Steppin' Out Of Babylon: Radio Interviews

Chilean Miriman is a University Professor of History, author of the book, Escucha Winka, and a person of Mapuche (indigenous people of S. Chile) heritage. Seline Jaramillo, also of Mapuche heritage, translates.The Mapuche people, who make up over ten percent of the population of Chile, have been asking for their human rights to be protected since the 1970’s and especially during the last ten years. Their cultural has a very rich knowledge base. They know about medicines and healing, their governing system is built on horizontal, non-centralized distribution of power, their economic structure is in relationship with their environment and some of their traditions have never been interrupted. The Mapuche lived independently and were unaffected culturally until about 100 years ago. The present oppressive situation started about thirty years ago with a decree by the military dictatorship of Pinochet, which divided and put up for sale the communal lands of the Mapuche people so they would serve the interests of the

Dr. Sha says his total mission is to create a peaceful and harmonized world and universe by transforming the consciousness of humanity and souls in the universe. He immigrated to Canada from Asia in 1990. In 2003 he had an awakening about the soul and soul healing and, since then, he has offered enlightenment retreats to thousands of people. Within six months he, along with five helpers, did 140 events worldwide. 95% of the money he got for his healings went to the mission, to pay for the trip expenses, to “service” in order to better serve people and to researching for what he calls, the “soul wisdom knowledge”.Karma is the root cause of success and failure in every aspect of life, both on the individual and planetary levels. For example people have taken out oil, destroyed the forest and the balance on the earth. People warred, were greedy, fighting, and now we have natural disasters, etc. Right now Mother Earth is going through a spiritual purification, which will take a few years. If we join in our hearts

Ethan Hughes talks about the continued commitment of he and his partner, Sarah, to Radical Simplicity, "inner" --personal/spiritual-- work, and political activism. Ethan and Sarah put out to the universe and their contacts that they wanted a community that embodied those qualities and very quickly raised the funds with which they bought,sight unseen, an 80 acre farm in Missouri . They never use cars except in dire emergencies so they took the train to Missouri and rode their bikes the four miles to their farm to see it for the first time. Ethan personally has been in a car seven times in the past ten years. On their farm they grow organic food and live sustainably. Their place is electricity free and therefore is also free of computer and other electricially powered technology. Over 600 guests have visited so far. They invite others to visit. Their community is also the Headquarters for the Super Heroes, an organization Hughes founded of young folks who go out to help where they're needed as, for example when

Ruth Rosenheck is a Canadian who has been living for some time in Australia where she is Co- Dir. with John Seed of the Rainforest Information Center. They work on issues of the environment and environmental justice and one aspect of their work is leading workshops, based on the work of Joanna Macy as well. They are called by different names-- The Work that Reconnects, Deep Ecology, Despair and Empowerment. This interview was conducted during a workshop in S. Oregon and includes interviews with a few of the participants as well. Ruth led, in order to train us to lead ourselves, a workshop she calls “deep ecology” because it focuses on how we’re part of the earth and when we destroy the web of life we’re destroying our own home—ie, when we toxify the water, cause the extinction of other species, etc. we’re weakening the fabric of life, the biological web that we depend upon. Ecological collapse is looming before us in ways we have no idea about. It is normal to feel anxious or afraid or sad or angry about the

Paul Scott, Co-founder of Plug-In-America and Chairperson of the Electrical Vehicle Association of California, owns a Toyota Rav 4. He’s driven the car 63.000 miles in 6 years, charging it with electricity from his solar panels. There is no oil to change, no gas to buy, nothing to fix. Every day he gets in, turns it on and it operates perfectly. Every day he gets in, turns it on and it operates as well as the day he bought it. Since he gets electricity from the sun, Scott’s electric bill last yr. was $44.09 for both his house and his car.In 1990 California mandated that by 1998 car manufacturers had to make electric vehicles and make them available to the public so there were some electric cars manufactured. The lobbyists for the gasoline fueled car makers got rid of that law in 2003 and the manufacturers destroyed the cars so no one could say how good they were and how long they lasted. People protested and won against Ford and Toyota and saved about 1000 cars which are still running today and of which one i

