Quakers Today
Quakers Today features writers, musicians, and thinkers seeking wisdom and understanding in a rapidly changing world. We do not pretend to have all the answers. Instead, we have a place where you can hear people speak from the heart, grapple with faith, and share the insights they have found along the way. It is also a place where you can share your insights, reflections, and questions. Hosted by Peterson Toscano, he/him and Miche McCall they/them, Quakers Today is a project of The Friends Publishing Corporation. Season Four of Quakers Today is sponsored by American Friends Service Committee and by Friends Fiduciary.
Episodes
Philip Gulley, Peterson, and Sweet Miche share their personal journeys of unlearning traditional theological concepts and reflect on what makes Quakerism a meaningful path to a more authentic faith. Gulley highlights fear as a significant motivator for religious beliefs and a tool for control and how the current political moment is a masterfully evil manipulation of human fears. Gulley also offers his perspective on the continued u...
In this unedited conversation Philip Gulley, Peterson Toscano, and Sweet Miche share their personal journeys of unlearning traditional theological concepts and reflect on what makes Quakerism a meaningful path to a more authentic faith.
Quakers Today: A Project of Friends Publishing Corporation
Quakers Today is the companion podcast to Friends Journal and Friends Publishing Corporation content. It is written, hosted, and produced b...
In this episode, co-hosts Peterson Toscano (he/him) and Sweet Miche (they/them) explore best practices for welcoming and supporting neurodivergent individuals in Quaker worship and educational settings. Poet and writer Kate Fox shares insights from her article "A Place of Unmasking," drawing connections between early Quakers' spiritual practices and contemporary understandings of neurodiversity. Kate discusses her experience of Qua...
In this episode, co-hosts Peterson Toscano (he/him) and Miche McCall (they/them) explore the deep connections between Quaker spirituality, nature, and Indigenous wisdom. This episode features Gail Melix, an Indigenous Quaker who shares how walking in the woods transformed her experience of burnout into a practice of prayerful meditation. Paula Palmer examines the legacy of Quaker-run Indigenous boarding schools and the painful loss...
Peterson Toscano (he/him) and Miche McCall (they/them) look at how Quaker meetings align their financial practices with their values. The episode features Joann Neuroth sharing how Red Cedar Meeting in Lansing, Michigan, has shifted its financial priorities to work towards racial justice. Alicia Mendonca-Richards discusses how Quakers can embrace mystical knowledge to rethink our economy. You will also hear Brian McLaren from an e...
Co-hosts Peterson Toscano (he/him) and Miche McCall (they/them) explore concepts of spiritual optimism and pessimism while navigating turbulent times. The episode features Adrian Glamorgan, who suggests Quakers can stay grounded and act faithfully during difficult times by embracing devotion. Additionally, we highlight the life of Minerva Hoyt, a pioneering conservationist who played a pivotal role in establishing Joshua Tree Natio...
In this special episode of Quakers Today, we share a conversation from The Seed: Conversations for Radical Hope. Host Dwight Dunston speaks with Dr. Riyam Kafri Abu Laban, an educator, writer, and former principal at Ramallah Friends School. From her home in Ramallah, Dr. Kafri Abu Laban reveals how Palestinian cuisine is deeply tied to identity, history, and resilience. Despite the challenges of forced displacement and cultural ap...
In this special interim episode of Quakers Today, host Peterson Toscano (he/him) talks with Wendy Sanford (she/her,) one of the original creators of the groundbreaking book Our Bodies, Ourselves. Wendy shares her role in writing the first edition and reveals how each subsequent edition reflected the input from diverse voices.
She discusses the importance of addressing issues of race, class, sexuality, and gender identity in the ev...
In this episode of Quakers Today, co-hosts Peterson Toscano (he/him) and Miche McCall (they/them) explore how queer Quakers respond to climate change with joy, creativity, and radical inclusion. The episode features Damon Motz-Storey and Lina Blount, who delve into the intersection of queerness, spirituality, and climate activism. Miche and Peterson also review two books that provide fresh perspectives on environmentalism and queer...
In this episode of Quakers Today, we ask, “What does Quakerism have to offer society?”
