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The Spiritual Edge podcast explores the shifting, modern landscape of religion and spirituality. You'll hear diverse stories of people and their communities. It’s a reflection of our collective reality, injected with a dash of hope. Produced in collaboration with KALW Public Radio, this is high production value audio. Season 1 of The Spiritual Edge launches with a series of intimate profiles called Sacred Steps — stories of people who show up as standout humanitarians and are challenging the ...
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We apologize — the previously uploaded Chapter 11 has an audio glitch. It's now been corrected. To make sure everyone can access the corrected audio, we are uploading it again, here. Spurred by drought, the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service accelerates a plan to restore winter-run Chinook salmon to the McCloud River. Chief Caleen Sisk weighs w…
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Spurred by drought, the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service accelerates a plan to restore winter-run Chinook salmon to the McCloud River. Chief Caleen Sisk weighs whether to collaborate with federal officials. Salmon spotted on Dry Creek for the first time in 30 years are celebrated as an answer to the Winnemem Wintu’s Run4Salmon prayer.…
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The Winnemem Wintu board a plane bound for Christchurch, New Zealand. With the help of the Maori people, they hold a ceremony on the Rikkaia River and sing to the salmon there. Once back in the United States, Chief Caleen Sisk meets with every government agency she can to push the idea of bringing the New Zealand salmon back home.…
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When plans for the Shasta Dam Enlargement Project accelerate, the Winnemem Wintu decide to hold a war dance, their first in more than 100 years. Members of the community dream into existence songs, dances and regalia. News of the ceremony, and the tribe that declared war against the U.S. government on top of Shasta Dam, goes around the world. That …
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At a sacred spring high up on Mt. Shasta, the Winnemem Wintu recount the beginnings of the world when salmon gave up their voices so that humans could speak. They now feel a special obligation to defend salmon in return for this gift. A biologist details Chinook salmon’s catastrophic decline since the arrival of Euro-American settlers to California…
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In Part III, we follow the Winnemem Wintu's fight to return salmon to their river, the McCloud. That fight is predicated on strong spiritual and cultural ties to the fish. In the old days, they lit fires alongside the river to help them find their way. But with salmon no longer swimming in the McCloud River, the Winnemem Wintu feel a moral and spir…
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The Run4Salmon bikes through rural areas in the upper Sacramento Valley where Euro American settlers changed the land to better suit an agrarian economy. The Winnemem Wintu and supporters remember the indigenous people who were forcibly removed and killed. An apology in Redding for the genocide may be well intentioned, but Chief Caleen Sisk insists…
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As the Run4Salmon continues to travel upstream, the Winnemem Wintu and supporters witness more obstacles faced by migrating salmon. Once a vast marshland, the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta was an important haven for juvenile salmon, but now is a gauntlet of human engineering. Chief Caleen Sisk stands up for salmon and water health at a bureauc…
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The Winnemem Wintu and supporters start a two-week Run4Salmon prayer to call salmon back to the waters above Shasta Dam. The Run follows the salmon’s migration path from the ocean to the mountains. It starts in the Bay Area where the Winnemem Wintu and supporters encounter environmental devastation first set in motion 200 years ago.…
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In Part II, we shift the focus away from the fight against a bigger dam and towards a different struggle: for salmon. The Winnemem Wintu feel a close connection to salmon, a keystone species that impacts the well-being of other creatures and habitat around them. They miss them on the McCloud River where their ancestors fished. We journey alongside …
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An elder remembers indigenous life back before Shasta Dam was built. The legality of the proposal to raise Shasta Dam is considered. Meanwhile, Chief Caleen Sisk considers a new strategy to fight back: turning an adversary — the Westlands Water District — into an ally.Di The Spiritual Edge
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We go to Shasta Dam and learn about the history behind its construction in the 1930s and 1940s. We hear from Chief Caleen Sisk about how the federal proposal to raise the dam another 18 and a half feet opens old wounds for the Winnemem Wintu and further threatens their tenuous survival.Di The Spiritual Edge
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We accompany the Winnemem Wintu to sacred sites near the McCloud River. The federal government’s Shasta Dam and Reservoir Expansion Proposal threatens these sites and the Winnemem Wintu way of life.Di The Spiritual Edge
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In a peaceful protest, the Winnemem Wintu call out the U.S. government for its refusal to acknowledge the destruction caused by Shasta Dam. The protest at the Shasta Dam Visitor Center reveals the Winnemem Wintu’s ongoing reality. They are ignored and later a security guard threatens to forcibly remove them.…
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A Prayer for Salmon is coming soon! The series, which has been five-and-a-half years in the making, follows the Winnemem Wintu people as they resist a proposed Shasta Dam Enlargement Project that would flood their sacred sites, and fight to return Chinook salmon to their homeland on the McCloud River, a major tributary of the dam. Over the course o…
