Kroc Pod

An interview with Dr. Nadine Puechguirbal, an expert with over two decades working in gender, peace, and security. The breadth of her experience ranges across a diverse landscape including gender mainstreaming, addressing sexual and gender-based violence, preventing and responding to sexual exploitation and abuse, safeguarding, diversity and social inclusion, and advocating for the rights of the L...

Legendary activist Angela Davis delivers the Kroc School's Distinguished Lecture on the history of American prisons and the urgency of prison abolition. Recorded in front of a live audience on Oct. 11, 2023, Davis speaks about the importance of convincing people that prisons are not inevitable, the role of imagination in advocating for change and how to avoid burnout in social justice activism...

For part 2 of our series highlighting the state of prisons in the U.S., we speak with Wehtahnah Tucker, a lawyer with more than a decade experience working in the California Department of Corrections and co-moderator of a recent lecture by Angela Davis on prison abolition. Leeya and Wehtahnah go deep on the current state of the carceral system, the Norway Model and the tricky business of shutting...

Part Three of our Women Peacemakers Series introduces Sveto Muhammad Ishoq, an award-winning women’s rights activist, TEDx speaker and social entrepreneur from Afghanistan. Her work on international platforms has been instrumental in amplifying Afghan womens' voices during the Taliban regime. Sveto has founded several organizations, including Ayat, a social enterprise that employs Afghan women...

Part Two for our Women Peacemakers Series shines a light on the work of Shadi Rouhshahbaz, a young Iranian peace builder, futurist and researcher. She shares her remarkable journey from underground activist to founder of PeaceMentors, the first young-women-led peace building initiative in Iran. In this episode she delves into the Iranian information gap, the "Women, Life, Freedom" Moveme...

Part One of our Women Peacemakers Series kicks of with Kay Soe, a feminist and gender equality advocate from Burma with nearly two decades of experience in public policy, strategy development, evaluation and researchrelated to gender equality, labour migration, and peace and security. Listen as we discuss the 70 year-old civil war that her home country is undergoing, the mental toll of working for...

Tune in for this very special guest-host episode with Kroc School graduate student and Queer scholar Thomas Oliver. Thomas interviews Jack Harrison-Quintana, M.A. the Director of Grindr For Equality. Jack is a queer Latino activist, author, and researcher. He has worked with the National LGBTQ Task Force, the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), the Global Trans Research and Advocacy P...

In this first episode of Season 4, host Clara Nithiaparan speaks with Dr. Sarah Federman, Associate Professor at the Kroc School of Peace Studies, University of San Diego. Inspired by her newest book “Transformative Negotiation,” they touch on topics such as the nexus between peacebuilding and the business world through negotiation, the win-win-win approach, what's the best way to negotiate vi...

CW: depictions of violence and death, systematic abuse This episode's guest is Michael Lynk, former UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Palestinian Territories (2016-2022). Michael and our guest host discuss one of the longest standing conflicts in the world today, detailing the ways in which Israeli occupation and the systematic oppression of Palestinians has created th...

Join Guest Host, Tamara Sharifov and Thea in the studio as they reflect on a previous conversation recorded with Tibetan Buddhist teacher of the Nyingma Longchen Nying-Thig order, Lama Lhanang Rinpoche. Together they discuss how the Buddhist concepts of anger, leadership and love can play a role in reducing burnout, improving personal resilience, and building a strong practice for conflict resolut...

“I was not arrested, I was rescued." - Jackie Reed, Founder of Women Initiating Success Envisioned, Director of Women's Re-Entry at Urban League of San Diego County Guests, Jackie Reed, Founder of Women Initiating Success Envisioned (WISE), and former federal criminal defense lawyer, Janice Deaton, discuss the programmatic and service barriers facing women after incarceration. Listen as J...

In this episode, guest host, Michelle Kamau engages in a riveting conversation with Jamie Beck, the founder and managing attorney of Free to Thrive, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing legal services to survivors of human trafficking. Jamie's impact journey took a pivotal turn when she received a letter from an incarcerated survivor, sparking the formation of a state-wide legislati...

