Episode 1: 25:30
Ebola in DRC
There’s a lot of talk about the the coronavirus pandemic has taken on our collective mental health. Years ago, people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo confronted another deadly and highly contagious disease. Like now, misinformation was rampant. No one trusted the health authorities. And in-person funerals were not allowed. Mental health counselor Noe Kasali was determined to help. He recognized a problem: that in the face of so many losses, survivors had no way to grieve.

Episode 2: 20:00
Fighting Asian American racism
Former President Trump labeled COVID-19 the “China Virus” and “Kung Flu.” Since then, violence targeting Asian Americans has surged. As a result, older Asian Americans are afraid of facing attacks on their walks to the grocery store. Parents fear harassment against their kids at school. Russell Jeung, the co-founder of the Stop AAPI Hate coalition, is determined to make this reality known. TIME magazine has listed the coalition founders among its 100 most influential people for 2021.

Episode 3: 25:30
Inside an Illinois maximum security prison with a theology professor and her students
COVID-19 prison lockdowns prevented family and friends from visiting the nation’s nearly two million prisoners; they also shut down education programs. At a maximum security prison near Chicago, one seminary professor managed to keep reaching inside.

Episode 4: 19:30
A Jain tech innovator combines a religious and global perspective
Mehool Sanghrajka isn’t your typical tech CEO. To start with, his worldview is grounded in ancient Indian philosophy, one which inspires him to serve not just his close-knit religious community, but people he’s never met. He believes education is the key to improving the life chances of children. As the coronavirus pandemic forced millions of students online, his Jain worldview and tech savvy helped him to meet the moment.

Episode 5: 25:30
A Buddhist lay minister asks ‘What is a good death?’
Caroline Yongue wants to talk about death, a subject many of us would rather avoid. She’s the founder and director of the Carolina Memorial Sanctuary, a small cemetery offering environmentally-friendly burials in Western North Carolina. The Sanctuary is grounded in a Buddhist ethos and committed to restoring native ecosystems. It’s also part of a larger project to change how Americans approach death and grief — creating new ways to live with loss, from the ground up.

Episode 6: 25:30
Art and the divine fuel a mission to help sex trafficked kids
California reports more cases of human trafficking than any state. In Oakland, most sex trafficking victims are Black girls under the age 18. Regina Evans is an activist and artist using her creative gifts to call attention to this crisis and rescue girls.

Episode 7: 23:30
Calling on ancient Maya wisdom to heal Guatemalan widows
The Central American country of Guatemala promotes its indigenous heritage to tourists. At the same time, its government has historically marginalized and discriminated against the Maya, many of whom endured terrible violence during a decades-long civil war. Twenty five years after the war’s end, human rights leader Rosalina Tuyuc is promoting healing for her people based on ancient Maya wisdom.

Episode 8: 23:30
Sister Dianna Ortiz survived torture in Guatemala and became a voice for victims
Independent producer Maria Martin offers this remembrance of the late Sister Dianna Ortiz, who survived torture in Guatemala during the 1980s. She and went on to fight for human rights and to speak out about the use of torture globally. She did so until her death in February 2021, even while still suffering from the trauma of her experience.

Episode 9: 26:30
Making space for women In mosques
Women don’t always feel welcome in American mosques. They’re sometimes turned away, sent to basements to pray, or discouraged from serving on the boards of directors. Aisha al-Adawiya has devoted her life to changing that. She’s inspired a national campaign — and a fatwa — that’s persuading the men who control mosques to share space and power.

Episode 1: 21:00
She sat with COVID patients as they approached death
Sarah Byrnes-Martelli is a hospital chaplain in Boston, who is caring for COVID patients when their families can’t visit, because she believes no one should die alone.

Episode 2: 23:00
Fighting for what’s sacred in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
For most of her life, Neets’aii Gwich’in leader Sarah James has worked to protect her homelands, including the coastal plain of the nearby Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Episode 3: 27:30
A former Israeli soldier questions his country and faith
Dean Issacharoff, a former Israeli soldier, starts to question violence towards Palestinians and finds himself under fire by his own government. He then suffers an identity crisis. What does it mean to be Jewish if he’s no longer a Zionist?

Episode 4: 30:00
A Palestinian man changes how he resists Sameer became a Palestinian fighter very early in his life. But then he heard a melody that became his touchstone for peace as he tries to walk the path of reconciliation amid one of the thorniest conflicts imaginable.

Episode 5: 26:30
Mennonite musicians who turn street ministry into song
Al and Andi Tauber are taking their ministry and music to the streets, where they’ve found heartbreak…and a family.

Episode 6: 25:00
Two fearless nuns are determined to help detained immigrants
After decades of work with immigrant detainees, Sisters JoAnn Persch and Pat Murphy still aren’t slowing down. They say their age is irrelevant when there is so much need.

Episode 7: 18:30
Risking his life to be a voice of opposition in Honduras
Honduran Catholic priest fondly known as Padre Melo risks his life to speak up on behalf of his country’s most vulnerable people. His activism can be heard on the radio airwaves.

Episode 8: 29:30
They wanted to save lives. The government accused them of crimes.
Federal prosecutors cracked down on volunteers providing humanitarian aid on the border between Arizona and Mexico. Scott Warren faced decades in prison for following his conscience.

Episode 9: 25:00
An Anti-Poverty Policymaker Finds Inspiration in Hindu Texts
A new generation of anti-poverty activists are looking to end poverty in the US by building on the movement started by Martin Luther King and others in 1968. Shailly Gupta Barnes, one of its leading tacticians. She’s an Indian American who grounds her commitment to economic justice in her family’s Hindu traditions.