Celebrating the launch of eco-fiction anti-gun novella Bullet Poof and National Gun Violence Awareness Month, Avis Kalfsbeek brings back beloved Kitty O’Compost with the Bullet Poof Bulletins.

Tonight on the Spoke-Easy stage, Kitty O’Compost shines a spotlight on the ridiculous intersection of suburban yard care and borrowed military authority. This bulletin satirizes a local homeowner who uses a paramilitary-styled "Dad Patrol" lawnmower to manufacture a sense of tactical command on his front lawn. Inspired by the connective and grounded themes of Bullet Poof, this episode exposes how commercialized security culture breeds isolation and reminds us of the true safety found when we choose open, friendly neighborly connection over manufactured armor.

Resources:

Bullet Poof is a hopeful eco-fiction novella about what happens when ordinary people refuse to accept the gun status quo.

Get the book: https://www.aviskalfsbeek.com/bullet-poof

National Gun Violence Awareness Month: www.wearorange.org

Theme Music: "Turn the Steel" and punk intros produced by Avis Kalfsbeek (via ElevenLabs).

Music Credits & Support: Buy LPs and music downloads directly from the bands' websites, or from platforms like Bandcamp where artists retain the majority of your purchase.

This project is inspired by decades of punk ethos, raw energy, and the brilliant musicians who shaped the movement. The sonic landscape of this series was informed and inspired by:

The Sex Pistols, Black Flag, Rites of Spring, The Buzzcocks, Minor Threat, The Clash, Social Distortion, Bad Religion, The Dead Kennedys, The Ramones, Jawbreaker, Fugazi, Rise Against, The Damned, The Stooges, Bad Brains, Bikini Kill, The Lawrence Arms, Husker Du, Pennywise, The Adicts, The Exploited, Descendents, Stiff Little Fingers, Crass, The Germs, Dropkick Murphys, Operation Ivy, Against Me!, Green Day, Blink-182, The Hives, Sleater-Kinney, The Violent Femmes, The Network, The Jam, The Gaslight Anthem, No Use For A Name, and The Interrupters.

Celebrating the launch of eco-fiction anti-gun novella Bullet Poof and National Gun Violence Awareness Month, Avis Kalfsbeek brings back beloved Kitty O’Compost with the Bullet Poof Bulletins.

Tonight on the Spoke-Easy stage, Kitty O’Compost deconstructs a leaked advertising deck that brings paramilitary branding straight into the American kitchen. This bulletin satirizes the "combat-tested" marketing obsession, exposing the absurdity of designing high-tensile, threat-response slow cookers to cash in on consumer insecurity. Inspired by the grounding, collaborative themes of Bullet Poof, this episode laughs at the hyper-masculine commodification of daily life and reminds us of the true safety found in simple hospitality.

Resources:

Bullet Poof is a hopeful eco-fiction novella about what happens when ordinary people refuse to accept the gun status quo.

Get the book: https://www.aviskalfsbeek.com/bullet-poof

National Gun Violence Awareness Month: www.wearorange.org

Theme Music: "Turn the Steel" and punk intros produced by Avis Kalfsbeek (via ElevenLabs).

Music Credits & Support: Buy LPs and music downloads directly from the bands' websites, or from platforms like Bandcamp where artists retain the majority of your purchase.

This project is inspired by decades of punk ethos, raw energy, and the brilliant musicians who shaped the movement. The sonic landscape of this series was informed and inspired by:

The Sex Pistols, Black Flag, Rites of Spring, The Buzzcocks, Minor Threat, The Clash, Social Distortion, Bad Religion, The Dead Kennedys, The Ramones, Jawbreaker, Fugazi, Rise Against, The Damned, The Stooges, Bad Brains, Bikini Kill, The Lawrence Arms, Husker Du, Pennywise, The Adicts, The Exploited, Descendents, Stiff Little Fingers, Crass, The Germs, Dropkick Murphys, Operation Ivy, Against Me!, Green Day, Blink-182, The Hives, Sleater-Kinney, The Violent Femmes, The Network, The Jam, The Gaslight Anthem, No Use For A Name, and The Interrupters.

Celebrating the launch of eco-fiction anti-gun novella Bullet Poof and National Gun Violence Awareness Month, Avis Kalfsbeek brings back beloved Kitty O’Compost with the Bullet Poof Bulletins.

Tonight on the Spoke-Easy stage, Kitty O’Compost tackles the absurd intrusion of paramilitary culture into everyday parenting. This bulletin satirizes a suburban parent who uses elite tactical jargon to manage a playground sandbox argument and hand out juice boxes at a children's soccer game. Inspired by the connective and grounded themes of Bullet Poof, this episode exposes how commercialized paranoia infects our daily language and highlights the true, peaceful safety found when we choose authentic neighborly trust over manufactured fear.

Resources:

Bullet Poof is a hopeful eco-fiction novella about what happens when ordinary people refuse to accept the gun status quo.

Get the book: https://www.aviskalfsbeek.com/bullet-poof

National Gun Violence Awareness Month: www.wearorange.org

Theme Music: "Turn the Steel" and punk intros produced by Avis Kalfsbeek (via ElevenLabs).

Music Credits & Support: Buy LPs and music downloads directly from the bands' websites, or from platforms like Bandcamp where artists retain the majority of your purchase.

This project is inspired by decades of punk ethos, raw energy, and the brilliant musicians who shaped the movement. The sonic landscape of this series was informed and inspired by:

The Sex Pistols, Black Flag, Rites of Spring, The Buzzcocks, Minor Threat, The Clash, Social Distortion, Bad Religion, The Dead Kennedys, The Ramones, Jawbreaker, Fugazi, Rise Against, The Damned, The Stooges, Bad Brains, Bikini Kill, The Lawrence Arms, Husker Du, Pennywise, The Adicts, The Exploited, Descendents, Stiff Little Fingers, Crass, The Germs, Dropkick Murphys, Operation Ivy, Against Me!, Green Day, Blink-182, The Hives, Sleater-Kinney, The Violent Femmes, The Network, The Jam, The Gaslight Anthem, No Use For A Name, and The Interrupters.

Celebrating the launch of eco-fiction anti-gun novella Bullet Poof and National Gun Violence Awareness Month, Avis Kalfsbeek brings back beloved Kitty O’Compost with the Bullet Poof Bulletins.

Tonight on the Spoke-Easy stage, Kitty O’Compost tears apart a leaked corporate branding deck that tries to turn a standard trip to the grocery store into a paramilitary operation. This bulletin satirizes the "duty-grade readiness" marketing trend, exposing the absurdity of designing high-capacity grocery bags and tactical cereal deployment systems to commodify domestic anxiety. Inspired by the transformative themes of Bullet Poof, this episode laughs at the hyper-vigilant lifestyle brand and reminds us of the true safety found in open, trusting neighborhoods.

Resources:

Bullet Poof is a hopeful eco-fiction novella about what happens when ordinary people refuse to accept the gun status quo.

Get the book: https://www.aviskalfsbeek.com/bullet-poof

National Gun Violence Awareness Month: www.wearorange.org

Theme Music: "Turn the Steel" and punk intros produced by Avis Kalfsbeek (via ElevenLabs).

Music Credits & Support: Buy LPs and music downloads directly from the bands' websites, or from platforms like Bandcamp where artists retain the majority of your purchase.

This project is inspired by decades of punk ethos, raw energy, and the brilliant musicians who shaped the movement. The sonic landscape of this series was informed and inspired by:

The Sex Pistols, Black Flag, Rites of Spring, The Buzzcocks, Minor Threat, The Clash, Social Distortion, Bad Religion, The Dead Kennedys, The Ramones, Jawbreaker, Fugazi, Rise Against, The Damned, The Stooges, Bad Brains, Bikini Kill, The Lawrence Arms, Husker Du, Pennywise, The Adicts, The Exploited, Descendents, Stiff Little Fingers, Crass, The Germs, Dropkick Murphys, Operation Ivy, Against Me!, Green Day, Blink-182, The Hives, Sleater-Kinney, The Violent Femmes, The Network, The Jam, The Gaslight Anthem, No Use For A Name, and The Interrupters.

Celebrating the launch of eco-fiction anti-gun novella Bullet Poof and National Gun Violence Awareness Month, Avis Kalfsbeek brings back beloved Kitty O’Compost with the Bullet Poof Bulletins.

Tonight on the Spoke-Easy stage, Kitty O’Compost breaks down a leaked corporate white paper that exposes the predatory monetization of human loneliness. This bulletin satirizes an industry hotline designed to exploit consumer isolation, showing how marketing departments weaponize emotional vulnerability to drive automated firearm sales. Inspired by the connective themes of Bullet Poof, this episode dismantles the commercialization of insecurity and points us back to the real, healing power of genuine, face-to-face community connection.

Resources:

Bullet Poof is a hopeful eco-fiction novella about what happens when ordinary people refuse to accept the gun status quo.

Get the book: https://www.aviskalfsbeek.com/bullet-poof

National Gun Violence Awareness Month: www.wearorange.org

Theme Music: "Turn the Steel" and punk intros produced by Avis Kalfsbeek (via ElevenLabs).

Music Credits & Support: Buy LPs and music downloads directly from the bands' websites, or from platforms like Bandcamp where artists retain the majority of your purchase.

This project is inspired by decades of punk ethos, raw energy, and the brilliant musicians who shaped the movement. The sonic landscape of this series was informed and inspired by:

The Sex Pistols, Black Flag, Rites of Spring, The Buzzcocks, Minor Threat, The Clash, Social Distortion, Bad Religion, The Dead Kennedys, The Ramones, Jawbreaker, Fugazi, Rise Against, The Damned, The Stooges, Bad Brains, Bikini Kill, The Lawrence Arms, Husker Du, Pennywise, The Adicts, The Exploited, Descendents, Stiff Little Fingers, Crass, The Germs, Dropkick Murphys, Operation Ivy, Against Me!, Green Day, Blink-182, The Hives, Sleater-Kinney, The Violent Femmes, The Network, The Jam, The Gaslight Anthem, No Use For A Name, and The Interrupters.

Celebrating the launch of eco-fiction anti-gun novella Bullet Poof and National Gun Violence Awareness Month, Avis Kalfsbeek brings back beloved Kitty O’Compost with the Bullet Poof Bulletins.

Tonight on the Spoke-Easy stage, Kitty O’Compost takes aim at the absurd hyper-security culture invading everyday suburban life. This bulletin satirizes a neighborhood association that mandates premium tactical gear subscriptions for a simple community potluck, exposing how commercialized fear tries to commodify basic neighborly trust. Inspired by the transformative themes of Bullet Poof, this episode tears down the synthetic walls of manufactured paranoia and points us back to the real, grounding strength found in collaborative community spaces.

Resources:

Bullet Poof is a hopeful eco-fiction novella about what happens when ordinary people refuse to accept the gun status quo.

Get the book: https://www.aviskalfsbeek.com/bullet-poof

National Gun Violence Awareness Month: www.wearorange.org

Theme Music: "Turn the Steel" and punk intros produced by Avis Kalfsbeek (via ElevenLabs).

