Progressive Spirit

Leslea Mair is the president and CEO of Zoot Pictures out of Winnipeg, Manitoba. She talks about her latest film,  Losing Our Religion, a feature length documentary about preachers who are not believers, and what atheists do when they miss church. Allowed access to the 600 members of The Clergy Project – a safe haven for preachers from all faiths who no longer believe – the documentary follows ex-members and clergy who are still undercover. The film will be screened in the Portland Metro on November 30th. David Chandler is the high school physics teacher who made NIST, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, revise their report on the destruction of World Trade Center Building Seven, a 47 story building that collapsed in the late afternoon of September 11th, 2001. David Chandler showed that building seven fell at free fall, that is at the acceleration of gravity. David Chandler lives in Portland and he spoke with John Shuck about what that means, (ie. controlled demolition). His website is www.911

 My two guests on this episode will help us love more and remember more. Love and memory. Scott Stabile is the author of Big Love: The Power of Living with A Wide Open Heart." His inspirational posts and videos have attracted a huge and devoted social media following, including over 350K Facebook fans and counting. A regular contributor to the Huffington Post, he lives in Michigan and conducts personal empowerment workshops around the world.In the second half of the show I will speak with Dr. Andrew Budson. He along with Maureen OConnor have co-written Seven Steps to Managing Your Memory: Whats Normal, Whats Not and What to Do About It? Dr. Budson is Professor of Neurology at Boston University School of Medicine. His special interests are Memory, Alzheimers disease, and Dementia.3:16 - 29:00 Scott Stabile29:40 - 53:00 Andrew Budson

What if we brought mindfulness to schools and Buddhism to economics?   Clair Brown teaches at Cal Berkely and is the author of Buddhist Economics: An Enlightened Approach to the Dismal Science.  Caverly Morgan is the founder of Peace in Schools, the first for credit high school mindfulness course in the nation.   What if? We just might make a more compassionate world.:00-26:00 Caverly Morgan Interview26:30-53:00 Clair Brown Interview**This episode was originally broadcast in May 2017**

***Celene Lillie and Arthur Dewey will be at Southminster Presbyterian Church for a Jesus Seminar on the Road, November 10-11, 2017.***The Nag Hammadi library discovered in 1945 has provided a number of alternative Christian texts.   They were not included in the Bible. They have been dismissed by many orthodox Christians as Gnostic or even heresy.  Yet new scholarship is discovering the complexity of these texts and the value they have for many today.Dr. Celene Lillie discusses three of these texts in her book, The Rape of Eve:  The Transformation of Roman ideology in Three Early Christian Retellings of Genesis. In each of these texts, “On the Origin of the World,” “The Reality of the Rulers,” and “The Secret Revelation of John,” Eve is portrayed as having been humiliated by the cosmic powers but experiences restoration.  She sees these Nag Hammadi stories as affirmation of women’s value and wisdom and as myths of resistance to Roman imperial power and to Rome’s culture of rape and domination.Celene Lillie (

Oregon’s military heritage goes back thousands of years, including native people’s warrior traditions. Most of the cultures in this region were relatively peaceful, even welcoming visiting strangers, such as the Lewis and Clark overland Army expedition in 1805–1806. Then, overwhelming numbers of fur trappers, merchants, settlers, and miners began taking over traditional native grounds.Oregon military historians Warren W. Aney and Alisha Hamel draw their service with the Oregon Army National Guard, including years spent as organizational historians. Images come from the collections of the Brigadier General James B. Thayer Oregon Military Museum, the Oregon Historical Society, county historical societies, other regional and national collections, and the authors’ personal collections. Host John Shuck discusses their "Images of America" series book, Oregon Military. Also, what happens when you or an aging parent finds it more and more difficult to maintain a home? Is the only choice moving to a retirement home

This week my guests discuss big problems regarding food. How can we work toward healthy food and enough food for everyone?Maryn McKenna is a journalist who writes about science, food, and disease. Like Superbug: The Fatal Menace of MRSA. But that's not the end of it. We’ve been pumping antibiotics into chicken for a good long time. They have come home to roost. We can’t make antibiotics faster than evolution. Ms. McKenna and I talk Big Chicken: The Incredible Story of How Antibiotics Created Modern Agriculture and Changed the Way the World Eats.I also speak with Andrew Fisher of Portland. He is an activist in the anti-hunger field. For twenty-five years he has worked building coalitions to fight for better food and nutrition laws. He is blowing the whistle. Hunger is big business. Andrew is the author of Big Hunger: The Unholy Alliance Between Corporate America and Anti-Hunger Groups.Finally, I speak with John Teton, author of the International Food Security Treaty (www.treaty.org). This treaty is an inter

What can mathematics tell us about God? According to todays guest, physicist and mathematician, H Chris Ransford, mathematics can tell us quite a bit about the classic attributes of an infinite God who is all-knowing, all-seeing, and all-powerful. The logic and beauty of mathematics offers an exciting path to exploring the nature of reality and of elevating the conversation between atheists, theists, and the rest of us about religion, science, and Godhood. H. Chris Ransford earned advanced degrees in Physics and Engineering in France and Germany. He lectured at the University of Melbourne and was a Research Fellow at Monash University, Australia. In 2015, he published The Far Horizons of Time. In this episode, host John Shuck and Chris Ransford discuss his latest book, God and the Mathematics of Infinity: What Irreducible Mathematics says About Godhood.

