Guest-host Peterson Toscano brings us 2 guests for today's show, all the way from Peterson's new home in South Africa, sharing 2 distinct stories of courage, ecology, & grassroots resilience. Both segments highlight what happens when humans move beyond despair to protect the living world and stand up for collective survival. In the first half, Kenyan entomologist and evolutionary biologist Dr. Dino Martins offers a fresh, shockingly hopeful perspective on ecology, nature, and human survival amidst climate change, and he is the author of Hidden Creatures: Luscious Leeches, Bashful Botflies, and the Wondrous, History-Shaping World of Parasites.

I discovered Tom Pirozzoli back in the first months of the COVID shutdown, and was inspired by the heart in his music. Actually the first song of his I heard is called "This Is What Love Is Like," and that captures the truth of his music. This time, I am circling back to Tom after hearing a new song, 1942, where he combines memories from his dad with what we need so very much right now. Tom makes this world better, through his music, through his art, and through a thoughtful sit-down visit. We visit with Tom this time, not in his home in Goshen, New Hampshire, but in his northern cabin, up in Cushing, Maine.

Past/present religious/spiritual influences: Catholic, Gurdjieff, Sufi Muslim

In this edition of Spirit In Action, our guest-host is Mark Leach and he talks about the weakening of the Endangered Species Act, why we should support the International Criminal Court, why and how young people should know how to seek conscientious objector status, why this is actually a good time to prepare for a career in public service, why he’s optimistic, and an original piece of research linking corruption with income disparity. These are the links that are useful when helping young people prepare for seeking Conscientious Objector status. Friends General Conference, Church of the Brethren, and Center on Conscience and War.

Tony McQuail brings with him a wide and passionate view of what the world needs, and the commitment to make it happen. From his antiwar activism from age 16, to his move to Canada where he and his wife founded MeetingPlaceOrganicFarm.CA, to the numerous organizations he has founded and worked for to bring folks together in world-healing, Tony makes crops and people grow. He has run for national office in Canada, and is now focused on local election.

Kate Minogue's music is done under the name Rowan Sway, and she has two releases, an EP from back in 2021 called What's Begun, and she's currently releasing Conjure. Starting from classical flute and performing with orchestras, other bands, and a singer-songwriter father, she caught a passion for Celtic music (especially while living in the Boston area), honed her Irish chops, and played for a while with The Beggar Boys before moving to Switzerland almost ten years ago. Along the way, she added guitar to her skills and became a singer-songwriter, which was a major step for a person who cringed at the thought of singing in public at one point. Catherine Theresa Minogue, AKA Kate, AKA Rowan Sway, lives in Basel, Switzerland.

Past/present religious/spiritual influences: Catholic, Non-affiliated, Tai Chi

Following up on our recent interview with Gretchen Primack about the March to Abolish Animal Testing, we speak today to Meredith Blanchard, following up on vital relevant information about the value, or non-value, of animal testing. Meredith is the director of policy and advocacy at the National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS.org), drawing on her B.S. in Zoology, and her M.S. in Animals and Public Policy, the latter from Tufts University. Meredith advocates for a scientifically-rooted policy around the role of animals in testing, rooted also in the humane treatment of animals. She exposes the fallacies past animal testing policy has been based on, and shares about the promising alternatives to these mistaken practices. Meredith Blanchard joins from Boulder, CO.

We're headed down under to Perth, Australia for a deep dive with Marie Hopkinson. While passionate about music from the age of 4, including playing, over the decades, violin, cello, and guitar, her life included a passion for healing using acupuncture needles and the other tools for healing of Chinese medicine. Along the musical path, Marie performed with Smash Monkeys and she also has hosted her own music interview program called The Good Vibes Show. She released her second album in July of 2026 called Every Darkness, and she'll likely touch your heart with her voice and lyrics.

Past/present religious/spiritual influences: Christian

This episode of guest-host Jan Spencer's A Primer For Paradigm Shift brings together a graphic flow chart that explains the basic progressive dynamics of paradigm shift with a review of a recent article about social enterprise and, in the second half, a fiction story of the near future. Based on the article, the story describes how uplifted neighbors buy the local suburban strip mall and turn its 3 acre parking lot into a thriving mixed use development that addresses many of the challenges of a more economically constrained but increasingly conscious future. Both the article and the fiction story fit in the flow chart and illustrate what paradigm shift can look like. You can find a text version of this episode with graphic and images at aprimerforparadigmshift.org.

Past/present religious/spiritual influences: Anglican, Non-affiliated

Peterson Toscano is our guest host today as he explores how we can find our footing and maintain our spiritual integrity during times of profound global disruption. In the first half, Peterson shares an excerpt from The BTS Center's Climate Changed podcast, featuring a conversation between host Autumn Brown and Norma Wong. A Zen Buddhist practitioner and former legislator, Norma shares her insights on indigeneity, what it means to live in the "source way," and how we can become good ancestors.

Seldom have we had guests for Song of the Soul matching such incredible singing with such penetrating and offbeat lyrics, full of alternate visions of divine workings and mayhem, as what we have today with Heather Aubrey Lloyd. Heather was on the way to a profession as a reporter when a curve on the road of life placed her instead in front of a microphone, sharing music for a living. In addition to her two solo albums, she has worked and performed with Baltimore's acclaimed ilyAIMY for 23 years and on 12 albums, she's been the Girlfinkel in a Simon and Garfunkel tribute band, and she's been ramping up and performing with a Renaissance lute-rock rebel group, Ayreheart.

Past/present religious/spiritual influences: Jewish