Music Credits & Support: Buy LPs and music downloads directly from the bands' websites, or from platforms like Bandcamp where artists retain the majority of your purchase.

This project is inspired by decades of punk ethos, raw energy, and the brilliant musicians who shaped the movement. The sonic landscape of this series was informed and inspired by:

The Sex Pistols, Black Flag, Rites of Spring, The Buzzcocks, Minor Threat, The Clash, Social Distortion, Bad Religion, The Dead Kennedys, The Ramones, Jawbreaker, Fugazi, Rise Against, The Damned, The Stooges, Bad Brains, Bikini Kill, The Lawrence Arms, Husker Du, Pennywise, The Adicts, The Exploited, Descendents, Stiff Little Fingers, Crass, The Germs, Dropkick Murphys, Operation Ivy, Against Me!, Green Day, Blink-182, The Hives, Sleater-Kinney, The Violent Femmes, The Network, The Jam, The Gaslight Anthem, No Use For A Name, and The Interrupters.

Celebrating the launch of eco-fiction anti-gun novella Bullet Poof and National Gun Violence Awareness Month, Avis Kalfsbeek brings back beloved Kitty O’Compost with the Bullet Poof Bulletins.

Tonight on the Spoke-Easy stage, Kitty O’Compost breaks down a leaked corporate data science report that exposes the ultimate industry secret. This bulletin satirizes the corporate panic over everyday self-reliance, showing how the defense industry handles the revelation that simple acts of creation—like fixing a bike or building a birdhouse—provide the exact same psychological fulfillment as high-cost tactical weaponry. Inspired by the transformative themes of Bullet Poof, this episode celebrates the radical, joyful act of choosing constructive community tools over commercialized fear.

Resources:

Bullet Poof is a hopeful eco-fiction novella about what happens when ordinary people refuse to accept the gun status quo.

Get the book: https://www.aviskalfsbeek.com/bullet-poof

National Gun Violence Awareness Month: www.wearorange.org

Theme Music: "Turn the Steel" and punk intros produced by Avis Kalfsbeek (via ElevenLabs).

Music Credits & Support: Buy LPs and music downloads directly from the bands' websites, or from platforms like Bandcamp where artists retain the majority of your purchase.

This project is inspired by decades of punk ethos, raw energy, and the brilliant musicians who shaped the movement. The sonic landscape of this series was informed and inspired by:

The Sex Pistols, Black Flag, Rites of Spring, The Buzzcocks, Minor Threat, The Clash, Social Distortion, Bad Religion, The Dead Kennedys, The Ramones, Jawbreaker, Fugazi, Rise Against, The Damned, The Stooges, Bad Brains, Bikini Kill, The Lawrence Arms, Husker Du, Pennywise, The Adicts, The Exploited, Descendents, Stiff Little Fingers, Crass, The Germs, Dropkick Murphys, Operation Ivy, Against Me!, Green Day, Blink-182, The Hives, Sleater-Kinney, The Violent Femmes, The Network, The Jam, The Gaslight Anthem, No Use For A Name, and The Interrupters.

Celebrating the launch of eco-fiction anti-gun novella Bullet Poof and National Gun Violence Awareness Month, Avis Kalfsbeek brings back beloved Kitty O’Compost with the Bullet Poof Bulletins.

Tonight on the Spoke-Easy stage, Kitty O’Compost deconstructs a leaked compliance warning from the executive offices of "Mr. President Emperor USA." This bulletin satirizes corporate legal departments, exposing a passive-aggressive email from a minion named Marion who claims that neighborhood bicycle workshops are creating an "unprofitable vibe" for the arms industry. Inspired by the grounding, collaborative themes of Bullet Poof, this episode laughs at the boardroom's frantic attempts to suppress local solidarity and points us back to the true safety found in open, uncommodified community spaces.

Resources:

Bullet Poof is a hopeful eco-fiction novella about what happens when ordinary people refuse to accept the gun status quo.

Get the book: https://www.aviskalfsbeek.com/bullet-poof

National Gun Violence Awareness Month: www.wearorange.org

Theme Music: "Turn the Steel" and punk intros produced by Avis Kalfsbeek (via ElevenLabs).

Music Credits & Support: Buy LPs and music downloads directly from the bands' websites, or from platforms like Bandcamp where artists retain the majority of your purchase.

This project is inspired by decades of punk ethos, raw energy, and the brilliant musicians who shaped the movement. The sonic landscape of this series was informed and inspired by:

The Sex Pistols, Black Flag, Rites of Spring, The Buzzcocks, Minor Threat, The Clash, Social Distortion, Bad Religion, The Dead Kennedys, The Ramones, Jawbreaker, Fugazi, Rise Against, The Damned, The Stooges, Bad Brains, Bikini Kill, The Lawrence Arms, Husker Du, Pennywise, The Adicts, The Exploited, Descendents, Stiff Little Fingers, Crass, The Germs, Dropkick Murphys, Operation Ivy, Against Me!, Green Day, Blink-182, The Hives, Sleater-Kinney, The Violent Femmes, The Network, The Jam, The Gaslight Anthem, No Use For A Name, and The Interrupters.

Celebrating the launch of eco-fiction anti-gun novella Bullet Poof and National Gun Violence Awareness Month, Avis Kalfsbeek brings back beloved Kitty O’Compost with the Bullet Poof Bulletins.

Tonight on the Spoke-Easy stage, Kitty O’Compost takes aim at the toxic marketing engine of Bush-Mastery Masculinity. This bulletin satirizes the corporate emergency of "Man Card" devaluation, exposing how the defense industry commodifies identity and targets consumer insecurities to sell high-capacity weapons. Inspired by the Melt Zone themes of Bullet Poof, this episode tears down the synthetic identity offered by corporate branding and points us back to the real strength found in collaborative, grassroots community spaces.

Resources: Bullet Poof is a hopeful eco-fiction novella about what happens when ordinary people refuse to accept the gun status quo.

Get the book: https://www.aviskalfsbeek.com/bullet-poof

National Gun Violence Awareness Month: www.wearorange.org

Theme Music: "Turn the Steel" and punk intros produced by Avis Kalfsbeek (via ElevenLabs).

Music Credits & Support: Buy LPs and music downloads directly from the bands' websites, or from platforms like Bandcamp where artists retain the majority of your purchase.

This project is inspired by decades of punk ethos, raw energy, and the brilliant musicians who shaped the movement. The sonic landscape of this series was informed and inspired by:

The Sex Pistols, Black Flag, Rites of Spring, The Buzzcocks, Minor Threat, The Clash, Social Distortion, Bad Religion, The Dead Kennedys, The Ramones, Jawbreaker, Fugazi, Rise Against, The Damned, The Stooges, Bad Brains, Bikini Kill, The Lawrence Arms, Husker Du, Pennywise, The Adicts, The Exploited, Descendents, Stiff Little Fingers, Crass, The Germs, Dropkick Murphys, Operation Ivy, Against Me!, Green Day, Blink-182, The Hives, Sleater-Kinney, The Violent Femmes, The Network, The Jam, The Gaslight Anthem, No Use For A Name, and The Interrupters.

In this personal riffing episode, Avis shares an update on the Peacewarts curriculum, reflects on the first three departments of the series, and introduces the upcoming Resonant Charms classes beginning later this summer. He also discusses the launch of his new novella, Bullet Poof, releasing during National Gun Violence Awareness Month.

The episode moves between curriculum reflections, satire, personal storytelling, and broader questions about fear, normalization, and the systems that sustain gun culture and war culture. Avis shares experiences from workplace active shooter trainings, real estate safety seminars, and family tragedies involving firearms, while explaining why satire can still serve as a human response to systems of fear and absurdity.

Beginning June 1, the podcast will feature daily Bullet Poof Bulletins with the return of Kitty O’Compost broadcasting from the fictional Spoke Easy Community Forge and Makerspace.

Topics covered include Universal Understars, Living Roots, Chronicled Courage, the overview effect, peace as biological reality, Indigenous peace traditions, Vasily Arkhipov, Bayard Rustin, systems of militarization, war budgets, satire and social critique, active shooter culture, National Gun Violence Awareness Month, and the upcoming Resonant Charms department.

Resources & Links

National Gun Violence Awareness Month: Wear Orange WearOrange.org Bullet Poof by Avis Kalfsbeek: Bullet Poof Aviskalfsbeek.com/bullet_poof More books, podcast episodes, and Peacewarts classes:  AvisKalfsbeek.com Podcast music: Javier Peke Rodriguez on Bandcampe https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com/

The book Bullet Poof is book is fiction. The work is real. If you want to help reduce gun violence, support survivors, volunteer, learn more, or safely surrender firearms, these organizations are a place to begin.

These are places to begin, not a full inventory of everyone doing good work. 

Support a gun turn-in or repurposing effort, donate to one, or attend a local event.

• Guns to Gardens (https://rawtools.org/swords-to-plowshares/) A national movement that provides a safe, legal, and community-centered way to discard unwanted firearms. Working through local networks, they host safe-surrender events where weapons are permanently disabled according to federal ATF guidelines, preventing them from ever causing future harm.
• RAWtools (rawtools.org) An organization dedicated to turning weapons into gardening implements, literally guiding the modern-day execution of beating swords into plowshares. They take the steel from disabled firearms and hand-forge it into tools that cultivate food, life, and community growth.

transforming illegal firearms into peace metal for watches, pens, and art, reinvesting all proceeds into survivor support programs.

• Art is My Weapon (org) A community initiative that takes decommissioned firearms from safe-surrender programs and distributes them to artists to create expressions of peace and healing.
• Robby Poblete Foundation (org) Founded by Pati Navalta Poblete after her son was killed by gun violence in Vallejo, California in 2014. Runs community gun buybacks and distributes decommissioned parts to artists to create works of healing and remembrance through the Art of Peace exhibition series.
• Fonderie 47 (com) A global initiative that has destroyed over 70,000 AK-47s and assault rifles in Africa, transforming the metal into luxury products whose proceeds fund weapons removal programs in conflict zones.

Take action, volunteer, donate, organize locally, or support survivors and prevention programs through these groups. Many have targeted initiatives.

• Everytown for Gun Safety (org) National advocacy, research, and survivor support.
• Sandy Hook Promise (org) Founded by Sandy Hook families; focused on prevention programs and youth education.
• Brady United Against Gun Violence (org) Works on legislation, litigation, and public education. Sign an open letter to Hollywood to end gun violence: https://www.bradyunited.org/take-action/join-movement/show-gun-safety/open-letterfrom-hollywood-film-and-tv-leaders
• Moms Demand Action (org) A grassroots volunteer network active in all 50 states; part of the Everytown movement.

Read the research. Share accurate information. Support independent reporting and legal analysis.

• Giffords Law Center (org/lawcenter) Law center to prevent gun violence. Legal and policy analysis, including state-by-state gun law information.
• The Trace (org) Independent nonprofit newsroom covering gun violence in the United States.
• Gun Violence Archive (org) Real-time incident data and reporting.

