This month, host Lillian Koizumi talks with Drs. Josh Snyder and Stephanie Edwards about the role of spirituality and interfaith dialogue in these times of division. 

Dr. Snyder is Associate Professor of the Practice in Theological Ethics at Boston College. He also is the Director of the Faith, Peace, and Justice Minor.  He earned his Ph.D. in Theological Ethics from Boston College.  His dissertation entitled, Love Promoting Justice: An Augustinian Ethic for Transitional Justice from the Context of Guatemala explored how charity as a civic virtue can bring about social reconciliation in a divided society. Dr. Snyder’s research focuses on transitional justice and Catholic Peace-Building with an emphasis on the Guatemalan Catholic Church & Human Rights. Additionally, he is interested in Catholic Social Teaching and its contribution to global public health with a specific focus on ethical accompaniment and end of life care.  

Dr. Edwards is the Executive Director of the Boston Theological Interreligious Consortium. After undergraduate studies at Santa Clara University, Dr. Edwards spent a formative year as a Jesuit Volunteer in post-Katrina New Orleans. She holds a PhD in Theological Ethics from Boston College, where her interdisciplinary research focused on the ties between Christian theology and trauma. Her research can be found in the Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics and Political Theology, and her first book, Enfleshed Counter-Memory: A Christian Social Ethic of Trauma. Her interest in such work has its roots in her “other” career as a social worker, wherein she has practiced diverse service delivery, grant writing, and non-profit management for over a decade. She lives in Biddeford, Maine, with her husband, Pete, and rescue dog, EmmyLou, where you can most often find her in nature: canoe camping in summer, leaf-peeping in fall, and bombing down the slopes in winter.

In this episode, they discuss their work, their personal journeys that led to where they are today, the importance of interfaith dialogue in this current climate, and the role of religion in bringing people together and restoring our humanity.

Music attribution: Podcast Music

To learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at [email protected] 

Last year, we launched a new series called What Do We Mean By? where host Lillian Koizumi unpacks different concepts we explore and practice at the Ikeda Center. All of these concepts are informed by the philosophy of our late founder Daisaku Ikeda. In this episode, Lillian unpacks the concept of dignity. She also invites Ikeda Center’s Outreach Manager Anri Khare to share her thoughts on dignity and examples of how she’s applying and practicing dignity in her own life.

For more information on dignity, click here.

Read our interview with Dr. Donna Hicks.

Quotes from Daisaku Ikeda shared in the episode: 

“The foundation of a culture of human rights is established when we can develop an empathetic openness toward the sufferings of others, feeling their pain as our own, and when we can ceaselessly strive to bring out our “best self,” to behave at all times and in all situations in a manner that we can proudly affirm.” (“Learning About Dignity,” The Japan Times, Dec. 23, 2011) 

“If we picture a global society of peace and coexistence as an edifice, the ideals of human rights and human security are key pillars that hold it up, while the foundation on which these rest is respect for the dignity of life. If this foundation remains no more than an abstract conceptualization, the entire structure will be unstable and could collapse in the event of a severe challenge or crisis.” (2013 Peace Proposal)

“…recognizing the dignity of the individual must result in mutual recognition and respect.” (A Dialogue between East and West: Looking to a Human Revolution)

Music attribution: 

Podcast Music

“Space”

Podington Bear

Soundofpicture.com

To learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at [email protected]

In our last episode of the year, host Lillian Koizumi welcomes Ikeda Center Executive Director Kevin Maher back to the Dialogue Studio to reflect on 2024 and the Center’s work and mission. In their conversation, Lillian asks Kevin about memorable events from this past year, how he continues to draw inspiration from and apply Mr. Ikeda’s philosophy, what he’s excited about for 2024, and more. 

Quotes referenced in this episode: 

“I firmly believe that the more severe the challenges we face the more crucial it is that we persist in dialogue because dialogue has the power to break down the walls of mistrust, hatred, and division in the hearts of people everywhere.” - From Daisaku Ikeda’s 1995 message to the Ikeda Center

“I likewise believe that the value of dialogue is to be found in its processes, perhaps even more than in its concrete results. For the vibrant and mutually catalytic process of dialogue between individuals and between whole civilizations dynamically illustrates humanitarian competition, the competition in self-mastery….

“My own meetings with leading figures and thinkers from the nations of the world are motivated by the belief that dialogue indeed has the power to unite humankind. At the same time, I am moved by the desire to try to find, through dialogue, solutions to the many problems that loom before us.

