Disrupting Peace

At a time when the impacts of climate change are undeniable, why does misinformation about it still work… and what can we do about it?

In this episode, Bridget speaks with experts to learn more about the right - and wrong - ways to counter misinformation related to climate change, and how this applies to our greater interest in peacebuilding.

John Cook is a senior research fellow with the Melbourne Center for Behavior Change at the University of Melbourne and creator of Cranky Uncle, a game that uses cartoons, humor, and critical thinking to fight misinformation. Check out the Cranky Uncle game (available on iPhone and Android devices) at: https:/crankyuncle.com/ Learn more about John’s work at: https://skepticalscience.com/

Nadia Lozano is a research assistant and associate producer with University of Southern California's Annenberg Center for Climate Journalism and Communication The Center empowers journalists and other communicators to tell stories about climate change through training that amplifies science, elevates communities, and engages audiences. Check out her podcast, All Things Sustainable here.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about Disrupting Peace. Fill out a short survey here: https://worldpeacefoundation.org/survey

Disrupting Peace is a production of The World Peace Foundation. This episode was produced by Bridget Conley, Emily Shaw, and Ben Montoya. Engineering by Jacob Winik and Aja Simpson. Marketing and Social media by Kaelen Song. Show artwork by Simon Fung. This season was partially funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Special thanks to Lisa Avery and Alex de Waal, and the Tufts Digital Design Studio team.

Find out more about the World Peace Foundation at worldpeacefoundation.org. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok at @worldpeacefdtn.

What beliefs make people willing to commit violence, and what could change their minds? In this episode, we explore what makes individuals vulnerable to white supremacist beliefs, what it means when extremism becomes mainstream, the surprising permeability of these groups, and how to talk to people in your life who express racist ideology.

Peter Simi is a professor of Sociology at Chapman University, and an expert on extremist groups and violence in the US. Among his many publications, he is co-author of American Swastika: Inside the White Power Movement's Hidden Spaces of Hate, and Out of Hiding: Extremist White Supremacy and How It Can be Stopped. Find out more about Peter at: https://www.chapman.edu/our-faculty/pete-simi.aspx.

Sara Winegar Budge holds a doctorate in Psychology and is a licensed psychologist in Oregon. She is the Director of US Programs at Moonshot, which builds technology to identify and disrupt organized crime, child sexual exploitation, and trafficking, among other forms of abuse and violence. Her clinical work focuses on individuals who are or have been involved in violent extremism. Find out more at https://moonshotteam.com/

In this episode, we talk about Stephen Tyrone Johns, Bridget's former colleague from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum who was killed by a white supremacist. You can learn more about him, and contribute to a fund in his name, here: https://www.ushmm.org/information/press/in-memoriam/stephen-tyrone-johns-1969-2009.

Disrupting Peace is a production of The World Peace Foundation. The show is produced by Bridget Conley and Emily Shaw. Engineering by Jacob Winik and Aja Simpson. Marketing and Social media by Kaelen Song. Show artwork by Simon Fung. This season was partially funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Special thanks to Lisa Avery and Alex de Waal, and the Tufts Digital Design Studio team.

Find out more about the World Peace Foundation at worldpeacefoundation.org. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok at @worldpeacefdtn.

How and why do powerful actors use propaganda as a crucial war strategy? In this episode, we see what we can learn from Russia’s use of propaganda in its war with Ukraine, and explore the relationships between misinformation, disinformation, and propaganda. We also look at which communities are least susceptible to war propaganda, as well as what we can do to improve the quality of information we have access to worldwide.

Daniel Silverman is Assistant Professor of Political Science in the Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy and Technology (CMIST) at Carnegie Mellon University. His research addresses the psychological factors – including the biases and misperceptions – that drive violent conflicts, and how they can be mitigated or leveraged to promote peace. He is the author of Seeing is Disbelieving: Why People Believe Misinformation in War, and When They Know Better (2024).

