Peace Talks Radio

Massasoit was the leader of the Wampanoag Confederacy when English settlers landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620. He and his people kept the Pilgrims from starving in the early years of their settlement, attended the first Thanksgiving and forged a peace treaty with the English that lasted 40 years until his death. We'll talk with American Indian scholars Darius Coombs and Bob Charlesbois who'll fill i...

Could we be trying to increase peace through speech or action, but forget about the planet’s ability to handle population growth? Most contemporary estimates for the carrying capacity of the Earth are between 4 and 16 billion people. Depending on which estimate is used, human overpopulation may or may not have already occurred. The United Nations estimates the world human population is over 7 bill...

Periodically in recent years, there has appeared to be a resurgence of activity in the U.S. by white supremacist groups, the Ku Klux Klan and neo Nazis, marching openly in US cities often defending their right to assemble and spout hate speech as constitutionally protected freedom of speech. As the marches and gatherings occasionally become more frequent, tensions have risen. Counter protesters ap...

In 2010, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Liu Xiaobo, the Chinese literary critic, writer, professor, and human rights activist who had called for political reforms in China for decades. At the time of his award, he was incarcerated as a political prisoner in China, and was unable to attend the peace award ceremony. Liu Xiaobo, died Thursday, July 13 at age 61 while on medical parole in China,...

September 13, 1993 is a date that many of a certain age will recognize as the day the OSLO ACCORDS were signed. It was marked by a White House Rose Garden ceremony with President Bill Clinton officiating over a handshake between Israeli Prime Minister Itzak Rabin and Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Papers were signed by both warring parties to set up a framework for peace...

In recent years, national elections have been tightly contested and one result has been an uptick in the rancor in political discourse. With that, surveys show an increase in stress over politics, and anxiety over discussing politics with family and co-workers. Can we craft more peace of mind when politics don’t go our way? Can we talk with our political opposites? All open for more discussion, th...

The story of how Janessa Gans Wilder, a CIA analyst working in Iraq during the war, became inspired to leave the agency to run a non-profit organization that instead promotes peacebuilding through dialogue and understanding and education, particularly surrounding conflict issues in the Middle East.

Part 2 of our sampling of ideas and best practices for raising girls into adulthood. Three women who all have daughters and are also scholars and writers in the field are featured. Lisa Damour, Lara Dotson-Renta, and Michele Coleman.

A sampling of ideas and best practices for raising girls into adulthood. Three women who all have daughters and are also scholars and writers in the field are featured. Lisa Damour, Lara Dotson-Renta, and Michele Coleman.

Conversation with religious scholar Will Keepin and artist Paul Re who established a peace prize to honor modern day peacemakers in New Mexico.

Conversation with two authors. First Suzanne Kryder talks with David Smith, author of "Peace Jobs: A Student’s Guide to Starting a Career Working For Peace". In his book, Smith features 30 stories from recent college graduates who are working in ways that promote peacemaking and conflict resolution. Smith takes the stance that most any field of work can be shaped into a peacebuilding career. The k...

Our annual compendium of highlights from the past year's programs including reducing political polarization, the neuroscience of peacemaking, how meditative practices help school kids, the humanitarian work of Doctors Without Borders, racial justice work and more.

On this episode, we spotlight two books - 1941: FIGHTING THE SHADOW WAR. by Marc Wortman that, in part, tells the story of the considerable popular effort to keep America out of World War 2 before the Japanese surprise attack pulled the country completely in. Also, John Dear's book THE BEATITUDES OF PEACE, in which he deconstructs each of the teachings that he calls the "blueprint for how to be a...

Three people who are engaged in one part of the community organizing efforts going on around the country to secure racial equity. All three share ideas of how we can each address our own implicit biases and become more involved in our own communities to make progress facing these challenges.  Paul Ingles hosts.

Memorable moments from Peace Talks Radio programs spotlighting Nobel Prize winners Mairead Maguire, Ralph Bunche, Muhammad Yunus, Jody Williams, Martti Ahtisaari, Liu Xiaobo, Jimmy Carter and Al Gore.

On this edition of Peace Talks Radio, three guests who’ll touch on just a few of the many reasons political polarization continues in the U.S. Each have a few ideas and programs that could close the gap, even a little bit. Ideas that you could try that just might lessen political polarization at your dinner table, in your neighborhood, your state, and around the country. Suzanne Kryder hosts with...

Doctors Without Borders has been serving the wounded and sick in conflict, disease and disaster sites around the globe since 1971. On this show, the organization's Mission Head Suzanne Ceresko talks about its work, which earned a Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. In the second half of the program, the spotlight is one the Peace Corps which was established in 1961 by U.S. president John F. Kennedy. In thi...

While the PEACE TALKS RADIO series goes out of its way to feature the less-heralded peace workers throughout history and in our world today, the personalities who rise to the top of world consciousness often do so for very good and powerful reasons that deserve more focused attention. On this program, we’ve gathered 6 whose stories in the 20th Century, and a couple whose stories have continued int...

Two history books are profiled that both provide a timeline of history for peace periods, peace leaders, key philosophers, important turning points and more. We’ll hear from both authors today. Canadian scholar Antony Adolf and Peter Stearns, Professor of History and former Provost of George Mason University in Virginia.

Some schools are trying programs that teach their students meditation techniques as a way to help them deal with stress in their lives. The results have been encouraging at some locations including reductions in fighting and suspensions along with a bump up in grades. Two programs (in Albuquerque and San Francisco) are spotlighting in this episode of Peace Talks Radio

We talk with two experts about how advances in the field of neuroscience may transform conflict resolution on an individual and global scale. Dr. Mari Fitzduff of Brandeis University talks about a hormone that promotes peace building and explains how conservatism and liberalism can appear in brain scans. Dr. Emile Bruneau, visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania uses neuro-imaging to...

Over the last 100 years, how effective have nonviolent resistance movements been to effect social and political change, compared to armed violent uprisings? This was the question that researchers Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan set out to answer as they dug deep into the historical data on the subject over the period of 1900-2006. They conclude empirically that nonviolent resistance campaigns we...

Compelling and timeless moments drawn from just one of the many seasons of programs in the Peace Talks Radio series on peacemaking and non-violent conflict resolution. Included are conversations about an effort to "cure violence" like an infectious disease, improving the relationship between police and citizens, understanding and coping with sibling rivalry, an indigenous people's history of the U...

Since 2002, PEACE TALKS RADIO has been talking with guests who have worked in all manner of non-violent conflict resolution scenarios. In sharing what works, certain themes about effective communication skills seem to come up again and again. This program features highlights from previous shows that point to a list of Top Peacemaking Communication Themes. Tips that you can put to use in your daily...

Conversations with people in business who believe that business, social justice, fair labor practices, peacemaking and community building can go hand in hand.