Call, write, or meet with your elected representatives. Many advocacy organizations also provide simple online forms that help you contact your representatives in a few minutes such as Everytown.org’s Action page: https://www.everytown.org/actions/

Or, write your own letter in your own words. If you use AI to help draft, here’s a sample prompt:

Help me write a short, respectful message to my elected representative explaining why reducing gun violence matters to me personally. Keep it under 200 words and grounded in my own experiences and values.

U.S. Senators directory (senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm)

• U.S. House directory (house.gov) • Capitol switchboard  (202) 224-3121

If you or someone you love is in crisis, reach out now. Free, confidential support is available any hour of the day.

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (org) Call or text 988 for immediate support in the U.S.
• 988 Lifeline Chat (https://chat.988lifeline.org/ ) Online chat is also available through the official 988 website.

If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.

1. Look up a current 100-year project, such as the Svalbard Global Seed Vault or the Great Green Wall of Africa, and identify one "material trace" it is leaving for 2126.
2. Write down one question about any of this episode’s topics. If you don’t have a question, write "no question."
3. Optional: Complete this sentence from the perspective of a historian in 2126: "In the year 2026, when it was inconvenient and difficult, they chose to protect _________."

Learning Topics: Ethical Time Travel: Reframing 2026 actions as the ancient history of 2126; The Normalization Trap: Analyzing how future generations judge the systemic choices of the present; Systems Inheritance: Understanding the difference between emotional legacy and infrastructural legacy; The Witness Question: The role of public records and truth in the architecture of long-term stability; The Quiet Wins: Why durable peacebuilding often produces "boring" but vital historical records.

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Homework

1. Look up the Family Group Conferencing model in New Zealand and find one detail about how the community participates in the "reintegration" phase.
2. Write down one question about any of this episode’s topics. If you don’t have a question, write "no question."
3. Optional: Journal. Is there a secret conflict in your life—something unsaid that is poisoning your relationships? What would happen if you performed a radical truth-telling?

Learning Topics: Restorative versus punitive justice: The structural shift in international law’ The Maori Model: Accountability, reparation, and the logistics of reintegration; Amnesty for truth: Analyzing the tradeoff of the South African TRC; The shock absorber: How public testimony interrupts the physics of revenge; The great graft: The process of binding a wounded society together through transparency.

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

1. Look up Kevin Kelly’s definition of Protopia and find one example of an incremental improvement in your community that happened because people chose to cooperate.
2. Write down one question about any of this episode’s topics. If you don’t have a question, write “no question.”
3. Optional: Journal. Think about a piece of media you consumed recently. Did it act as a "warning" that inspired action, or did it foster a sense of "inevitable" hopelessness?

Learning Topics: The Double-Edged Sword: Benefits and dangers of dystopian fiction according to academic research; Desensitization vs. Preparation: How media consumption shapes our readiness for peace or war; Protopian Thinking: Why Kevin Kelly’s model of incremental improvement is more "realistic" than utopia or collapse; The Outlier Bias: Challenging the dystopian news cycle with the 99% reality; Tactical Optimism: Why optimism is a discipline of the courageous, not the naive.

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Questions Explored:

1. How might humans get back to a core belief system that killing sentient living things is just not something we do?
2. Are there countries that had violent groups and societies in the last 500 years that progressed to fully peaceful societies with a deeply ingrained philosophy of killing as unfathomable?
3. How did indigenous female leaders in North America handle violent members of their communities, rise to positions of leadership, and maintain their authority?

Key Topics Discussed:

• Proximity and Personalization: Why it's difficult to kill what you know by name, and why dehumanizing language always precedes organized violence
• Nonviolent Conflict Resolution Structures: The importance of respected processes for grievance, mediation, and restorative justice
• Economic Sufficiency: How scarcity accelerates violence and sufficiency dampens it
• Generational Transformation: Why peace cultures invest in how children understand conflict, personhood, and belonging
• Costa Rica's Military Abolition (1948): A complete transformation from civil war to constitutional pacifism
• Iceland's Journey: From medieval clan violence to the most peaceful nation on earth
• Bhutan's Gross National Happiness: Measuring well-being and minimizing suffering for all sentient beings
• Post-WWII Japan: One of the most dramatic cultural shifts from militarized violence to interpersonal peace
• Haudenosaunee Clan Mothers: How indigenous women held constitutional authority to nominate and remove chiefs, control declarations of war, and manage social consequences for violent behavior
• Power Through Relationship: How indigenous female leaders maintained authority through webs of interdependency rather than physical force

Learning Topics: Peace Cultures, Violence Prevention, Costa Rica's Demilitarization, Indigenous Governance, Clan Mothers, Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Economic Sufficiency and Peace, Generational Peace Education, Nonviolent Conflict Resolution, Restorative Justice

Why This Episode Matters: As Avis notes in her questions, we live in a time when violence feels overwhelming and peace can seem naive. This conversation offers historical proof that societies can transform, and have transformed, from violence to peace. It also demonstrates that the work Avis is doing with Peacewarts (teaching peace to those still forming their understanding of what's possible) is operating in the most effective register for change.

Resources & Links:

• Join the Peacewarts Curriculum: Follow the podcast as we continue building a peace education for 2026
• Get the Books: AvisKalfsbeek.com
• 2025 Peace Was Here podcast recap eBook (free): https://dl.bookfunnel.com/jc4lcqga9f
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

A Note on AI Collaboration: This episode features responses generated by Claude AI (Anthropic) in conversation with Avis. The questions are Avis's own, posed during her daily peace study practice. Claude's role is that of a research partner and thinking companion, offering historical context, cross-cultural examples, and structural analysis to support Avis's ongoing work as a peace scholar and educator.

Homework

1. Research the “Cuartelazo” attempt of April 1949. Even after Figueres Ferrer took the sledgehammer to the walls of the military headquarters, a high-ranking official tried to use the remnants of the military to seize power. Find out who led this "near-miss" coup and how the lack of a traditional military response actually helped resolve the crisis.
2. Write down one question about any of this episode’s topics. If you don’t have a question, write “no question.”
3. Optional: Journal. Think of a conflict you are currently in. What would it look like for you to "lose face" in order to gain a durable peace?

Learning Topics: The "Pen-Pal" Protocol: How Kennedy used a time-buffer during the Cuban Missile Crisis; The Boipatong Pivot: Why Nelson Mandela chose a "Sunset Clause" over a final battle; The Sledgehammer Choice: Costa Rica’s 75-year success as a nation without a military; Nested Identity: How the Åland Islands used legal arbitration to solve a sovereign border dispute; Agency over Luck: Moving from a narrative of "lucky breaks" to "deliberate overrides."

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

We recover the history of Bayard Rustin, the master strategist of the Civil Rights Movement. We explore non-violence not as a sentiment, but as a logistical and technical science that requires immense discipline and preparation. 

1. Look up the Nashville Sit-in workshops or Bayard Rustin's "Manual for Organizers" and find one specific instruction given to the participants about how to maintain their composure.
2. Write down one question about any of this episode’s topics. If you don’t have a question, write “no question.”
3. Optional: Think about a project or a goal you have. How much of your energy is going into the "speech" (the public-facing idea) versus the "logistics" (the actual preparation and discipline needed to make it work)? What would it look like to treat your personal peace as a technical problem to be solved with preparation?

Learning Topics: The Logistics of Peace: Organizing the 1963 March on Washington; Sociodramas and simulations: Building muscle memory for non-violence; Strategic Sacrifice: Navigating identity and orientation for the movement; Bayard Rustin as the "Policy Translator" of Gandhian principles in America; The organizational manual as a blueprint for living architecture

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

We explore a case study in horizontal peace. By examining the 1914 Christmas Truce, we see how proximity, shared ritual, and the refusal of abstraction can temporarily dismantle the machinery of war. 

1. Look up the letters of soldiers from the 1914 Christmas Truce and find one description of a conversation between a British and German soldier.
2. Write down one question about any of this episode’s topics. If you don’t have a question, write “no question.”
3. Optional: Think about a situation in your life where you have been told to see someone as an opponent or an enemy. How much of that is based on a war map given to you by someone else? What would happen if you ignored the map and looked at the horizontal reality of that person’s life?

Learning Topics: Horizontal Peace: When lateral connections overrule vertical authority; Proximity and the dissolution of the enemy image; Ritual as a communication protocol: The role of music and shared food; The institutional reaction: Why high command feared the truce; The lesson for peace scholars: Faces vs. Abstractions

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Episode Summary: We deconstruct the Haudenosaunee Great Law of Peace as a masterclass in constitutional design. We examine the 1142 CE founding, the role of Jigonhsasee, and how the Seven Generations principle created a system where peace was the operational norm.

Homework:

1. Look upthe Women's Nomination Belt (part of the wampum records) and find out how it protected the power of the Clan Mothers.
2. Write down one questionabout any of this episode's topics. If you don't have a question, write "no question."
3. Optional: Think about a decision you have to make this week. If you applied the Seven Generations principle to that decision—asking how it would affect your descendants 200 years from now—how would your choice change?

Learning Topics: The 1142 Founding: Breaking the "Mourning War" cycle through legal reform; Jigonhsasee and the Clan Mothers: Structural gender-balancing and the power to depose aggressive leaders; The Great Law of Peace: A participatory democracy that influenced federalism; The Eagle on the Tree: Peace as an early warning and diplomatic buffer; The Seven Generations Principle: Moving from short-term reaction to long-term stewardship.

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

 Avis Kalfsbeeks continue a review of the publications from the past that advocate for a weaponless word.

Guterres (2018) vs. The 1960s Blueprints We examine whether Antonio Guterres’s 2018 disarmament agenda is a "rich" update or a "light" compromise compared to the 1960s plans by Clark, Sohn, and McCloy.

We discuss why these rigorous 1962 plans remained in the archives. Historically, these were "Smarty Pants" documents written by elites for elites. Without a public version the general public never had the technical manual needed to pressure governments toward a true "Stage 3" (Zero) disarmament.

Get the free book: ZERO: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/zero

Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “Dalai Lama Riding a Bike”

Bandcamp:  https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com/ Featured Document: Antion Guterres’s 2018 Securing Our Common Future: https://s3.amazonaws.com/unoda-web/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/sg-disarmament-agenda-pubs-page.pdf#view=Fit

Homework:

1. Look upone of the following: The "Health for Peace" initiative by the WHO or the current status of the Sudan peace talks.
2. Write down one questionabout any of this episode’s topics. If you don’t have a question, write “no question.”
3. Optional: Find a major news website and count the headlines. How many are about a "collision" (conflict) and how many are about a "cohesion" (cooperation)? If you were the editor, what "boring" act of peace from your own community would you put on the front page?

Learning Topics: The Conflict Bias: Why the media prioritizes "collisions" over "cohesion;” The Sudan/Chad Case Study: How geopolitical influence dictates media visibility; The WHO Health for Peace Initiative: Understanding health as a peacebuilding bridge; New Diplomacy: The roles of Qatar, Türkiye, and other mediators in non-binary conflicts; The Architecture of News: Understanding peace as an organic, slow-moving process.

