Small entrepreneurs across the country are making a living and strengthening local food systems by composting food waste locally.  We get down to the nitty gritty with three community composters, a soil scientist and composting advocates about the benefits of diverting food from landfills.

Meet people from three communities which chose solar farms with batteries instead of power plants;  for cleaner air, lower electric bills, and resiliency to extreme weather. 

Cathy Reitz is a musicpaloosa and it's a gift she shares abundantly. Sometimes she's front-and-center like with her Cathy Reitz & 7 Swing, or when performing the blues, but she also brings out the music in all kinds of people, like the Stand in the Light Memory Choir, the Chippewa Valley Community Chorus, the Valley Gospel Choir, and the Chippewa Valley Youth Chorus, to name only a few.

In 2017 David Bucura became overall coordinator for AGLI (African Great Lakes Initiative) of Friends Peace Teams, working on peace and reconciliation in the nations of that region: Rwanda, Burundi, Congo (DRC), Kenya, Uganda, & Tanzania. They've had amazing results using AVP (Alternatives to Violence Project) and Healing and Rebuilding Our Communities (HROC) processes.

Past/current religious/spiritual influences:
Quaker

The impact of addiction can shape our lives in unexpected ways. Spencer T. and his guests on The Recovery Show podcast carry the message of healing for those affected by addiction and alcoholism. We explore the 12-steps of Al-Anon and see how working the steps can offer solutions to personal challenges we all face.

Past/current religious/spiritual influences:
12 Step Spirituality

Another good resource is Recovered Podcast

Featured Music:
Black Dog - by Anastasia Vishnevsky
A Small Flashlight - by Carrie Newcomer

Abraham Jam is the confluence of David LaMotte, Billy Jonas, & Dawud Wharnsby, channeling their gifts together for an honest & resplendent harmony. This is what happens when a Muslim, a Jew, & a Christian walk into a concert hall, arm-in-arm, as brothers.

Maggie Hohenstien is a Macalester student and interned at Friends for a NonViolent World (FNVW) last summer. Maggie shares her story of growing up in the Quaker community and her leadings to living a life of nonviolence.

 Music generously donated by Bensound.com

Conversations about climate change can get downright dire and dreary. But isn't there room for comedy? Brian Ettling is a comic who is not ashamed to pull out a rubber chicken for a gag. He joins show host, Peterson Toscano for a lively conversation about climate comedy.

Braden Canfield loves inner exploration & conveying the power of the experience through his music. He pays attention to the details and the transformation. While after-hours he's a singer/songwriter, in the light of day his joy is the good he can do as a counselor in the Indian Education department of the Minneapolis School System.

An interview with Donna Minter of the Minnesota Peacebuilding Leadership Institute.