Kim Stanley Robinson—author of "The Ministry for the Future"—reflects on the complexity of the challenges we face with climate change. Hosted by the Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice, the science fiction writer gives a lecture recorded in front of a live audience at the University of San Diego’s Peace & Justice Theatre. After the lecture, the author takes questions from Kroc Schoo...

What is the relationship between authoritarianism, storytelling, and memory? Ronald Niezen—author of "The Memory Seeker"—reflects on the intricacies of war crimes, the temptations of revenge, and our obligations to the past. Ronald is an expert in digital activism and open-source investigations. He works as a Professor of Practice at the University of San Diego, in the Departments of Soc...

Etleva Bejko, Executive Director at Survivors of Torture, International (SURVIVORS), is a highly respected immigration services leader with over 20 years of experience in the field. Throughout her career, she has responded to humanitarian crises, rallied community groups, and built programs and teams that have served generations of refugees and immigrants throughout the San Diego County. Mackoy sp...

Part II of the Women PeaceMaker Series brings you a discussion between Honduran development professional, Tania Martinez, and Mexican specialist in urban violence reduction, Dolores Hernandez. In this episode, Théa engages with these incredible women to talk about their work in Honduras and Mexico and about what it means to contribute to peacemaking in the Americas. From advocating for indigenous...

In Part I of our special Women PeaceMaker Series we interview Nattecia Nerene Bohardsingh about her work as a lawyer and activist for civil rights in Jamaica. She is one of few experts and advocates in the field of reparatory justice. Listen in as Mackoy speaks with Nattecia on what it takes to work in her field. Making promises to ourselves, advocating for the oppressed, and working in the face o...

Emilie Amrein is a scholar, artist, educator, and community builder. They locate their work in community practice, drawing on the revolutionary wisdom of abolitionist, anti-colonial, and anti-capitalist organizers and freedom dreamers from the Global Majority. In this episode, Théa asks Emilie about their work along the border, and together, they explore the practices of inclusive music making, co...

Has the world gotten better in recent history? Is there a reason to be optimistic? How do we get to conversations of love, peace, and togetherness in spaces that are inherently divisive? Join in on these conversations while listening to Dr. Dustin Sharp, a distinguished mass atrocities specialist, speak on the future of the world and how to expand our minds beyond binaries of the status quo to bui...

What challenges do leaders face in this “post-truth” era? How can individuals help to build trust in democracy and its institutions? What does social entrepreneurship look like in-light of the many fires we find in today’s world? In this episode, Social Innovator, Roshan Paul, and author of A New Reason to Work, talks with host, Thea Klement, about social innovation, leadership, and the synergies...

What are the ethical contradictions within creating social change? Are peace studies going in a meaningful direction, or are we just reinventing the wheel endlessly? In this episode, Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick talks with host Mackoy Turpen about how changemaking is evolving and where he sees the future of peace studies.

How do the stories we tell ourselves about who we are and what we've been through affect our ability to heal and connect with others? In this episode, Conflict Management and Resolution graduate student, Mathew B. Holloway II, talks with host Thea Klement about the power of "re-storyation" and the work that his organization, Conversations by Courage, is doing around the United States to support so...

What does it mean to be a professional humanitarian? In this episode, USAID Regional Humanitarian Advisor, John Patterson, tells us what it's like to advise on response efforts in some of the most high-stakes humanitarian projects around the world. Our host and graduate student, Théa Klement, discusses with John what's needed in the field of humanitarian aid and how his experiences have taught him...

Not all menstruators menstruate the same. Tabitha Nakholi is the founder of the Wezesha Binti Foundation, a Kenyan NGO that seeks to empower, nurture, and inspire girls and women to take charge of their menstrual, sexual, and reproductive health. In this episode, Social Innovation graduate Zoe Luiz talks with Tabtiha about the fires she is fighting in Kenya, and around the world.

Is it possible to hold corporations accountable for their complicated pasts in humanitarian atrocities? There are many major corporations that have had a notable presence in conflict areas. Is there a world in which they can flip the script, and become changemakers who promote peace? Sarah Federman, an Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution at the University of San Diego’s Kroc School of Peace...