A Bahá'í Perspective

Gary holds Bachelor#39;s and Master#39;s degrees in Cultural Anthropology as well as a degree in Law. He has been involved in international development projects in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Australia. Gary now has a private consulting and training company specializing in federal assistance law and other areas related to assistance agreements. Song list... Make My Prayer by Shoghi Agbortoko and Max Weigert The Covenant by Smith amp; Dragoman Something More by Martin Kerr Radiant Within by Janet Kayzer href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3Hj9" target="_blank"Strive Soon Love Soon by Vienna Teng

Zarrin is a journalist and one who as worked in international affairs, As part of her attraction to the world#39;s wisdom and spiritual traditions, she created The Soul Salons podcast and href="https://thesoulsalons.com/" target="_blank"website showcasing teachers and works that she wanted to learn more about and passages that inspired her. We talk about her podcast and play one of her episodes in the interview. Sands Of Time by Tadia (Poems of Tahirih) Say by Eric Harper Say Say Say by Kiskadee Service by David Hunt Moth to a Flame by Shadi Toloui-Wallace nbsp;

href="https://www.colbyjeffers.com/" target="_blank"Colby is a musical artist from the Phoenix area, who has been making Baha'i-inspired hip hop since around 2012. He has produced five albums and his most recently released album is entitled " href="https://music.apple.com/us/album/created-noble/1592585024" target="_blank"Created Noble". The album explores the themes of nobility, fatherhood, and contributing to the betterment of the world. We feature tracks from this album in the interview. Colby also produces a podcast called href="https://www.colbyjeffers.com/elevated-conversations/" target="_blank"Elevated Conversations, which we also refer to in the interview.

Bruce was a student of Austrian economics at Auburn University shortly after the href="https://mises.org/" target="_blank"Ludwig von Mises Institute was established. In 2004 he had a dream of an economic model that he called the href="https://www.divineeconomytheory.com/" target="_blank"Divine Economy Model. From this model, he formulated the theory for the Divine Economy based on the teachings of the Baha'i Faith. He has written a href="https://www.amazon.com/Bruce-Koerber/e/B00OE2AE7O" target="_blank"number of books expounding on the various aspects of the model. We talk about the Divine Economy Model and theory in the interview. Song Credits: href="https://bahaimusicstore.com/jacqueline-odess-gillett-open-the-door-to-your-heart?zenid=a6sh5j8b4u7e5aupe02bkferd4" target="_blank"The River by Jacqueline Odess-Gillett

For over 10 years Tara has worked in all aspects of digital media, from videos, social media to podcasting. Working as a podcast producer, she has connected experts and entrepreneurs with podcasters to promote and educate listeners across the globe. In her work she has told the stories of people escaping persecution and violence, inventors and entrepreneurs in the east and the west, and the influence of youth working on community building all over the world. One of the podcasts she worked on is called href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLg26v5XZmMoCpQtWZWFLkJ-jPj9WQotN8" target="_blank"Baha'i On Air which is an extension to the original New Zealand YouTube series href="https://www.youtube.com/user/bahaionair" target="_blank"Baha'i On Air. Tara has also started an individual podcast initiative entitled href="https://shows.acast.com/who-was-she-podcast" target="_blank"Who Is She?, featuring the stories of Baha'i women historical figures. Musical Credits: href="https://music.aliyoussefi.com/trac

Wolfgang was born in Vienna, Austria shortly before World War II. He became a Catholic priest, studying at the best Catholic universities in Rome and Austria. Eventually, however, after moving to California, he left the priesthood and became a psychologist treating mental disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder. His work included a women#39;s prison run by the State of California. He is owner of href="https://cityoftheheart.net/" target="_blank"City of the Heart Psychological Services. He recently published a book called href="https://www.bahaibookstore.com/Human-Heart-P10185.aspx" target="_blank"The Human Heart: One and Undivided which we talk about in the interview. Song credits: Remover of Difficulties by Taraz Nosrat href="https://college.berklee.edu/news/4101/video-rhythm-of-the-universe" target="_blank"Rhythm Of The Universe - Berklee College of Music.

