The Seed: Conversations for Radical Hope

Dwight Dunston speaks with filmmaker and activist Keil Troisi about the transformative power of art and culture in world-building and social change. Keil shares his experiences with The Yes Men, an art-activism group that creatively disrupts corporate power to inspire long-term hope. They explore how humor, trickery, and creativity can drive real-world impact, especially in environmental and social justice movements.

Favianna Rodriguez, an artist and cultural strategist, reads from her essay Harnessing Cultural Power to Heal the Planet and Ourselves, which appears in the anthology All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis. Her work calls for a cultural revolution in the climate movement, emphasizing the role of art in reshaping narratives.

Listen to Favianna on The BTS Center’s podcast Climate Changed:
Favianna appears in Season Three, Episode One of Climate Changed, titled The Power of Ritual and Story, alongside Brian McLaren. Listen to the episode here: https://thebtscenter.org/climate-changed/podcast-season-three-episode-1/.

Resources & Links:
Learn more about Keil Troisi and The Yes Men: https://theyesmen.org/

• Follow The Yes Men: X: @theyesmen, Facebook: theyesmenfix
• Explore Favianna Rodriguez's work: https://favianna.com/

Follow Favianna: Instagram: @favianna1

• Get the All We Can Save anthology: https://www.allwecansave.earth/anthology

Philly-based - Vanguard SOS collabs:

• Climate Adaptation Toolkit in Impact Alpha or USA Today
• Vanguardians of the Galaxy
• Eco-doom carnival

NEW Video Version available at Pendle Hill's YouTube page.

The transcript for this episode is available on https://pendlehillseed.buzzsprout.com/
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The Seed is a project of Pendle Hill, a Quaker center open to all for Spirit-led learning, retreat, and community. We’re located in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, on the traditional territory of the Lenni-Lenape people.

Help us to grow The Seed!
Share your thoughts with us through our listener survey.

Follow us @PendleHillUSA on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to The Seed wherever you get your podcasts to get episodes in your library as they're released.  To learn more, visit pendlehill.org/podcast. 

This project is made possible by the generous support of the Thomas H. & Mary Williams Shoemaker Fund.

In this episode, Dwight Dunston and eppchez yo-sí yes delve into the transformative potential of art. Drawing from experiences in reparations work and Quaker business settings, eppchez’s art seeks to disentangle integrity from perfection, instead calling for transmutation processes. This excerpt comes from The Seed Season Two Episode Three, “Integrity & Transmutation: Moving Beyond Cultures of Domination with eppchez yo-sí yes” 

With “Guided Transmutations,” an interactive audio experiment, eppchez invites us to address this transformation inwardly: What would it look like to move beyond cultures and cycles of domination? How can we use noticing practices in our communities better to align our actions, words, and values?

Guest Bio

eppchez yo-sí yes is a Quaker playwright, inventor, and spiritual companion living in Philadelphia. Eir work uses historical research combined with channeled wisdom to remember what our culture of domination has tried to erase. eppchez is one of many Friends working to implement a cultural shift toward active anti-racism among Quakers. Ey are called to earnestly and imperfectly model strategies to do reparations and build systems that make integrity and care more possible. 

To experience more of eppchez's work, visit www.almasengine.com. 

NEW Video Version available at Pendle Hill's YouTube page.

The transcript for this episode is available on https://pendlehillseed.buzzsprout.com/
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The Seed is a project of Pendle Hill, a Quaker center open to all for Spirit-led learning, retreat, and community. We’re located in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, on the traditional territory of the Lenni-Lenape people.

Help us to grow The Seed!
Share your thoughts with us through our listener survey.

Follow us @PendleHillUSA on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to The Seed wherever you get your podcasts to get episodes in your library as they're released.  To learn more, visit pendlehill.org/podcast. 

This project is made possible by the generous support of the Thomas H. & Mary Williams Shoemaker Fund.

Dwight Dunston brings listeners into a reflective discussion with two Irish writers, Manchán Magan and Shirley Anne McMillan, as they explore Ireland's divided history, cultural resilience, and visions for a more harmonious future.