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

In this episode, I continue the story behind my book ZERO: An Every Person’s Field Guide to a Weaponless World. In Part 2, I explore the people behind the plans—the diplomats, lawyers, and scholars who worked on proposals for global disarmament.

Through a continued research conversation with AI, I look more closely at individuals including Grenville Clark, Louis Sohn, John J. McCloy, Valerian Zorin, António Guterres, and Melissa Gillis. The episode walks through the documents and initiatives they contributed to, along with brief biographical context and what came of their work.

I also look at how these efforts span from mid-20th century Cold War proposals to more recent United Nations frameworks, including António Guterres’s 2018 agenda for disarmament.

A recurring thread in this episode is that the plans themselves were not lost. Many of these frameworks still exist in archives and institutions, even if they are not widely discussed or revisited today.

This episode is Part 2 of the story behind the book ZERO.

You can download the book free here: www.aviskalfsbeek.com/zero 

Topics in this episode: Grenville Clark and Louis Sohn and their work on World Peace Through World Law, John J. McCloy and Valerian Zorin and the McCloy–Zorin Accords, brief bios and what came of each of these figures, António Guterres’s 2018 disarmament agenda and its four pillars, Melissa Gillis and the UN’s Disarmament: A Basic Guide, and the idea that many disarmament plans still exist in archives and have not been widely revisited. Get the free book: ZERO: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/zero 

• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “Dalai Lama Riding a Bike”

Bandcamp:  https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com/ 

Homework:

1. Look upthe 1915 International Congress of Women or the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and find one of their 20 points that you think is still relevant today.
2. Write down one questionabout any of this episode’s topics. If you don’t have a question, write “no question.”
3. Optional: Think about a project or a conflict in your own life. Are you currently acting as a "moral figurehead" (just saying what's right) or an "architect" (designing a way for it to actually work)? What would it look like to move from a "protest" mindset to a "proposal" mindset?

Learning Topics: The 1915 Hague Congress as a diplomatic intervention, not a protest; The 20-Point Peace Program: Designing structural durability in international law; Jane Addams as a Systems Thinker: Translating civil ethics into hard policy; The political erasure of women from the Versailles negotiations; Intellectual Courage: The labor of planning peace in the midst of active conflict.

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

In this episode I share the origin story of my book ZERO: An Every Person’s Field Guide to a Weaponless World. The project began with a simple research question: Have people ever written real plans for global disarmament?

To explore the question, I opened a research conversation with my AI collaborator “G.” In this episode I read part of that exchange and explain how it led me to discover a surprisingly rich body of historical work known as General and Complete Disarmament (GCD), detailed proposals for eliminating national militaries and building systems capable of maintaining peace.

The research pointed to several key historical sources, including:

• The Clark–Sohn Plan (1958) — a comprehensive proposal for restructuring the United Nations and phasing out national militaries over time.
• The McCloy–Zorin Accords (1961) — a Cold War agreement in which both the United States and the Soviet Union formally endorsed the goal of total disarmament.
• Superpower draft treaties (1962) submitted to international negotiations, revealing that the major disagreement was not the goal of disarmament but how to verify compliance.

One of the central discoveries in this research is that the blueprints for disarmament were never lost. Many of them remain archived in institutions such as the United Nations and the Kennedy Presidential Library. In many ways, the work today is less about inventing a plan than about rediscovering and updating the ones that already exist.

This episode is Part 1 of the story behind the book ZERO.

You can download the book free here: www.aviskalfsbeek.com/zero 

Topics: The concept of General and Complete Disarmament; Cold War–era plans for eliminating national militaries; The Clark–Sohn proposal for world law; The McCloy–Zorin agreement between the U.S. and USSR; Why verification and inspections became the major obstacle; How a research conversation with AI helped spark the book ZERO

• Get the free book ZERO: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/zero 

• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “Dalai Lama Riding a Bike”

Bandcamp:  https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com/

We study Vasili Arkhipov and his refusal to launch a nuclear torpedo during the Cuban Missile Crisis. We explore how a shift in frame of mind—from combat to communication—can break the physics of escalation and serve as a manual override for broken systems.

Homework:

1. Look upthe K-19 submarine accident (1961) or the Cuban Missile Crisis depth charge signals to understand the high-stress environment Arkhipov was working in.
2. Write down one questionabout any of this episode’s topics. If you don’t have a question, write “no question.”
3. Optional: Think of a time you were in a "heated" situation—an argument or a group decision. Looking back, was there a different way to "frame" the problem that didn't involve a winner and a loser? How would that change of mind have altered the outcome?

Learning Topics: The structural pressure of the B-59 submarine launch protocol; Reframing the Crisis: Moving from a war-mindset to a peace-focus; Arkhipov’s background: Why the K-19 experience informed his courage; Asymmetry of Restraint: Why refusal is a disciplined, active military act; The pattern of restraint: Petrov and the Norwegian Rocket incident.

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

We enter the Hall of Records to examine the Treaty of Kadesh (1259 BC), the world's oldest surviving peace treaty. We deconstruct the myth of inevitable war by analyzing the "recorded logic" that ended a century of conflict between the Egyptian and Hittite Empires. By shifting our focus from the chariot battle to the scriptorium, we explore how peace functions as social infrastructure and a primary technology for solving problems that violence cannot touch.

Homework:

1. Look up the Treaty of Kadesh and find one of the specific clauses (like the rule about refugees or mutual aid) that sounds surprisingly modern to you.
2. Write down one question about any of this episode's topics. If you don't have a question, write "no question."
3. Optional: Journal. Think about a relationship in your life where you have reached a stalemate. If you were to write a non-aggression clause for that relationship today, what is the one specific "territory" or topic you would both agree never to invade again?

Learning Topics: Peace as Social Infrastructure; The Treaty of Kadesh (1259 BC); The Battle of Kadesh Stalemate; Reciprocal Diplomacy; The Non-Aggression Clause; The Mutual Assistance Clause; The Erasure of Human Competence; Version 1.0 of Recorded Logic.

• ZERO, The Every Person’s Field Guide to a World Without Weapons:AvisKalfsbeek.com/zero
• Join the Community / Get the Books:AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie”https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Homework:

1. Look up the Aaland Islands dispute of 1921 or the Concert of Europe and find one diplomatic tool they used to prevent a fight.
2. Write down one question about any of this episode’s topics. If you don’t have a question, write “no question.”
3. Optional: Think about your own "natural" reactions to conflict. When have you felt "hard-wired" to argue, but chose to pause instead? Was that pause "passive," or was it an act of labor?

Learning Topics: The 100-Year Peace (1815–1914) and "Congress Diplomacy;” The Aaland Islands Dispute (1921) as a model for cancelled conflict; Archaeological evidence: Challenging the 2% violence myth; The political purpose of the "Inevitability Myth;” Human nature as a capacity for choice, not a destiny for violence.

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Homework:

1. Look upthe Jeannette Rankin Brigade or the 1963 American University Speech and find one detail that isn't typically taught in a standard history class.
2. Write down one questionabout any of this episode's topics. If you don't have a question, write "no question."
3. Optional: Think of a time you were told something was "inevitable." Looking back, was it actually inevitable, or was there a path of refusal you didn't see at the time?

Learning Topics: The Mission of the Hall of Records; Erasure vs. Realism: How curated memory shapes our expectations of conflict; The Jeannette Rankin Brigade (1968): A 50-year bridge of anti-war activism; The Great Refusal: Rankin’s votes in 1917 and 1941 as principled alternatives to the military-industrial complex; The Burial of Traditional Womanhood: The radical shift in 1968 activism.

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

In this transition episode, Avis shares a heartfelt appreciation for the music that sets the tone for our study of peace and announces an intentional shift in the rhythm of the Peacewarts curriculum.

The Music of the Lab

Avis shares a bit about Javier "Peke" Rodriguez, the acclaimed Spanish composer and pianist whose atmospheric and therapeutic soundscapes provide the backdrop of the Peace is Here episodes. 

A New Pacing: Peacewarts is moving to weekly.

After a month of daily episodes, the material of Peacewarts 101 is calling for more breathing room. To allow scholars more time to soak up the concepts and to allow Avis time for new writing projects—including the completion of Bullet Poof (Book 7 in the Pedro series) and continued work on The Peace Experiments book series—Peacewarts is moving to a weekly Monday release schedule.

This new pace means our curriculum will now extend through September 2027, giving us a longer, more sustainable horizon for our study.

The Roadmap Ahead

For new scholars joining us, the weekly pace makes catching up more attainable. You can find Peacewarts orientation in Episode 198 and the fictional festival in Episode 199.

• Universal Understars: We mapped the invisible infrastructure of a world without war.
• Living Roots: We explored peace as something biological and rooted in the soil.
• Chronicled Courage (Starting Monday): We begin recovering the nearly erased stories of refusal—moments when war was cued up, but someone chose differently.

Future Departments:

• Resonant Charms: Language without coercion.
• Social Chemistry: The biology of de-escalation.
• Morphological Peace: Redesigning broken systems.
• Ethical Defense: Navigating propaganda without cynicism.
• Kinetic Peace: Empathy in motion.

The Peace Stick

Avis reflects on the Tao and the nature of opposites. If peace and its opposite are on either side of the same stick, our goal is to float that stick to a part of the river where the "opposite" of peace is merely a frustrated day—kicking a stone down the road—rather than the violence of war.

Get the Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com/

We conclude our journey in the Department of Living Roots by reframing subsistence not as a state of poverty, but as the highest form of dignity and freedom. We explore how dependency has been used as a weapon through the get big or get out era and the cultural construction of peasant shame. By examining the resilience of Cuba’s organopónicos and the concept of time sovereignty, we establish that food autonomy is the ultimate form of disarmament, removing the primary levers of coercion and violence from society.

Homework:

1. Look back at your notes from the last 14 classes. Whichliving root felt the most important to your own sense of security?
2. Write down one question about any of this episode’s topics. If you don’t have a question, write "no question."
3. The Final Project: Identify one skill you have learned this semester—whether it’s mending, seed-saving, or just learning a neighbor’s name—and teach it to someone else this week.

Learning Topics: Subsistence as Dignity; The Harvest Table; Dependency as a Weapon; The Earl Butz Era; Cultural Stigmas of Traditional Farming; The Devaluation of the Hand; The Cuban Special Period (organopónicos); Time Sovereignty; Precarity Panic; The Law of Return.

• ZERO, The Every Person’s Field Guide to a World Without Weapons:AvisKalfsbeek.com/zero
• Join the Community / Get the Books:AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie”https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Homework:

1. Look up the Mondragon Corporation’s list of products or the Haudenosaunee clans to see how they distribute roles.
2. Write down one question about any of this episode’s topics. If you don’t have a question, write “no question.”
3. Optional: Journal for five minutes. If you were a "Marlboro Man" in your own life, what would be the first thing to break if you got sick? Who would you have to call?

