Peace Talks Radio

In 2010, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Liu Xiaobo, the Chinese literary critic, writer, professor, and human rights activist who called for political reforms in China. Currently incarcerated as a political prisoner in China, he was unable to attend the peace award ceremony. We talk with poet Jeffrey Yang who is editing a collection of Xiaobo's poetry to learn more about the prize winner's life and commitment to peace. Also Chinese writer Tienchi Liao, a literary colleague of Xiaobo, talks about his story. Pau Ingles hosts.

It's been a great year at Peace Talks Radio. We looked at peace endeavors in U.S. prisons, highlighted the “Peace Through Music” project, and examined international efforts to protect human rights defenders in global conflict hot spots. We also talked with leading thinkers in conflict resolution, like William Ury, Daniel Goleman and Rick Hanson, and asked a panel how we can make peace with Mother Nature in the wake of 2010’s many environmental disasters. We explored the story of Massosoit's peace pact with the pilgrims and learned tips for a peaceful divorce. And in one absorbing episode, we gave our microphone over to school children to hear their thoughts on peacemaking. Listen in to this one-hour year-end special to hear highlights from all of these programs.

When you visualize the National Mall in Washington, DC, what do you see? Perhaps stately buildings like the US Capitol or the Smithsonian castle. Or, perhaps you see some of the monuments and memorials that remind us of conflict and war, for example, the World War II, Korean, and Vietnam war memorials. Even the majestic monuments to Washington and Lincoln are reminiscent of wars that our country fought for freedom. On the next Peace Talks Radio, we explore a new memorial on the National Mall: The United States Institute of Peace. The USIP is an independent, nonpartisan, national institution established in 1984 and funded by Congress to increase the nation's capacity to manage international conflict without violence. The new 150,000 square-foot, five-story USIP building on the northwest corner of the Mall will house staff offices, a library, conference center, classrooms, and a public education center designed to heighten understanding of the challenges of international conflict management. Host Suzanne Kryde

PEACEMAKING AFTER A DIVORCE - In the U.S., about 50% of all marriages end in divorce. Divorce is often described in the language of war. The ex-spouses battle over possessions and children. Attorneys look for ammunition. The warring partners burn bridges, plunder bank accounts, and drop bombshells. In a sense, the script is already written for us. Divorce is a civil war in a family. But does it have to be that way? What happens when both parties want to write the ending a different way and divorce peacefully? Can they? On this edition of our series, you'll hear the divorce story of the couple who created Peace Talks Radio and still work together to produce it: Paul Ingles and Suzanne Kryder. Guest reporter Sasha Aslanian tells how the couple managed to steer around divisive divorce troubles and stay friendly, civil and even helpful to each other in the post-divorce years. Also, a conversation with therapist Samuel Roll who offers ideas about managing divorces that don't go so smoothly and may involve chi

AFTER THE TOXIC SPILLS: MAKING PEACE WITH NATURE. When the British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig exploded in April of 2010 and set off the largest accidental marine oil spill in history, virtually everyone viewing the disruption - to wildlife and the lives of people in that region - was devastated. Here at Peace talks Radio, we guessed that the event probably set off an inner conflict in many about humans’ relationship with nature. Then there was the toxic sludge spill in Hungary. So we sought out some voices of people who have already placed that relationship with nature at the center of their lives to see how their experiences and thinking might help us all grapple with this conflict. A lot of the headlines during the three months when the oil gushed into the gulf framed the event as an attack or war on nature. How can we think and act to make peace with nature, especially in the wake of such environmental disasters? On this show we speak with Dr. Daniel Scwartz, a social ecology professor at t

Do you work to transform destructive conflict into cooperation? Can you take the "Third Side" in the conflicts around you even when you’re a party to the conflict? The "Third Side" looks at conflict not just from one side or the other but from the larger perspective of the surrounding community, or “third side.” This time on Peace Talks Radio, host Suzanne Kryder talks with Dr. William Ury, co-founder of Harvard University's Program on Negotiation and author of The Power of a Positive No: How to Say No & Still Get to Yes and Getting to Peace (released in paperback under the title The Third Side). Dr. Ury has worked as a mediator and negotiator for over 30 years in corporate mergers, wildcat strikes in a Kentucky coal mine, and among the Bushmen of the Kalahari. He says that it takes two sides to fight, and a third to stop; that third side can transform our daily battles into creative conflict and cooperation at home, work, and in the world. We’ll also talk with people who have used the Third Side approa

This time we talk with young people to hear their ideas about what it takes to make peace and resolve conflict. Second to fifth grade students have a lot of good ideas as it turns out. We talked with a diverse group of 15 youngsters who were attending Sunday youth activities one morning at Albuquerque's First Unitarian Church. We also visited with three teen members of KUNM's Youth Radio Project: Luke Iha, Bashar Jawad and Amanja Lambert.