John R. Gregg is an historian, a writer, researcher, educator, and traveler. He has had a lifelong fascination for the beliefs and practices of peoples worldwide. He has taught World Civilization, Anthropology, American History, and Native American History and Culture, at the University of Florida, University of North Florida, and other universities. He has lived, worked and travelled extensively in Asia, and North and South America , studying religious and cultural practices throughout the world.He is the author of Sex, the Illustrated History: Through Time, Religion and Culture, Volume 1.   This is from his website:“Sex, The Illustrated History, Volume I, begins a daring exploration of human sexuality from the ancient to the modern world. Revealed are sexual practices and beliefs previously omitted or obscured from all historical telling. In a scathing condemnation of religion and its control of sex, John Gregg explores complex relationships between spirituality and sexuality. The supremacy of the mother go

This is my fourth episode in my series on 9/11. Most will dismiss this as a conspiracy theory as the CIA and its obedient media have instructed us. But some will open their minds and face the evidence. Opening minds is what we do on Progressive Spirit.Already in this series, I have spoken with psychotherapist, Frances Shure, who is writing a series of articles entitled, “Why Do Good People Become Silent or Worse About 9/11.” We talked about the psychological blocks that keep us from information that shakes our world view. I have also spoken with David Ray Griffin, sometimes called the grandfather of the 9/11 truth movement, about his latest book, Bush and Cheney: How They Ruined America and the World.Published in the August 2017, this is professor Griffin’s twelfth and likely last book on 9/11. He details the lies that we all know were told by the Bush administration in leading the US to a global war on terror and all that has resulted including the shredding of the constitution, killer drones, torture, and t

Since 1973, Justine Willis Toms has been exploring personal, social, and spiritual transformation through her work as an electronic journalist, editor, and writer. She is the co-founder, managing producer, and host of New Dimensions Radio/Media.She has also produced many award-winning radio series, including Deep Ecology for the 21st Century, and Bioneers: Revolution From the Heart of Nature. She is coauthor of True Work: Doing What You Love and Loving What You Do, and author of Small Pleasures: Finding Grace in a Chaotic World.Justine, along with Michael Toms, was selected for induction to the 2011 Broadcasters Hall of Fame. In June 2004, she was one of 30 people in the world invited to participate in the Synthesis Dialogues with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She talks with me about the 44 year broadcast adventure of New Dimensions and what she has discovered along the way.

My guests on this episode of the Beloved Community are passionate, engaging, lovers of life and justice. They are both artists. They present their art to transform the world.Makana hails from the isle of O‘ahu, Makana is an internationally acclaimed slack-key guitarist, singer, composer, philosopher, activist, and one of Hawaii’s cultural ambassadors to the world. He is recognized as one of the top guitarists in the United States by Guitar Player magazine. He is going to be at the Alberta Rose on October 3rd. I also speak with John Slaughter.  He is a poet, a Black Lives Matter activist, a basketball coach and a dad to three smart and happy daughters. He is the host of Poetic Justice.John Slaughter :00 - 25:30Makana 25:31-56:00

It is now 16 years after the events of September 11th, 2001 that have changed the world. I am in the midst of a series of interviews with 9/11 skeptics and scholars.  These are sober scientists who refuse to be bullied and who present their case with analysis of the evidence.I have spoken already with psychotherapist, Frances Shure, who is writing a series of articles entitled, “Why Do Good People Become Silent or Worse About 9/11.” I have also spoken with David Ray Griffin, sometimes called the grandfather of the 9/11 truth movement, about his latest book, Bush and Cheney: How They Ruined America and the World.Interviews forthcoming are with Graeme MacQueen who exposed the 2001 anthrax hoax in his book, The 2001 Anthrax Deception: The Case for a Domestic Conspiracy. Dr MacQueen is a retired professor in the Religious Studies Department at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He is a member of the 9/11 Consensus Panel along with Frances Shure and David Ray Griffin.  Also, I will speak with Dr. Le

