Kroc Pod

Part Two for our Women Peacemakers Series shines a light on the work of Shadi Rouhshahbaz, a young Iranian peace builder, futurist and researcher. She shares her remarkable journey from underground activist to founder of PeaceMentors, the first young-women-led peace building initiative in Iran. In this episode she delves into the Iranian information gap, the "Women, Life, Freedom" Movement and the human cost of getting the world to look at you.

Part One of our Women Peacemakers Series kicks of with Kay Soe, a feminist and gender equality advocate from Burma with nearly two decades of experience in public policy, strategy development, evaluation and researchrelated to gender equality, labour migration, and peace and security. Listen as we discuss the 70 year-old civil war that her home country is undergoing, the mental toll of working for peace, and why women must be included in every stage of the peace process.

Tune in for this very special guest-host episode with Kroc School graduate student and Queer scholar Thomas Oliver. Thomas interviews Jack Harrison-Quintana, M.A. the Director of Grindr For Equality. Jack is a queer Latino activist, author, and researcher. He has worked with the National LGBTQ Task Force, the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), the Global Trans Research and Advocacy Project (GTRAP), and Khemara, as well as five state and local LGBTQ+-related ballot measure campaigns. Thomas and Jack talk about the development of LGBTQ+ rights in the U.S. as well as abroad. Jack details what work is being done in the transnational space and details how Grindr intervenes for LGBTQ+ safety.

Grindr for Equality

https://www.grindr.com/g4e

Grindr Holistic Security Guide

https://assets.website-files.com/641dc6058ca7b72a1422b5d7/6436c2bf48bde3005f39e0eb_G4E-HolisticSecurityGuide-English.pdf

Grindr's Blueprint for Trans and Non Binary Sexual Health and Liberation

https://assets.website-files.com/641dc6058ca7b72a1422b5d7/64c3dde0ce3fee72ae22cd4f_G4E-TSH%20Report-English.pdf

Free HIV Tests

https://www.cnet.com/health/medical/you-can-order-a-free-hiv-test-on-grindr/

In this first episode of Season 4, host Clara Nithiaparan speaks with Dr. Sarah Federman, Associate Professor at the Kroc School of Peace Studies, University of San Diego. Inspired by her newest book “Transformative Negotiation,” they touch on topics such as the nexus between peacebuilding and the business world through negotiation, the win-win-win approach, what's the best way to negotiate via text, how negotiation has to begin with you in order to address bigger social problems in today's world, and more.

https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520386938/transformative-negotiation

Meet our Season 4 co-hosts, Clara Nithiaparan and Leeya Appleby, as they tell us about their studies at the University of San Diego Kroc School of Peace Studies and what's coming up in this brand new season of Is The World on Fire?

CW: depictions of violence and death, systematic abuse

This episode's guest is Michael Lynk, former UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Palestinian Territories (2016-2022). Michael and our guest host discuss one of the longest standing conflicts in the world today, detailing the ways in which Israeli occupation and the systematic oppression of Palestinians has created the conditions that can be described in no other way than as Apartheid.

Finally, we share insights on some of the ways that institutions and states can support the West's disenfranchisement from Israel's apartheid government, and urges listeners to learn more about the situation in Palestine.

Update: In April of this year, Israeli forces carried out violent raids on the Haram Al-Sharif compound and Al-Aqsa Mosque during the holy month of Ramadan for the third year in a row. Just this July, Israeli forces attacked Jenin refugee camp, injuring dozens and killing 9, including children. Palestinian people killed by Israeli forces this year has reached over 200.

Resources and further learning:

- https://decolonizepalestine.com/

Did you like this episode? Share your thoughts via email or via instagram by messaging the Kroc School.

Join Guest Host, Tamara Sharifov and Thea in the studio as they reflect on a previous conversation recorded with Tibetan Buddhist teacher of the Nyingma Longchen Nying-Thig order, Lama Lhanang Rinpoche.

“I was not arrested, I was rescued." - Jackie Reed, Founder of Women Initiating Success Envisioned, Director of Women's Re-Entry at Urban League of San Diego County

Guests, Jackie Reed, Founder of Women Initiating Success Envisioned (WISE), and former federal criminal defense lawyer, Janice Deaton, discuss the programmatic and service barriers facing women after incarceration. Listen as Jackie sheds light on some of the root causes of incarceration among the women she's served, as well as her personal experience with imprisonment, re-entry and achieving sobriety in a society that regularly stigmatizes and marginalizes you for your worst acts. Together, she and Janice offer a deeply illuminating account of the ways in which our criminal justice system harms women and their families and discuss some of the ways that policy and practice should be strengthened to better support women's resilience and re-entry.

To support clients of Jackie's organization, WISE, consider making a small donation or attending the WISE Gala in August, 2023. Tickets sold here: https://www.nationalwise.org/

Content Warning: this episode includes mention of addiction, intimate partner abuse, violence against women, violent criminal offenses, and other content that may be alarming to listeners.

In this episode, guest host, Michelle Kamau engages in a riveting conversation with Jamie Beck, the founder and managing attorney of Free to Thrive, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing legal services to survivors of human trafficking. Jamie's impact journey took a pivotal turn when she received a letter from an incarcerated survivor, sparking the formation of a state-wide legislative advocacy coalition. Their mission? To influence sentencing judges to consider survivors' history of abuse and victimization when convicted of violent crimes. In 2020, the coalition championed a bill (AB-124) to achieve this, extending its scope to survivors of intimate partner and sexual violence. However, facing opposition, the bill was significantly weakened at the last moment, leaving coalition members disheartened and questioning their approach.

In the wake of this defeat, Jamie found herself reflecting on her leadership role within the coalition. She questioned whether her approach was too forceful, potentially causing survivors to relive their trauma. This episode serves as an epilogue to the teaching case titled 'Free To Thrive: The Struggle and Stagnation of Advocacy For Justice,' part of the USD Teaching Cases on Social Impact. 

Kim Stanley Robinson—author of "The Ministry for the Future"—reflects on the complexity of the challenges we face with climate change.

Hosted by the Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice, the science fiction writer gives a lecture recorded in front of a live audience at the University of San Diego’s Peace & Justice Theatre. After the lecture, the author takes questions from Kroc School students Franco Castro Escobar and Théa Klement.

His novel, The Ministry for the Future, was selected as one of Barack Obama’s Favorite Books of 2020 and one of Bill Gates’ “5 Great Books for the Summer” in 2022.

To buy the novel, "The Ministry for the Future", visit https://www.amazon.com/Ministry-Future-Kim-Stanley-Robinson/dp/0316300136