Learning Topics: The "Cowboy Myth" and its ecological/social impact; Logistical Entanglement: The ICAO flight standards; Mondragon (1956): Cooperative industrial interdependence; Haudenosaunee Great Law of Peace (c. 1142); Resilience vs. Isolation: Lessons from Sarajevo.

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

We explore how local economies built on barter, time banking, and gift systems provide security during financial instability. This class examines the Argentine economic collapse, the global TimeBank movement, and how local currencies like BerkShares insulate communities from global shocks.

Homework:

1. Look up the work of Edgar Cahn or research the Hureai Kippu system in Japan to see how different cultures value labor.
2. Write down one question about any of this episode’s topics. If you don’t have a question, write “no question.”
3. Optional: Journal for five minutes. If all the money in your bank account vanished tomorrow, what skills or items do you have that you could trade for a week's worth of food?

Learning Topics: The 2001 Argentine Barter Clubs (nodos); Hureai Kippu and Time Banking in Japan and the UK; Edgar Cahn and the TimeBank Mahoning County case study; The Potlatch as wealth redistribution; Local currencies and the BerkShares model.

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Homework:

1. Look up the term"Planned Obsolescence" and find one product in your house that you believe was intentionally designed to fail or be unrepairable.
2. Write down one question about any of this episode’s topics. If you don’t have a question, write “no question.”
3. Optional: Journal for five minutes about the word "Disposable." List three things you consider disposable. Now, try to trace where they go when you "dispose" of them. Does that change your view of them?

Learning Topics: The transition from stewardship to consumption; The Rana Plaza Collapse: The human cost of fast fashion; E-waste in Agbogbloshie, Ghana, as a driver of regional instability; "Use-it-or-lose-it" military budget cycles; The cultural normalization of "collateral damage."

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Learning Topics: Social Isolation as a Predictor of Radicalization; The 1943 Rescue of the Danish Jews: Neighborhood-level coordination; Community-Led health responses in West Africa; Trust-based security models in Scandinavia; Restorative Justice and Māori Influence

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Learning Topics: Food Centralization as a tool of control; The 1941 Great Famine of Greece: Urban vs. Rural resilience; The Black Panther Free Breakfast Program and Hoover’s response; The 1963 Russian Wheat Deal and the fragility of imports; Food literacy as a "vaccine against propaganda;” The shift from Rationing to Sharing in CSA models.

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Homework:

1. Look up the specific terms of the"Indus Waters Treaty (1960)" or research the watershed you currently live in.
2. Write down one questionabout any of this episode’s topics. If you don’t have a question, write “no question.”
3. Optional:Journal for five minutes. If you had to share your primary water source with someone you didn't trust, what rules would you want in place to make sure you both survived?

Learning Topics: The Definition of the Indus Waters Treaty (1960); Functional Peace: Cooperation amidst conflict; Upstream Extraction vs. Downstream Debt; Aquifer Depletion and the "Scarcity Script;” Local Hydrological Autonomy as a defense against siege.

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Homework:

1. Look up the"Great Law of the Haudenosaunee" and find one other example of how they prioritized the long-term health of the community over short-term gain.
2. Write down one questionabout any of this episode’s topics. If you don’t have a question, write “no question.”
3. Optional:Journal for five minutes about a time you made a "fast" decision that caused harm, and a "slow" decision that created peace. What was the difference in your physical feeling during those two moments?

Learning Topics: Ecological Time vs. Market Time (The 500-year topsoil rule); The Seventh Generation Principle of the Haudenosaunee; "Extractive Panic" as a driver of conflict; The psychology of speed and the amygdala’s role in escalation; Deceleration as a restoration of empathy.

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

1. Look up"The Phoebus Cartel" and read about the 1953 court case that finally challenged their practices.
2. Write down one questionabout any of this episode’s topics. If you don’t have a question, write “no question.”
3. Optional:Journal for five minutes about an object you own that has been repaired. Does it feel more valuable to you than something brand new? Why or why not?

Learning Topics: The 1953 US District Court ruling against the Phoebus Cartel; Gandhi’s Khadi movement: Reclaiming the textile supply chain; Cuba’s ANIR: The National Association of Innovators and Rationalizers; The "Rikimbili" and adaptive repair during the Special Period; Maintenance vs. Extraction Pressure.

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Homework:

1. Look up the"Russian Dacha movement" and find one statistic on how much food these small plots produce compared to industrial farms.
2. Write down one question you have about home gardens or any topic in this episode. If you don’t have a question, just write “no question.”
3. Optional:Journal for five minutes about what "Victory" looks like in your own neighborhood. If your street was 40 percent independent from the grocery store, how would your sense of security change?

Learning Topics:

The 1943 Victory Garden Production Stats; The Russian Dacha System: Small-scale resilience; The 2020 Pandemic Seed Surge (Burpee and Johnny’s Seeds); Supply Chain Disconnection as a Form of Disarmament; Nutritional Independence vs. Traditional National Security.

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Homework:

1. Look up "The Holodomor" and read the "Causes" section to understand how government policy, not weather, created the famine.
2. Write down one question about any of this episode’s topics. If you don’t have a question, write “no question.”
3. Optional:Journal for five minutes about the concept of "Calorie Leverage." How does it feel to realize that your own food security might be tied to a global logistical "valve"?

Learning Topics:

The Holodomor (Logistical Famine); Scorched Earth Tactics vs. Soil Health; Food for Peace (PL 480) and Calorie Leverage; Modern Supply Chain Blockades; Agricultural Sovereignty as a Peace Strategy

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Homework:

1. Look up "The Enclosure Acts" and read a summary of how they changed the "Common Land" system in England.
2. Write down one question about any of this episode’s topics. If you don’t have a question, write “no question.”
3. Optional:Journal for five minutes about a "shortage" you see in the news today (gas, food, or water). Is it a biological shortage of the earth, or a logistical shortage of the "fence"?

Learning Topics: The Scarcity Script vs. Biological Abundance; The Enclosure Acts and the End of the Commons; Haber-Bosch: The Fertilizer-Weapon Link; Strategic Food Reserves and Political Leverage; The Yield Gap and Distribution Waste

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

We move from the soil to the seed. This class explores why the right to save and exchange seeds is a foundational act of a peaceful society. We examine the transition from "Common" to "Commodity," the hidden costs of the 1960s Green Revolution, and the heroic sacrifice of the Vavilov Institute scientists who guarded the world's genetic heritage during the Siege of Leningrad.

Homework:

1. Look up "Vandana Shiva" and read one paragraph about her work with Navdanya and seed freedom.
2. Write down one question you have after this episode or your research. If no question comes to mind, write "no question."
3. Optional:Journal for five minutes about the difference between an "heirloom" seed and a "patented" seed.

Learning Topics: Seed Sovereignty vs. Patent Extraction; Open-Pollinated vs. Hybrid Systems; The Green Revolution's Dependency Loop; The Vavilov Martyrs (Stchukin and Ivanov); Seed Saving as an Act of Disarmament

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com

• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

We descend into the Greenhouse to introduce the Law of Return. This class focuses on the historical cause-and-effect chain between soil health and social stability, examining Mesopotamian salinization, the American Dust Bowl, colonial monocultures, and modern fertilizer dependency. 

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routine – wait, maybe this has non become your routine… Look up the "Dust Bowl" and  "Human Displacement."
2. Write down one question you have about how food scarcity impacts local peace, or anything about this episode. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional: Journal for five minutes about where your calories come from. Do they come from a local "Law of Return" system, or an extractive "Monoculture" system?

Learning Topics:

1. The Law of Return (Anti-Extraction)
2. Mesopotamian Salinization & Systemic Collapse
3. The Dust Bowl as a Displacement Driver
4. Colonial Monocultures vs. Soil Health
5. Synthetic Fertilizer Dependency

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

From Gandhi’s Salt March and Vinoba Bhave’s land gift walks to Peace Pilgrim, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez, and monastic peace walkers, this episode traces how walking has been used to make injustice visible and invite participation without violence.

The episode closes by situating today’s walk for peace within this wider historical lineage, reminding us that walking remains one of humanity’s most durable tools for peace — slow, visible, and human.

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “Dalai Lama Riding a Bike” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routine by looking at your passport or ID card. Imagine it doesn't just list a country, but says "Citizen of the Understars." How does that change your responsibility to the person standing next to you?
2. Write down one final question for this department. If no question comes to mind, write "no question."
3. Optional:Look up at the night sky tonight. Tell the stars, "Hey Understars, let's keep an eye on peace. How about it?"

Learning Topics:

• Peace as infrastructure vs. war as a fragile system
• Summary of the Understars Perspective
• JFK’s 1963 "Strategy of Peace" Speech (American University)
• Reclaiming global citizenship
• Transitioning from theory to daily practice

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routineto look up the "Global Peace Index." Find one "Tool" or metric they use to measure how peaceful a country is.
2. Write down one questionyou have after this episode or doing homework #1. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional:Journal about your own "Personal Toolkit." When you feel a conflict rising, what is the first "tool" you reach for? (Is it a deep breath? A question? Taking a walk?)

Until our final lesson in this department, keep your eyes on the Understars. Class dismissed.

Learning topics: Peace Infrastructure, Verification Treaties, Shared Science, The Global Peace Index, 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty, The Great Disarmament.

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routineto look up a video of a "Starlink Satellite Train" or maybe you have seen one livepassing over the night sky. Notice how it changes your feeling of the "Understars."
2. Write down one questionyou have after this episode or doing homework #1. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional:Journal about the "New Scramble." Whether it’s AI or satellites, how do we protect a "Common" when people are trying to move faster than the law?

Learning topics: 1967 Outer Space Treaty (Articles I, II, & IV), The Province of All Mankind, Non-Appropriation, Orbital Debris and Satellites, The Scramble for AI/Data, Species-Level Restraint.

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routine to read the full text of the American University Speech. Find the "fantasies and fanatics" quote and sit with it.
2. Write down one question you have after this episode or doing homework #1. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional:Journal about a "fantasy" you have for the world that others might call unrealistic. Why is that dream actually the most logical thing to want?

Learning topics: JFK's American University Speech, Practical vs. Universal Peace, The Strategy of Peace, Breaking the Red Scare, Humanizing the Other, The Role of the Peace Scholar.

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

We explore the concept of Bioregionalism and why natural topography—specifically watersheds—is a more logical and peaceful way to organize human society than abstract nation-states. We examine John Wesley Powell’s failed 1890 proposal and look at modern proponents of watershed-based boundaries who seek to align political logic with ecological reality.

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routine to find out the name of the watershed you currently live in.
2. Write down one question you have after this episode or doing homework #1. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional: Journal about how your relationship with your "neighboring town" might change if you realized you both relied on the exact same underground aquifer.

Learning topics: Watersheds, Bioregionalism, John Wesley Powell, Topography vs. Cartography, Modern Water-Sharing Movements, Ecological Sovereignty.

