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Paul Loeb: What It Means to Be a Citizen

Paul Loeb has spent decades exploring and writing about community involvement and citizen activism. In 1999, he wrote the book, “Soul of a Citizen: Living With Conviction in Challenging Times.” It didn’t take off at first, but through word of mouth, its popularity spread to activists, teachers, and students. Today there are over 100,000 copies in print.

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Paul Loeb has spent decades exploring and writing about community involvement and citizen activism. In 1999, he wrote the book, “Soul of a Citizen: Living With Conviction in Challenging Times.” It didn’t take off at first, but through word of mouth, its popularity spread to activists, teachers, and students. Today there are over 100,000 copies in print.

Paul Loeb has spent the past year updating and adding fresh stories and perspectives to the book. His goal was to create a new version that speaks to our new opportunities and challenges.

He asks: “How can we make sense of a world where Nike pays Michael Jordan more to appear in its ads than it pays all the workers at its Indonesian show factories combined? Or where the planet’s 500 richest people control more wealth than the bottom three billion, half of the human population?”

In the revised version of “Soul of a Citizen,” Loeb profiles a number of accidental activists who are finding their voice, getting involved, and taking a stand for a more just and humane world.

Press play to listen to “Your Call” with Rose Aguilar:

Press play to listen to “Your Call” with Rose Aguilar:

Guests:

  • Paul Loeb, author of “Soul of a Citizen,” and “The Impossible Will Take a Little While: A Citizen’s Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear”
  • Angie De Soto, self-described “drunken party girl” turned environmental activist

Your Call is daily call-in show on KALW 91.7 FM in San Francisco and KUSP 88.9 FM in Santa Cruz.

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