On this edition of Peace Talks Radio, two men – Greg Mortenson and Dr. Mohammad Khan Kharoti- who firmly believe that the path to relieving suffering, reducing conflict, and promoting peace in the troubled and chronically war-torn country of Afghanistan is by building schools. Schools for young Afghan boys and especially for young Afghan girls for whom education and basic literacy has been denied. Greg Mortenson is the author of the best selling books THREE CUPS OF TEA and STONES INTO SCHOOLS. He’s founder of the Pennies for Peace program, and co-founder of the Central Asia Institute. Mortenson has raised the money and resources to build over 130 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan- expanding the horizons and hopes of tens of thousands of young boys and girls. Also on the program, a less well-known school builder in Afghanistan who built a school in 2001, which flourished into 2008 before it was destroyed by militants. The man behind the school was Dr. Mohammad Khan Kharoti who was born in a nomadic A

Peace Talks Radio, the series on peacemaking and non-violent conflict resolution, features Jane Davis of Hope-Howse. In December 1993, Jane was asked to be a media witness at an electric chair execution in Georgia. She says witnessing the execution made everything inside her go "haywire." She writes, "This isolated act of killing another human being...left no alternatives. It took away all hope." Since then Jane has been travelling to death rows and prisons around the country and around the world, counseling inmates to help them find the goodness inside them and help them achieve some inner peace. She has worked with at-risk youth as well and has advocated against the death penalty. "Hope-Howse" stands for "Help Other People Evolve through Honest Open Willing Self Evaluation." She talks about her work with Carol Boss. In part two of the program, we rebroadcast our visit with musician and death penalty opponent Steve Earle from 2005 and hear some voices in support of the death penalty from the deb

17 million views on You Tube to date. That's the number of times the unique rendition of the song "Stand By Me" has been seen on the internet. The song featured contributions from street musicians and indigenous performers around the world, all playing to the same basic track recorded in Santa Monica, CA by music producer and engineer Mark Johnson. The good vibe from the collaboration inspired a whole CD called Songs Around The World, a DVD called Peace Through Music, a live tour, and a non-profit organization called the Playing For Change Foundation that has raised money to build music schools in developing countries. Can a project like this really promote peace in a noticeable way? On this edition of Peace Talks Radio, Carol Boss talks with both Mark Johnson and Whitney Burditt of Playing for Change, as well as with two of the music performers - Clarence Bekker from The Netherlands and Mermans Kenkosenki from South Africa - about this remarkable project.

Despite ongoing turmoil and conflict in our world, there are still people who are working for peace. Listen for the annual compendium of highlights from the Peace Talks Radio series on peacemaking and nonviolent conflict resolution. Listeners will hear about the Dalai Lama's commitment to peace, John Lennon and Yoko Ono's peace work, peace lessons from the annual Rainbow Gatherings and from international water negotiations. Other programs spotlighting a community art project and an international pen pal project for peace will be recalled. Plus comments on peace building through travel with Rick Steves, reduction of nuclear arsenals from Nobel Peace prize Laureate Dr. Bernard Lown and a word from Capt. James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise (really!). It's an uplifting and empowering hour. Paul Ingles hosts with Suzanne Kryder and Carol Boss.

Kim Rosen, author of the book Saved by a Poem, talks about how people struggling with personal conflict can find peace, comfort and perspective in the words of poetry and song. She also sees a role for poetry in international negotiations that address conflict on a broader scale. Also on the program, Sarah Wilkinson tells about the Peace Pal Project which connects school children in different parts of the world through a pen pal initiative and conflict resolution curriculum that,she says, broadens understanding and gives young people tools to address the conflicts that may lay ahead in their lives. Carol Boss is the host.

This time we explore the question, will managing the world's overtaxed water supply lead to more conflict or actually be a compelling catalyst to peace? The fact is that, so far, cooperation rather than conflict over water is the norm around the world. That's according to Oregon State University Professor Aaron Wolf, co-author of the book Managing and Transforming Water Conflicts, who's been facilitating solutions to water conflicts for years and sees many lessons in peacemaking emerging from the experience. “Water hits us at a profoundly different level than other resources,” he says. “People are willing to do horrible things to each other. What they seem not willing to do is turn off each other’s water.” Host Carol Boss talks with Aaron Wolf on this edition of Peace Talks Radio Also, a chat with Matt and Christina Berlin who took some Oakland school kids to Kenya for a horizons-expanding experience, then got deeply involved in the effort to help a rural Kenyan community purify it's dangerous water s

In 1516, Sir Thomas More published the book, “Utopia,” a word he coined for an ideal, imaginary island nation. His book describes a perfect socio-political-legal society that’s free of poverty and suffering. Even though utopia comes from Greek words meaning “no place” and indicates that More considered it an impossible goal, groups throughout history have tried to create idyllic, peaceful communities. On this edition of Peace Talks Radio, we explore an on-going utopian experiment, the Rainbow Gathering-a loosely-knit group of anarchists holding temporary gatherings in remote rural areas since 1972. Host Suzanne Kryder interviews Dr. Michael Niman, author of People of the Rainbow: A Nomadic Utopia, about the group’s efforts to practice nonviolent, nonhierarchical cooperative living with each other and the earth. The program includes interviews and first-hand reports from Suzanne’s participation in the 38th annual Rainbow Gathering in New Mexico, July 2009. The Peace Talks Radio series is produced by the non

