Peace Is Here with Avis Kalfsbeek

In this episode, Avis Kalfsbeek shares the origin story of Kitty O’Compost, the warm-witted, plain-spoken reporter who has become a recurring voice on the Peace Is Here podcast. Avis explains how Kitty emerged as a character within this broader peace-studies project, and why a touch of satire can sometimes reveal truths that are harder to reach through straightforward commentary. Over the past cou...

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: Washington Irving – Rip Van Winkle plus The Next Peacelands   This episode features a brief passage from Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle, offering a small step into one of America’s classic folk tales. Kitty reads just enough to feel the gentle rhythm of Irving’s storytelling and the quiet magic he wove into everyday life.   Each day’s reading continues to serve as Ki...

Reads Lit for Peace: Émile Zola – Nana plus The Next Peacelands This episode includes a brief excerpt from Émile Zola’s Nana, capturing the early stirrings of the novel’s world—its crowded rooms, shifting glances, and Zola’s careful attention to human behavior. Kitty reads only a short passage, offering a steady, quiet moment inside a story known for its vivid detail. Each day’s reading continues...

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: William Thackeray – The History of Henry Esmond plus The Next Peacelands This episode offers a brief excerpt from William Makepeace Thackeray’s The History of Henry Esmond, a reflective, gently paced novel told through a narrator looking back on his life. In this short selection, Kitty brings forward Thackeray’s quiet observational humor and the steady tone that shaped s...

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: E.B. White – The Door plus The Next Peacelands This episode features a brief reading from E.B. White’s essay “The Door,” a quiet, wandering reflection full of his signature warmth. Kitty shares just a small portion, offering listeners a steady moment of ease and curiosity. Kitty O'Compost warms up her reporter voice for CTRL–AI–DISARM, the upcoming Peace Is Here series e...

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: Henry David Thoreau – Walden “Economy” plus The Next Peacelands This episode features a brief reading from “Economy,” the opening section of Henry David Thoreau’s Walden. In this short passage, Kitty offers a moment of Thoreau’s clear-eyed simplicity—his reminder that paying honest attention to how we live can be its own quiet liberation. Kitty’ warms up her reporter voi...

Mark Twain – How I Edited an Agricultural Newspaper plus The Next Peacelands Mark Twain’s “How I Edited an Agricultural Newspaper” brings a touch of mischief to today’s episode of Kitty Reads Literature for Peace. Kitty offers a short, good-natured excerpt that captures Twain’s humor and his fondness for human overconfidence, all delivered in her warm, steady voice. Each day’s reading continues to...

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: Turgenev – The Unhappy Girl + The Next Peacelands Welcome back to Kitty Reads Literature for Peace, a quiet act of daily storytelling in a noisy world. In this episode, Kitty O’Compost reads the opening of The Unhappy Girl by Ivan Turgenev—one of Russia’s great humanist writers, known for his emotional clarity, quiet observation, and the compassion he brought to ordinary...

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: Thomas Wolfe – On Leprechauns plus The Next Peacelands Kitty O’Compost reads a short, whimsical passage from Thomas Wolfe—a writer known for his sweeping, emotional prose and his lifelong effort to capture the bigness of ordinary American life. As always, this daily reading serves as Kitty’s warm-up for CTRL–AI–DISARM, the upcoming Peace Is Here series exploring truth, p...

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: Dickens – The Old Curiosity Shop plus The Next Peacelands Welcome back to Kitty Reads Literature for Peace, a quiet act of daily storytelling in a noisy world. In this episode, Kitty O’Compost reads the opening of The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens—a writer who turned social conscience into art and believed deeply in the redemptive power of attention. With her war...

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: Voltaire – Zadig, or Fate plus The Next Peacelands Welcome back to Kitty Reads Literature for Peace, a quiet act of daily storytelling in a noisy world. In this episode, Kitty O’Compost reads from the opening of Zadig, or Fate by Voltaire—one of the sharpest pens of the Enlightenment and a long-standing troublemaker for anyone allergic to truth or reason. With her small...

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: Flaubert – Madame Bovary plus The Next Peacelands Welcome back to Kitty Reads Literature for Peace, a quiet act of daily storytelling in a noisy world. In this episode, Kitty O’Compost reads the opening lines of Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert—a classic of French realism, where longing, observation, and melancholy all take root in the smallest of details. With her trad...

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: Emerson – Compensation plus The Next Peacelands Welcome to the first episode of Kitty Reads Literature for Peace, a peaceful new experiment in daily storytelling. In this episode, Kitty O’Compost reads an excerpt from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s classic essay Compensation—a foundational piece of transcendentalist wisdom. With humor, reverence, and a little twang, Kitty reflect...

Welcome back, peace scholars and story lovers. In this short but meaningful interlude, I (Avis) introduce a special new arc of episodes featuring none other than our offbeat, ever-curious peace reporter, Kitty O’Compost.   Kitty’s getting ready for something big: a bold new podcast series called CTRL–AI–Disarm, launching in early 2026. But before she jumps into dismantling digital weapons and repo...

  A Letter to My Children – A Plea to Not Eat Animals Written and read by Avis Kalfsbeek This short, heartfelt episode was recorded in the car on the way to ecstatic dance in Sacramento. It’s a letter to my children, and maybe yours too, about why I stopped eating animals, and why I hope they will consider doing the same. In it, I share my own journey toward a plant-based life, the films and books...

Lanza del Vasto: The Silent Revolution The Path of Radical Simplicity concludes the series. In this final episode, we honor Lanza del Vasto—poet, pilgrim, and founder of the Community of the Ark. As a disciple of Gandhi, he brought nonviolence to the West not as an idea but as a life. We explore how his radical simplicity, voluntary poverty, and service-centered communities created a living model...

The Dalai Lama: The Simple Path of Compassion The Path of Radical Simplicity concludes the series. In this next-to-last episode of the series, we honor The Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso. We explore how his radical simplicity—rooted in a monk's austerity and his message of compassion—has made him a global force for peace and a living testament to the power of inner freedom. Find the Books: AvisKalfsbee...

Marie Kondo: The Joy of Letting Go The Path of Radical Simplicity continues. In this episode, we honor Marie Kondo, the tidying consultant who proved that true simplicity is about keeping only what sparks joy. We explore the KonMari Method and how letting go of possessions frees us from emotional clutter. AvisKalfsbeek.com Recommended Reading: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo M...

Saint Francis of Assisi: The Vow of Absolute Poverty The Path of Radical Simplicity continues. In this episode, we meet Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of simplicity, poverty, and animals, who renounced a fortune to achieve spiritual freedom. We explore how his radical choice to own nothing allowed him to serve everyone. AvisKalfsbeek.com Recommended Reading: The Little Flowers of Saint...

Epictetus: The Freedom of Few Wants The Path of Radical Simplicity continues. In this episode, we meet Epictetus, the Stoic philosopher who proved that the greatest source of suffering is attachment to things outside our control. We explore his concept of the Dichotomy of Control and how radical simplicity of mind leads to true, unshakeable freedom. AvisKalfsbeek.com Recommended Reading: The Enchi...

Henry David Thoreau: The Economy of the Spirit The Path of Radical Simplicity: In this episode, we meet Henry David Thoreau, the American philosopher who lived deliberately in a self-built cabin by Walden Pond. We explore his famous experiment, his resistance to complexity, and his belief that the true cost of a thing is the amount of life you must exchange for it. AvisKalfsbeek.com Recommended Re...

Celia Pym: Mending as Listening In this episode, we meet textile artist Celia Pym, who is best known for her visible mending—repairing garments in ways that honor their wear. We explore the power of slowing down, the meaning of listening through craft, and what it means to mend without hiding the damage. AvisKalfsbeek.com Recommended Reading: On Mending by Celia Pym Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bi...

Gary Snyder: Poetry of the Wild Creative Vision and Mindful Craft continues. In this episode, we honor Gary Snyder—poet, ecologist, Buddhist practitioner—whose work calls us back into conversation with land. We reflect on speaking from place, on grounded wildness, and on how poetry can be humble care. Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here:  AvisKalfsbeek.com Recomme...

Anni Albers: Threads of Quiet Resolve Creative Vision and Mindful Craft continues. In this episode, we honor Anni Albers, whose life in weaving taught us fidelity to material, restraint in design, and depth in simplicity. We reflect on letting what we hold teach us, rather than fashioning what we wish. Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here:  AvisKalfsbeek.com Recomm...

George Nakashima: Wood & Soul Creative Vision and Mindful Craft continues. In this episode, we honor George Nakashima—architect, craftsman, and wood whisperer—who listened to trees and let design grow from them rather than impose upon them. We explore his philosophy, his time in internment, and his vision of Altars for Peace. Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is her...