an A Cappella trio, Lightsisters, and does moving work with Bernice Martin. She performs Americana, blues, New Orleans jazz, vocal chants, instrumental piano, & folk, and she does them solo, in duos/trios/quartets, including the Heather Pierson Acoustic Trio (with Shawn Nadeau, Davy Sturtevant).

Most of the talking points about the current worker shortage play to conservative messaging about lazy folks living off the government teat, but Eau Claire's own Zoe Roberts, county board representative for District 27, has written a powerful column in the Eau Claire Leader Telegram about the causes of the worker shortages which counters the conservative doctrines.

Peterson Toscano of Citizen's Climate Radio guest-hosts today, and he shares visits with Chantal Bilodeau of Climate Change Theatre Action, Kathy Baughman McLead of the Atlantic Council and of the 

n this Bible Bash episode, Don invites us into a closer look at what is going on with Judas when he rails at Mary for wasting expensive perfume on washing Jesus’ feet. In other gospel versions of the story, the woman who washes Jesus’ feet is unknown to us, but in John’s version of events, it is Mary, sister to Lazarus, who performs the intimate act of foot washing. And it is Judas, Jesus’ eventual betrayer, who complains. 

Listen as Don has some things to say about Judas, stealer of the community purse, his self-serving agenda, and Liam offers some thoughts about his own research into this well-known, often superficially read Bible story. In closing, Liam shares some lines from a poem he is working on, “What Place Might Hold Us?,” in which he imagines speaking to his ancestors. 

(Poem text if you need it/want it)

What Place Might Hold Us

If we could gather ourselves

together somewhere 

between 

18 months ago we had the privilege of interviewing Chief Richard Quiet Thunder Gilbert, a deep visit about his place in creation, and that of his tribe, the Lenni Lenape people, and about their lessons of right relationship with the Earth. Listen to that interview here.

Joy Zimmerman combines consummate instrumental skill, with moving lyrics, and with abundant Light & Love. Immersed in classical music & violin throughout her youth, it was later in life that she picked up a guitar and discovered her gift for songwriting. Joy shares deeply from her rich life and her passion for making a better world, and she does it with wonderful creativity, beauty, and her clear, ringing, passionate voice. Find her in Kansas City and on Facebook.

Past/current religious/spiritual influences: Lutheran, Progressive Christianity, Disciples of Christ, Earth-Based Spirituality

Kori Riesenweber sings sweetly, delightfully, and movingly. She used to perform with Beacon James, but currently performs most with Girl Band, but also solo, with Caleb Horne, as Thistledown, and in other configurations. Just past the birth of her second child, she finally released her first solo recording, a 5-song EP. Visit her on Facebook or via Kori's YouTube channel 

Past/current religious/spiritual influences:  Agnostic, Earth-Based Spirituality, Non-affiliated