Storm describes himself as a revolutionary ecologist, activist and meteorologist with graduate degrees. He is a founder of Rising Tide, one of the sponsors of this West Coast Climate Change Convergence in Oregon. The Convergence is a climate justice action group that seeks to confront the root causes of climate change and to do it in a nonhierarchical, equalitarian fashion. Storm says that, of the six great mass extinctions in earth’s history, this sixth one that we’re in now is the biggest and worst one of them, and the only one that’s been entirely human caused. He travels and looks at weather patterns, helping people plan and act proactively for what’s coming to their region and the challenges they are likely to face. Some things he considers most important are: listening to indigenous people because they know deeply about where they live, protecting sacred sites, working for the survival of ALL species and restoration of ecosystems is crucial. Regarding “techno fixes”—he says that what we need are LOCAL s

Sue Supriano talked to Anne Wright at the Oregon Country Fair, where she was a speaker in July 2008. Ann Wright spent 13 years of active duty in the US Army, and 16 years in the Army Reserves attaining the rank of Colonel in the Army. In 1987, Wright went to work for the Foreign Service within the U.S. State Department and served as US Deputy Ambassador and other positions in Sierra Leone, Micronesia, Mongolia, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Grenada and Nicaragua. She resigned from working for the State Department the day before the invasion of Iraq to which she objected saying that, without the authorization of the UN Security Council the US had no legal right to attack. She objected to the curtailment of civil liberties within the United States as well. While Wright was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina in the early 1980s, one of her duties was to draw up contingency plans for invading several countries, one of which was Iraq. She would later express dismay over what she considered the dismissal of

Community radio stations fill many roles, especially in rural and indigenous communities where means of mass communication are almost non-existent. Radio is a relatively cheap medium and is financially possible for many communities and organizations. Freelance reporter Shannon Young is a headline editor for Free Speech Radio News (FSRN) and currently lives in Oaxaca, Mexico. She discusses the power of community radio in the context of the ongoing indigenous civil rights/democracy movement in Oaxaca. It is one of the poorest states in the country and has the largest indigenous population in Mexico counting 16 languages amongst its citizens. Many of these communities have found in radio a way to preserve and disseminate their languages and cultures in the face of official neglect and the cultural onslaught of the mass media. In 2006 the local teacher’s union helped catalyzed a popular uprising using Radio Planton, the community radio station they had established in the capital city, as a primary organizing tool

Jesus, an indigenous artist/painter from Oaxaca, Mexico, describes the ongoing repression and indigenous uprising in response to the oppression that has taken place over the past few years in his home state of Oaxaca. Oaxaca is the 5th largest state in Mexico and very resource rich. At the same time it is one of the poorest states in the country and has the largest indigenous population in Mexico counting 16 languages amongst its citizens. The picture Jesus paints is one of long-term resource exploitation, which the indigenous peoples realize is keeping them impoverished and destroying their local physical and social environments. He illuminates the electoral and physical repression of the P.R.I. government and the effects of corporate imperialism, in which the government is also a partner. Indigenous land is being confiscated and cultural repression is being actively practiced with the destruction of rural communities and their inhabitants reduced to servitude. This is now true in the cities now as well, whe

Ever wonder how Steppin’ Out of Babylon got started and how it has remained fresh and relevant for over (change to "nearly") thirty years? Have you been curious to know a more about the intrepid host/producer who has brought you some of the most important, insightful and inspiring voices from the front lines of the social, political and environmental movements? Then this is the show you’ve been waiting for! In this wonderful anniversary edition, her friend and fellow activist and author, Dr. Margret Paloma Pavel, interviews Steppin’ Out of Babylon creator, producer and host Sue Supriano. She discusses the childhood roots of her interests in radio, social activism and issues of racism and political justice. Supriano talks about many of the early radio documentaries she did, including the first one about her friend Max Scheer the Founder and Editor of the world famous underground newspaper, the Berkeley Barb, along with her early affiliations with KPFA, Pacifica Radio in Berkeley, California. In the early 1980’