Co-hosts Peterson Toscano (he/him) and Miche McCall (they/them) explore the concept of prefigurative practice within a Quaker classroom and beyond. What happens when students don't just learn about the future but begin to live it? They also feature queer Jewish poet Jessica Jacobs, who in her new book of poetry, interacts with the ancient book of...
In this episode of Quakers Today, we ask, “Who is a historical figure you admire but whose words or actions trouble you?”
Co-hosts Peterson Toscano (he/him) and Miche McCall (they/them) discuss the complex legacies of two notable Quakers: George Fox and Richard Nixon.
George Fox
Johanna Jackson and Naveed Moeed are a part of this year's cohort of the Quaker Coalition for Uprooting Racism. They co-authored the Friends Journal artic...
In this episode of Quakers Today, we ask, “What does it mean to be welcomed in a space?”
Peterson Toscano (he/him) and Miche McCall (they/them) discuss the concept of feeling welcome. Miche describes their sense of safety under a blanket while podcasting from Logrono, Spain, during their Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. They explore how welcoming spaces can be challenging for individuals with unique identities, especially in religiou...
In this episode of Quakers Today, we ask, What does bird watching have to do with Quakers?
You will find a complete transcript of this episode at www.quakerstoday.org
Lessons from Birds about Nature, Community, and Racial Justice
Birdwatching may seem like a serene, perhaps even solitary activity, but in the latest episode of the Quakers Today Podcast, we discover it's a window into much larger conversations about community, justic...
Season three of the Quakers Today Podcast begins with the introduction of new co-host Miche McCall (they, them). Along with co-host Peterson Toscano, they unpack the profound questions of faith, activism, and the essence of community.
Meet Quakers Today podcast’s newest team member, Miche McCall.
Miche is a professional Friend who works to inspire others to live in alignment with Spirit and joy. After a decidedly secular (but belo...
In this episode of Quakers Today, we ask, How do you process memories, experiences, and feelings?
In this special episode of Quakers Today, you will learn about what we have in store for you in Season Three. We also look back to share highlights from Season Two. These include:
- An episode featuring actress and environmental activist Darryl Hannah as she discusses a bold campaign against the use of pl...
This bonus episode of Quakers Today features a reunion of Quaker leaders from the U.S. and the U.K., discussing how Quaker organizations work towards a just world. Recorded during American Friends Service Committee's annual Corporation meeting in Philadelphia in April 2023, the episode includes Joyce Ajlouny, Bridget Moix, Oliver Robertson, and Sarah Clarke. T
They explore responses to global challenges and the importance of Quake...
In this episode of Quakers Today we ask, How do you process memories, experiences and feelings?
For the best listening experience we encourage you to listen to this episode with headphones or earbuds.
Rashid Darden's Personal Reflections
The episode features Rashid Darden and his reflection of identity and faith. As a Black person in a predominantly white faith community, Rashid's experience is uniq...
Writer Vicki Winslow appears in this month's episode of Quakers Today. As part of that episode, this is bonus audio of Vicki reading her story. Music and sound design by Peterson Toscano.
After experiencing the loss of her father, Silena Yancey travels from North Carolina to the American Southwest to find inspiration, which she hopes leads to equilibrium. Vicki shares, "My story 'Sabbatical' is largely a collage... In many ways, w...
In this episode of Quakers Today we ask, Outside of Quaker Worship, where do Quakers seek inspiration, spirituality, and community?
Whether you're looking to understand the charismatic charm of megachurches, the deep-rooted history of Pendle Hill, England or the mysticism of Howard Thurman, this episode invites listeners to broaden their horizons and embrace the myriad ways the Spirit speaks to us.
In this episode of Quakers Today, we ask, "When it comes to activism, do the ends justify the means?"
A Barbie Hoax with a Message
Actress and eco-activist Daryl Hannah speaks with host Peterson Toscano about her announcement that "Mattel intends to go 100 percent plastic-free by 2030 in all their toys. They hope to support a global ban on plastics."
Unfortunately, the excitement was short-lived. Hours after People Magazine's story...
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