This time on Peace Talks Radio, we explore a program that transforms troubled neighborhoods into more peaceful, secure places through art, learning, land transformation and economic development. Host Carol Boss speaks with Lily Yeh, co-founder of two organizations dedicated to re-building communities: The Village of Arts and Humanities, Inc. and, more recently, Barefoot Artists, Inc. In North Philadelphia, Yeh, with a group of neighborhood residents (mostly children), cleared a trash-strewn vacant lot and began to build an art park that incorporated mosaic sculptures, murals, and landscaping with trees and flowers. Over the next few years, Yeh's project was joined by artists, builders, educators and a growing number of community residents caught up in the vision of creating a more peaceful community. Yeh's ideas that helped bring the North Philadelphia neighborhood back to life are now being applied to projects in Rwanda, Kenya, Ecuador and China.

On this special edition of Peace Talks Radio, we recall the several years when musician John Lennon and his wife, performance artist Yoko Ono, were among the most high profile peace advocates on the planet. John was shot dead outside his apartment in New York in 1980 – 11 years after he wrote the song that – since its creation in 1969, has been a fixture at just about any gathering for peace. Give Peace A Chance was released 40 years ago this summer (July 4). We’ll talk with Yoko Ono as well a the producers and directors of two fine films about this part of their lives: David Leaf who co-created the film The US vs. John Lennon, and the co-producers of the film John and Yoko, Give Peace A Song, Paul McGrath and Alan Lysaght. Lennon's voice is heard in clips from both films and in his songs including, Give Peace A Chance, Happy Xmas (War Is Over), Power To The People, Revolution, and Imagine. Hosted by Paul Ingles.

2009 marks the 50th anniversary of the Dalai Lama's exile from Tibet. On this program, Suzanne Kryder talks with Tibetan scholar Dr. Robert Thurman, author of the book Why The Dalai Lama Matters: His Act of Truth as the Solution for China, Tibet and the World. Also featured is Pico Iyer, author of The Open Road: The Global Journey of the 14th Dalai Lama. Listeners will also hear excerpts from the Dalai Lama's 2008 appearance at Seattle's Seeds of Compassion Conference. This program explores how the Dalai Lama's life and story might inspire our own search for personal and global peace. It also examines the Dalai Lama's proposal to settle the long-running conflict with China over Tibet.

Peace Talks Radio, the series on peacemaking and nonviolent conflict resolution, explores the peace message in the hugely popular original 1960's TV series - STAR TREK. A new Star Trek movie was released in May 2009 that revisits the stories of Capt. Kirk, Spock, Bones and the characters from the original series. This episode ot Peace Talks Radio notes how many stories in the original series thoughtfully explored the themes of war and peace, tolerance, friendship and compassion. When originally released in the turbulent late 1960's, Star Trek stories tackled complex issues that mirrored both the Cold War, the Vietnam War, and the Civil Rights Struggle. Host Paul Ingles talks with Dr. Judith Barad, author of The Ethics of Star Trek and David Gerrold, author of The World of Star Trek and the popular episode "The Trouble With Tribbles." Also, Nichelle Nichols, the actress who played Lt. Uhura, the communications officer, in the original series.

In this two-part program, Peace Talks Radio salutes "Peacemaking Elders"- people who, well into their eighties, are still working for peace. Our guests in Part One are Juanita Nelson and Ruth Imber. Juanita and Wally Nelson were among the first to take the step of refusing to pay taxes to the government because they did not want their tax dollars to go to military spending. Starting in 1948, they lived simply below the taxable income line and were active in civil rights and social justice movements. Wally Nelson died in 2002 at the age of 93. Juanita Nelson, now 85, continues on her own, living in the house she and Wally Nelson built together from salvaged material. She has no electricity, no plumbing, and grows her own food on a small tract of land in western Massachusetts. Juanita Nelson is one of our guests. Ruth Imber, 83, is a fixture in the peace and justice community in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She's a poet, writer and singing member of the "Raging Grannies." Carol Boss hosts the conversa

January 20, 2009, newly inaugurated United States President Barack Obama declared a new era for American leadership in promoting peace on the planet, but how likely is it that he'll play the role of peacemaker as president? During the campaign, he pointed to his early opposition to the war in Iraq, while talking tough on other international fronts. While he's said it's important for the U.S. to talk to its enemies, he's appointed a Secretary of State in Hillary Clinton who challenged him on that philosophy during the primary campaign. What in Obama's background suggests that he would be an effective diplomat to bring warring factions together internationally or in Congress over key domestic issues? On this edition of Peace Talks Radio, host Carol Boss and our guests will explore Barack Obama’s potential as a peacemaker in global and domestic affairs. Guests include David Mendell, author of the best-selling book Obama: From Promise To Power. As a former reporter for the Chicago Tribune, Mendell covered