“Without dialogue, humans are fated to walk in the darkness of their own dogmatic self-righteousness. Dialogue is the lamp by which we dispel that darkness, lighting and making visible for each other our steps and the path ahead.” - From Daisaku Ikeda’s 2002 Peace Proposal “The Humanism of the Middle Way: Dawn of a Global Civilization”

Music attribution: Podcast Music

To learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at [email protected] 

This month, host Lillian Koizumi talks to Eliza O’Neil, who is a Senior Curriculum Developer at the Constructive Dialogue Institute (CDI). Eliza’s role at CDI is to create dialogue-focused curriculum, resources, and trainings for students, educators, administrators, and anyone looking to cultivate skills to foster connection across differences in any context. In the episode, Eliza shares her career journey, what constructive dialogue means and looks like, her insights on the role of dialogue in an increasingly divisive world, inspiring examples of individuals and groups transforming conflicts through dialogue, and more.

Before joining CDI, Eliza was a program director for Seeds of Peace, where she ran dialogue and facilitation training programs for young adults and educators from around the world. She spent 6 years as a facilitator for Essential Partners, working with communities of all ages looking to bridge divides and connect more meaningfully. Eliza previously taught at experiential high schools in Maine and Colorado and led wilderness trips around the world for groups of young adults. Eliza holds a B.A. from Bates College and an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

For more information on Eliza’s work, visit https://constructivedialogue.org/. 

To learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at [email protected] 

Music attribution: Podcast Music

Earlier this year, we launched a new series called What Do We Mean By? where host Lillian Koizumi unpacks different concepts we explore and practice at the Ikeda Center. All of these concepts are informed by the philosophy of our late founder Daisaku Ikeda. In this episode, Lillian unpacks the concept of human revolution. She also invites Ikeda Center’s Publications & Communications Specialist Mitch Bogen to share his thoughts on human revolution and why he thinks it is important as we strive to create a more peaceful world.

Click here for more information on human revolution.

Music attribution: 

Podcast Music

“Space”

Podington Bear

Soundofpicture.com

To learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at [email protected]

We are launching another new series in the Dialogue Studio called “And the dialogue continues…” where host Lillian Koizumi reflects on highlights and perspectives from the Center’s Dialogue Nights/Dialogue Nights Lite event series with her colleagues. In this episode, Lillian talks with Anri, Preandra, and Lanre about the recent Dialogue Nights Lite launch and the insights they gained from the evening’s takeaway activity. 

Click here for more information on Dialogue Nights.

To learn more about our recent Dialogue Nights Lite, read the write-up here.

Music attribution: Podcast Music

To learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at [email protected] 

In this episode, host Lillian Koizumi continues her conversation with nuclear disarmament activists Molly McGinty and Emma Pike. In part 2 of this conversation, they discuss the importance of engaging in dialogue with those we don’t agree with, why it is so important for youth to get involved, and what gives them hope in these times of conflict and division. 

Molly joined the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) in 2019 as a Quaker Voluntary Service Fellow and has remained on staff since the completion of the program. She graduated from Salisbury University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Social Work and Gender & Sexuality Studies, where she engaged in advocacy on police demilitarization and anti-human trafficking policy. It was through these positions that she came to understand the power of grassroots organizing and youth-led movements. As Program Director, Molly coordinates IPPNW’s work on educating the public and decision-makers on the medical and humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons, promoting the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and supporting our medical student movement and youth partners. She is on the International Steering Group of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), Steering Committee of Youth for TPNW, and Board of the Nuclear Truth Project.

As an undergraduate studying International Relations, Emma was deeply moved by Daisaku Ikeda’s philosophy of peace as a pursuit that begins within each individual, eventually writing her thesis on Ikeda’s philosophy as a model for peace in the nuclear age. As a peace educator and specialist in global citizenship education, Emma is a firm believer in the central role that education plays in building a more peaceful and equitable world for all. Emma holds a Master of Arts in International Relations from the University of St Andrews, a Master of Arts in Development Education and Global Learning from the UCL Institute of Education, and a Master of Education in International Educational Development from Teachers College, Columbia University. In her current role at Lex International, she focuses on strengthening the role of international law, particularly in nuclear disarmament and regulation of autonomous weapons systems. She also engages in public education on these topics, highlighting the power that each individual person holds to effect positive change.