href="https://www.robert-weinberg.com/" target="_blank"Rob has worked as a broadcast journalist and produced radio programs for both the BBC and independent radio in the United Kingdom. He is also the author of several major biographies including Ethel Jenner Rosenberg in 1995, Lady Blomfield in 2012 and most recently a testimony to the personnage of Abdu'l-Baha called Ambassador to Humanity which we discuss in the interview. From 1994-2008, he was Senior Producer and On-Air Editormdash;for the popular national classical music station Classic FM, during which time he made programs with Sir Edward Heath, Paul McCartney, the Three Tenors and countless other leading figures from the art world. He is a regular writer on art, and reviewer of exhibitions, for the Telegraph newspaper, Apollo magazine, The Art Story website and The British Art Journal. Since 2020, he has been producing and presenting podcasts and documentary films for historian Dan Snow#39;s History Hit network.

Taraz is a recent graduate of Texas Aamp;M University, where he studied biomedical engineering. However his first passion was always music. During a year off university studies, Taraz produced his first musical album of spiritual songs called href="https://bahaimusicstore.com/taraz-nosrat-the-divine-spark" target="_blank"The Divine Spark: A Baha'i Inspired Soulful Devotional. He says the title of the album comes from the inspiration that an artist taps into when he or she creates music. The music on the album is a blend of traditional Persian music, woodsy folk tunes, native american flute music, reggae, and classical orchestra. We feature selections from The Divine Spark in the interview.

href="http://www.felipeduhart.com/" target="_blank"Felipe is a guitarist, composer and musical producer living in Santiago, Chile. Primarily an improvisational musician, his style is influenced by jazz, Latin American music and rock. He has recorded as a guitarist on 10 CDs and 2 DVDs of live performances, and has worked as a producer on 7 CDs to date. We play six musical compositions that Felipe selected for the interview.

I had interviewed Fereshteh href="http://bahaipodcast.com/assets/mp3/abp-232.mp3" target="_blank"before on this program and we reconnected. She proposed that we talk about the gun culture here in the US. We had been planning this interview for many months, so it is a coincidence that this interview comes out just weeks after, on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, when a 15 year old comes to his school with his new Christmas present, a semiautomatic handgun, and kills four classmates, and wounds seven others including a teacher. Fereshteh has a PhD in psychology and was a licensed clinical psychologist. She has made presentations on psyco-social and religious topics around the world.

Hooshmand has lived amongst both the poorest nations and the wealthiest nations of the world for more than four decades, where he witnessed inequality in standards of living and the widening gap between the rich and the poor. It was this condition that fueled his passion for studying, researching, and exploring alternative solutions to tackle some of the challenging economic questions of our time. Hooshmand got involved in social and economic development projects in Bangladesh as well as later in the West Indies. He created the work href="https://hooshmandbadee.com/shop/principles-of-spiritual-economics/" target="_blank"Principles of Spiritual Economics which is a compilation of Baha'i writing on economics. He wrote the book href="https://hooshmandbadee.com/shop/economics-and-the-bahai-faith/" target="_blank"Economics and the Bahaacute;#39;iacute; Faith, that explains the Bahaacute;#39;iacute; teachings on economics and their implications for the Bahaacute;#39;iacute; community and the wider society.

Rebecca is a singer-songwriter who has produced five musical CDs and an audiobook. We play selections from her CDs href="https://9starmedia.com/rebecca-johnston-garvin-alientame?zenid=ev9ct88lqbs1l2puj92qfg48v7" target="_blank"Alientame, href="https://9starmedia.com/rebecca-johnston-garvin-conscious-peace?zenid=ev9ct88lqbs1l2puj92qfg48v7" target="_blank"Conscious Peace, href="https://9starmedia.com/rebecca-johnston-garvin-befriend-me?zenid=ev9ct88lqbs1l2puj92qfg48v7" target="_blank"Befriend Me, and href="https://9starmedia.com/rebecca-johnston-garvin-pioneer-winds?zenid=ev9ct88lqbs1l2puj92qfg48v7" target="_blank"Pioneer Winds. Her most recent CD is called href="https://9starmedia.com/Rebecca-johnston-garvin-to-the-peoples-of-the-world?zenid=ev9ct88lqbs1l2puj92qfg48v7" target="_blank"To The Peoples of the World and we play the title track in the interview.