A life-long human rights activist and people's lawyer in Greenville, SC, Nwangaza is the founder/coordinator of the Afrikan-American Institute for Policy Studies & Planning and Malcolm X Grassroots Movement for Self-Determination, a current representative on the Pacifica Radio Affiliates Board, past national chairperson of the Jericho Movement and ran for U.S. Senate in 2004 as a Green Party candidate.Nwangaza learned the power of radio as an organizing tool early in life from her parents who worked in international evangelical radio broadcasting. During her early years as a civil rights activist she dedicated herself to the betterment of her community and the oppressed in general. As an established activist and lawyer, with the assistance of her community and Prometheus Radio, she helped launch (June '07) WMXP, a low power community radio station. WMXP (95.5 fm), The Voice of the People, is Greenville's only non- commercial, community owned, operated, and funded radio station and is a project sponsored by th

Agbo is the Green-Collar Jobs Campaign Statewide Organizer for the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in Oakland, California. She is also the former editor of the African American magazine and organizer of the Pan African Student Organization at the University of California, Davis. As a student athelete and double major, Agbo combined an interest in social justice and civil rights with concern for the environmental struggles of disenfranchised communities.In this interview, Agbo presents a powerful class analysis of the environmental issues, perspectives and solutions as seen through the lens of racism, community development and economic security. As we watch an entirely new "green" economy (the Green Wave) emerging before our eyes, work-force development programs such as the Green-Collar Job Campaign create long-term economic development opportunities and security for disenfranchised populations. This also allows them to become directly involved in the environmental conversations, which directly impact their

Chris Carlsson, Executive Director of the multimedia history project, Shaping San Francisco, is a writer, publisher, editor, and community organizer. For the last twenty-five years his activities have focused on the underlying themes of horizontal communications, organic communities and public space. He was one of the founders, editors and frequent contributors to the ground-breaking San Francisco magazine Processed World. He also helped launch the monthly bike-ins known as Critical Mass that have spread to five continents and over 300 cities.Carlsson gives a hard-edged critique of work and society based on working for money. He reviles the current system of "wage slavery" which forces us to take jobs and do as we are told to earn money, thereby relinquishing our control over the world. We no longer think of ourselves subjectively as political agents who can make a difference in the world through our livlihoods. In fact, he feels that a huge percentage of the "work" currently being done is a complete waste of

Architect Carl Anthony has taught at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture and Planning and the University of California Colleges of Environmental Design and Natural Resources. He is former president of the Earth Island Institute, founder and Executive Director of Urban Habitat Program, convener of the Bay Area Alliance for Sustainable Development and former Acting Director of the Community and Resource Development Unit at the Ford Foundation, where he also directed the Foundation's Sustainable Metropolitan Communities Initiative and the Regional Equity Demonstration Initiative. He is currently finishing a new book, The Earth, The City, and The Hidden Narrative of Race, examining the connections between environmental justice, community development, and the changing face of globalization.In his book Anthony explores the important but usually hidden connections between the environmental movement, urban/community development and the social justice movement. The basic premise is that the three t

Dr. Pavel is an environmental and social justice activist, founder of the Earth House Center in Oakland, California and editor of the forthcoming book Building Sustainable Metropolitan Communities: Breakthrough Stories. Earth House was founded in 1990 by Dr. Pavel and currently conducts local, national and international projects in a variety of print and visual media including Journey to South Africa: Metropolitan Communities Leaders Reflect on the World Summit, a monograph; Voices from the Community: Smart Growth and Social Equity, a video; and Sustainable Solutions: Building Assets for Empowerment and Sustainable Development, a web-based video project of community-based projects around the globe). Earth House is both an environmental and social justice center in an urban setting. The group has worked supporting organizations working on issues of health, justice, education, legal services and metropolitan development with a series of environmental sustainability groups in the Pacific Rim, including Cambodia