Learn more about Molly and IPPNW’s work on their website here: https://www.ippnw.org/about/staff 

For educational content on nuclear disarmament, follow Emma on TikTok: @emma_pike_

Music attribution: Podcast Music

To learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at [email protected] 

In this episode, host Lillian Koizumi talks with two nuclear disarmament activists Molly McGinty and Emma Pike about how they started their careers in this field as young people, what they feel are the biggest obstacles to abolishing nuclear weapons at this time, and how their friendship has sustained and deepened their commitment to this work. 

Molly joined the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) in 2019 as a Quaker Voluntary Service Fellow and has remained on staff since the completion of the program. She graduated from Salisbury University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Social Work and Gender & Sexuality Studies, where she engaged in advocacy on police demilitarization and anti-human trafficking policy. It was through these positions that she came to understand the power of grassroots organizing and youth-led movements. As Program Director, Molly coordinates IPPNW’s work on educating the public and decision-makers on the medical and humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons, promoting the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and supporting our medical student movement and youth partners. She is on the International Steering Group of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), Steering Committee of Youth for TPNW, and Board of the Nuclear Truth Project.

As an undergraduate studying International Relations, Emma was deeply moved by Daisaku Ikeda’s philosophy of peace as a pursuit that begins within each individual, eventually writing her thesis on Ikeda’s philosophy as a model for peace in the nuclear age. As a peace educator and specialist in global citizenship education, Emma is a firm believer in the central role that education plays in building a more peaceful and equitable world for all. Emma holds a Master of Arts in International Relations from the University of St Andrews, a Master of Arts in Development Education and Global Learning from the UCL Institute of Education, and a Master of Education in International Educational Development from Teachers College, Columbia University. In her current role at Lex International, she focuses on strengthening the role of international law, particularly in nuclear disarmament and regulation of autonomous weapons systems. She also engages in public education on these topics, highlighting the power that each individual person holds to effect positive change.

Music attribution: Podcast Music

To learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at [email protected] 

In this episode, host Lillian Koizumi talks with Dr. Roland Joseph, a member of the “Nonkilling Security & International Relations Research Committee” at the Center for Global Nonkilling. In their dialogue, Dr. Joseph talks about the importance of peace education and promoting nonkilling, the aspects of Daisaku Ikeda’s peace philosophy that inspire him, what it would look like to teach children love instead of war, as well as what gives him hope at this time. 

Dr. Joseph has been deeply influenced by Dr. Glenn D. Paige, a friend of Daisaku Ikeda, who coined the concept of the nonkilling paradigm in his seminal book Nonkilling Global Political Science. His doctoral research focused on the transformative experiences of scholars and activists promoting nonkilling political science to anti-nuclear weapon activists and realists. As a Haitian living in Massachusetts, Dr. Joseph has initiated nuclear disarmament education within the Haitian community with the collaboration of the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament, and Common Security (CPDCS). He also launched a campaign for peace in Haiti, including a working group on peace education with professors and students from the Université Publique du Sud-Est à Jacmel (UPSEJ), supported by the International Peace Bureau (IPB). Roland holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the Institut Supérieur des Sciences Économiques, Politiques et Juridiques (ISSEPJ) in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, a master’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from UMass Lowell, and a PhD in Conflict Analysis and Resolution with a concentration in Global Conflict from Nova Southeastern University (NSU). Dr. Joseph has been a good friend of the Center since 2018, following his participation in a Dialogue Nights event on nuclear weapons. 

Music attribution: Podcast Music

To learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at [email protected] 

This month’s Dialogue Studio guest is the Center’s new Senior Peace Researcher, Professor Alexander Harang. In the episode, Lillian talks with Professor Harang about how he got involved in the peace field, his introduction to Daisaku Ikeda’s work, his reflections on the current state of peace, and what he is looking forward to in his new role at the Center.

In addition to his role at the Center, Professor Harang holds the position of Distinguished Adjunct Professor at Soka University of America (SUA), where he specializes in exploring the contributions of Daisaku Ikeda to global peacebuilding endeavors. He is also Senior Research Fellow at SUA’s Soka Institute for Global Solutions. Professor Harang brings more than two decades of leadership experience from the international peace movement, as well as research and teaching experience from peace academia.

Music attribution: Podcast Music

To learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at [email protected]