"Many of these [American] prophets stand up against what [Martin Luther King Jr.] called the 'giant triplets,' " the professor and author of "American Prophets: Seven Religious Radicals and Their Struggle for Social and Political Justice" tells Truthdig columnist Chris Hedges in a recent episode of "On Contact."

"The giant triplets are racism, extreme consumerism and militarism," Raboteau continues. "And those are the giant triplets that are within and without in our society."

Watch the two thinkers talk about Raboteau's book, which discusses the work of religious figures such as Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton and Martin Luther King Jr., among others, in the video below.

— Posted by Natasha Hakimi Zapata