Mahvash is author of the memoir Daylight Forever. It is a story of a young Iranian Baha'i, herself, who escapes persecution and war to immigrate to the United States. It is a gripping, heart-wrenching story that she shares in the interview.

Michael is a professor of Communication Studies at Western Washington University. His scholarship examines the prevailing conceptions of human nature, power, social organization, and social change – and their implications for the pursuit of peace and justice. We discuss his book "Constructing Social Reality: An Inquiry into the Normative Foundations of Social Change" in the interview.

Andrea describes herself as a poet, mother and world citizen. Her published poetry works include Will You Break The Silence, Poetic Practical Steps Toward Race Unity and, To Mother. She also hosts a podcast called To Mother with Andrea Hope. We talk about all three in the interview. Her website is https://www.andreahope.org/.

Peter is a writer, educator, poet and musician from Australia. He has a degree in philosophy and likes to delve into the deeper aspects of life and express his insights. He is the author of A Path to Seek and The Baha'i Approach to Spiritual Transformation: Walking the Mystical Path with Practical Feet. We feature both works in the interview. We also feature Peter reading one of his poems and we play one of his musical pieces. His website is www.petergexpressions.com.

Gail is a contemporary fiction writer, who has lived in three continents and is fluent in several languages while working in the fields of healthcare, education, coaching, training, and community development, including NGO work. Her background and experience in multicultural environments, including the intimate settings of Persian family and community, provides her with unique insights into the complex issues she writes about. She's the author of the novel Crimson Ink and is currently working on its sequel. This story exemplifies her experience in the intimate setting of Persian family and community. We feature the book in the interview.

Abdu'l-Missagh is an author, researcher and Emeritus Professor at McGill University, Faculty of Medicine in Montreal as well as a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. One of his works is called Materialism: Moral & Social Consequences. He has written another book entitled Creative Dimensions of Suffering which explores the role of creativity to treat suffering. It is this book that we feature in the interview. It is a combination of psychiatry and spirituality that illustrates the power of creativity to treat suffering. It includes a look at the lives of some famous artists who suffered - including Van Gogh, Tchaikovsky, and Beethoven, and gives insight into how they dealt with their adversity through creativity.

Kim is a writer, educator, and small business owner. She speaks widely on topics related to personal transformation, family, race relations, health and nutrition and the individual's role in improving society. As a business owner, she provides education on the health benefits of whole food nutrition. She co-authored Kevin Locke's autobiography Arising, and wrote her own autobiography High Desert: A Journey of Survival and Hope, which we feature in the interview.

Tahirih has self-published a number of books for children and young people on various aspects of spirituality first via Adia Publishing named after her daughter and now Sacred Square Publishing. She has a background in education and child protection. Her first book was A Gift From God inspired by the birth of her daughter. One of her latest works is a series entitled The Independent Investigator. We discuss both in the interview along with her upcoming book "Three's Not A Crowd".

Jean conducts participatory research to build cohesive communities throughout the world. Her doctoral dissertation was on emergency preparedness learning through community radio in North Indian villages. She hosted a podcast series called "Discovering How" for the organization Ethical Business Building the Future or ebbf, which people can still listen to on the ebbf website. She talks about how her interest in radio began and her experience as program producer for Radio for Peace International in Costa Rica. She is now the online program director for the Desert Rose Baha'i Institute. She describes some of the online programming that has been developed

From 1976-1983 Janet directed the program in counseling psychology at the University of Queensland, in Brisbane, Australia. From 1983 to 2010 she served in the Research Department at the International Headquarters of the Bahá'í Faith in Haifa, Israel. Janet has published several books. Her latest collaborative effort is called A World Without War: 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the Discourse for Global Peace.

Jacqueline is an artist whose motivation is exploring how art can be elevating, transcending, and culture-evolving, while also being inclusive, welcoming and participatory. Her work spans a range from fine art on canvas to children's illustration. We talk about her art, her work in groups, her podcast, and her upcoming book release. At the end of the interview we play one of her podcasts.

David is a singer song-writer whose songs have been featured on on WDCB Public Radio in Chicago and WVPE in Indiana. His album Serenade to a Life was released in October 2016. We feature his song-writing in the interview. You can find his music here.