Jeanne Cavelier is the Head of Eastern Europe & Central Asia Desk for the Paris-based organization, Reporters without Borders – often referred to by its French acronym, RSF. She contributes to the RSF’s Propaganda Monitor, the organization’s multimedia platform that aims to expose the many faces and tactics behind propaganda worldwide. She previously worked as a journalist, including in Moscow, Russia. Access RSF's Propaganda Monitor; and their report on Russia, Reporting under Russian fire: more than 175 journalists victims of abuse in Ukraine in the past four years.

Additional Resources mentioned in this podcast:

https://www.bellingcat.com/

https://www.bbc.com/news/bbcverify

https://journalismtrustinitiative.org/

https://www.osint.industries/

Newsguard app in Apple App Store and on Google Play Store

Disrupting Peace is a production of the World Peace Foundation. The show is produced by Bridget Conley and Emily Shaw. Engineering by Jacob Winik and Aja Simpson. Marketing and Social media by Kaelen Song. Show artwork by Simon Fung.

Special thanks to Lisa Avery and Alex de Waal, and the Tufts Digital Design Studio team.

Find out more about the World Peace Foundation at worldpeacefoundation.org. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok at @worldpeacefdtn.

Targeting journalists doesn’t only have a devastating impact on individuals, communities, and the possibility of justice. It also limits what we know about conflicts. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Gaza right now.

In this episode, we explore the overwhelming obstacles that journalists in Gaza face, why they are being targeted, and what we can do to increase the accuracy of information in the region.

Mohammed R. Mhawish is a journalist and writer, born and raised in Gaza. He has covered his homeland for the New Yorker, MSNBC, The Nation, Al Jazeera, +972 Magazine, The Economist, and more. He left Gaza in 2024, and is currently based in the U.S.

1. Follow Mohammed’s Substack at: https://www.mohammedmhawish.com
2. His latest writing for the New Yorker can be found at: https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/mohammed-r-mhawish
3. His Al Jazeera article “When Israeli soldiers shot at hungry Palestinians” can be found here: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2024/3/5/the-blood-was-everywhere-inside-israels-flour-massacre-in-gaza

Sara Qudah is Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide. The organization defends the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal. She was a journalist for 15 years, starting her career in the Middle East. Sara is currently based in Paris.

1. Learn more about the Committee to Protect Journalists at https://cpj.org/.
2. Follow Sara on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-qudah/

Disrupting Peace is a production of the World Peace Foundation. The show is produced by Bridget Conley and Emily Shaw. Engineering by Jacob Winik and Aja Simpson. Marketing and Social media by Kaelen Song. Show artwork by Simon Fung.

Special thanks to Lisa Avery and Alex de Waal, and the Tufts Digital Design Studio team.

Find out more about the World Peace Foundation at worldpeacefoundation.org. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok at @worldpeacefdtn.

In Season 4 of Disrupting Peace, we’re asking how we can dismantle the myths, mis- and dis-information that get in the way of achieving peace. Because we can’t move towards peace if we don’t have a clear picture of what’s actually happening. We’ll look at the spread of war propaganda, the targeting of journalists, how violent ideologies distort people's understanding of facts, what works to debunk bad information, how AI might help peace, and more.

Season 4 launches on March 17th.

Disrupting Peace is a production of The World Peace Foundation. Find out more at worldpeacefoundation.org. This season is partially funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

This week’s episode is from our friends at The Context podcast.

Deva Woodly joins host Alex Lovit to discuss the importance of social movements for American democracy and the role they can play at this precarious moment in American political history. We need these networks of trust and coordinated action to push the country away from authoritarianism and toward a democracy that works for everyone.

Deva Woodly is a scholar of social movements. She is a professor of political science at Brown University and a research fellow at the Charles F. Kettering Foundation.

Subscribe to The Context here: https://pod.link/1726934311

Learn more about the Charles F Kettering Foundation here: https://kettering.org

 Disrupting Peace is a production of The World Peace Foundation. The show is produced by Bridget Conley and Emily Shaw. Engineering by Jacob Winik and Aja Simpson. Marketing and Social media by Kaelen Song. Show artwork by Simon Fung.