As Manchán and Shirley explore their different experiences growing up in Ireland, they find common ground in their hopes for a peaceful future that honors Ireland's cultural roots and builds a more connected, ecologically balanced society. Their conversations with Dwight reflect visions of Ireland where historical wounds are acknowledged, and diverse identities and histories are woven into a shared, harmonious future.

Guest Introductions:

• Manchán Magan
  • Irish author, documentarian, and host of The Almanac of Ireland podcast, Manchán is known for books like Thirty-Two Words for Field and Listen to the Land Speak, which celebrate Ireland's heritage and linguistic legacy. Social media: @manchanmagan.
• Shirley Anne McMillan
  • Northern Irish author and Children’s Writing Fellow at Queen’s University, Belfast, Shirley writes young adult novels exploring activism, identity, and social justice themes. Her latest book, Grapefruit Moon, addresses classism and patriarchy through the lens of art and activism. Follow Shirley on X: @smcmillanwriter.

NEW Video Version available at Pendle Hill's YouTube page.

The transcript for this episode is available on https://pendlehillseed.buzzsprout.com/
----
The Seed is a project of Pendle Hill, a Quaker center open to all for Spirit-led learning, retreat, and community. We’re located in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, on the traditional territory of the Lenni-Lenape people.

Help us to grow The Seed!
Share your thoughts with us through our listener survey.

Follow us @PendleHillUSA on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to The Seed wherever you get your podcasts to get episodes in your library as they're released.  To learn more, visit pendlehill.org/podcast. 

This project is made possible by the generous support of the Thomas H. & Mary Williams Shoemaker Fund.

In this mini-episode, Francisco shares the inspiring journey of the Pendle Hill online worship community, which emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide a spiritual connection and inclusion space. Beginning as a simple idea born out of necessity, Pendle Hill’s virtual daily worship grew into a thriving, radically inclusive online community.

Reflecting on nearly 94 years of daily worship at Pendle Hill, Francisco discusses the challenges and triumphs of transforming Pendle Hill’s worship into a global spiritual community through technology, the unique aspects of online worship, and its lasting impact on participants.

Whether physically or virtually, Friends gather during this worship in a meeting room rich in spirit and history, one that has been host to A.J. Muste, Bayard Rustin, Wendell Berry, and Martin Buber, among many, many others.

Visit Pendle Hill Online Worship and experience this community yourself! You can also join Dwight, host of The Seed, who will attend this worship on the last Friday of the month from 8:30 AM to 9:10 AM (Eastern Time).

Read more about this online worship community in Friends Journal.

Guest Bio

Francisco Burgos is the Executive Director at Pendle Hill. From 2012 to 2015, Francisco was the head of school at Monteverde Friends in Costa Rica. He has also served with the Organization of American States in Washington, DC, and the American Friends Service Committee in Baltimore, Maryland.

Francisco has a BS in Clinical Psychology from the National University Pedro Henríquez Ureña in the Dominican Republic, an MA in Sustainable Development from the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont, and a Doctor of Education from Universidad De La Salle in Costa Rica.

NEW Video Version available at Pendle Hill's YouTube page.

The transcript for this episode is available on https://pendlehillseed.buzzsprout.com/
----
The Seed is a project of Pendle Hill, a Quaker center open to all for Spirit-led learning, retreat, and community. We’re located in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, on the traditional territory of the Lenni-Lenape people.

Help us to grow The Seed!
Share your thoughts with us through our listener survey.

Follow us @PendleHillUSA on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to The Seed wherever you get your podcasts to get episodes in your library as they're released.  To learn more, visit pendlehill.org/podcast. 

This project is made possible by the generous support of the Thomas H. & Mary Williams Shoemaker Fund.

Dr. Riyam Kafri AbuLaban, a former principal at Ramallah Friends School and a writer from Palestine, shares her insights on world-building amidst conflict and the complexities of raising children under occupation. 

Joining Dwight is Steve Tamari, a Palestinian-American Quaker and historian who offers reflections on the ongoing genocide in Palestine as part of a larger history of colonialism. Steve challenges listeners to understand the power of conscience and integrity in facing the brokenness of our world.