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routine to look up an"Earth at Night" satellite photo of a border area (like North and South Korea or the US-Mexico border) and see how the "Map" disappears in the dark.
2. Write down one questionyou have after this episode or doing homework #1. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional:Journal about a time you judged someone based on "where they were from" (their map) rather than "who they were" (their territory).

Learning Topics:

• The Map is Not the Territory (Korzybski).
• The Semantic Gap and Cognitive Bias.
• The American Civil War: Sectionalism as Provincialism.
• Aboriginal Songlines: Navigation through song and relationship.
• AIATSIS Songlines Project: Protecting ancient indigenous knowledge.

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

We begin our second week by deconstructing the "violence" of colonial map-making. We examine how the straight lines of the Berlin Conference (1884) and the Sykes-Picot Agreement (1916) ignored the natural reality of the ground. Most importantly, we discuss how these rigid historical lines are mirrored in our own personal biases and why shifting our perspective is the first step toward systemic peace.

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routine to look at a map of the world and find three borders that are perfectly straight lines. Research which colonial power drew them.
2. Write down one question you have after this episode or doing homework #1. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional: Journal about a "line" you have drawn in your own life—a grudge or a boundary. Did you draw it for need, or did you draw it out of greed or control?

Learning topics: Colonial Cartography, The Berlin Conference (1884), Sykes-Picot Agreement (1916), Abstract Violence, Personal Bias, Perspective as Peace.

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routineto look up the "Earth Flag" (the one with the interlocking rings) and read about why it was designed.
2. Write down one questionyou have after this episode or doing homework #1. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional:Journal about the word "Us." Who is included in your "Us" today, and could that circle be wider?

Learning topics: Species-Level Loyalty, Planetary Citizenship, Apollo–Soyuz Test Project (1975), Shared Life-Support Systems, Global Identity, Universal Ethics.

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

We examine the Overview Effect not just as an experience, but as hard geopolitical data. By looking at the consistent testimony of astronauts from various nations, we see how the "High View" naturally dissolves nationalistic identity. We also revisit JFK’s 1963 "Strategy of Peace" as an early political application of this planetary consciousness.

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routine to look up "Astronaut quotes on the Overview Effect" and find the one that resonates most with you.
2. Write down one question you have after this episode or doing homework #1. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional: Journal about what would happen to our local conflicts if every world leader was required to spend 24 hours in orbit before taking office.

Learning topics: The Overview Effect, Astronaut Testimony, JFK’s American University Speech, Cognitive Reframing, Planetary Consciousness, Species Identity.

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routineto look up a map of the Global Jet Stream and watch how the air moves across continents.
2. Write down one questionyou have after this episode or doing homework #1. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional:Journal about the realization that you are currently breathing molecules that were over another continent just a few days ago.

Learning topics: Atmospheric Sovereignty, Global Commons, 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty, Linus Pauling, Radioactive Fallout, Environmental Interdependence.

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routineto look up the term "Closed Ecological System" and read about how resources are recycled on the International Space Station.
2. Write down one questionyou have after this episode or doing homework #1. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional:Journal about the phrase "There is no away." How does that change the way you think about a conflict on the other side of the world?

Learning topics: Buckminster Fuller, Spaceship Earth, Closed Systems, 1963 Pacem in Terris, Resource Management, Global Ethics.

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routine to look upCarl Sagan’s "Pale Blue Dot" speech and read the first three paragraphs.
2. Write down one question about any of this episode's topics. If you don't have a question, write "no question."
3. Optional:Journal about how it feels to realize that every "enemy" in history lived and died on the same single pixel of light.

Learning Topics:

• Carl Sagan and theCosmos series
• ThePale Blue Dot (Voyager 1)
• Human conceits vs. cosmic perspective
• Global viewership and shared stories
• Planetary stewardship

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

We define and explore the Overview Effect—the cognitive shift that occurs when viewing Earth from space—and the historical impact of the Blue Marble photograph. We also examine the 1963 Hotline Agreement as a structural tool designed to maintain high-level clarity and prevent accidental global conflict.

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routine to look up the "Blue Marble" photo and look at it for sixty seconds, noticing the lack of borders.
2. Write down one question you have after this episode or doing homework #1. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional: Journal about the idea of the atmosphere as a "thin coat of varnish." How does that change your feeling of safety?

Learning topics: The Blue Marble (Apollo 17), The Overview Effect, Frank White, 1963 Hotline Agreement, Planetary Vulnerability, Systems Thinking.

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Episode Summary: We launch our first formal class of the semester by entering the Tower. We establish the vision of the "High View" and the "Stars-eye view" before examining the work of Jonathan Schell and Linus Pauling. We explore why the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty was a scientific necessity and introduce our shared commitment to the "Homework Pact."

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routine to look up one thing about Linus Pauling’s 1958 petition to the UN.
2. Write down one question you have after this episode or doing homework #1. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional: Journal about the space between what we are told is "necessary" and what we actually want for our children.

Learning topics: Jonathan Schell, Linus Pauling, 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty, The Overview Effect, Stars-eye View, Scientific Activism.

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Learning Topics:

• The Deep Look: Transitioning from digital consumption to scholarly evidence.
• The CRAAP Test: A five-part protocol for evaluating information (Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose).
• Research Infrastructure: Utilizing academic libraries, university presses, and databases like JSTOR and Google Scholar.
• Social Stability vs. "Being Nice": Understanding how conviction and dignity create durable societal compounds.
• Ethical Defense:Reclaiming the heart as a shield and refusing to adopt the tactics of the adversary.
• Protopian Planting: Shifting our perspective toward the year 2126.

Resources & Links:

• Research Tools Mentioned:JSTOR, Google Scholar, CORE, Science.gov.
• Join the Curriculum: Follow the podcast as we prepare to climb the stairs to our first official class.
• Get the Books: AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Learning Topics:

• Peace Education:Transitioning from passive observation to active enrollment.
• The Great Spell (1963):Understanding the McCloy-Zorin Accords as a starting point for a global curriculum.
• Interdisciplinary Peace:An overview of the eight departments (Universal Understars, Living Roots, Chronicled Courage, Resonant Charms, Morphological Peace, Ethical Defense, Social Chemistry, and Kinetic Peace).
• Structural Peace:Moving beyond "paused violence" toward the presence of active work.
• The Homework Pact:The logistical practice of the "Deep Look" and the well-placed question.

Resources & Links:

• Join the Curriculum: “Follow” the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• 2025 Peace Was Here podcast recap eBook (free) https://dl.bookfunnel.com/jc4lcqga9f
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Resources & Links:

• Join the Curriculum: “Follow” the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• 2025 Peace Was Here podcast recap eBook (free) https://dl.bookfunnel.com/jc4lcqga9f
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

In Chapter Thirteen, Kitty delivers one last broadcast from Midway. Using Doris the Pothole as both witness and metaphor, she reflects on what the hearing revealed and what it failed to fix. Peace, she reminds us, is not a grand declaration but an act of maintenance: noticing cracks, refusing denial, and telling the truth before the damage spreads. With Marzipan’s approval echoing through the room, Kitty closes Experiment Zero not with certainty, but with resolve—and an open road still asking to be repaired.

Experiment Zero is the prequel to The Peace Experiments, a peace-forward series where a group of young people are brave enough to challenge conventional arguments against peace and disarmament.

Next here on Peace is Here: Peacewarts School (Understars 101)

Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com

Free 2025 Podcast Recap eBook: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/2025

Music:  Alana Jordan (alanajordan) on Pixabay

Chapter Twelve brings us back to Midway, where Kitty files the story that quietly changes everything. After the national hearing, a modest directive authorizes youth-led peace experiments—not because institutions believe in peace, but because they can no longer justify their fear of it. At her desk, with Marzipan keeping time, Kitty realizes her role has changed. She is no longer chasing the argument. She is witnessing what happens next.

Experiment Zero is the prequel to The Peace Experiments, a peace-forward series where a group of young people are brave enough to challenge conventional arguments against peace and disarmament.

Next here on Peace is Here: Peacewarts School (Understars 101)

Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com

Free 2025 Podcast Recap eBook: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/2025

Music:  Alana Jordan (alanajordan) on Pixabay

The hearing resumes with more speeches, more caution, and less listening. While officials debate peace as an abstract risk, the youth delegation is sidelined—literally placed in overflow. When Garrett steps forward to ask a single, clear question, the room is forced to confront something it has carefully avoided: what happens if young people are allowed to test the assumptions adults keep defending.

This episode marks the turning point of Experiment Zero, where observation becomes interruption and silence finally breaks.

Experiment Zero is the prequel to The Peace Experiments, a peace-forward series where a group of young people are brave enough to challenge conventional arguments against peace and disarmament.

Next here on Peace is Here: Peacewarts School (Understars 101)

Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com

Free 2025 Podcast Recap eBook: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/2025

Music:  Alana Jordan (alanajordan) on Pixabay

Kitty travels to the capital to cover a high-level hearing on global disarmament. Inside a cavernous hotel ballroom, officials and defense contractors frame peace as a dangerous gamble and delay as responsibility. The youth delegation is present but constrained, allowed to speak just long enough to be thanked and ignored. As the hearing concludes, Kitty realizes the system is not failing by accident—it is working exactly as designed, and the real test is still ahead.

Experiment Zero is the prequel to The Peace Experiments, a peace-forward series where a group of young people are brave enough to challenge conventional arguments against peace and disarmament.

Next here on Peace is Here: Peacewarts School (Understars 101)

Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com

Free 2025 Podcast Recap eBook: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/2025

Music:  Alana Jordan (alanajordan) on Pixabay

In a rare break from standard reporting, Kitty O’Compost goes live from the Beacon to name the myths that keep peace permanently postponed. With Marzipan providing emphatic fact-checks and Garrett’s voice cutting through the static, the broadcast reframes inevitability, fear, and scale as claims that can be tested rather than truths to be obeyed. This is the night the story stops circling the pothole and starts naming what dug it.

Experiment Zero is the prequel to The Peace Experiments, a peace-forward series where a group of young people are brave enough to challenge conventional arguments against peace and disarmament.

Next here on Peace is Here: Peacewarts School (Understars 101)

Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com

Free 2025 Podcast Recap eBook: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/2025

Music:  Alana Jordan (alanajordan) on Pixabay

Kitty O’Compost follows a question out of town and into two very different systems. At the edge of Midway, she encounters the guarded logistics hub, sealed tight with jargon and authorization. Downriver, she visits the Midway Community Seed Bank, where knowledge, resilience, and future harvests are shared freely. Between the two, Kitty begins to see the real conflict taking shape—not over weapons alone, but over who controls the infrastructure that defines what is possible.

Experiment Zero is the prequel to The Peace Experiments, a peace-forward series where a group of young people are brave enough to challenge conventional arguments against peace and disarmament.

Next here on Peace is Here: Peacewarts School (Understars 101)

Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com

Free 2025 Podcast Recap eBook: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/2025

Music:  Alana Jordan (alanajordan) on Pixabay

Today’s chapter takes us out of meetings and into the soil. Kitty visits a place where ideas don’t argue. They decompose, rest, and come back changed. If you’ve ever wondered whether peace has a practice, not just a policy, this chapter begins to answer that question.