 Special thanks to Jeremy Helton, Lisa Avery, B. Arneson, and Alex de Waal, and the team from the Tufts Digital Design Studio, including Kimberly Lynn Forero-Arnias, and Miles Donovan.

 Find out more about the World Peace Foundation at worldpeacefoundation.org. Follow us on Bluesky at worldpeacefdtn.bsky.social, and on Instagram and TikTok at @worldpeacefdtn.

In our last episode of the season, we see what we can learn from Nepal about the connections between emergency response, peace, and resilience. Staying at the micro level, we closely examine a collaboration between the Nepalese organization Lumanti and the MIT based Urban Risk Lab.

One note on this episode: Bridget references "Aceh province" during the opening quiz. To clarify, Aceh province is in Indonesia and was the epicenter of an earthquake and tsunami in 2004.

Yatra Sharma worked as an architect and urban developer with the Kathmandu-based Lumanti Support Group for Shelter. The nonprofit works to improve housing for the urban poor in Nepal. Today she is a yoga teacher. Learn more at https://lumanti.org.np and check out the videos Yatra referenced at https://youtu.be/KL51C4j1Vt0?si=8w6Kn19uqNmSr3vp and https://www.instagram.com/tv/CMERBfGBB8_/?igsh=aHBtNGJ0em91ZTMz

Larisa Ovalles is a Research Scientist at MIT’s Urban Risk Lab. She develops processes to increase emergency planning and preparedness at local and community levels. This includes developing alternative post-disaster housing solutions for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). And she was on the design team of the project in Nepal that we’ll discuss today. Learn more at: https://urbanrisklab.org.

Disrupting Peace is a production of The World Peace Foundation. The show is produced by Bridget Conley and Emily Shaw. Engineering by Jacob Winik and Aja Simpson. Marketing and Social media by Kaelen Song. Show artwork by Simon Fung.

Special thanks to Jeremy Helton, Lisa Avery, B. Arneson, and Alex de Waal, and the team from the Tufts Digital Design Studio, including Kimberly Lynn Forero-Arnias, and Miles Donovan.

Find out more about the World Peace Foundation at worldpeacefoundation.org. Follow us on Bluesky at worldpeacefdtn.bsky.social, on Instagram at @worldpeacefdtn, and TikTok at @worldpeacefdtn.

We’ve all heard the phrase “toxic masculinity”. In this episode, we explore why this isn’t the most helpful concept, and more importantly, how healthy masculinity can increase peace.

We dig into what we can learn from successful interventions in Brazil and Colombia, unpack the “man box”, and learn tools for opening up conversations around masculinity, rather than shutting them down.

 Gary Barker is an international voice for healthy manhood, gender equality and violence prevention. He is the founder and CEO of Equimundo Center for Masculinities and Social Justice, an international organization that works globally, including the US, to engage men and boys in healthy masculinities. Find out more about Gary’s work at www.equimundo.org. The State of American Men 2025 report can be found here: www.equimundo.org/resources/state-of-american-men-2025

Caroline Ferraz Ignacio is an international development professional focused on gender equity and social inclusion. She has worked with Instituto Promundo in Brazil, Promundo Portugal and Equimundo to support research and programming across Latin America and Europe, and with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as the Gender and Inclusive Development Advisor in Colombia and as the Gender & Social Norms Advisor in Washington DC. Connect with Caroline on Linkedin at: www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-ferraz-ignacio

We mentioned two organizations that are helping young dads: the Vermont’s Dad Guild: www.dadguild.org & Brooklyn Stroller Club: www.brooklynstrollclub.com

 Let us know what topics you’d like us to cover next by emailing us at [email protected].

 Disrupting Peace is a production of The World Peace Foundation. The show is produced by Bridget Conley and Emily Shaw. Engineering by Jacob Winik and Aja Simpson. Marketing and Social media by Emily Ruhm. Show artwork by Simon Fung.