Key Highlights:

• Primary Guest:
  Dr. Riyam Kafri Abu Laban writes personal essays, poetry, short stories, and articles on Palestine, motherhood, and education. Riyam sees writing as "the tangible outcome of thinking" and believes the first sentence requires the most courage. She describes writing as an incredible gift, a way to bring ideas to life—whether technical, creative, or fictional.

Riyam lives in Ramallah, West Bank, Palestine. Follow her on Instagram and LinkedIn.

• Second Guest Offering:
  Steve Tamari is a Palestinian-American Quaker and historian. Steve reflects on the ongoing genocide in Palestine, framing it within the history of colonialism. He calls on Quakers and people of conscience to take action against systemic violence. He shared these remarks during his presentation, "Light Within and Light Without," at the 2024 Stephen G. Cary Memorial Lecture.

He poses a thought-provoking question: "How do you strive to close the gap between the light within and the world outside so that our lives may be genuinely integrated and made whole?"

Special Music

In this episode, you will hear the song Babylon Breeze by the Sada Trio. Ahmad Al Khatib, Pedram Shahlai, and Feras Sharestan are virtuoso musicians from three parts of the Middle East who now live in Sweden. Ahmad Al Khatib was born in 1974 in a Palestinian refugee camp in Irbid, Jordan. He started his musical journey at an early age. In the Sada Trio, the three musicians keep the Middle Eastern music tradition alive, pairing traditional instruments with original compositions.

NEW Video Version available at Pendle Hill's YouTube page.

The transcript for this episode is available on https://pendlehillseed.buzzsprout.com/
----
The Seed is a project of Pendle Hill, a Quaker center open to all for Spirit-led learning, retreat, and community. We’re located in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, on the traditional territory of the Lenni-Lenape people.

Help us to grow The Seed!
Share your thoughts with us through our listener survey.

Follow us @PendleHillUSA on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to The Seed wherever you get your podcasts to get episodes in your library as they're released.  To learn more, visit pendlehill.org/podcast. 

This project is made possible by the generous support of the Thomas H. & Mary Williams Shoemaker Fund.

Episode Summary

In our first mini-episode of Season 5, Dr. Riyam Kafri Abu Laban, a writer and educator from Ramallah, explains how Palestinian cuisine is a powerful expression of identity rooted in the land and traditions of the Palestinian people. Forced displacement and cultural appropriation have posed significant challenges to preserving this culinary heritage. Food is nourishment and a bridge to the past—a living memory of their villages and communities. Palestinian food continues to serve as a source of resistance, memory, healing, and celebration.

Guest Bio

Dr. Riyam Kafri Abu Laban writes personal essays, poetry, short stories, and articles on Palestine, motherhood, and education. She sees writing as "the tangible outcome of thinking" and believes the first sentence requires the most courage. She describes writing as an incredible gift, a way to bring ideas to life—whether technical, creative, or fictional.

With a PhD in Chemistry, Riyam started her career as a research scientist but soon realized her passion was working with people. She shifted to education, first as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry and a founding faculty member at Al Quds Bard College in Palestine. She then spent seven years as the Upper School Principal at Ramallah Friends School.

As a proud Ramallah Friends School and Earlham College graduate, Quaker values have shaped her life and faith. Today, Riyam is the Educational Lead at AlNayzak Organization, focusing on pedagogy, curriculum design, and training.

Riyam lives in Ramallah, West Bank, Palestine. Follow her on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Special Music

In this episode, you will hear the song Sada by the Sada Trio. Ahmad Al Khatib, Pedram Shahlai, and Feras Sharestan are virtuoso musicians from three parts of the Middle East who now live in Sweden. Ahmad Al Khatib was born in 1974 in a Palestinian refugee camp in Irbid, Jordan. He started his musical journey at an early age. In the Sada Trio, the three musicians keep the Middle Eastern music tradition alive, pairing traditional instruments with original compositions.

NEW Video Version available at Pendle Hill's YouTube page.

The transcript for this episode is available on https://pendlehillseed.buzzsprout.com/
----
The Seed is a project of Pendle Hill, a Quaker center open to all for Spirit-led learning, retreat, and community. We’re located in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, on the traditional territory of the Lenni-Lenape people.