Experiment Zero is the prequel to The Peace Experiments, a peace-forward series where a group of young people are brave enough to challenge conventional arguments against peace and disarmament.

Next here on Peace is Here: Peacewarts School (Understars 101)

Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com

Free 2025 Podcast Recap eBook: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/2025

Music:  Alana Jordan (alanajordan) on Pixabay

Kitty O’Compost visits Room 213 at Osprey Point High School, where skepticism is treated not as an attitude but as a scientific discipline. Under the guidance of Ms. Finch, students are running live experiments on the stories adults tell about competition, fear, and scarcity.

At the center of the lab is a single slice of cafeteria pizza, framed as a scarce resource and then deliberately removed from circulation. What follows is not conflict, but a shift in tone, imagination, and cooperation. The students observe what happens when the object everyone is meant to fight over no longer exists.

As Garrett and her classmates collect data, Kitty begins to see that peace may not be a moral argument or a policy goal, but a methodology. One that questions who decides what is scarce, who benefits from that belief, and what becomes possible when the rules are tested rather than obeyed.

Experiment Zero is the prequel to The Peace Experiments, a peace-forward series where a group of young people are brave enough to challenge conventional arguments against peace and disarmament.

Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com

Free 2025 Podcast Recap eBook: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/2025

Music:  Alana Jordan (alanajordan) on Pixabay

Kitty O’Compost spends a single morning gathering the most common objections to peace, beginning with a defense contractor’s carefully rehearsed fears and ending in a public school science lab where those fears are treated as testable claims rather than permanent truths.

As corporate language leans on economic anxiety, innovation myths, and national identity, a science teacher and her students respond with hypotheses, experiments, and clarity, reframing peace not as an aspiration but as a practice subject to evidence.

This chapter sharpens the divide between postponement as policy and inquiry as action, revealing how power protects itself through delay while younger minds quietly begin designing what comes next.

Experiment Zero is the prequel to The Peace Experiments, a peace-forward series where a group of young people are brave enough to challenge conventional arguments against peace and disarmament.

Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com

Free 2025 Podcast Recap eBook: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/2025

Music:  Alana Jordan (alanajordan) on Pixabay

In this chapter, Kitty receives an unexpected document that reveals how close the world is to disarmament and how far it remains from choosing it. What appears to be a serious plan for peace is revealed instead as a ritual of postponement, built from charts, committees, and comfort thresholds.

As Kitty reads deeper, the real obstacle becomes clear. The technology is ready, the safeguards are complete, and the systems can act. What is missing is not capacity but courage.

This chapter explores how bureaucratic language can function as a form of fear, how delay is disguised as responsibility, and how peace can be quietly stalled by those who insist it must first be made comfortable.

Experiment Zero is the prequel to The Peace Experiments, a peace-forward series where a group of young people are brave enough to challenge conventional arguments against peace and disarmament.

Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com

Free 2025 Podcast Recap eBook: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/2025

Music:  Alana Jordan (alanajordan) on Pixabay

A routine local story takes an unexpected turn when Kitty O’Compost realizes her reporting has begun to attract attention far beyond Midway. What started as a single pothole on County Route 12 now sits at the center of a widening web of polite warnings, unfamiliar acronyms, and unusually interested observers.

As Marzipan delivers increasingly emphatic scratch-fact-checks, Kitty begins to name the pattern emerging beneath the language of “harmonization” and “metadata.” This chapter introduces the idea of the global pothole—the space between ordinary facts and the carefully managed stories meant to contain them—and marks the moment when simple journalism starts to feel like evidence.

Experiment Zero is the prequel to The Peace Experiments, a peace-forward series where a group of young people are brave enough to challenge conventional arguments against peace and disarmament.

Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com

Free 2025 Podcast Recap eBook: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/2025

Music:  Alana Jordan (alanajordan) on Pixabay

Kitty O’Compost arrives at a so-called informational meeting in the Old Gym, where folding chairs, fluorescent lights, and carefully chosen language are meant to keep the public at a comfortable distance. Joined by Marzipan and an unexpected student attendee, Kitty listens as officials explain a new facility using jargon that seems designed to obscure more than it reveals.

As terms slip, silences stretch, and a forbidden idea briefly surfaces, the meeting exposes a quiet tension between governance and participation, secrecy and shared responsibility. What was meant to reassure instead sharpens Kitty’s sense that something important is being managed out of sight—and that certain concepts unsettle authority simply by being named.

Experiment Zero is the prequel to The Peace Experiments, a peace-forward series where a group of young people are brave enough to challenge conventional arguments against peace and disarmament.

Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com

Get the 2025 Podcast Recap eBook: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/2025

Music:  Alana Jordan (alanajordan) on Pixabay

Chapter One introduces Kitty O’Compost, a small-town reporter easing into an ordinary assignment in Midway, armed with a notebook, a sense of humor, and a highly observant goat named Marzipan. What begins as a routine walk toward town—past murals, potholes, and familiar civic neglect—takes an unexpected turn at the edge of a newly built facility that doesn’t quite belong.

This opening chapter sets the tone for The Peace Experiments: attentive, wry, and quietly unsettled. It’s a story about noticing small things, trusting instincts, and recognizing the moment when a local story begins to lean toward something larger—before anyone has named it, and before anyone admits they’re watching.

Experiment Zero is the prequel to The Peace Experiments, a peace-forward series where a group of young people are brave enough to challenge conventional arguments against peace and disarmament.

Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com

Get the 2025 Podcast Recap eBook: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/2025

Music:  Alana Jordan (alanajordan) on Pixabay

The episode looks back on a year of daily practice through series such as Wolff Peace, The Great Disfarmament and The Great Disarmament, Architects of Enough, and the introduction of The Next Peacelands. It also marks personal and creative milestones, including the release of Mono Mutante, the first Kickstarter campaign, and the arrival of Kitty O’Compost.

Looking ahead, Avis shares the direction Peace is Here will take in 2026. The podcast moves into a more intentional curriculum, inviting listeners to become peace scholars through attention, inquiry, and lived moral practice. Peace will be explored through history, philosophy, satire, and fiction, with an emphasis on imagining peace as a practical path rather than a distant ideal.

The episode closes with The Tip of the Peaceberg Prayer, a quiet New Year reflection on gratitude, unweaponed life, and the deeper truth of peace beneath the surface of the world as it appears.

Tomorrow begins a new thirteen-episode fiction series, The Peace Experiments  Experiment Zero, where a small town reporter, a fact-checking goat, and a group of young people begin asking the questions adults avoid.

Thank you for listening, for your presence this year, and for walking into the next one together.

Peace and love,

Avis

Download the Peace Was Here 2025 Podcast Recap book: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/2025

Get the Winter Holiday Reading list with links to the full stories: www.aviskalfsbeek.com/holiday

Get Avis’s books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com

• Music: “Una Manana” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez

Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

• Upcoming series: The Peace Experiments – Season Zero starts 1/1/26! (Ep 184)

This episode features a New Year’s-season reading from Edith Wharton’s story “New Year’s Day — The ’Seventies,” part of her 1924 collection Old New York. In this piece, Wharton examines memory, reputation, and the quiet consequences of a life lived under the watchful eye of society. Kitty reads a short excerpt that brings out Wharton’s signature blend of precision, empathy, and moral insight.

Kitty O’Compost continues warming up her reporter voice for the forthcoming Peace Is Here series The Peace Experiments exploring peace, AI, and the commons.

For this special holiday edition of The Next Peacelands, Avis Kalfsbeek changes her focus from the factual grounding of warzones and arms suppliers to highlight the spiritual organizations and networks actively building peace around the world.

• Get the Winter Holiday Reading list with links to the full stories: www.aviskalfsbeek.com/holiday
• Get Avis’s books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com

• Music: “The Red Kite” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez

Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Intro Music: PulseBox on Pixabay

• Upcoming series: The Peace Experiments
• Edith Wharton – New Year’s Day (The ’Seventies) on Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/61321

This episode features a reflective reading from Henry David Thoreau’s 1843 essay A Winter Walk—a quiet meditation on landscape, attention, and the moral clarity that comes from observing nature with patience. Kitty reads a short excerpt that highlights Thoreau’s deliberate pace and his belief that paying attention is its own form of ethical living.

Kitty O’Compost continues warming up her reporter voice for the forthcoming Peace Is Here series The Peace Experiments exploring peace, AI, and the commons.

For this special holiday edition of The Next Peacelands, Avis Kalfsbeek changes her focus from the factual grounding of warzones and arms suppliers to highlight the spiritual organizations and networks actively building peace around the world.

• Get the Winter Holiday Reading list with links to the full stories: www.aviskalfsbeek.com/holiday
• Get Avis’s books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com

• Music: “The Red Kite” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez

Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Intro Music: PulseBox on Pixabay

• Upcoming series: The Peace Experiments

• Henry David Thoreau – A Winter Walk on Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/9846/pg9846-images.html#chap05

Kitty O’Compost continues warming up her reporter voice for the forthcoming Peace Is Here series The Peace Experiments exploring peace, AI, and the commons.

For this special holiday edition of The Next Peacelands, Avis Kalfsbeek changes her focus from the factual grounding of warzones and arms suppliers to highlight the spiritual organizations and networks actively building peace around the world.

• Get the Winter Holiday Reading list with links to the full stories: aviskalfsbeek.com/holiday
• Get Avis’s books: AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Music: “The Red Kite” by Javier “Peke” RodriguezBandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

• Intro Music: PulseBox on Pixabay
• Upcoming series: The Peace Experiments
• Sarah Orne Jewett – “Aunt Cynthy Dallett” on Gutenberg:https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/74980/pg74980-images.html#Page_279

This episode features a winter selection from John Burroughs’ 1875 essay collection Winter Sunshine—a calm, observant reflection on landscape, weather, and the steadying practice of paying close attention. Kitty reads a short excerpt that highlights Burroughs’ quiet conviction that nature offers both clarity and companionship.

Kitty O’Compost continues warming up her reporter voice for the forthcoming Peace Is Here series The Peace Experiments exploring peace, AI, and the commons.

For this special holiday edition of The Next Peacelands, Avis Kalfsbeek changes her focus from the factual grounding of warzones and arms suppliers to highlight the spiritual organizations and networks actively building peace around the world.

• Get the Winter Holiday Reading list with links to the full stories: www.aviskalfsbeek.com/holiday
• Get Avis’s books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com

• Music: “The Red Kite” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez

Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Intro Music: PulseBox on Pixabay

• Upcoming series: The Peace Experiments
• John Burroughs – Winter Sunshine on Gutenberg (various editions): https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/4279/pg4279-images.html

This episode features a warm, humane reading from Kate Douglas Wiggin’s 1886 novella The Birds’ Christmas Carol—a tender holiday story shaped by Wiggin’s early work as a teacher and social reformer. Kitty reads a short excerpt that highlights Wiggin’s belief in community care and the quiet dignity of everyday kindness.