Harvey is a retired engineer, and author of "What Comes After Nations" and a regulator contributor to BahaiTeachings.org, a platform that allows individuals to share their personal perspectives and insights as they strive to implement the Baha'i teachings in their everyday lives. In the interview Harvey provides a very good explanation on the Baha'i concept of Progressive Revelation, which is basis for his book.

Klare is a singer-songwriter whose style draws from her traditional roots of Papua New Guinea combined with elements of Jazz, R&B, World and soul music. She refers to her style as ACOUSTIC SOUL/JAZZ MUSICIAN. We feature her music including the audio from a video she helped produce. You can find her music here.

Walter is a singer-songwriter who uses principles based on the oneness of mankind for inspiration, with influences from his Christian upbringing for his songs. The ones we feature on the interview are songs inspired by the Baha'i writings. You can find his music on the website 9StarMedia.com.

Rhea is a poet, novelist and an agronomist. Her two works of poetry are Language of the Spirit and a spoken word CD entitled Isaiah's Longing. She reads a selection from Language of the Spirit and we play the title spoken word piece Isaiah's Longing. Rhea's three novels are, The Harvest of Reason, God Created Women, and Intermarry. She reads excerpts from her novels in the interview.

Max is a singer-songwriter. His most recent endeavors have been in collaboration with Faye Dupras on a puppet series called Cozy Corner . In the interview we feature music in which he puts the Baha'i writings to music and other songs that he has composed. You can find his music at these links:
Releases, 
Let Your Vision Be World Embracing
So Much To See

Steve is a life-long student of spirituality and comparative religion. He was born in Oregon where he resides with his wife and practices his profession as a Chiropractic Physician. He is the author of forty-five study-guides and two booklets on the Bahá'í Faith. One collection of these study guides is called Baha'i Essentials. Steve has now published his first novel called Road Trip Home: A Baha'i Vision of Hope. We talk about the inspiration behind writing a novel and this one in particular. He covers the storyline of the book and reads an excerpt.

Roya and Roshan have been collaborating for five years, putting the Baha'i writings to song. They have yet to publish an album, but they offered to perform live for the interview. They've selected six pieces to feature and so, sit back and enjoy the concert. You can find Roya's work here.

I have had the wonderful opportunity to interview Hussein Ahdieh a number of times whenever he produces a new work. And this is no exception. Hussein, in collaboration with Hilary Chapman, created the book The Chosen Path: Tahirih of Persia and Her Search for God, targeted for young adults. We talk extensively about the history of Tahirih in Persia in the 19th century and her impact today. In the interview Hussein refers to a number of, what are referred to as, "orientalists". Some of them were scholarly historians in the 19th century that focused their endeavors in researching the Persian culture. And others had less academic credentials, but had directly experienced the Persian culture and wrote about it. These "orientalists" discovered the eventful history of the Babi Faith and its renowned heroine, Tahirih, and wrote about her, thus introducing the Babi movement to the western world. The orientalists Hussein refers to in the interview are: Alphonse Louis Marie Nicolas who was a Persian-born French historian and orientalist, Edward Granville Browne who was a British orientalist and spent time in Peria, Joseph Arthur de Gobineau - a French diplomat who lived in Persia, and Lord George Curzon - a British statesman who had spent time and wrote about Persia.

Elizabeth is the author of 3 books: Answers from Heaven: The Near-Death Experiences of Reinee E. Pasarow, Ancient Wisdom Common Ground: An Interfaith View of the Spiritual Journey We Call Life, and 30 Days to a Better World Starting with Me. We discuss each of these books and she shares excerpts from each in the interview.

Tania is a family physician and an assistant clinical professor in Family Medicine at the University of Alberta. For over twenty years she has been treating patients afflicted by chronic pain, using diet change as one way of ameliorating their condition. In her practice she treats addiction as well, and describes her unique ability to address it. She describes the intersection of pain and addiction in the interview.

Bijan co-authored a book with his wife Farnaz and his son Adib called The Secrets of True Happiness. Bijan explains the scientific research behind the book and the fundamental prerequisites for true happiness. I have Bijan read an excerpt from the book in the interview.