Help us to grow The Seed!
Share your thoughts with us through our listener survey.

Follow us @PendleHillUSA on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to The Seed wherever you get your podcasts to get episodes in your library as they're released.  To learn more, visit pendlehill.org/podcast. 

This project is made possible by the generous support of the Thomas H. & Mary Williams Shoemaker Fund.

Episode Summary:

In this opening episode of Season 5 of The Seed: Conversations for Radical Hope, host Dwight Dunston speaks with Francisco Burgos, Executive Director of Pendle Hill, about the theme of world-building. They explore what it means to co-create new systems rooted in cooperation, reciprocity, and love. Francisco reflects on his experiences at Pendle Hill, his childhood in the Dominican Republic, and the prophetic witness that inspires his work.

In addition, Dwight introduces the exciting changes in Season 5. These changes include a second guest in each episode who will bring a reflection,  song, poem, or reading.

Key Highlights:

• Primary Guest: Francisco Burgos—Francisco shares stories from his upbringing and how his family's generosity has influenced his worldview. He also reflects on the prophetic role Pendle Hill has played in building a different world since its founding in 1930.
• Second Guest: Dwight Dunston – As the second guest, Dwight offers insights into his journey with Quakerism, continuing revelation, and how his experiences at Pendle Hill have shaped his vision of world-building. He also reflects on the transformative experience of attending a writing retreat in Ireland in the summer of 2024.
• World-Building in Practice – Dwight and Francisco discuss what it means to build new worlds in the cracks of broken systems, drawing on their personal experiences and the influence of Pendle Hill.

New Features for Season 5:

• Mini-Episode Preview: This season will include alternating mini-episodes featuring unaired content and new material created on the Pendle Hill campus. These shorter episodes will deepen the season’s exploration of world-building.
• Two Guests! Each of our full episodes will include a main guest in conversation with Dwight and a second guest who will offer a short reflection, reading, poem, or song.
• Online Quaker Worship with Dwight: Dwight will attend the Pendle Hill online Quaker worship on the last Friday of the month from 8:30 to 9:10 AM (Eastern Time). Visit Pendle Hill Online Worship for details.

NEW Video Version available at Pendle Hill's YouTube page.

The transcript for this episode is available on https://pendlehillseed.buzzsprout.com/
----
The Seed is a project of Pendle Hill, a Quaker center open to all for Spirit-led learning, retreat, and community. We’re located in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, on the traditional territory of the Lenni-Lenape people.

Help us to grow The Seed!
Share your thoughts with us through our listener survey.

Follow us @PendleHillUSA on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to The Seed wherever you get your podcasts to get episodes in your library as they're released.  To learn more, visit pendlehill.org/podcast. 

This project is made possible by the generous support of the Thomas H. & Mary Williams Shoemaker Fund.

🌱 Welcome to Season 5 of The Seed: Conversations for Radical Hope! 🌱

In this special promo, host Dwight Dunston invites you into a season focused on world-building and imagination, exploring the deep questions about the future we envision and how we can start living it today. This season is packed with inspiring conversations, reflections, and new features designed to expand your sense of justice, love, and peace.

🎙️ Episode Highlights:

• Dr. Riyam Kafri Abu Laban shares a powerful and personal perspective from Ramallah, Palestine, reflecting on the struggles mothers face across the globe in times of violence.
• Manchán Magan from Ireland delves into the healing power of language and place, offering a glimpse into his deep connection with nature and spirit through gardening.
• Special guests like Alexx Temeña, Zenaida Peterson, and Steve Tamari bring fresh insights on spirituality, creativity, and justice, bridging the gap between faith and action.

✨ What’s New in Season 5:

• Second Guests in each episode sharing special poems, reflections, or songs.
• Mini Episodes featuring exclusive content every two weeks.
• Join Dwight in Pendle Hill's Online Quaker Worship on the last Friday of each month for more connection and reflection.

Don’t miss out! Subscribe now and step into a world of radical hope, where imagination meets action, and together, we create the future we want. New episodes drop every two weeks!

#Podcast #WorldBuilding #RadicalHope #Imagination #Justice #Peace #Season5

NEW Video Version available at Pendle Hill's YouTube page.