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A Prayer for Salmon is a new audio documentary series from The Spiritual Edge podcast that tells the story of the Winnemem Wintu people of Northern California and their clash with Shasta Dam. The dam’s construction turned California into an agricultural powerhouse, but it left the Winnemem homeless and without say over their land. The series detail…
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Four distinct stories of Becoming Muslim Sofie Lovern, Raul Gonzalez, Abdul Raoof Nasir, Aarón Seibert-Llera Photo credits: Tom Levy, Michelle Kanaar Listen and subscribe to The Spiritual Edge wherever you listen to podcasts - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts. 60 minutes of Becoming Muslim A week from now Muslims all around the world will b…
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Becoming Muslim: A One Hour Documentary
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A week from now Muslims all around the world will begin observing the holy month of Ramadan. We thought this was a good time to share our one-hour documentary version of Becoming Muslim with you. You could say it's our latest season in distilled form. We tell the stories of some unlikely converts to Islam and what happens to them after. In case you…
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A special guest episode from the podcast, Uncuffed. "Uncuffed is a show made by people behind bars in California prisons. We share intimate stories of our struggles and triumphs, and of the heartache and forgiveness taking place within these walls. Uncuffed is vulnerable and personal. If you can see the humanity in us, you can see the humanity in e…
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Hana Baba and Dr. Edward E. Curtis IV explore Islam in America Historian Dr. Edward E. Curtis IV and Becoming Muslim host Hana Baba. Listen and subscribe to The Spiritual Edge wherever you listen to podcasts - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts. Becoming Muslim: A history of Islam in America How did Islam first arrive on the North American co…
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How did Islam first arrive on the North American continent? Did enslaved West Africans bring it to America? Or did Muslims sail with Christopher Columbus first? Later, Islam spread in the United States, among various communities. How did that happen? In this BONUS conversation that's part of the Becoming Muslim series, host Hana Baba dives into the…
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Aaron Siebert-Llera and Raul Gonzalez both live in the Chicago area and both converted to Islam twenty years ago. And both have been trying to answer the question of how to reconcile their identity as Latinos — and Muslims — ever since.Di The Spiritual Edge
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Being Latinx and Muslim Raul Gonzalez pictured outside of the Al-Nahda Center on March 14, 2021 in Worth, Ill. The mosque is five minutes from Gonzalez's house. Photo credit: Michelle Kanaar Aarón Seibert-Llera pictured outside his home in Bridgeview, Ill. on March 14, 2021. Seibert-Llera converted to Islam about twenty years ago. Michelle Kanaar R…
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Sofie Lovern is a Latina convert and comedienne who learned the difficulty of trying to merge two very different cultures in a marriage, even when their religions were the same. Her struggle with marriage is not uncommon with new convert women who are often rushed into marriage. Her marriage fails, but her comedy brings her through it all. She emer…
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Keeping the faith and humor through hard times Sofie Lavern Photo credit: Tom Levy Sofie Lavern Photo credit: Tom Levy Sofie Lovern on the TED stage Listen and subscribe to The Spiritual Edge wherever you listen to podcasts - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts. By Hana Baba “I say, ‘I can’t bomb on stage cuz I’m one bad joke from Guantanamo.’…
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Reclaiming a lost heritage Tyson Amir Photo credit: Tom Levy Tyson asked to be photographed in front of a West Oakland mural depicting Huey P. Newton, a famous Black Panther. Photo credit: Tom Levy Tyson asked to be photographed in front of a West Oakland mural depicting Huey P. Newton, a famous Black Panther. Photo credit: Tom Levy Tyson sits on a…
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Tyson Amir’s family knew he would become Muslim from a young age. He was influenced by the revolutionary example of Malcolm X. And also by the legacy of resistance embodied by his great-great-great-grandfather, an enslaved man who was Muslim, according to family lore.Di The Spiritual Edge
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Convicted of first-degree murder and sent to Folsom State Prison, Wendell Al-Amin James gravitated towards the Muslim prisoners out of a need for protection. But ultimately his conversion restructured his life to one of education and purpose.Di The Spiritual Edge
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Finding freedom in prison Wendell El-Amin James photographed in the Fairfield group home for formerly incarcerated men that he manages. Photo credit: Tom Levy Wendell El-Amin James fingers Muslim prayer beads. Photo credit: Tom Levy Wendell El-Amin James holds his favorite Qur'an. Its cover was made by another incarcerated man he knew when he was i…
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Living the story of the Nation of Islam Abdul Raoof Nasir Photo credit: Tom Levy Abdul Raoof Nasir Photo credit: Tom Levy Abdul Raoof Nasir Photo credit: Tom Levy Abdul reads the Quran while sitting on the floor of the mosque he attends in Oakland. Photo credit: Tom Levy Listen and subscribe to The Spiritual Edge wherever you listen to podcasts - A…
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As a student and basketball player at the University of California at Berkeley in the 1960s, Abdul Raoof Nasir joined the Nation of Islam. In the years that followed, he was forced to make a choice: stay with the Nation or go with one of the groups that splintered away from it.Di The Spiritual Edge
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Who says women can’t lead prayer? Rabi'a Keeble Photo credit: Tom Levy Rabi'a Keeble Photo credit: Tom Levy Listen and subscribe to The Spiritual Edge wherever you listen to podcasts - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts. By Hana Baba “We need to have a different setup for worshipping,” Rabi’a Keeble says. “One that makes it clear that women a…
