Sprouts: Radio from the Grassroots, is a weekly program produced collaboratively by radio producers at community stations around the world. The show features local news and culture of international interest.

Sprouts: Radio from the Grassroots, is a weekly program produced collaboratively by radio producers at community stations around the world. The show features local news and culture of international interest.

Sprouts: Radio from the Grassroots, is a weekly program produced collaboratively by radio producers at community stations around the world. The show features local news and culture of international interest.

Sprouts: Radio from the Grassroots, is a weekly program produced collaboratively by radio producers at community stations around the world. The show features local news and culture of international interest.

Sprouts: Radio from the Grassroots, is a weekly program produced collaboratively by radio producers at community stations around the world. The show features local news and culture of international interest.

Sprouts: Radio from the Grassroots, is a weekly program produced collaboratively by radio producers at community stations around the world. The show features local news and culture of international interest.

Sprouts: Radio from the Grassroots, is a weekly program produced collaboratively by radio producers at community stations around the world. The show features local news and culture of international interest.

Sprouts:Songs of the People: Indigenous Roots of Black Folk Music 

Songs of the People: Indigenous Roots of Black Folk Music is a 28-minute audio program hosted by Benjamin Mertz, a song leader in the Black Spiritual tradition. The program will look at pre-20th Century Black music as a folk tradition, exploring its connections to its African ancestry and its similarities to the traditional music of the First Nations in North America. With work songs, drum circles, sacred chants, and songs evoking the imagery of rivers and mountains, Black Spiritual music lives hand-in-hand with other Indigenous music traditions.

Music for this program will be taken from Benjamin Mertz's album "Climbing Up the Mountain," a vocal and percussion project designed to emphasize the Indigenous/folk aspects of Black traditional music. Songs will be interspersed with historical perspectives.

Songs of the People was developed for KIDE-FM Hoopa Tribal Radio and was first aired on Feb. 2, 2020. 

Sprouts: Radio from the Grassroots, is a weekly program produced collaboratively by radio producers at community stations around the world. The show features local news and culture of international interest.

The Fires out West 

Today we hear reports from the west coast, where almost 5 million acres of land have burned (this year) by the time of this broadcast. Over 100,000 people have evacuated their homes, quickly filling shelters to capacity. People from 3 community radio stations share their experiences of what it's like to endure the crisis of wildfire and what they are doing to help people in their areas.
 
Don Merrill from KBOO radio (Portland, OR), Mathilde Rand from KSQD radio (Santa Cruz, CA), and Alyssa de Leon from KMUD radio

Sprouts: Radio from the Grassroots, is a weekly program produced collaboratively by radio producers at community stations around the world. The show features local news and culture of international interest.

LGBTQ Equality vs Religious Liberty 

Using religion to discriminate against LGBTQ people - part 1 of a series

September 1, 2020 - There are some religious people, congregations, and religions that support LGBTQ people. In the Episcopal Church, Bishop Gene Robinson was the first openly gay Bishop - but his consecration led to a worldwide split in the church over the issue of homosexuality. In New York City, Congregation Beit Simchat Torah is an LGBTQ-welcoming synagogue with an openly gay leader, Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum. Both Bishop Gene and Rabbi Kleinbaum were guests on earlier editions of OutCasting; you can listen to their interviews at OutCastingMedia.org.

But historically, many religions have condemned LGBTQ people. The Catholic church has described homosexuality as an "intrinsic disorder" and encouraged people to "condemn the sin, not the sinner" - as if people can just rip sexuality out of their lives without inflicting great harm. Any number of religious counselors continue to practice conversion or reparative therapy to "cure" people of being gay even as a growing number of states, and even some other countries, recognize that this "treatment" is ineffective and potentially dangerous. We did a series in early 2020 on conversion therapy; its also available at OutCastingMedia.org.

As the law is catching up with growing public acceptance of LGBTQ people and as we have secured a number of important civil rights, there's a movement determined to put us firmly back in our place, as they would have it. Cakeshops and florists claim that they're entitled to deny their services to us because they say that providing services to LGBTQ people would violate their "religious liberty." This discrimination would never be seen as legitimate if it were directed at any other minority group. Just imagine it - a shop owner says: "My religious liberty prevents me from serving Black people, or Jewish people, so go away." It's unthinkable that that would be seen as acceptable in today's world. And of course, there are businesses where the stakes would be much higher if it becomes the law that businesses can just turn away LGBTQ people based on a religious objection.

So is there any legitimacy when a business owner cites "religious liberty" to justify denying service to LGBTQ people? What are the contours of religious liberty? Whats supposed to happen when someone, citing religious liberty, discriminates against LGBTQ people, thus denying their equality? What does "equality" mean in the United States? Does one take precedence over the other when they come into conflict?

