Events this week: Beverly Little Thunder, Jack Mitchell in conversation with Kathleen Dunn, Wayne Pacelle

Here's what's going on at Boswell this week:

Wednesday, August 17, 7:00 pm, at Boswell:
Wayne Pacelle, author of The Humane Economy: How Innovators and Enlightened Consumers Are Transforming the Lives of Animals. Pacelle will be introduced by Anne Reed, president and CEO of the Wisconsin Humane Society.

During his more than twenty years with The Humane Society of the United States, including a decade as president and CEO, Wayne Pacelle has played a leading role in transforming the organization, the nation’s largest animal protection charity, into a dynamic public force and voice for all animals. He was named an Executive of the Year by NonProfit Times in 2005 for his leadership in responding to the Hurricane Katrina crisis. A graduate of Yale University, he is also author of The Bond.

Here are some recommendations for Pacelle's The Humane Economy.

"Essential reading for anyone interested in animal welfare. This fabulous book reveals the inside story of how the fight against human cruelty to animals is gradually being won. A fascinating, highly readable, and remarkably comprehensive book." --Jane Goodall

"A critically important read for anyone who cares about business succes or animals -- or, like so many of us, both." --Jack Welch, founder of the Jack Welch Management Institute"

"The Humane Economy is a brilliant book that celebrates the truth: our economic wellbeing is inextricably linked to the wellbeing of animals. This book is an important moral and pragmatic blueprint for humane, enlightened prosperity for all." --U.S. Senator Cory Booker

Here's Caroline Abels profiling Wayne Pacelle in Civil Eats.

Thursday, August 18, 7.00 pm, at Boswell:
Jack Mitchell, author of Wisconsin on the Air: 100 Years of Public Broadcasting in the State That Invented It, in conversation with Kathleen Dunn of Wisconsin Public Radio. This event is cosponsored by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Jack Mitchell, PhD, led Wisconsin Public Radio from 1976 till 1997, initiating the transition from educational radio to WPR. Mitchell was the first employee of National Public Radio, where he was instrumental in developing the groundbreaking newsmagazine All Things Considered. He received the two highest honors in public radio: the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s Edward R. Murrow Award and the Edward Elson National Public Radio Distinguished Service Award. Mitchell joined the faculty of the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication in 1998. He is the author of Listener Supported: The Culture and History of Public Radio.

Mitchell will be in conversation with Kathleen Dunn for this event, cosponsored by Wisconsin Public Radio. Dunn’s first job in radio was at a small station in North Carolina. Then after 18 years at Milwaukee’s WTMJ, she came to Wisconsin Public Radio in 1993. Dunn has a deep interest in the news of the day, world affairs, arts and culture.

From Isthmus, here's a review of the book From Bill Lueders: "Mitchell, a still-active UW-Madison journalism professor emeritus, headed WPR from 1976 to 1997. He brings an insider’s knowledge and true believer’s passion to the tale of how public broadcasting in Wisconsin has struggled to provide quality programming within a maelstrom of reactive public officials, alternatively devoted and volatile audiences and an alphabet soup (WHA, WPR, WPT, PBS, etc.) of interconnected but not always cooperative entities."

Friday, August 19, 7:00 pm, at Boswell:
Beverly Little Thunder, author of One Bead at a Time

Beverly Little Thunder, Lakota Elder, and women's activist, is a member of the Standing Rock Lakota Band from North Dakota. When she was forced to leave her Spiritual community because she was a lesbian, Beverly founded the Women's Sundance over 20 years ago to continue teaching the traditions and ceremonies of her heritage, including sweat lodge, talking circles, vision quests, and spiritual counseling.

From Sarya Pinto, author of Vatolandia and Pinol: Poems: "One Bead at a Time is a timely testimonial of the indomitable character and expansive vision necessary to break deeply set patterns of intergenerational intersectional oppression in one's personal and communal life. The capacity to transform tragedy into possibility, sadness into joy, and social exclusion into an invitation for belonging is perhaps the most powerful tool humanity has at its disposal during these critical times. Let this groundbreaking contribution inspire all of us to work together to reconstitute the circle of life."

Here's Paul Masterson's "My LGBT POV" column in the recent Shepherd Express, where he discusses Beverly Little Thunder's journey to create a Women's-only Sundance.