With roots in Art & Revolution, Solnit was one of the organizer's of the 1999 W.T.O. Seattle protests and the post-9/11 protests that shut down San Francisco. He is also the editor of Globalized Liberation: How to Uproot the System & Build a Better World and author, with Amy Allison, of the new book Army of None.In this engaging interview, Solnit ties his roots in protest art, global justice/anti-capitalism activism and organizing to his current anti-war efforts involving counter recruitment efforts around the country. At the core we are experiencing a struggle between human oriented social movements across the planet vs. a global corporate/capitalist economic and political system. He feels the war in Iraq is a military attempt to impose corporate globalization, which is the same goal that the W.T.O., N.A.F.T.A. and similar organizations and agreements attempt to impose economically and politically. In fact, it is truly the frontline in the struggle for international social/political justice. Solnit asks "Wha

Mathis Wackernagel, Ph.D., is co-creator of the concept of the ecological footprint and Executive Director of the Global Footprint Network. He is also an author and/or contributor to over fifty peer-reviewed papers, numerous articles and reports, and various books on sustainability that focus on the question of embracing limits and developing metrics for sustainability including Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on the Earth, Sharing Nature's Interest, and World Wildlife Fund's International's Living Planet Report. He previously served as the director of the Sustainability Program at Redefining Progress in Oakland, CA, and directed the Centre for Sustainability Studies /Centro de Estudios para la Sustentabilidad in Mexico, which he still advises. Wackernagel is also an adjunct faculty member at the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE) of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.The goal of the Global Footprint Network is to advance the science of sustainability. It is an accoun

Masayesva relates the story of how the Hopi came long ago to Black Mesa, Arizona escaping an oppressive regime near the Teotihuacan (near Mexico City) area of Mexico. In what is now Arizona at Black Mesa they met, Masa --the Hopi equivalent to Jesus or Buddha-- who taught them how to live in a sustainable, peaceful way in harmony with the earth. Their agreements with Masa are inscribed on Prophecy Rock which claims that when they stray from these sustainable ways the world will come to an end with great suffering and purification. This is exactly what is currently happening today on a global scale.Masayesva is part of the water coyote clan of the Hopi. He explains that our relationship to water is primary. In Hopi cosmology there have been four worlds. The first world was all water, thus we are all originally from the oceans. We are literally "gourds" of water. Black Mesa Trust was founded to protect water and land in the Hopi and Navajo regions of Arizona, which have been used and abused by Peabody Coal Comp

Peter Droege is an expert on the role of renewable energy within the fields of urban design, development and urban infrastructure with a wide variety of experience and responsibility. He has directed and developed Solar City, a research development effort conducted under the auspices of the International Energy Agency as well as carrying out academic roles at major universities in the United States and Japan. He is presently Senior Advisor, Beijing Municipal Institute for City Planning and Design, Steering Committee member, Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN), Conjoint Professor, School of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Newcastle, Visiting Professor and Director, Centre for Sustainable Urbanism, School of Landscape Architecture and Planning, Beijing University and Chair, World Council for Renewable Energy (WCRE) Asia Pacific.The issues that drive his efforts are climate change-- caused in large part by burning fossil fuel--and energy security which is now in question due to Peak O

There is no clearly accepted definition of a city. The U.N. goes by whatever individual nation-states use, which can vary widely. The pertinent fact to keep in mind is that 85-90% of people live in cities, towns and villages, in other words, the built infrastructure. The ecological health of our infrastructure is Register's focus in both his business and conference organizing efforts. The way we currently design, all the way down to the village scale, is unhealthy. One of the biggest problems is that we design for the automobile and gasoline. People ask is it possible to have cities without cars? "Sure," he says,"we've had cities for 4,500 years without cars and they were healthier than our current cities. Cities we design now are a major cause of climate change, collapse of species diversity and the end of cheap energy. We've burned it all up building the most short sighted, thrill seeking, ego gratifying structure we could think of to live in. It's an ongoing disaster."One of many ideas Register offers, whi