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Making Peace Visible is hosting a free virtual event to reflect on what we’ve learned from the Beyond Polarization series, and how we’re thinking about polarization and solutions going into the 2026 midterms. “Polarization, the midterms & what comes next,” is happening at 7pm Eastern Time on October 27th.  RSVP here.  We hope you'll join us to process some of what we've gathered about the forces driving polarization here in the United States, and some of the lessons we've taken away about what works to build bridges across the divide -- in journalism, online, in college classrooms in our communities and governments.   This isn't a lecture or a talk -- it's an opportunity for conversation and reflection. You also don't have to have listened to the whole series to participate. (There's no pop quiz). We'll have a few questions for discussion, but we're keeping it pretty informal. See you then?  In this seventh and final episode in the series, we’re focusing on government.  A New York Times investigation found that elected officials in state and federal offices have been subject to thousands of violent threats over the past two years. That includes 70 of the nation’s 100 senators, and at least 185 members of the House of Representatives. Threats target Democrats and Republicans alike. Candidates are spending millions on security.  And there have been actual acts of violence too: For instance, Minnesota House speaker, Melissa Hortman, and her husband, Mark were assassinated in June 2025, and Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro’s house was firebombed.  There are plenty of other indicators that the system of American democracy is under dire threat. But our guest, Lindsey Cormack has hope, and brings some much-needed historical and empirical perspective.  Lindsay Cormack is an associate professor of political science at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. She’s also the co-host of a new podcast called Government that Doesn’t Suck, which dives deep into government projects and legislation that changed American history for the better. And she’s the author of the book How to Raise a Citizen, (And Why it’s Up to You to do it). Cormack is the founder and manager of DC Inbox, a searchable database of all the email newsletters sent from every member of Congress, going back to 2010. And she shares data and insights from her analysis of those emails on her Substack, DC Inbox Insights.  More resources from Lindsey Cormack: Same Country, Different Dangers When Republicans and Democrats talk about public safety they mean different things, DC Inbox Insights, Oct 2026 More Chances, Fewer Problems? Revisiting Ranked Choice Voting Errors in New York City, American Politics Research, May 2026 Extremity in Congress: Communications versus Votes, Legislative Studies Quarterly, May 2016 Follow her on Instagram @howtoraiseacitizen Music in this episode is from Xylo-Ziko, Blue Dot Sessions and Poddington Bear ABOUT THE SHOW The Making Peace Visible podcast is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin. The associate producer and graphic designer is Faith McClure. Learn more at makingpeacevisible.org Support our work Connect on social: Instagram @makingpeacevisible YouTube @makingpeacevisible LinkedIn @makingpeacevisible Bluesky @makingpeacevisible.bsky.social Making Peace Visible is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts dedicated to creating a more informed, civically engaged electorate. We want to learn more about our listeners. Take this 3-minute survey to help us improve the show!

Our guest this episode is an ordained pastor and journalist who's traveled the country speaking to conservative Christians and facilitating discussions about politics and division. But she's come to believe those efforts are ineffective, and has shifted her focus to combatting Christian Nationalism.  This is episode 6 in Making Peace Visible's special series, Beyond Polarization. In episodes 1 through 5, we spoke to Americans invested in bridging political divides through journalism, social media, higher education and in civil society. This episode, with a spotlight on religion, examines the limits of trying to find common cause with people you disagree with.  Rev. Angela Denker is an ordained Lutheran pastor and a journalist based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She's the author of two books: Red State Christians (2019), and Disciples of White Jesus: The Radicalization of American Boyhood  (2025). Having grown up with a mix of Baptist, Evangelical and mainline Protestant influences, Angela eventually embraced a more liberal Christianity and progressive politics. While researching her first book, she saw some openness to dialogue and empathy for immigrants, for instance. But she says, by and large, efforts at bridge building between liberal and conservative Christians have fallen flat. Her second book focuses on the threat of Christian Nationalism, particularly among young white men and boys. In this interview, Denker speaks about why she thinks there are more important threats to the country and the church than polarization. And she makes a case for why we should be paying more attention to the role of religion in American politics today. We also touch on Denker's experiences and writing during ICE's Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis.  More from Angela Denker:  Substack: I'm Listening "I Am a Minneapolis Mother and Pastor, and I Know Where I Stand", The New Republic, January 2026Writer and pastor Angela Denker investigates what's going on with young white men in America, interview by Sarah McCammon, March 2025 "The End of Dialogue?" Church Anew, December 2020 "Why I’m Teaching a Class on Political Dialogue When No One Wants to Talk to Each Other", Faith+Lead, February 2020 *** JOIN US ON ZOOM! POLARIZATION, THE MIDTERMS AND WHAT COMES NEXT  Producing this series has given us a lot to think about. And we'd love to talk through some of it with you. Please join us at 7PM EDT on Tuesday, October 27th for an open discussion of the themes raised on Beyond Polarization, and how you're thinking about the 2026 midterm elections. RSVP here.  ABOUT THE SHOW The Making Peace Visible podcast is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin. The associate producer and graphic designer is Faith McClure. Learn more at makingpeacevisible.org Support our work Connect on social: Instagram @makingpeacevisible YouTube @makingpeacevisible LinkedIn @makingpeacevisible Bluesky @makingpeacevisible.bsky.social Making Peace Visible is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts dedicated to creating a more informed, civically engaged electorate. We want to learn more about our listeners. Take this 3-minute survey to help us improve the show!