Did Jesus fulfill prophecy? The gospels certainly wanted early Christians to think that. That argument is made today in many evangelical circles. But does it hold water? Religious scholar, Robert J. Miller, says that it is time for Christians to retire the argument from prophecy. He shows how the gospel writers manipulated prophecies by taking them out of context, changing them, inventing them, and even creating fictional narratives about Jesus based on them to show that Jesus fulfilled prophecy. Miller shows that the New Testament writers “helped” Jesus fulfill prophecy in order to “prove” that Christians replaced Jews as God’s people. According to Miller, the argument from prophecy is circular, not convincing, and unnecessary. It also has left a long legacy of antisemitism.Robert J. Miller is Rosenberger Professor of Religious Studies and Christian Thought at Juniata College in Pennsylvania. He is the author of The Jesus Seminar and Its Critics and Born Divine: The Births of Jesus and Other Sons of God. He

Philosopher, David Ray Griffin, just published his 12th book on 9/11 Skepticism, Bush and Cheney: How They Ruined America and the World. In this book he writes about the effects of 9/11 (toppling of governments--Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and now Syria--, the shredding of the constitution, murder by drone, increased militarism and surveillance, Islamophobia, and the neocon threat to human survival, to name a few). Griffin calls on journalists and the public to stop hiding behind fear of being called a 'conspiracy theorist' and look at the evidence instead of promoting the miraculous fantasy of the official 9/11 story. He says only truth can save us from disaster.  Biologist, Mike Shanahan, has devoted his career to fig trees. In his book, "Gods, Wasps, and Stranglers: The Secret History and Redemptive Future of Fig Trees," he writes about the amazing fig and its 80 million year history as a keystone species. Figs have a central role in human culture and mythology and they sustain life all over Earth. We discus

Danielle Dulsky is an artist, teacher, and writer. A longtime activist for wild woman spirituality and the divine feminines return, she leads womens circles, Witchcraft workshops, energy healing trainings, and basic and advanced yoga teacher trainings.Her website is www.danielledulsky.com.She is on tour sharing her book, Woman Most Wild: Three Keys to Liberating the Witch Within.

Frances Shure is a Licensed Professional Counselor who is now retired from her private practice and from her position as adjunct instructor at Naropa University at Boulder, Colorado.In her 20 years as a psychotherapist, she focused on "depth psychology," which involves both the psychodynamic and transpersonal aspects of psychological healing.Frances Shure co-founded Colorado 9/11 Truth in 2004 and is a member of the 9/11 Consensus Panel as well as the Medical Professionals for 9/11 Truth. She was included with a number of other social scientists in the film 9/11: Explosive Evidence"Experts Speak Out that was produced by Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth. She is writing a series of articles for AE911Truth "Why Do Good People Become Silent"Or Worse"About 9/11?" These articles examine the psychological resistance to information that contradicts the official account of 9/11 or to any strongly held belief.In this episode, we discuss the origin of the term "conspiracy theorist,' why people of color view 9/11

North American culture is in transition in many ways, and religion is one of those areas that is in transition, especially away from organized religion to other avenues. As such these various avenues are resources for resistance to oppression and for positive activism in our world. Both of today's guests live in the Portland Metro and represent the transition that is taking place.Karen Garst says that "Organized religion is a cultural barrier to full equality for men and women." She is the author of Women Beyond Belief: Discovering Life Without Religion.  Her website is The Faithless Feminist. Rabbi Brian calls himself "a modern-day rabbi with John Lennon’s inclusivity and a Blues Brothers mission." He lives in Portland and does most of his work on-line at Religion Outside the Box. ---Karen L. Garst has a Bachelors degree and a Masters degree in French. She obtained her PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She moved to Oregon in 1980 to serve as field representative of

 During one year, 1967, it seemed possible that the world could be transformed by peace, love, and meditation. The assassinations, violence, and polarization of 1968 hadn’t happened, and the hippies were exploring spirituality and social justice.  Danny Goldberg takes us back to 1967, to the music, the acid, Jefferson Airplane, Allen Ginsburg, Black Power, and Muhammad Ali.  He is the author of How the Left Lost Teen Spirit and Bumping into Geniuses: MY Life Inside the Rock and Roll Business. Danny Goldberg is president of Gold Village entertainment and author of the book we will discuss today: In Search of the Lost Chord: 1967 and the Hippie Idea.  

Sean Kerrigan, author of "Bureaucratic Insanity: The American Bureaucrat’s Descent into Madness," says that civilization is about the concentration of power. We are at a point now in which bureaucracy has stripped our lives of meaning. We will talk about bureaucracy, collapse, and finding ways to resist.I also speak with Daina Ramey Berry, associate professor of history and African and African Diaspora Studies, at the University of Texas at Austin. She is the author of "The Price for Their Pound of Flesh: The Value of the Enslaved, from Womb to Grave, in the Building Of A Nation."The overarching theme this week is the commodification of human beings and how we can reclaim and assert our humanity and the humanity of others.

Were the early Christians communists? Roman Montero makes the case that they were and backs it up with his book "All Things In Common: The Economic Practices of the Early Christians."Roman A. Montero spends a lot of time studying early Chrstianity, Koine Greek, early Christian texts, and the historical context of second temple Judaism