The transcript for this episode is available on https://pendlehillseed.buzzsprout.com/
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The Seed is a project of Pendle Hill, a Quaker center open to all for Spirit-led learning, retreat, and community. We’re located in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, on the traditional territory of the Lenni-Lenape people.

Help us to grow The Seed!
Share your thoughts with us through our listener survey.

Follow us @PendleHillUSA on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to The Seed wherever you get your podcasts to get episodes in your library as they're released.  To learn more, visit pendlehill.org/podcast. 

This project is made possible by the generous support of the Thomas H. & Mary Williams Shoemaker Fund.

In our final episode of Season 4, Valerie Brown, an author, Buddhist-Quaker Dharma teacher, and executive coach, discusses yielding to the realignment of grief, the relationship between self care and social justice, and how Quaker communities are being called to transformation in our current political moment.
 

Valerie Brown is an author, Buddhist-Quaker Dharma teacher in the lineage of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village tradition, Courage & Renewal facilitator, and executive coach specializing in leadership development and mindfulness practices with a focus on diversity, social equity, and inclusion. A former lawyer and lobbyist, Valerie transformed her high-pressure, twenty-year career into serving leaders and nonprofits to create trustworthy, authentic, compassionate, and connected workspaces. Valerie’s unique and extensive training blends social justice, evidenced-based mindfulness practices, leadership development, and spiritual growth. 

Of Afro-Cuban descent, Valerie is a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and lives and tends a lively perennial home garden in New Hope, PA.

To learn more about Valerie's work, visit https://valeriebrown.us/

Order and read more about Valerie's newest book, Healing Our Way Home, here: https://pendlehill.org/product/healing-our-way-home-black-buddhist-teachings-on-ancestors-joy-and-liberation/

NEW Video Version available at Pendle Hill's YouTube page.

The transcript for this episode is available on https://pendlehillseed.buzzsprout.com/
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The Seed is a project of Pendle Hill, a Quaker center open to all for Spirit-led learning, retreat, and community. We’re located in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, on the traditional territory of the Lenni-Lenape people.

Help us to grow The Seed!
Share your thoughts with us through our listener survey.

Follow us @PendleHillUSA on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to The Seed wherever you get your podcasts to get episodes in your library as they're released.  To learn more, visit pendlehill.org/podcast. 

This project is made possible by the generous support of the Thomas H. & Mary Williams Shoemaker Fund.

Rabbi Mordechai Liebling draws on his decades-long experience in interfaith and interracial activism and organizing to explore the role of clergy in organizing and nonviolent direct action, the power of shared heartbreak across difference, and the current fight for a ceasefire in Gaza. 

Rabbi Mordechai Liebling is the Senior Advisor for POWER Interfaith, the largest faith-based community organizing group in Pennsylvania. Prior to that he founded and directed for ten years the Social Justice Organizing Program at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. Previously, he served as the executive vice president of Jewish Funds for Justice (now Bend the Arc); and was the executive director of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation for 12 years. He leads workshops on Race, Antisemitism and Christian hegemony; and on the Work That Reconnects developed by Joanna Macy.

He was a co-founder of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights; currently he serves on the boards of Faith in Action (formerly PICO),  the Faith and Politics Institute and The Shalom Center. He is married to Lynne Iser, and they have five adult children. He answered the clergy call to come to Ferguson, Mo.; Standing Rock, N.D.; and Charlottesville, VA amid their confrontations. He is a member of Rabbis 4 Ceasefire.

NEW Video Version available at Pendle Hill's YouTube page.

The transcript for this episode is available on https://pendlehillseed.buzzsprout.com/
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The Seed is a project of Pendle Hill, a Quaker center open to all for Spirit-led learning, retreat, and community. We’re located in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, on the traditional territory of the Lenni-Lenape people.

Help us to grow The Seed!
Share your thoughts with us through our listener survey.

Follow us @PendleHillUSA on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to The Seed wherever you get your podcasts to get episodes in your library as they're released.  To learn more, visit pendlehill.org/podcast. 

This project is made possible by the generous support of the Thomas H. & Mary Williams Shoemaker Fund.