Civil society organizations are crucial to peacebuilding efforts, in the US and around the world. That includes nonprofits, school boards, churches, membership organizations and charities. A number of international peacebuilding organizations launched local programs in the United States after the 2016 election revealed heightened levels of polarization and dehumanizing rhetoric that mirrored what they'd seen in countries with ongoing violent conflicts. Now we have about 10 years worth of experience, and data from this kind of work to learn from. Do Americans even care about bridging political divides? When people attend an event where they come to see the humanity in their opponents and learn how to disagree better, do they take those lessons home to their communities? Are these efforts scalable, or do they just reach a small number of people? Does it reduce polarization when you bring people together just to talk about polarization...or should there be a particular goal in mind? We attempt to answer these questions this episode with two guests. Lance Walker is a barber and a community bridge builder in rural Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. He's a Black man and father of mixed race children, a veteran, a small business owner and a self-described "disciple of Christ." After building a reputation for facilitating conversations across a variety of political views at his barbershop, Walker co-led two projects aimed at preventing identity-based and political violence in his area, organized by the nonprofit bridge building organization Urban Rural Action. He also served on a highly polarized school board.  Lisa Inks  is the Senior Director of Evidence and Learning for Urban Rural Action. Previously, Inks worked at Mercy Corps for 10 years, serving in positions including Director of Conflict Management Programs in Nigeria and Director of Peace and Conflict Programs, where she led global peacebuilding and violence prevention strategy, program design, implementation support, and thought leadership. She is based in Indianpolis, Indiana.  LEARN MORE: Wisconsin group defies trend by drawing more conservatives into bridge-building efforts - PBS Newshour, October 2025 200 miles from where Trump was shot, ordinary citizens combat political violence - The Christian Science Monitor, July 2024 Central Pa. community group prepares plans to tackle identity-based violence in their communities - WITF, June 2023Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.  ABOUT THE SHOW The Making Peace Visible podcast is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin. The associate producer and graphic designer is Faith McClure. Learn more at makingpeacevisible.org Support our work Connect on social: Instagram @makingpeacevisible YouTube @makingpeacevisible LinkedIn @makingpeacevisible Bluesky @makingpeacevisible.bsky.social Making Peace Visible is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts dedicated to creating a more informed, civically engaged electorate. We want to learn more about our listeners. Take this 3-minute survey to help us improve the show!

