Peace Is Here with Avis Kalfsbeek

Experiment Zero – The Peace Experiments: Ch 2 - The Council Meeting of Unwanted Attendance Kitty O’Compost arrives at a so-called informational meeting in the Old Gym, where folding chairs, fluorescent lights, and carefully chosen language are meant to keep the public at a comfortable distance. Joined by Marzipan and an unexpected student attendee, Kitty listens as officials explain a new facility...

Experiment Zero – The Peace Experiments: Ch 1 - Goats, Potholes, and Servers Chapter One introduces Kitty O’Compost, a small-town reporter easing into an ordinary assignment in Midway, armed with a notebook, a sense of humor, and a highly observant goat named Marzipan. What begins as a routine walk toward town—past murals, potholes, and familiar civic neglect—takes an unexpected turn at the edge o...

This year-end episode offers a moment to pause and take stock. Avis reflects on the work of Peace is Here in 2025, the questions that shaped the podcast, and what it has meant to study peace seriously in a world still organized around war. The episode looks back on a year of daily practice through series such as Wolff Peace, The Great Disfarmament and The Great Disarmament, Architects of Enough, a...

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: Edith Wharton – 12/30/25 (The ’Seventies) plus The Next Peacelands This episode features a New Year’s-season reading from Edith Wharton’s story “New Year’s Day — The ’Seventies,” part of her 1924 collection Old New York. In this piece, Wharton examines memory, reputation, and the quiet consequences of a life lived under the watchful eye of society. Kitty reads a short ex...

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: Henry David Thoreau – A Winter Walk plus The Next Peacelands This episode features a reflective reading from Henry David Thoreau’s 1843 essay A Winter Walk—a quiet meditation on landscape, attention, and the moral clarity that comes from observing nature with patience. Kitty reads a short excerpt that highlights Thoreau’s deliberate pace and his belief that paying attent...

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: Sarah Orne Jewett – “Aunt Cynthy Dallett” plus The Next Peacelands This episode features a winter excerpt from Sarah Orne Jewett’s “Aunt Cynthy Dallett,” published in her 1899 collection The Queen’s Twin and Other Stories. Set in the snowy Maine hill country, the story offers a calm, closely observed portrait of kinship, hospitality, and the quiet bonds that hold a commu...

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: John Burroughs – Winter Sunshine plus The Next Peacelands This episode features a winter selection from John Burroughs’ 1875 essay collection Winter Sunshine—a calm, observant reflection on landscape, weather, and the steadying practice of paying close attention. Kitty reads a short excerpt that highlights Burroughs’ quiet conviction that nature offers both clarity and c...

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: Kate Douglas Wiggin – The Birds’ Christmas Carol plus The Next Peacelands This episode features a warm, humane reading from Kate Douglas Wiggin’s 1886 novella The Birds’ Christmas Carol—a tender holiday story shaped by Wiggin’s early work as a teacher and social reformer. Kitty reads a short excerpt that highlights Wiggin’s belief in community care and the quiet dignity...

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: Mark Twain – A Letter from Santa Claus plus The Next Peacelands This episode presents a warm, humorous seasonal reading of Mark Twain’s 1875 piece A Letter from Santa Claus—written originally for his young daughter and now beloved for its gentle wit and clear-eyed affection. Kitty reads the letter in full, highlighting Twain’s ability to offer comfort, humor, and truth i...

Kitty Reads Holiday Lit for Peace: Alphonse Daudet – The Pope’s Mule (Part 2) plus The Next Peacelands This episode concludes the story begun in Episode 175! We return to Alphonse Daudet’s classic short story The Pope’s Mule—a charming, historic satire about pride, patience, and delayed revenge set during the Christmas season in Avignon, France. Kitty reads the final portion, where the long-awaite...

Kitty Reads Holiday Lit for Peace: Alphonse Daudet – “The Pope’s Mule” (Part 1) plus The Next Peacelands This episode features a holiday reading from Alphonse Daudet’s classic short story The Pope’s Mule—a charming, historic satire about pride, patience, and delayed revenge set during the Christmas season in Avignon, France. Kitty reads an excerpt that highlights Daudet’s light touch and his talen...

Kitty Reads Holiday Lit for Peace: Charles Dickens – The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton plus The Next Peacelands  This episode offers a lively seasonal reading from Charles Dickens’ 1836 tale The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton—a Christmas Eve story and an unmistakable early predecessor to A Christmas Carol. Kitty reads a short excerpt that highlights Dickens’ blend of humor, soci...