Joining OutCaster Lucas to delve into this issue is Jennifer C. Pizer. Jenny is the Senior Counsel and Director of Law and Policy for Lambda Legal, the country's oldest and largest legal organization seeking full recognition of the civil rights of LGBT people and everyone living with HIV. 

Sprouts: Radio from the Grassroots, is a weekly program produced collaboratively by radio producers at community stations around the world. The show features local news and culture of international interest.

Black Voices in these Times of Change 

Hear black doctors, elected officials, activists, leaders, journalists and citizens express their views on the extraordinary events of 2020. Dr. Aisha Fields and Dr. Loretta King run a free telehealth program to tackle coronavirus.

Charles and Inez Barron fight for black community power from their positions in the NY State Assembly and New York City Council.

Sports writer Jason Jones comments on athletes taking a stand against police brutality.

Tasha Williamson and Alfred Durr discuss the gang activities of police and sheriffs in Los Angeles.

African People's Socialist Party Chairman Omali Yeshitela sums up the state of capitalism in crisis and offersSprouts: Radio from the Grassroots, is a weekly program produced collaboratively by radio producers at community stations around the world. The show features local news and culture of international interest.

Youth Resisting Racism 

Featured speakers/guests:
On this edition, Two independent media programs, OutCasting and The Children's Hour, join forces to share their response to the apparently unjustified police killings of George Floyd and other people of color, the culture of racism that we live in, and ideas on how we can truly work toward a society that champions liberty and justice for all. 

Jalay Knowles, founder of What About US. Behavioral psychologists Dr. Rebecca Ezechukwu and Dr. Danielle Riddle-Price, The Kids Crew from The Children's Hour Sprouts: Radio from the Grassroots, is a weekly program produced collaboratively by radio producers at community stations around the world. The show features local news and culture of international interest.

Electoral Integrity in the U.S. 
Comparing Voter Fraud, Voter Suppression, and Gerrymandering 

How do voter fraud, voter suppression and gerrymandering compare as threats to election integrity?

Mac Heller discusses 5 categories of voter suppression.

David Armiac (Center for Media and Democracy (CMD)) discusses voter suppression and many other areas that benefit big business and the ultra-wealthy at the expense of ordinary citizens.

Denise Lieberman (St. Louis Lawyer) and Lauren Bonds (Legal Director ACLU Kansas) discuss voting issues in Kansas and Missouri.

Sprouts: Radio from the Grassroots, is a weekly program produced collaboratively by radio producers at community stations around the world. The show features local news and culture of international interest.

The Fires out West 

Featured speakers/guests:
Today we hear reports from the west coast, where almost 5 million acres of land have burned (this year) by the time of this broadcast. Over 100,000 people have evacuated their homes, quickly filling shelters to capacity. People from 3 community radio stations share their experiences of what it's like to endure the crisis of wildfire and what they are doing to help people in their areas.

Sprouts: Radio from the Grassroots, is a weekly program produced collaboratively by radio producers at community stations around the world. The show features local news and culture of international interest.

Sprouts: Radio from the Grassroots, is a weekly program produced collaboratively by radio producers at community stations around the world. The show features local news and culture of international interest.

Sprouts: Radio from the Grassroots, is a weekly program produced collaboratively by radio producers at community stations around the world. The show features local news and culture of international interest.

Voting During a Pandemic: COVID-19 and the 2020 Election 

Voting rights expert Dr. Michael Latner explains how science can keep us safe when casting our votes during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Sprouts: Radio from the Grassroots, is a weekly program produced collaboratively by radio producers at community stations around the world. The show features local news and culture of international interest.

What's Inside: Perspectives on the Covid Lockdown

What's Inside presents unscripted monologues of people from around the world as they grapple with their innermost thoughts. In response to the rise of the Covid Lockdown, which has forced us to socially distance ourselves, Whats Inside is a reflection on being alone together.

Sprouts: Radio from the Grassroots, is a weekly program produced collaboratively by radio producers at community stations around the world. The show features local news and culture of international interest.

Gabriel emigrated from Oaxaca, Mexico when he was 14. Headed for the United States, he walked for 7 days in the desert. At night-he ran.
Today Gabriel is a student at UCSB. He is part of a program that is working to translate Mixteco into a written language for the first time.

On our show Gabriel speaks about his journey to the United States, and shares some of his poetry. 
Poet Gabriel 

Sprouts is a weekly program produced in collaboration with community radio stations and independent producers featuring radio productions of national interest. The program is coordinated and distributed by Pacifica Radio.

Sprouts: Radio from the Grassroots, is a weekly program produced collaboratively by radio producers at community stations around the world. The show features local news and culture of international interest.