At college, young people have the opportunity  to get to know peers from different ethnic, social, and political backgrounds. As a result, they meet students who see the world in completely different ways.  So what should happen when students encounter ideas, histories, or each other in ways that make them deeply uncomfortable? Avoiding those conversations may reduce conflict in the short term. Simply encouraging students to “speak freely” isn’t enough either. Without trust and skill, difficult conversations can reinforce divisions instead of bridging them.  Professors and other educators can provide guidance drawing from a wide array of sources and points of view. But how can educators teach healthy constructive ways to engage with new ideas and different perspectives, especially in an age of polarization?  Universities have become one of the places where America’s conflicts over race, history, identity, and free expression play out most intensely. In the 2010s many scholars adopted a more critical view of American history and how it shaped our present. But the past few years have seen a roll-back of racial studies programs and diversity initiatives. Universities around the country have opened civics education centers, in some cases as a way of restoring a more traditional take on history.  Our two guests this episode are professors who teach divisive topics including race in America and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. They've each found ways to engage students and create classroom cultures based on curiosity and respect. And they’re leading the way for other educators.  Stephanie Shonekan is Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Maryland. While chair of the Black Studies Department at the University of Missouri, Stephanie created and ran several programs geared towards inclusion and diversity. She’s also an ethnomusicologist, and uses music to address difficult topics in class. She's the co-author of the book Race and the American Story. John Rose is a professor of the practice at the School of Civic Life and Leadership at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He teaches several courses on civil discourse, including one titled “How to Think in an Age of Polarization,” which has inspired similar classes at colleges across the country. He holds a doctorate in theology.  Learn more from our guests:  Watch Stephanie Shonekan’s TED talk: “SPF, WTF?” Watch Stephanie Shonekan and John Rose speak on a panel on civil dialogue at the Ohio Civic Center Symposium at the Ohio State University, May 2025 Watch Stephanie Shonekan and co-author Adam Seagrave discuss their book Race and the American Story  Order Race and the American Story Read John Rose’s essay for the Wall Street Journal, “How I liberated my college classroom.”   Dig deeper:  10 highlights from Yale’s new report detailing why Americans distrust higher education -The College Fix Higher Education’s Problems Go Way Beyond Trust – The Ringer Ibram X. Kendi vs. America’s “Antiracism Backlash” – Reveal  The Most Important Question Is ‘What if I’m Wrong?’ - David French, New York Times Inside the Trump Administration’s Assault on Higher Education - the New Yorker  Buckley Institute 2025 national survey report on free speech and related issues on campus College Uncovered: the New College Compact - College Uncovered podcast, GBH Related article: Local colleges targeted amid growing campus culture wars A five-point plan to save Harvard from itself - Steven Pinker for the Boston Globe Harvard Derangement Syndrome - Steven Pinker for the New York Times    ABOUT THE SHOW The Making Peace Visible podcast is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin. The associate producer and graphic designer is Faith McClure. Learn more at makingpeacevisible.org Support our work Connect on social: Instagram @makingpeacevisible YouTube @makingpeacevisible LinkedIn @makingpeacevisible Bluesky @makingpeacevisible.bsky.social Making Peace Visible is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts dedicated to creating a more informed, civically engaged electorate. We want to learn more about our listeners. Take this 3-minute survey to help us improve the show!

In our third episode in the Beyond Polarization series, we talk to two inspiring creators who are bridging the political divide on podcasts, YouTube, and even Instagram!  Think about an issue that you're passionate about. Imagine sitting in a room with someone just as passionate as you, but on the polar opposite side of that issue. Now, imagine your conversation is being recorded and will be streamed online. What do you think would happen in that room? Our first guest this episode is a content creator who brings Americans with deeply opposing views together and streams the conversations on YouTube. But he's doing things differently. Larry Rosen is an attorney, a mediator and the host of The Enemies Project, a series where enemies – people who are polar opposites on an issue –  participate in a conversation facilitated by Rosen. Some of the pairs featured include a transgender woman and a right-wing gender fundamentalist, a Black protester and a white police officer, and activists from both sides of the abortion debate. Over the course of an hour, the shift in the way the “enemies” feel about each other is dramatic and quite moving to watch. Our next guest widens the lens, asking how we can cultivate that same spirit of curiosity across a broader culture. Monica Guzman is a journalist, and public bridge builder. She's a host of A Braver Way, a podcast that looks for practical ways to bridge political divides in everyday life, and the author of I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times. Much of Guzman's bridge-building work happens through online media, including podcasts and social media. We ask her what it takes to do this work on digital platforms that often reward conflict more than consensus. We speak about what bridge builders can and can't accomplish in that environment and how political conversations online might be shifting. Listen to our earlier conversation with Monica Guzman, recorded just after the 2024 presidential election.  ABOUT THE SHOW The Making Peace Visible podcast is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin. The associate producer and graphic designer is Faith McClure. Learn more at makingpeacevisible.org Support our work Connect on social: Instagram @makingpeacevisible YouTube @makingpeacevisible LinkedIn @makingpeacevisible Bluesky @makingpeacevisible.bsky.social Making Peace Visible is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts dedicated to creating a more informed, civically engaged electorate. We want to learn more about our listeners. Take this 3-minute survey to help us improve the show!

