Lebanon has been in the headlines for months — but the real story goes back 3,000 years. In less than an hour, get the context you've been missing: Phoenicians, civil war, Hezbollah, and how all of it leads to today.

This is a brief, approachable history of Lebanon for those who know little to nothing about it. Please keep in mind that this is not comprehensive, just a jumping off point for further learning.

Sources used in making this episode.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does negotiation have to do with peacemaking? Turns out, A LOT. Stan Christensen has spent decades negotiating in over 75 countries — between governments, ethnic groups, and armed factions — and he joins Wiser World to bring that hard-won wisdom down to earth. We talk about why conflict avoidance creates more conflict, how trust is built and broken, what skilled negotiators do differently, and why Stan believes there is no such thing as an intractable conflict. This one will change how you see every difficult conversation in your life.

Check out Stan's podcast "All Things Negotiation" to learn more about negotiation.

Transcript for this episode.

TIMESTAMPS

For Wiser World:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we explore the stories of five MORE impactful peacemakers throughout the world: Wangari Maathai, José Ramos-Horta, Mohandas Gandhi, Rigoberta Menchú, and Mairead Corrigan. Their stories are inspiring and very human, and I hope you enjoy learning about them as much as I did.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, I sit down with Sanam Naraghi Anderlini — peace strategist, founder of the International Civil Society Action Network and one of the architects of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 — to talk about what it actually takes to build lasting peace. We cover the research behind women's inclusion in peace processes, how a scrappy international coalition got a landmark resolution passed at the UN Security Council, why women's unique approach to peacebuilding is a superpower rather than a liability, and what ordinary people can do right now when the architecture of international peace feels like it's crumbling.

You can find Sanam's podcast "If You Were In Charge" anywhere you get your podcasts.

For Wiser World:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we explore the stories of five impactful peacemakers throughout the world: Bertha Von Suttner, Nelson Mandela, Eleanor Roosevelt, Óscar Arias, and Leymah Gbowee. Their stories are inspiring and very human, and I hope you enjoy learning about them as much as I did.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is the history of peacemaking? In this episode, we trace the origins of diplomacy and international law from the ancient world to the present day. Topics include the Treaty of Kadesh — the world's oldest peace treaty — the Great Law of Peace and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the birth of modern diplomacy at the Peace of Westphalia, the founding of the Red Cross, the Geneva Conventions, the League of Nations, the United Nations, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We also explore what different traditions — Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Confucianism — have taught about peace throughout history.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most of us think peacemaking means keeping the peace — avoiding conflict, not ruffling feathers, smoothing things over. But what if that's actually not peacemaking?

In this episode, I sit down with Steven Collis — law professor, First Amendment scholar, and author of Habits of a Peacemaker — to dig into what productive dialogue actually looks like in real life. Not in a boardroom or a courtroom, but in your home, your family, your neighborhood.

We talk about why intellectual humility is the foundation of everything, how to reframe a conversation from a fight into a treasure hunt, why you probably don't need a strong opinion on most things, and what it actually means to listen — not just wait for your turn to talk.

This one is packed. I think you're going to love it.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:00] — Why keeping the peace isn't the same as making peace

[01:30] — Introducing Steven Collis and how he got interested in peacemaking

[03:37] — What is peacemaking, really? Steven reframes it as "productive discourse"

[06:32] — Intellectual humility: the most important habit of a peacemaker

[07:40] — How to hold humility and conviction at the same time

[11:27] — Do you actually need an opinion on everything? (Probably not.)

[12:41] — Reframing conversations as a treasure hunt for understanding

[14:44] — Live example: how to defuse a heated argument as a third party

[19:02] — Real learning vs. being fed: how peacemakers gather information

[22:06] — How to navigate media bias and find overlap across opposing sources

[25:35] — Why you should hunt for the best argument against your own position

[30:48] — Comment sections, bots, and why online arguing is mostly a waste of your life

[34:11] — What to do when someone comes at you hard — and how to reframe it

[35:04] — What happens when someone genuinely won't engage? Is there a point of no return?

[38:50] — The lost art of pausing before you respond

[42:35] — Active listening: why most of us are terrible at it and how to get better

[50:41] — Going into a conversation with an open mind — what that actually looks like

[52:20] — Is peacemaking being weaponized? When "don't stir things up" becomes avoidance

[55:31] — The difference between being a peacemaker and being a pushover

[1:04:45] — How to have productive dialogue with someone who has more power than you

[1:09:48] — Finding where the real disagreement actually lives

[1:13:00] — If you remember one thing: don't give up on becoming a peacemaker

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Five macro-level lessons I have learned from studying Iran's history.

Find additional resources, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and support the podcast at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/wiserworldpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Join us on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/wiserworldpodcast/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Sign up for our free weekly email newsletter at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://wiserworld.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's guest, Sahar Delijani, is the author of Children of the Jacaranda Tree, an internationally acclaimed novel, translated into 32 languages and published in more than 75 countries. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Literary Hub, LARB, Jewish Currents, BOMB, McSweeney’s and elsewhere. Her second novel, For Every Person You Kill, is forthcoming in Spring 2027.

In this episode, Sahar shares her family’s story — including being born in Evin Prison — and reflects on Iranian identity, cultural resilience, and the role of joy, history, and women in today’s movement for freedom. We also discuss what solidarity can look like from the international community, and how stories and literature can help humanize a struggle that’s often reduced to geopolitics.

Find additional resources, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and support the podcast at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/wiserworldpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Join us on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/wiserworldpodcast/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Sign up for our free weekly email newsletter at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://wiserworld.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Part 3 of 3 of the Iran 101 series: a foundational history of Iran for those who know little to nothing about it. This episode covers 1981 to early 2026.

Sources used in making this episode.

Find additional resources, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and support the podcast at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/wiserworldpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Join us on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/wiserworldpodcast/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Sign up for our free weekly email newsletter at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://wiserworld.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices