The ecologist who helped change the world’s understanding of trees returns with a new book

The disorientating goal of the Israel lobby has been to loosen evidence thresholds, constrain critical thinking, and redefine racism and criminality. The effects have bled into dangerous new policing norms. Matthew Alford reads my latest: jonathancook.substack.com/p/listen-uk-...

This year Pride is Giving Shame. Shame on those liars who pursue violence and make the world unsafe for everyone. #LGBTQ #Trans #FreePalistine

The conversation delves into the indigeneity of Palestinian Christianity, the metaphor of the olive tree as a framework for theology, and the importance of staying in the "long silence" of Holy Saturday during times of genocide and suffering. open.spotify.com/episode/7yrA...

Nasser Abu Srour was incarcerated for over 33 years in Israeli prisons. He was released in October 2025, and yet, as he writes in a new memoir for @equatormag, “what can liberation possibly mean amid a genocide?” www.equator.org/articles/why...

Nadav Weiman, the executive director, told me that Breaking the Silence is trying to counter the Israeli government’s narrative that atrocities and war crimes were committed only by bad apples. “It’s the entire system,” he said. “It is systematic crimes that we are doing.”

"How is it even decent to remain sane in this insane world we are so recklessly and callously deranging? It is a kind of madness to always hear the keening of the dead, this hurt canticle. It is a madness not to hear." -Anna Badkhen

For those of us who survived the ex-gay world, this is not just another hypocrisy story. Conversion therapy always gave adults permission to invade queer kids’ inner lives and call it care. They preyed on youth, then they imposed heterosexuality on us. That is institutionalized sexual abuse.

"For the eye has this strange property: it rests only on beauty; like a butterfly it seeks out color and basks in warmth." From the Archives: Virginia Woolf wanders the streets of London.

"Prophetic imagination isn't about seeing what will happen tomorrow," says Ron Hogan, "but about recognizing what has gone wrong with the world today—and why." The miracle of Pentecost came with a promise that Spirit will help us all access such a transformative mindset. quaker.org/2026/05/18/i...

An example of how the term LGBTQ gets used in establishment media to flatten and obscure. Frank was notoriously hostile to trans rights, and wasn't particularly keen on queer communities broadly outside a swath of gentry white cis gays. The main trail he blazed was for his own power.

Sadly this is not the first time Alan Chambers pursued child abuse. youtube.com/shorts/x1wpK...

"The (Lebanese) ministry said the toll is now 3,020 killed in the Israeli strikes, including 292 women and 211 children. Fighting began on March 2 with the Hezbollah militant group firing at Israel, two days after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran." www.pbs.org/newshour/wor...

Sound like a current destructive leader.

Join AFSC 5/19 @ 8pm ET to learn how communities are organizing as militarized policing & ICE raids wreak fear across the U.S. RSVP:

What is relational finance, and why are Diana Yañez & I talking about it on the Quakers Today podcast? And what does Jennifer Aniston have to do with it?? youtu.be/P3qgL8UmMmA?... @friendsjournal.org

Stop leaving money to the "experts"! 🛑 Quakers Today explores Relational Finance—a "priesthood of all believers" approach to our wallets. Let’s move from an extractive economy to one that nurtures community. 🤝✨ Full episode out now! 🕊️ @friendsjournal.org www.quakerstoday.org

Why is Jennifer Aniston on a Quaker podcast? 🎬 We’re using the movie "Friends with Money" to explore how financial disparity creates unspoken walls between friends. Let’s talk about relational finance and breaking down the barriers that keep us apart. 🧱✨ @friendsjournal.org @afsc-org.bsky.social

One of the deep roots of Mother’s Day is not brunch or flowers, but women organizing against war. In 1870, Julia Ward Howe called on mothers around the world to rise up and say: we did not raise our children for this.

Why are people being such jerks towards trans folks? youtube.com/shorts/XLz2a...

I feature Irish writers Manchán Magan, Shirley-Anne McMillan, and Damian Gorman as I guest-host Spirit in Action. You can hear it on an independent radio station near you or visit: www.northernspiritradio.org/spirit-actio... Thanks to @pendlehillusa.bsky.social & Dwight Dunston!

I get skittish around conversations concerning money. My partner has to give me a heads-up the day before he wants to have a chat about our shared finances, taxes, or financial planning. This season of Quakers Today podcast stretches me. www.friendsjournal.org/quakers-and-... @friendsjournal.org

A new report created by a pair of evangelical Christian organizations is raising alarms about the effects of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation effort on families.

Going to Meeting for Worship was designed by Germantown Friends School to explain what happens at Quaker meetings to young students. Eileen Redden says it could also be helpful for monthly meetings, either in First-day class or whenever parents want to explain worship to kids.