This is the second episode in Beyond Polarization, a special series about what polarization is costing Americans, and what we can actually do about it. You can find Episode 1, where we analyze research on polarization and disagreement, here. In this episode: how the news media can do less to reinforce polarized narratives, and more to meet the needs of audiences. Journalism is an essential component of our democratic system. But when it comes to politics, how much reporting do you read that actually helps you decide who to vote for? During an election cycle, candidates tell the press that if elected, they’ll work to solve problems that matter to their voters. Those with more controversial opinions or spicy personal backgrounds get more airtime. And pundits prognosticate about which candidate can win which demographic.  Yet between elections, there’s a lot less coverage of how office holders are fulfilling their campaign promises, or trying to. News organizations cover corruption and scandal, an important role of journalism. But what about when things go right?   Without good information about solutions to society’s problems, it’s easier to vote based on fear of the other side, vote along party lines, or just stay home. Outside of politics, everyday news coverage skews negative too. Our guests this episode are journalists committed to reporting on communities and current events in de-polarizing ways. They do that by focusing on what people need and want and how politics could affect that: covering the stakes, not the odds.  Tina Rosenberg is a Pulitzer-prize-winning reporter and cofounder of the Solutions Journalism Network, which promotes rigorous reporting on solutions to social problems. At the New York Times, she wrote the Fixes column with David Bornstein. Sarah Jane Weaver is the editor-in-chief of the Deseret News based in Salt Lake City, Utah – one of the first outlets to embrace the Solutions Journalism model in the 2010s. Weaver first joined Deseret as a reporter in 1995.  Resources mentioned in this episode: “The Perception Gap: How False Impressions are Pulling Americans Apart,” report from More in Common Americans' Trust in Media Remains at Trend Low, 2024 Gallup poll Outlier Media, local news outlet in Detroit that provides information on housing, utilities and other essential information via text Sisters fight to pick up the pieces after catastrophic car crash, reporting by the Deseret News Small-town America is arguing over whether to welcome Syria’s refugees or fear them, story by The World from PRX ABOUT THE SHOW The Making Peace Visible podcast is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin. The associate producer and graphic designer is Faith McClure. Learn more at makingpeacevisible.org Support our work Connect on social: Instagram @makingpeacevisible YouTube @makingpeacevisible LinkedIn @makingpeacevisible Bluesky @makingpeacevisible.bsky.social Making Peace Visible is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts dedicated to creating a more informed, civically engaged electorate. We want to learn more about our listeners. Take this 3-minute survey to help us improve the show!

Political polarization in the U.S. can feel like a lost cause. Trying to have productive conversations with people you disagree with over politics can seem pointless, especially now. News media and social media often reduce “the other side” to its most extreme forms. This creates a negative feedback loop, weakening our ability to function as a democracy. But research suggests that Americans — on both the Left and the Right —  often misperceive how hostile, uniform, or different their opponents really are.  In our seven part Beyond Polarization series, we're talking to experts and practitioners from across the political spectrum — in journalism, education, government, and more — about what it’s costing Americans, and what we can actually do about it. The point isn’t to agree (not gonna happen), or even to move toward the center. As our guest for this first episode Julia Minson puts it, we need to learn to “disagree better.”  Julia Minson is a social psychologist and  professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She’s the author of How to Disagree Better  published in March 2026, and the founder of the behavioral science consulting firm Disagreeing Better, offering speaking and training on effective management of conflict. In this episode she shares some of her research findings about what we get wrong about each other, and what interventions have worked to correct misperceptions. Plus, a proven formula you can use to have a meaningful conversation in conflict situations.  Thoughts on this episode? Find us on social media @makingpeacevisible (details below) or email [email protected]. The Beyond Polarization series publishes biweekly through October 2026, with our second episode on August 4.  LEARN MORE: Read an excerpt from Julia Minson’s book How to Disagree Better Strengthening Democracy Challenge megastudy led by Stanford University  Heineken – Worlds Apart: Watch the 2017 beer commercial that proved most effective at reducing polarization in the Stanford study  The political polarization of COVID-19 treatments among physicians and laypeople in the United States, published in PNAS Special thanks to Adam Dusenberry and Harvard University Education Support Services. ABOUT THE SHOW The Making Peace Visible podcast is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin. The associate producer and graphic designer is Faith McClure. Learn more at makingpeacevisible.org Support our work Connect on social: Instagram @makingpeacevisible YouTube @makingpeacevisible LinkedIn @makingpeacevisible Bluesky @makingpeacevisible.bsky.social Making Peace Visible is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts dedicated to creating a more informed, civically engaged electorate. We want to learn more about our listeners. Take this 3-minute survey to help us improve the show!

