Usually we have songwriters sharing their own songs, but today we have Chris David Westover-Muñoz, (and on Facebook) associate professor and director of bands at Denison University near Columbus, Ohio. He grew a passion for the music of the early 1900s used by the Wobblies (IWW - International Workers of the World) as they struggled for a profound change for working folks around the world.
Jan Spencer is guest-host today, his fourth time on Spirit in Action. talking about what he calls his Primer for Paradigm Shift – the needed way of seeing and thinking about the world in order to become sustainable and to leave our world-wrecking ways behind us. Jan is helping us work on Creating A Preferred Future.
Bill Isles was into all kinds of music and several instruments back in his youth, but then there was a hiatus of around 25 years where he was focused elsewhere. It took a near-death experience, where he had no heartbeat for 2 minutes, to spur him back to his passion for music, now partnered with his wife, Kate. Deeply rooted in the soil and water of his homeland in Northern Minnesota, Bill tells the story of his life and his homeland through his music.
Past/present religious/spiritual influences: Agnostic, Congregational, Nondenominational
All featured music is by Bill and Kate Isles:
Weightless - from Morning Sketchbook
Pamela Haines writes deep, profound and life-changing books, but she does it with simple, straightforward, and accessible language. With degrees in Social Ecology and Labor & Women's History, she is a self-taught economist and consummate communicator. Her greatest strength, however, is not her paper degrees, but her genuine and lifelong curiosity, integrity, and wide-ranging compassion, which lead her to write delightful books that all of us need and can appreciate.
Guest-host Peterson Toscano of Citizen's Climate Radio is sitting in today for Spirit In Action, assisted by several CCR activists. Eileen Flanagan, a writer, social change teacher, Quaker, and activist, dives deep with host Peterson into four different roles people have traditionally taken in change movements. Then Erica Valdez and Horace Mo join Peterson for a vibrant discussion about their personal experiences in taking one of these roles.
Back in 2020, early in the pandemic, I discovered the music of Raianne Richards and Mark Mandeville and instantly adored it, and had Mark as my Song of the Soul guest. They've just released their new album, Making Promises, and it's more of the folk-centric music they create, with wonderful harmonies, stirring stories, and great instrumentals. Today we're joined by Raianne Richards, joining us from near Worcester, MA.
Kiran Ahluwalia was born in the Punjab, in India, but moved with her family to Canada when she was 7, well after she started training in the traditional music of her region. Kiran has continued her training, both deepening it and widening it. While her 8 albums are definitely rooted in the music and dance of her homeland, she has also enriched, extended, and diversified the songs she creates, most often carrying a message of connection and compassion. She divides her time between her homes near Toronto, ON, and NYC.
Past/present religious/spiritual influences: Sikhism, Buddhism, Atheism, Meditation
Like so many witnessing the immense suffering in Gaza, Cassandra Dixon wanted to do something to help the situation. Cassandra has made numerous visits to Palestine and has come to know many people there as personal friends, so she strongly felt the call to join the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza, carrying thousands of tons of humanitarian aid for the starving people of Gaza. At home in the Madison, WI, area, Cassandra does carpentry and home repair, leaving herself the time and freedom to annually spend a month or more in Palestine. Still, Cassandra needs and deserves our support, including through the GoFundMe to support Cassandra's participation in the flotilla.