"When we think we have something to say we are usually wrong. We are fooling ourselves. Trip into discovery. Don't write what you know, discover something new." ~ Marie Howe

A Spiritual Retreat for Eco-Writers: 13-17 July • Nourishing, farm-to-table meals • Facilitated spiritual practice sessions (designed just for writers) to feed your soul and stir your creative gifts • Opportunities to gather and play with other soulful writers thebtscenter.org/ecowriters/

"This column is named after a tree, for Ficus sake. So it is with due respect that Banyan argues: some trees need to go. There is a better way to balance the trade-offs between nature and urbanisation than to do both badly."

"It is impossible to avoid interpretation with proxy data, and the more proxies involved (and the more kinds of proxy), the greater the leeway for alternative interpretations. This is enough to fuel scientific controversy, even before politics are added to the mix." -Lorraine Daston

“The forest gives me peace of mind,” said Cebu, who was involved with the planting of the forest two years ago. “I just like to sit in the shadow between the trees.” I would love to do a podcast episode about this story! groundup.org.za/article/lang... @groundup.org.za

In the Season 6 premiere of the Quakers Today podcast, @petersontoscano.bsky.social and co-host Diana Yañez discuss how their "money biographies" have shaped his spiritual lives. Watch the full episode and find our show notes at QuakersToday.org 🎧

"While monotheism retained a fondness for the dove, white and domesticated, the turtle dove continues to disrupt violent national identities—she remains wild, and not respecting borders." -Mario Gerada www.maltatoday.com.mt/comment/opin...

From serving breakfast to Henry Kissinger in a white tuxedo to working with youth uptown, I saw the "baccarat crystal" side of finance firsthand. 🥂 Join me for Season 6 of Quakers Today as we go "into the wallet." 💸 Watch at QuakersToday.org #Quakers #Finance #Ethics @friendsjournal.org

"Indigenous oral histories include tales of bizarre gifts of unwashed bedding or paper scraps that ended up seeding devastating epidemics." Glen Retief visits the site of the most notorious germ warfare in America. #Pittsburgh www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026... @dailymaverick.co.za

Noah's Ark, Turkish Miniature from the early 20th century

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 2961: Your voice is unique. It’s a combination of many factors: your upbringing and background; the books you’ve read; your personality. Some people may not like it, but it’s yours. Keep it authentic. Trying to sound like someone else is a betrayal of who you are.

If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking. - Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood

🎙️ A new season of Quakers Today begins now! Diana Yañez joins longtime host Peterson Toscano as they reflect on money not just as personal math, but as a spiritual practice and communal responsibility. Listen at our website or download the latest episode wherever you find your favorite podcasts! 🎧

🐙 Painted Octopus — By Lumen Street Theatre in Limerick 🇮🇪 This Is Clever (14 Photos): streetartutopia.com/2026/04/17/c...

Young men in the USA have an increased interest in religion. But are they inspired by the Spirit, political power, or some weird combination that ultimately promotes oppression and fear? 😨 apnews.com/article/reli...

Recorded in front of a raucous Belfast audience, here is my latest Bubble&Squeak podcast. open.spotify.com/episode/6UAb... Recorded at the Accidental Theatre for the Imagine Belfast Festival

This

"Tsundoku" The habit of collecting books and letting them pile up, unread, while still cherishing the possibility of reading them one day. #booksky

Ramin Haerizadeh, Men of Allah (05), 2008, C-Print, 100 x 150 cm

“These wars…” The sentence hung in the air as Massoud drew on the shisha, blowing a cloud of smoke in the air. He opened his mouth to finish his sentence, then changed his mind and grabbed Nizar’s hand, interlacing their fingers." 📕 Saleem Haddad's novel sounds amazing. Check out Fruit Journal!

Also, delighted to share an issue w/a fun first-butt-stuff story by @petersontoscano.bsky.social, who I met once several genders & decades ago on a long car ride: the way he made a server's day by flirtily ordering vegan off the menu at Denny's taught me asking for things can be a gift

Today is the Trans Day of Visibility. On November 20, however, the lives of recently deceased trans people are recognized through the Trans Day of Remembrance. Staff writer Sharlee DiMenichi spoke with members of Lake Erie Yearly Meeting who convened an online vigil for this purpose last November.

For Trans Day of Visibility, here's Claude Cahun, nonbinary French Jewish artist and anti-fascist activist, sentenced to death for resisting the Nazis. "Masculine? Feminine? It depends on the situation. Neuter is the only gender that always suits me."

Egon Schiele. Self-portrait with hands on chest. 1910

The Irish Times asked me a series of questions: favourite food? My mom's eggplant parmesan. Favourite author? Rabih Alameddine And they asked me, "Does God exist?" How would you answer? www.irishnews.com/entertainmen... @rabihalameddine.bsky.social

🎧 In a special, extra-large episode of the Quakers Today podcast, @petersontoscano.bsky.social introduces listeners to LGBTQ+ individuals living their truth with integrity within their spiritual communities. Join us at the Quakers Today website—or wherever you find your favorite podcasts!