Often the news covers crises without context. That's especially true when it comes to coverage of the Global South in international media.  Our guest this episode, journalist and documentary filmmaker Etant Dupain, gives us a behind-the-headlines look at events in Haiti, his home country. Dupain says that the gangs who control much of the country now are supported by powerful elites. Their aim, his says, is to suppress a grassroots protest movement that is calling for accountability for the embezzlement of billions of dollars in development funds.  Dupain's documentary film, The Fight for Haiti, tells the story of the Haitian movement against corruption and impunity, which started with a tweet and at its height had hundreds of thousands in the street. This episode was first recorded in February 2025, and has been updated.  In this episode, you’ll learn about The problematic history of foreign aid in Haiti including the aftermath of the the 2010 earthquake The Petrocaribe agreement with Venezuela that was supposed to fund crucial infrastructure projects in Haiti Creative tactics activists used to demand accountability Who profits when gangs overtake a country What the end of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians in the United States could mean for Haiti's future Watch a trailer and learn more about the film and the movement at thefightforhaiti.com. Want to host a screening? Email [email protected].  Protest audio used in the episode is from the film The Fight for Haiti, used with permission. Other music in this episode by Xylo-Ziko, Toby Tranter, and Reed Mathis.  ABOUT THE SHOW The Making Peace Visible podcast is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin. The associate producer and graphic designer is Faith McClure. Learn more at makingpeacevisible.org Support our work Connect on social: Instagram @makingpeacevisible YouTube @makingpeacevisible LinkedIn @makingpeacevisible Bluesky @makingpeacevisible.bsky.social Making Peace Visible is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts dedicated to creating a more informed, civically engaged electorate. We want to learn more about our listeners. Take this 3-minute survey to help us improve the show!

Polarization in the U.S. is not just a Washington problem. It also shows up in our newsrooms, our social media feeds, our schools, our dinner tables, and most importantly, in the stories we tell about each other.  That's why Making Peace Visible is launching a new limited podcast series called Beyond Polarization. We're speaking with people from across the political spectrum to break down what these deepening divisions are actually costing Americans — all of us. Across six sectors — journalism, new media, higher education, technology, government, and civil society — we’ll examine where familiar solutions have fallen short, what evidence-based efforts are working, and how trust can be rebuilt in practical, durable ways. Beyond Polarization launches in this feed on July 21 and will include in-depth conversations with:   Harvard professor Julia Minson, author of How to Disagree Better, whose research explores the psychology of conflict and what it takes to engage more productively across political divides. Tina Rosenberg of The Solutions Journalism Network and Sarah Jane Weaver, Editor-in-Chief of Deseret News on the role solutions journalism can play in depolarization. Ethnomusicologist and University of Maryland dean Stephanie Shonekan and John Rose, professor of civil discourse at UNC Chapel Hill, who are teaching college students how to have difficult conversations with dignity.  Larry Rosen, host of The Enemies Project YouTube Channel, and Monica Guzman, host of A Braver Way podcast, on telling stories that unite within an online ecosystem built on division.  Plus technologists, elected officials, community leaders, and more. ABOUT THE SHOW The Making Peace Visible podcast is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin. The associate producer and graphic designer is Faith McClure. Learn more at makingpeacevisible.org Support our work Connect on social: Instagram @makingpeacevisible YouTube @makingpeacevisible LinkedIn @makingpeacevisible Bluesky @makingpeacevisible.bsky.social Making Peace Visible is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts dedicated to creating a more informed, civically engaged electorate. We want to learn more about our listeners. Take this 3-minute survey to help us improve the show!

