Peace Talks Radio

More engaging, inspiring and informational clips from episodes featured onPeace Talks Radio, the series on peacemaking and nonviolent conflictresolution, between 2002 and 2012. Among the voices you'll hear in thissecond program of highlights: The Dalai Lama, Mairead Maguire, Rick Steves, William Ury and more...on ways to reduce conflict in our own lives and around the world.

The story of Julia Ward Howe's 1871 Proclamation for Peace and her call for a universal Mother's Day to promote peace and disarmament. Host Carol Boss talks with Kate Stickley, a direct descendent of Howe, and Jane Smith Bernhardt, an actor who portrays Howe onstage. Plus conversation with Susan Galleymore, author of a book called "Long Time Passing: Mothers Talk About War and Terror."

Two women, two elders, who deep into the later years of life, made peace their goal – one, Catholic Sister Peggy O’Neill landed in war-ravaged El Salvador in the 1980’s and has been there ever since. The other, a woman who in 1981 had a 28 year personal campaign for peace come to an abrupt end when she had just turned 73. In 1953, Mildred Norman changed her name to Peace Pilgrim and started walking for peace. She kept doing it until the day she died.

Restorative Justice programs often bring offenders, victims, family members and other stakeholders in

the society together to work through what happened, to identify the harm done and together to work out appropriate punishment and possible restitution. There have been examples of restorative justice style

practices throughout history. As you’ll hear from some of our guests, many cite the talking circle model practiced by First Nation and Native American Communities as an inspiration for today’s restorative justice

programs. Maybe the most well-known application of restorative justice practices in recent history has been the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission assembled in the mid- 1990’s in the aftermath of

the abolition of apartheid. Although there were critics of the commission – which granted amnesty to about 1 in 10 offenders who went through the process, generally the TRC was thought of as successful in promoting honesty and healing in the country. But parts of the restorative justice practices have drawn criticism. Some say it trivializes crime, doesn’t reduce recidivism, and doesn’t do as much to restore and repair as it claims. Even those working in the field of Restorative Justice admit that it’s a work in progress, but as an addendum to what they see as a largely flawed criminal justice system, the practitioners of restorative justice are confident that it’s a model worth exploring. We explore two programs on today’s show, one that works with youth in Oakland, CA and one that for some years has been employed in Taos County in New Mexico.

Engaging, inspiring and informational clips from episodes featured on Peace Talks Radio, the series on peacemaking and nonviolent conflict resolution, between 2002 and 2012. Among the voices you'll hear: Jimmy Carter, Jody Williams, Arun Gandhi, Daniel Goleman, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Marshall Rosenberg, Byron Katie and more...on ways to reduce conflict in our own lives and around the world.

SEEKING PEACE ON EARTH: A PEACE TALKS RADIO SPECIAL (2012). It's our annual compendium of compelling moments from shows of the past year. You'll hear:

Young women from opposing sides in the Middle East conflict come together to work for peace.

A former West Point grad and Army captain puts the 'warrior ethos' to use in his post-service peace work.

A Republican and a Democrat agree on what to do to improve our political discourse.

A West Oakland neighborhood coming together over an effort to bring better food to its residents.

A former Afghan ambassador talking about essentials of diplomacy.

Practical and heart-felt ideas about finding peace around death and dying.

The story of how the famous peace symbol was created

How to become a Peace Ambassador. ... and more.

Two Harvard scholars with recent books are featured in this edition of Peace Talks Radio. Steven Pinker, author of The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined, says we seem to be living in one of the most peaceful eras in human history, despite the level of violence still at play in the world. He talks about his research. Then Donna Hicks talks about her book Dignity: The Essential Role It Plays in Conflict Resolution. She spells out 10 essentials for showing each other dignity and the 10 most common pitfalls. Two engaging interviews. Paul Ingles hosts.

On this special election season edition of Peace Talks Radio, an assessment of the degree of the problem, and some ideas on how to address it, from a number people. We’ll hear from current Democratic congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio, former long-term Republican congresswoman Connie Morella

from Maryland – both of whom actually agree on several things they think will help. We’ll also talk with two media analysts - Western Washington University's Michael Karlberg and Hakim Bellamy of the Media Literacy Project, who’ll comment on the media’s role in heightening incivility in political discourse. And we’ll hear from a woman who’s launched an online project she thinks may help things a bit, by taking a kitchen table around the country. Paul Ingles hosts

On this episode of Peace Talks Radio, we revisit the story of a non-profit

program called Creativity for Peace which includes a camp experience in

the high desert of New Mexico for adolescent girls from all sides in the

Middle East conflict. At the annual camp, t he girls speak their minds

and hearts about their own suffering due to the hostilities. Despite

being taught to see the other as the enemy, they learn to get along and

even be friends. More importantly perhaps, they learn important lessons

in conflict resolution. On this program, host Carol Boss talks with two

former campers, now young women, who have stayed with the Creativity for

Peace organization as young leaders both at the camp and actively working

for peace in their homelands. Palestinian Jwana Ghaleb and Israeli Jew

May Freed were back in New Mexico to help at the summer camp in 2012 when

Carol talked with them.

In the spring of 2012 - PEACE TALKS RADIO attended a training exercise put on by the US Institute of Peace in Washington DC. It's called SENSE - which stands for Strategic, Economic Needs and Security exercise. Forty to sixty people participate by taking on roles of business leaders, govt officials, security officers, non-governmental representatives and the like and, in three days, they work in a fictional world Akrona- a struggling state emerging from years of war and still vulnerable to violence. ( as some of the paraticipants have said, not unlike Afghanistan in the early 2000's.) A sophisticated computer program sets up the parameters of resources and circumstances. When one player makes one move in the game, it effects others. Parties have to negotiate to bring economies and quality of life into balance. Suzanne Kryder talked with some of the players to learn how it works and what they hope to learn and apply to their regular lives when they return from the exercise. She also has a conversation with Omar Samad, former Afghani Ambassador to both Canada and France.