Ralph Nader and the dozens of citizen groups he's founded have helped foster safer cars, healthier food, better air, cleaner water, and safer workplaces. In the first half, he discussed his relentless drive for grassroots activism and democratic change. He recalled his groundbreaking work in the mid-1960s when he challenged General Motors and other companies for selling unsafely designed automobiles that favored horsepower and style, and suppressed the work of its best engineers when it came to consumer safety. To elicit major change, he explained, it just takes about 1% of active citizens in a given congressional district; they should gather evidence and public opinion and present it with a laser focus to their senators and representatives.

While there are a number of ongoing disagreements between conservatives and liberals, Nader suggested that a kind of "divide and rule" strategy was in play by the two major American political parties who use these divisions to help raise money. There are some 24 major areas that conservatives and liberals share similar viewpoints, he cited, including living wage, cracking down on corporate crime and Wall St. crooks, full Medicare for all, and breaking up the big banks-- so there is plenty of room for consensus by legislators on many issues. Nader also mentioned how he helped found the American Museum of Tort Law in Connecticut, which documents cases of wrongful injury.

-------------------

Author of bestselling books about modern witchcraft, Fiona Horne is also a commercial pilot, skydiver, and professional fire dancer. In the latter half, she talked about the role of witchcraft in her success, as well as her work as a humanitarian aid worker to impoverished and hurricane damaged communities in the Caribbean. While the Hollywood stereotype of the evil witch is perhaps necessary for the marketing of horror films, modern witchcraft, she said, is actually about honoring nature as sacred, improving aspects of the planet, and conducting spells and rituals to foster auspicious circumstances and healing.

Horne recounted how when she moved from Los Angeles to the Caribbean more than five years ago, she found a new path in her life, becoming trained as a pilot, and working with the Good Samaritan Foundation. She has recently flown on missions to deliver food and goods to storm-ravaged Haiti. Perhaps because of her new calling, Fiona has come to believe that the kind of spells that work best are when a person seeks a goal that will be useful in the world, rather than just something for individual betterment. Her next book, she announced, will explore how to live a purposeful life as a modern witch and combine eco-consciousness with daily practices.

News segment guests: John M. Curtis, Guest Podcaster: Scott Fuller What Happened to Jodi?, Steve Kates