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Rabi’a Keeble has been fighting discrimination and pushing boundaries her whole life as she searched for a faith and spiritual home that felt just right. She’s an innovator, which led her to found a women-led mosque that sparked a powerful backlash.Di The Spiritual Edge
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Searching for the “real” Islam Diana Demchenko, a Muslim convert, photographed in Barcelona last year, now lives in Orange County, California. Photo courtesy of Diana Demchenko Diana Demchenko, a Muslim convert, photographed in Barcelona last year, now lives in Orange County, California. Photo courtesy of Diana Demchenko Diana Demchenko, a Muslim c…
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Diana Demchemko converted to Islam in college after a childhood of asking tough spiritual questions of those around her. She spent her young adulthood learning to become Muslim, but it was while on a journey to Cairo to study the Quran that she looked for answers to some of her deepest questions. While there she learned, and unlearned, a few things…
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In Becoming Muslim, we explore the motivations and challenges of converts, as they carve out a uniquely American path for being Muslim in the United States. Over seven episodes, we profile eight individuals from various cultural backgrounds. Each offers a different window into this diverse and complex religion. A spiritual seeker travels to Cairo t…
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Stories about Americans who choose a new religion and the dynamics and conflicts they face. Listen and subscribe to The Spiritual Edge wherever you listen to podcasts - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts. The Spiritual Edge introduces Becoming Muslim In Becoming Muslim, we explore the motivations and challenges of converts, as they carve out …
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Aisha al-Adawiya wants men to share space and power Aisha al-Adawiya Photo credit: Azad Essa/Middle East Eye Listen and subscribe to The Spiritual Edge wherever you listen to podcasts - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts. By Monique Parsons “You’re going to your spiritual dwelling, and to have to enter the door in combat mode is really trauma…
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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.…
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She went on to fight for human rights and to speak out about the use of torture globally Sr. Dianna Ortiz Listen and subscribe to The Spiritual Edge wherever you listen to podcasts - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts. By Maria Martin “It's very important that you understand that each time I speak out, it’s not about an American nun who was t…
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Sacred Steps: Sister Dianna Ortiz survived torture in Guatemala and became a voice for victims
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Independent producer Maria Martin offers this remembrance of the late Sister Dianna Ortiz, who survived torture in Guatemala during the 1980s. For years, Sister Dianna sought the truth about what happened; the Guatemalan and U.S. governments attempted to cast doubt on her story. She went on to fight for human rights and to speak out about the use o…
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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 heal…
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Rosalina Tuyuc offers the wisdom of her ancestors to a country scarred by war Rosalina Tuyuc Velasquez Listen and subscribe to The Spiritual Edge wherever you listen to podcasts - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts. By Maria Martin “I began to understand that it’s good not to feel defeated. That we should keep moving forward, loving life, and…
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Advice from Beyoncé returned Regina Evans to Oakland; she began devising creative ways to help Regina Evans stands in front of a mural dedicated to her and sex trafficked youth. Photo Credit: Tom Levy A commmunity mural inspired by Regina Evans and sex trafficked youth. Photo Credit: Tom Levy Regina Evans checks her smartphone for messages while st…
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California reports more cases of human tracking than any state In Oakland, most sex trafficking victims are Black girls under the age 18. While living in Australia, healing from her own trauma, a visit from Beyoncé pushed Regina Evans to return home to Oakland. She’s now an activist and artist using her creative gifts to call attention to the traff…
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Caroline Yongue runs a small, green burial center in Western North Carolina. It’s part of a project to change how Americans approach death and grief -- creating new ways to live with loss, from the ground up. Caroline Yongue (in orange cap) talks with colleagues as they use GIS to map the location of graves throughout the Sanctuary. PHOTO CREDIT: J…
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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 l…
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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 stude…
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Mehool Sanghrajka is a leader in the Jain community and the CEO of a social enterprise that focuses on improving the life chances for children through technology. Mehool Sanghrajka at the Ahimsa Café, a popular vegan haunt regularly frequented by members of West London’s Jain community Photo courtesy of Mehool Sanghrajka Mehool Sanghrajka is a tech…
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Michelle Clifton-Soderstrom wants to abolish, or at least profoundly reform, an American prison system she sees as deeply unjust. Michelle Clifton-Soderstrom in front of a Chicago city park mural designed by Stateville Correctional Center students. Photo credit: Karl Soderstrom Listen and subscribe to The Spiritual Edge wherever you listen to podca…
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