The MPV team is currently hard at work on Beyond Polarization, a limited series where we talk to people who are finding solutions to the increasing polarization we face in the United States. In the meantime, we bring you this episode from our friends at Disrupting Peace, a podcast from the World Peace Foundation about "why peace hasn't worked, and how it still could."  What beliefs make people willing to commit violence, and what could change their minds? This episode explores what makes individuals vulnerable to white supremacist beliefs, what it means when extremism becomes mainstream, the surprising permeability of these groups, and how to talk to people in your life who express racist ideology. Peter Simi is a professor of Sociology at Chapman University, and an expert on extremist groups and violence in the US. Among his many publications, he is co-author of American Swastika: Inside the White Power Movement's Hidden Spaces of Hate, and Out of Hiding: Extremist White Supremacy and How It Can be Stopped. Sara Winegar Budge holds a doctorate in Psychology and is a licensed psychologist in Oregon. She is the Director of US Programs at Moonshot, which builds technology to identify and disrupt organized crime, child sexual exploitation, and trafficking, among other forms of abuse and violence. Her clinical work focuses on individuals who are or have been involved in violent extremism.  Disrupting Peace is produced by Bridget Conley and Emily Shaw. Engineering by Jacob Winik and Aja Simpson. ABOUT THE SHOW The Making Peace Visible podcast is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin. The associate producer and graphic designer is Faith McClure. Learn more at makingpeacevisible.org Support our work Connect on social: Instagram @makingpeacevisible YouTube @makingpeacevisible LinkedIn @makingpeacevisible Bluesky @makingpeacevisible.bsky.social Making Peace Visible is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts dedicated to creating a more informed, civically engaged electorate. We want to learn more about our listeners. Take this 3-minute survey to help us improve the show!

Suzette Brooks Masters is a thought leader, political strategist and Senior Fellow at the Democracy Funders Network. She says that for American democracy to thrive, it's not enough to defend the existing system against attack, because the system doesn’t work well for most people.  She’s been researching ways to invigorate democratic practice, including citizen’s assemblies and participatory budgeting – frameworks that give ordinary people a bigger say in government. And she advocates for storytelling that envisions positive, possible futures.  LEARN MORE Suzette Brooks Masters’ articles for The Fulcrum Imagining Better Futures for American Democracy report Becoming Futures Ready: How Philanthropy Can Leverage Strategic Foresight For Democracy report This episode was originally published in May 2025.  ABOUT THE SHOW The Making Peace Visible podcast is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin. The associate producer and graphic designer is Faith McClure. Learn more at makingpeacevisible.org Support our work Connect on social: Instagram @makingpeacevisible YouTube @makingpeacevisible LinkedIn @makingpeacevisible Bluesky @makingpeacevisible.bsky.social Making Peace Visible is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts dedicated to creating a more informed, civically engaged electorate. We want to learn more about our listeners. Take this 3-minute survey to help us improve the show!

The world is missing the perspective of peacebuilders at a critical moment, as we live through this time of one war after another. We need skilled negotiators and mediators who know how to listen to both sides of a dispute and find common ground.   We invited Joshua Weiss to the podcast to help us understand what happened in the negotiations that preceded the Iran war, and how negotiators might bring it to an end.   Josh Weiss is an internationally recognized conflict resolution expert, educator, and author. He is co-founder of Harvard University's Global Negotiation Initiative and Senior Fellow at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. He also directs the Masters in Leadership and Negotiation program at Bay Path University, and runs a private consulting firm. And he’s a co-founder of the Abraham Path Initiative, a network of walking trails that connect communities and helps support local economies in the Middle East. Weiss’ latest book is Getting Back to the Table: 5 Steps for Reviving Stalled Negotiations. Explore related episodes: How one Iranian content creator is fighting the information war (February 2026) Reporting from Iran with a bias towards peace (February 2024) Building peace on a walk through the Middle East (June 2022)         ABOUT THE SHOW The Making Peace Visible podcast is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin. The associate producer and graphic designer is Faith McClure. Learn more at makingpeacevisible.org Support our work Connect on social: Instagram @makingpeacevisible YouTube @makingpeacevisible LinkedIn @makingpeacevisible Bluesky @makingpeacevisible.bsky.social Making Peace Visible is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts dedicated to creating a more informed, civically engaged electorate. We want to learn more about our listeners. Take this 3-minute survey to help us improve the show!