Kitty Reads Holiday Lit for Peace: William Dean Howells – Christmas Every Day plus The Next Peacelands This episode includes a warm, lightly satirical reading from William Dean Howells’ 1892 story Christmas Every Day—a playful tale about abundance, boredom, and the difference between holiday sentiment and daily kindness. Kitty reads a short portion that highlights Howells’ realist clarity and gent...

Kitty Reads Holiday Lit for Peace: Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Christmas Banquet plus The Next Peacelands This episode includes a grounded reading from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1844 story The Christmas Banquet—a reflective and morally serious tale that examines sorrow, companionship, and the possibility of renewal. Kitty reads just enough to bring out Hawthorne’s characteristic clarity about conscience...

Kitty Reads Holiday Lit for Peace: Louisa May Alcott – A Christmas Dream, and How It Came True plus The Next Peacelands This episode features a gentle excerpt from Louisa May Alcott’s short holiday story A Christmas Dream, and How It Came True, a reflective tale about a child who learns that the real richness of Christmas comes from generosity, attention, and shared joy. Kitty reads just enough to...

Kitty Reads Holiday Lit for Peace: O. Henry – A Chaparral Christmas Gift plus The Next Peacelands This episode features a short reading from O. Henry’s 1907 western holiday story A Chaparral Christmas Gift—a tale of grudges, frontier character, and the unexpected small mercies that can surface at Christmastime. Kitty reads a brief excerpt that highlights O. Henry’s sharp attention to human behavio...

Kitty Reads Holiday Lit for Peace: Anthony Trollope – Christmas at Thompson Hall plus The Next Peacelands This episode features a short reading from Anthony Trollope’s 1876 holiday comedy Christmas at Thompson Hall—a story full of winter travel mishaps, sharp observation, and the small dramas that arise when families try to reach home in the busiest season of the year. Kitty reads just enough to r...

Kitty Reads Holiday Lit for Peace: Arthur Conan Doyle – The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle plus The Next Peacelands This episode features a brief seasonal reading from Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1892 mystery The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, one of the few Sherlock Holmes stories set at Christmastime. Kitty offers a short excerpt that highlights Doyle’s distinctive blend of sharp observation, social...

Kitty Reads Holiday Lit for Peace: L. Frank Baum – A Kidnapped Santa Claus plus The Next Peacelands This episode features a short, spirited reading from L. Frank Baum’s 1904 holiday tale A Kidnapped Santa Claus, in which Baum explores what happens when the world’s bringer of joy is interrupted by creatures who cannot tolerate generosity. Kitty offers only a brief portion—just enough to reveal how...

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: Charles Dickens – A Christmas Carol plus The Next Peacelands In today’s holiday edition, Kitty O’Compost reads a short, seasonally grounded passage from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol—his mid-career meditation on generosity, personal transformation, and the moral imagination required to change one’s life. Kitty offers only a brief excerpt, enough to settle listeners...

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: Leo Tolstoy – Letter to a Hindu plus The Next Peacelands This episode includes a short reading from “Tolstoy’s Letter to a Hindu,” a late-life reflection on nonviolence, conscience, and the moral strength of ordinary people. Kitty offers only a brief portion, giving listeners a steady moment inside Tolstoy’s clear-hearted thinking. Kitty O'Compost warms up for The Peace...

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: Edgar Allan Poe – The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall plus The Next Peacelands This episode features a short reading from Edgar Allan Poe’s playful tale “The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall,” a story that steps away from his darker moods and into a world of odd inventions and improbable journeys. Kitty offers just a brief excerpt, giving listeners a l...

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: Plato – Book XI “The Law of Treasure Trove” plus The Next Peacelands This episode features a brief excerpt from Plato’s Laws, Book XI, where he reflects on the habits and challenges of retail trade and daily commerce. Kitty reads only a short portion, offering listeners a moment inside Plato’s practical, grounded side—less cosmic than the Republic, more tied to the rhyth...

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: Thomas Carlyle – Sartor Resartus plus The Next Peacelands This episode features a brief reading from Thomas Carlyle’s Sartor Resartus, a playful and philosophical work that blends commentary, imagination, and the search for meaning. Kitty offers only a small portion, giving listeners a gentle, thoughtful moment inside Carlyle’s unusual world. Kitty O'Compost warms up for...

Daniel Defoe – The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe plus The Next Peacelands This episode includes a brief excerpt from Daniel Defoe’s The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, offering a small step into the early moments of the novel’s world. Kitty reads just enough to catch Defoe’s plainspoken tone and the quiet sense of possibility that opens the story. Kitty O'Compost warms up for The...