This week, host Mike McIlwrath presents the second and final part of his conversation with Santa Monica attorney-neutral-educator Kenneth Cloke, on "creating levels of trust between parties in conflict." Last week, Ken introduced us to the so-called "cuddle hormone," oxytocin–the release of which he says has a profound effect on mediation processes and social interaction.

This week, Mike sits down with Santa Monica attorney-neutral-educator Kenneth Cloke, for the first of a two-part conversation. Ken goes in depth about mediation style and processes, but really, it's about the hormones—specifically, the "cuddle hormone," oxytocin. You’ll find out how his research into the psychology of conflict led to investigating and cataloguing the potentially profound effect the hormone has on how you deal with the person sitting across the table from you. Ken is founder and leader of Mediators Beyond Borders, a Pittsburgh nonprofit through which experienced mediators volunteer their skills world-wide to improve conflict resolution capacity and support alternative approaches to resolving interpersonal, political, economic, social, ethnic and religious differences.

Host Michael McIlwrath discusses the politics of disputes with Jenny Beer, author of the seminal, cross-discipline guide, The Mediator's Handbook, which she co-authored in 1982.

Australian mediator John Wade returns to IDN to tell more of his mediation strategies to get around the hard bargainers, the obstructionists, the stone-wallers, and the naysayers.

Bay area educator and consultant Clark Freshmen discusses how he trains people to spot emotions in negotiation. "It's like mind reading," says Mike McIlwrath. It's also about lie detection. Freshman is a consultant at the noted authorities on the subject, Oakland, Calif.'s Paul Ekman Group. This week’s podcast discusses facial muscles, eyebrows, early indicators of anger, and other signs of "universal expressions of emotions."

Bennett G. Picker, a partner in Philadelphia's Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP, returns to IDN for his second visit. This week, Ben explains to Mike the philosophy behind his firm's approach to litigation, which earned it the CPR Institute's first Law Firm Award for Excellence in ADR. Ben talks about moving clients to ADR. The Stradley approach, he says, involves "looking at every dispute as a problem to be resolved."

Massimo Mantovani, general counsel of oil and gas giant ENI, of Paris, joins Mike this week to discuss how he manages litigation, including what he looks for in outside counsel, as well as his company's view of arbitration.

This week's IDN is the second of two parts on how the International Chamber of Commerce's International Court of Arbitration in Paris handles cases. Mike's guest is Francesca Mazza, an ICC senior case manager. Last week covered the initial stages of ICC arbitration proceedings. This week's episode picks up with the "terms of reference," and moves through to the tribunal's award.

This week, in the first of two parts, Mike goes behind the scenes at the International Chamber of Commerce's International Court of Arbitration in Paris with Francesca Mazza, an ICC senior case manager. The two episodes comprehensively cover ICC case management practices. This week's episode focuses on how the ICC's teams are organized, and how they work with the secretary general and the court, as well as common problems with requests for arbitration, and proceedings' general timing.

This week, Mike analyzes ADR in Malaysia with litigator Sai-Yeang Ng, a partner in Kuala Lumpur's Raja, Darryl & Loh. After setting out the statutory and common law basis for practice in the Southeast Asia nation, Sai-Yeang discusses how cases can migrate to ADR in a country where the equivalent of $15,000 in litigation costs is considered a costly case.