For her whole life, Iranian-American actor and activist Nazanin Nour has been calling attention to the distinction between the Islamic Republic – the face of Iran in the news – and the Iranian people. And she’s not stopping any time soon.  In normal times, Nour hosts Iranian diaspora musicians, comedians, journalists and others on her online show Mehmooni with Nazanin. But since mass protests began in December, she's been using social media to amplify the message of the protesters and call attention to the massacre and disappearances of thousands.  She's also calling out others – including news organizations that cover nuclear talks without mention of the government's brutality, social justice activists who are strangely quiet on Iran, and content creators who've taken government-sponsored trips to the country.  Making Peace Visible spoke with Nazanin Nour on February 10, 2026.  Follow Nazanin Nour  Instagram @iamnazaninnour Youtube @nazaninnour Facebook @iamnazaninnour Follow Mehmooni with Nazanin on Spotify Human rights organizations mentioned in the interview Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran / @iranrights Center for Human Rights in Iran/ @centerforhumanrights Iran Human Rights Documentation Center Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.  ABOUT THE SHOW The Making Peace Visible podcast is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin. The associate producer and graphic designer is Faith McClure. Learn more at makingpeacevisible.org Support our work Connect on social: Instagram @makingpeacevisible YouTube @makingpeacevisible LinkedIn @makingpeacevisible Bluesky @makingpeacevisible.bsky.social Making Peace Visible is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts dedicated to creating a more informed, civically engaged electorate. We want to learn more about our listeners. Take this 3-minute survey to help us improve the show!

"I’m a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will." This aphorism from political philosopher and journalist Antonio Gramsci is one of our guest Neha Sanghrajka’s favorite quotes. When you learn her story, you’ll understand why.  A Kenyan born lawyer, Sanghrajka spent almost a decade in Mozambique mediating a peace process between the country’s president and a guerrilla leader stationed on a remote mountaintop. Sanghrajka and her colleague, Swiss Ambassador Mirko Manzoni, travelled back and forth between the capital of Maputo and the militant headquarters in the remote Garongosa Mountains 45 times – a journey of over 1000 km each way. And when she wasn’t hoofing it up the mountain, Sanghrajka spent many hours just listening to local people, without expectation.  The peacebuilders walked a delicate line. Knowing that previous processes had failed when they were over-exposed to the media, they protected the negotiations from scrutiny. At the same time, they engaged journalists and civil society with the public implementation of the process.  Neha’s story presents a fascinating example of how polarized groups can actually buy into a process of reconciliation, despite major setbacks along the way; and how journalists can report responsibly and critically, while still supporting the aspiration of peace.  Before moving to Mozambique, Neha Sanghrajka worked with former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan during the 2007 election crisis in Kenya and helped facilitate election reform there. She’s now a fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University. Learn more about Neha Sanghrajka Read Sanghrajka and Mirko Manzoni’s report on the peace process in Mozambique Visit the Maputo Accord website ABOUT THE SHOW The Making Peace Visible podcast is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin. The associate producer and graphic designer is Faith McClure. Learn more at makingpeacevisible.org Support our work Connect on social: Instagram @makingpeacevisible YouTube @makingpeacevisible LinkedIn @makingpeacevisible Bluesky @makingpeacevisible.bsky.social Making Peace Visible is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts dedicated to creating a more informed, civically engaged electorate. We want to learn more about our listeners. Take this 3-minute survey to help us improve the show!

Public funding for peace efforts took a massive hit with the gutting of USAID last year, and other donor countries have ramped down aid as well, in a world that feels increasingly less safe for many. That’s why our ears perked up when we heard about Brian Abrams, an American venture capitalist who is investing in technology to find solutions to violent conflict.  In the new field of ‘peace tech,’ companies are using AI to predict the likelihood of major events – like military invasions or popular uprisings, and modeling how to prevent violence before it starts. With their ability to process massive data sets from intelligence, journalism and other sources, these tools can also quickly gain insights on what’s driving conflicts on a population level. Important tools for governments and mediators, they also appeal to corporations working around the world – customers who Abrams hopes will bring in revenue to sustain the peace tech sector. And as you’ll hear, he’s very optimistic.  Brian Abrams founded B Ventures Group, a venture capital firm for peace tech, in 2023. Prior to that he was president of Ibex Investors and a managing partner at Row Capital.  Connect with Brian Abrams on LinkedIn.  Learn more about the peace tech companies discussed in this episode:  Anadyr Horizon From Business Insider: Inside the Billion-Dollar War over Peace Tech Transcend AI CulturePulse odr.com ABOUT THE SHOW The Making Peace Visible podcast is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin. The associate producer and graphic designer is Faith McClure. Learn more at makingpeacevisible.org Support our work Connect on social: Instagram @makingpeacevisible YouTube @makingpeacevisible LinkedIn @makingpeacevisible Bluesky @makingpeacevisible.bsky.social Making Peace Visible is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts dedicated to creating a more informed, civically engaged electorate. We want to learn more about our listeners. Take this 3-minute survey to help us improve the show!