Chitra started her graduate career by conducting research at the Columbian educational foundation known as FUNDAEC.  Later, while pursuing her graduate degree, she co-founded the UCLA branch of the Paulo Freire Institute. She is now a faculty member of the Institute for Humane Education, although she is taking a leave of absence to devote her time to an associate directorship at the Wilmette Institute. She explains how all these phases in her career represent a progressive, evolutionary process in her understanding of the potential for education to change humanity and the world.

David was a successful entrepreneur who was able to retire at 50 and devote his time and resources in service to humanity. He began by initiating a video series called Angels of Iran to make aware the persecutions of the Baha'is in Iran. During this endeavor he conceived the Education Under Fire Campaign. This campaign inspired universities across the globe to accept accreditation of an underground higher education institution established by the Baha'is of Iran, who are denied the right to attend university by the government of the country. Soon after, he was approached to be executive director of the Association of the Peasants of Fondwa (APF) - USA Foundation, which he renamed Raising Haiti Foundation. He talks about the work of the foundation and its alliances with Parish Twinnings and Small Holder Farmers.

Augusto has been an international economist for over 30 years working with international organizations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. He and Ms. Bahiyyih Nakhjavani have collaborated on a book entitled Equality for Women = Prosperity for All; a book about the direct relationship between a woman's rights and freedoms and the economic prosperity of her country. We talk extensively about this subject and Augusto reads a moving except from the book in the interview.

Rob is the author of the book Eagles in the Dust: Alcohol and Other Pastimes. Rob explains that most of us have grown up in a culture where alcohol is commonplace. Eagle and the Dust describes how many people believe it to be harmless, and only in severe substance abuse is it considered then harmful. He disputes that moderate drinking is responsible or even beneficial. He explains this is some detail in the interview. Rob also has a YouTube channel called Bridging Beliefs.

Jay is the author of the historical novel, "The Wise Men of the West: A Search for the Promised One in the Latter Days". This is a two volume work. The story takes place during the millennial movement when William Miller was proclaiming that the return of Christ was to occur in 1844. The two main characters in the novel realize that the event was not to take place in the West but in the East and the story chronicles their realization and pursuit, what they finally discover, and what they must do once they make their discovery. Jay reads an excerpt in the interview. You can find his book here.
 

Ania is an artist and a musician. With her art she provides venues for collaborative painting and she performs live painting at live public events. In the interview Ania describes these for us. With her music she composes songs, the lyrics of which, are from the Baha'i writitings. For the interview she demonstrates some of the songs she has written especially for her children to help them learn these spiritual writings. She describes how it is important to tap into the creativity in us to reach and understand spiritual reality. You can find her work at AniaTelfer.com.

Earl has written several books on the Baha'i Faith published through the UK publisher George Ronald. Two of his books are about Abdu'l-Baha. Abdu'l-Baha is one of the central figures of the Baha'i Faith and is the son of the prophet-founder of the Baha'i Faith, Baha'u'llah. Earl explains why Abdu'l-Baha is an important figure to Baha'is and tells a number of stories about Abdul'l-Baha in the interview. Earl's wife, Sharon O'Toole is an active participant in the interview who tells her story about her spiritual search and reads excerpts from Earl's stories about Abdu'l-Baha.

Richard grew up and became a Baha'i in the 60's. He and Joann Boravicka together recorded his story in a book called Crossing the Line: A memoir of race, religion, and change . His story starts with him turning away from the church and becoming a delinquent. He tells the remarkable story of the influences that turned his life around.

Susan is a singer, song writer, and author who has now written two books for the Baha'i Change Maker Series. The Change Maker Series is a series of biographies targeted toward middle schoolers. Her first one is Robert Abbott who founded the Chicago Defender newspaper. Her most recent, to be published February 8th of this same year, is "John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie: A Man, a Trumpet, and a Journey to Bebop". We talk about Dizzy Gillespie's life and I feature recordings of Dizzy Gillespie in the program.

Emily is a singer songwriter and speech pathologist who uses music to help kids with speech difficulties. We share a number of her compositions in the interview in which she puts the Baha'i writings to song. She also describes in the interview how she incorporates music  into her work as a speech pathologist and we share one example in the interview.