Shango is a music producer and performer (playing drums, singing, and playing different kinds of flutes and other instruments). He produced and recorded an album called href="https://bahaimusicstore.com/leonor-dely-millero-congo-talisman" target="_blank"Talisman that features musical compositions by his mother, Leonor Dely. We feature music from that album in the interview. He has started a musical project with junior youth in the Canary Islands. He shares one piece that is a work in progress to give us an idea of the project.

href="https://sheydadoa.com/" target="_blank"Sheyda is a pianist, singer-songwriter, guitarist, and mathematician. She draws on her multicultural heritage and her upbringing in Albania to blend traditions and sounds into music for the soul, one that inspires across cultures and generations. Her first CD is called href="https://www.amazon.com/Awe-Sheyda-Peyman/dp/B00RY97IIM" target="_blank"In Awe released in 2015. She is currently working on a new release. The songs we listen to in the interview are new compositions with guitar. After the interview we play a concert that features her songs with piano.

href="https://genevievelabbe.com/" target="_blank"Genevieve is a singer-songwriter whose music is inspired by many years of travels and is infused with jazz and world beat music.. In 2009 she produced her first children's CD called href="https://bahaimusicstore.com/genevieve-labbe-sunshine-in-you?zenid=592g2nu3hl4oqpm4954vgf3a44" target="_blank"Sunshine in You. She has most recently produced a music video called Kune. We feature Genevieve's music in the interview including Kune and selections from Sunshine in You.

Carolyn and her husband Don started a camp in Vermont in the 60's in which kids from diverse backgrounds, and from both privileged and underserved communities, came together and learned outdoor living skills. The camp was called High Rise. They later created the Institute of Human Understanding to facilitate their work overseas. Carolyn talks about their work in Nicaragua to help a remote indigenous community be represented in Baha'i administration. She also describes the remarkable work that was done in Honduras for the education and upliftment of young girls.

Mark is a professor of film, television amp; media arts at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, CA. He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), School of Theater, Film, amp; Television (TFT). After working in the film industry in Los Angeles for ten years, he went to Papua New Guinea for 11 years where he worked as director of Educational Television in the Department of Education. He produced a number of educational and documentary films in support of projects sponsored by the UN.

href="https://www.sharmitchell.com/" target="_blank"Shar, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Indigenous Studies and has travelled to more than 40 countries, including being a guest of the Berber nomads in the Spanish Sahara, the Aborigines in far northern Queensland, Australia, and the Bribri in Costa Rica#39;s rainforest. Shar has worked in various media for 20 years including documentary film production for Canadian Broadcasting Company Radio and TV, and feature newspaper and magazine writing. She is author of the memoir " href="https://www.sharmitchell.com/book-2" target="_blank"The Bridegroom from Baghdad", which we feature in this interview.

Audrey introduces us to her first biography entitled " href="https://www.grbooks.com/products/when-reason-sleeps-the-story-of-a-bahai-arrested-imprisoned-and-executed-and-his-wifes-escape?variant=39384217190539" target="_blank"When Reason Sleeps: The Story of a Baha'i arrested, imprisoned, and executed and his wife's escape". The protagonist is a woman from Iran named Mehrangiz or Mehri by those who know her. Audrey tells the story of Mehri's husband, who was arbitrarily arrested, imprisoned and executed in Iran simply for being a Baha'i, and recounts Mehri's own imprisonment in a squalid prison a year after her husband's execution, and her dramatic escape from Iran from religious persecution. Audrey describes the process she went through to capture Mehri's story.

Jeanne is Director of the Multi-Racial Unity Living Experience, which her students adoringly refer to as href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcoC5Vb4_6Iamp;t=1s" target="_blank"MRULE. MRULE is an undergraduate race relations program dedicated to social justice at Michigan State University. She is an affiliate faculty member of the Center for Integrative Studies in Social Science, the African Studies Center, and the Center for Gender in Global Context. She specializes in race, class, gender, and intersectional analysis bridging theory and practice. She created an offshoot to MRULE in Johannesburg, South Africa called href="https://www.facebook.com/vvocf" target="_blank"VVOCF, which stands for a Tsonga (saangmiddot;guh) word that means Our Children's Future. It is a youth center that became a hub for community building activities. She was also instrumental in creating a small non-profit in the US to complement the work of VVOCF called href="http://www.gyec.org/" target="_blank"Global Youth for Education