 Special thanks to Jeremy Helton, Lisa Avery, B. Arneson, and Alex de Waal, and the team from the Tufts Digital Design Studio, including Kimberly Lynn Forero-Arnias, and Miles Donovan.

 Find out more about the World Peace Foundation at worldpeacefoundation.org. Follow us on Bluesky at worldpeacefdtn.bsky.social, and on Instagram at @worldpeacefdtn.

How can we make the world a more peaceful place for children?

 In this episode, we look at the impact that experiencing violence has on children…sometimes before they - or their parents - are even born. We’ll learn about how war impacts DNA over generations, explore resilience, and look at global and personal first steps that we can take to make things better for kids around the world.

Catherine Panter-Brick is a Professor of Anthropology, Health, and Global Affairs at Yale University, and she has published nearly 200 peer-reviewed scientific publications on global health and the social sciences. Her research focuses on children around the world in contexts of homelessness, displacement, and war. You can read the study Catherine referred to, “Epigenetic signatures of intergenerational exposure to violence in three generations of Syrian refugees." Find out more about Catherine’s work here.

Susan Bissell is a Visiting Scholar and Senior Fellow at the FXB Centre for Human Rights, T. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University. Of Canadian origin, and now a dual citizen of Canada and the USA, Susan obtained her first two degrees from the University of Toronto, and her PhD in Public Health and Medical Anthropology from the University of Melbourne. A staunch advocate for the rights, safety, security, and protection of the world’s children, Susan’s association with the United Nations Children’s Fund spanned a thirty-year period. She served as UNICEF’s global lead on Child Protection, and was the founding director of the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children. Susan’s postings with UNICEF, which encompassed Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India, the research centre in Florence Italy, and finally New York, infuse her work and publishing with a truly global perspective.  Her TedX at Amherst, the Weissberg Chair Lecture, and Susan’s numerous media engagements make her a leading voice for children everywhere. Find out more about Susan’s work here.

Disrupting Peace is a production of The World Peace Foundation. The show is produced by Bridget Conley and Emily Shaw. Engineering by Jacob Winik and Aja Simpson. Marketing and Social media by Emily Ruhm. Show artwork by Simon Fung. 

Special thanks to Jeremy Helton, Lisa Avery, B. Arneson, and Alex de Waal, and the team from the Tufts Digital Design Studio, including Kimberly Lynn Forero-Arnias, and Miles Donovan.

Find out more about the World Peace Foundation at worldpeacefoundation.org. Follow us on Bluesky at worldpeacefdtn.bsky.social, and on Instagram at @worldpeacefdtn.

How do Gen Z Americans feel about democracy? The short answer: overall they believe in its principles, but don’t feel it’s working for them. In this episode, we explore unique ways that Gen Z is engaging in democracy (and not engaging), and what people of all ages need to do to encourage the next generation of peaceful leaders.

 Ruby-Belle Booth is a researcher with CIRCLE, the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University, where she graduated in 2021. Ruby is interested in youth civic participation as a pathway for social, racial, and economic justice. She co-authored the report, “How Does Gen Z Really Feel About Democracy? Insights from Three Profiles of Youth and Democracy."

 Alex Edgar is a Youth Engagement Manager at Made by Us, a coalition of over 400 US museums that use history to inform and inspire civic participation among younger generations. He graduated from UC Berkeley in 2024. Learn more about Alex’s work at: www.historymadebyus.org

Disrupting Peace is a production of The World Peace Foundation. The show is produced by Bridget Conley and Emily Shaw. Engineering by Jacob Winik and Aja Simpson. Marketing and Social media by Emily Ruhm and Kaelen Song. Show artwork by Simon Fung.

Special thanks to Jeremy Helton, Lisa Avery, B. Arneson, and Alex de Waal, and the team from the Tufts Digital Design Studio, including Kimberly Lynn Forero-Arnias, and Miles Donovan.

Find out more about the World Peace Foundation at worldpeacefoundation.org. Follow us on Bluesky at worldpeacefdtn.bsky.social, and on Instagram at @worldpeacefdtn.