Kitty O’Compost continues warming up for The Peace Experiments (Season Zero), the forthcoming Peace Is Here series exploring peace, AI, and the cultural commons through grounded storytelling and thoughtful reflection.

For this special holiday edition of The Next Peacelands, Avis Kalfsbeek changes her focus from the factual grounding of warzones and arms suppliers to highlight the spiritual organizations and networks actively building peace around the world.

• Get the Winter Holiday reading list with links to full stories: www.aviskalfsbeek.com/holiday 
• Get the Avis’s books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Music: “The Red Kite” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez
  • Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
  • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW
• Intro Music: PulseBox on Pixabay
• Upcoming series: The Peace Experiments
• Kate Douglas Wiggin – The Birds’ Christmas Carol on Gutenberg: https://gutenberg.org/cache/epub/721/pg721-images.html

This episode presents a warm, humorous seasonal reading of Mark Twain’s 1875 piece A Letter from Santa Claus—written originally for his young daughter and now beloved for its gentle wit and clear-eyed affection. Kitty reads the letter in full, highlighting Twain’s ability to offer comfort, humor, and truth in the same breath.

Kitty O’Compost continues warming up for The Peace Experiments (Season Zero), the forthcoming Peace Is Here series exploring peace, AI, and the cultural commons.

For this special holiday edition of The Next Peacelands, Avis Kalfsbeek changes her focus from the factual grounding of warzones and arms suppliers to highlight the spiritual organizations and networks actively building peace around the world.

• Get the Winter Holiday reading list with links to full stories: www.aviskalfsbeek.com/holiday
• Get the Avis’s books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Music: “The Red Kite” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez
  • Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
  • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW
• Intro Music: PulseBox on Pixabay
• Upcoming series: The Peace Experiments
• Mark Twain – A Letter from Santa Claus https://americanliterature.com/author/mark-twain/short-story/a-letter-from-santa-claus

This episode concludes the story begun in Episode 175! We return to Alphonse Daudet’s classic short story The Pope’s Mule—a charming, historic satire about pride, patience, and delayed revenge set during the Christmas season in Avignon, France. Kitty reads the final portion, where the long-awaited moment of truth arrives.

• Catch up: If you haven't heard the start of this tale, please go back one episode to Episode 175

Kitty O’Compost continues warming up for The Peace Experimentsthe forthcoming Peace Is Here series exploring peace, AI, and the commons.

For this special holiday edition of The Next Peacelands, Avis Kalfsbeek changes her focus from the factual grounding of warzones and arms suppliers to highlight the spiritual organizations and networks actively building peace around the world.

• Get the Winter Holiday Reading list with links to the full stories: www.aviskalfsbeek.com/holiday 
• Get the Avis’s books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Music: “The Red Kite” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez
  • Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
  • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW
• Intro Music: PulseBox on Pixabay
• Upcoming series: The Peace Experiments

• Alphonse Daudet – The Pope’s Mule onProject Gutenberg  https://gutenberg.org/cache/epub/73621/pg73621-images.html

This episode features a holiday reading from Alphonse Daudet’s classic short story The Pope’s Mule—a charming, historic satire about pride, patience, and delayed revenge set during the Christmas season in Avignon, France. Kitty reads an excerpt that highlights Daudet’s light touch and his talent for character-driven humor.

Kitty O’Compost continues warming up for The Peace Experiments  the forthcoming Peace Is Here series exploring peace, AI, and the cultural commons.

For this special holiday edition of The Next Peacelands, Avis Kalfsbeek changes her focus from the factual grounding of warzones and arms suppliers to highlight the spiritual organizations and networks actively building peace around the world.

Get the Winter Holiday Stories Reading list with links to the full stories: www.aviskalfsbeek.com/holiday 

• Get Avis's books:AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Music:“The Red Kite” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez
  • Bandcamp:https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
  • Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW
• Intro Music:PulseBox on Pixabay
• Upcoming series:The Peace Experiments (
• Alphonse Daudet – “The Pope’s Mule” on Project Gutenberg  https://gutenberg.org/cache/epub/73621/pg73621-images.html 

 This episode offers a lively seasonal reading from Charles Dickens’ 1836 tale The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton—a Christmas Eve story and an unmistakable early predecessor to A Christmas Carol. Kitty reads a short excerpt that highlights Dickens’ blend of humor, social conscience, and supernatural moral instruction.

Kitty O’Compost continues warming up for The Peace Experiments (Season Zero), the forthcoming Peace Is Here series exploring peace, AI, and the cultural commons.

For this special holiday edition of The Next Peacelands, Avis Kalfsbeek changes her focus from the factual grounding of warzones and arms suppliers to highlight the spiritual organizations and networks actively building peace around the world.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com 
• Contact Avis: Contact Me Here
• Music: “The Red Kite” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez

Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Intro Music: PulseBox on Pixabay

• Upcoming series: The Peace Experiments 
• Dickens – The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton on Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/580 

This episode includes a warm, lightly satirical reading from William Dean Howells’ 1892 story Christmas Every Day—a playful tale about abundance, boredom, and the difference between holiday sentiment and daily kindness. Kitty reads a short portion that highlights Howells’ realist clarity and gentle humor.

Kitty O’Compost continues warming up for The Peace Experiments (Season Zero), the forthcoming Peace Is Here series exploring peace, AI, and the cultural commons.

For this special holiday edition of The Next Peacelands, Avis Kalfsbeek changes her focus from the factual grounding of warzones and arms suppliers to highlight the spiritual organizations and networks actively building peace around the world.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com 
• Contact Avis to say hello or share how to say “Peace is Here” in your language: Contact Me Here
• Music: “The Red Kite” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez

Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Intro Music: PulseBox on Pixabay

• Peace Is Here upcoming series: The Peace Experiments (Season Zero)
• William Dean Howells – Christmas Every Day on Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/22519 

This episode includes a grounded reading from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1844 story The Christmas Banquet—a reflective and morally serious tale that examines sorrow, companionship, and the possibility of renewal. Kitty reads just enough to bring out Hawthorne’s characteristic clarity about conscience and community.

Kitty O’Compost continues warming up for The Peace Experiments (Season Zero), the forthcoming Peace Is Here series exploring peace, AI, and the cultural commons.

For this special holiday edition of The Next Peacelands, Avis Kalfsbeek changes her focus from the factual grounding of warzones and arms suppliers to highlight the spiritual organizations and networks actively building peace around the world.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com 
• Contact Avis to say hello or share “Peace is Here” in your language: Contact Me Here
• Music: “The Red Kite” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez

Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Intro Music: PulseBox on Pixabay

• Peace Is Here upcoming series: The Peace Experiments (Season Zero)
• Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Christmas Banquet on Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9228 

This episode features a gentle excerpt from Louisa May Alcott’s short holiday story A Christmas Dream, and How It Came True, a reflective tale about a child who learns that the real richness of Christmas comes from generosity, attention, and shared joy. Kitty reads just enough to let Alcott’s calm moral clarity come through.

Kitty O’Compost continues warming up for The Peace Experiments (Season Zero), the forthcoming Peace Is Here series exploring peace, AI, and the cultural commons.

For this holiday edition of The Next Peacelands, Avis Kalfsbeek shifts focus away from warzones and arms suppliers to reflect on the quieter, relational work of peace—care, generosity, and the everyday choices that shape a humane world.

• Get Avis Kalfsbeek's books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com 
• Music: “The Red Kite” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez

Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Intro Music: PulseBox on Pixabay

• Peace Is Here upcoming series: The Peace Experiments
• Louisa May Alcott – A Christmas Dream, and How It Came True on Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/40682/pg40682-images.html#a-christmas-dream

This episode features a short reading from O. Henry’s 1907 western holiday story A Chaparral Christmas Gift—a tale of grudges, frontier character, and the unexpected small mercies that can surface at Christmastime. Kitty reads a brief excerpt that highlights O. Henry’s sharp attention to human behavior and his clear, unsentimental style.

Kitty O’Compost continues warming up for The Peace Experiments (Season Zero), the forthcoming Peace Is Here series exploring peace, AI, and the cultural commons.

For this special holiday edition of The Next Peacelands, Avis Kalfsbeek changes her focus from the factual grounding of warzones and arms suppliers to highlight the spiritual organizations and networks actively building peace around the world.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com 
• Contact Avis to say hello or share “Peace is Here” in your language: Contact Me Here
• Music: “The Red Kite” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez

Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW 

Intro Music: PulseBox on Pixabay

• Peace Is Here upcoming series: The Peace Experiments (Season Zero)
• O. Henry – A Chaparral Christmas Gift on Gutenberg: https://gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1595/pg1595-images.html#chap20 

This episode features a short reading from Anthony Trollope’s 1876 holiday comedy Christmas at Thompson Hall—a story full of winter travel mishaps, sharp observation, and the small dramas that arise when families try to reach home in the busiest season of the year. Kitty reads just enough to reveal Trollope’s signature blend of social insight and quiet humor.

Kitty O’Compost continues warming up for The Peace Experiments (Season Zero), the forthcoming Peace Is Here series exploring peace, AI, and the cultural commons.

For this special holiday edition of The Next Peacelands, Avis Kalfsbeek changes her focus from the factual grounding of warzones and arms suppliers to highlight the spiritual organizations and networks actively building peace around the world.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Contact Avis to say hello or share how to say “Peace is Here” in your language: Contact Me Here
• Music: “The Red Kite” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez

Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Intro Music: PulseBox on Pixabay

• Peace Is Here upcoming series: The Peace Experiments (Season Zero)
• Anthony Trollope – Christmas at Thompson Hall on Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/58558 

This episode features a brief seasonal reading from Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1892 mystery The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, one of the few Sherlock Holmes stories set at Christmastime. Kitty offers a short excerpt that highlights Doyle’s distinctive blend of sharp observation, social awareness, and moral inquiry beneath the mechanics of a crime story.

Kitty O’Compost continues warming up for The Peace Experiments (Season Zero), the forthcoming Peace Is Here series exploring peace, AI, and the cultural commons through grounded reporting and thoughtful storytelling.

For this special holiday edition of The Next Peacelands, Avis Kalfsbeek changes her focus from the factual grounding of warzones and arms suppliers to highlight the spiritual organizations and networks actively building peace around the world.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com 
• Contact Avis to say hello or share “Peace is Here” in your language: Contact Me Here
• Music: “The Red Kite” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez

Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Intro Music: PulseBox on Pixabay

• Peace Is Here upcoming series: The Peace Experiments (Season Zero)
• Arthur Conan Doyle – The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle on Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48320 

This episode features a short, spirited reading from L. Frank Baum’s 1904 holiday tale A Kidnapped Santa Claus, in which Baum explores what happens when the world’s bringer of joy is interrupted by creatures who cannot tolerate generosity. Kitty offers only a brief portion—just enough to reveal how Baum used fantasy to examine moral courage, communal responsibility, and the fragile work of keeping goodwill alive in a troubled world.

Kitty O’Compost continues warming up for The Peace Experiments (Season Zero), the forthcoming Peace Is Here series investigating peace, AI, and the cultural commons through grounded reporting and thoughtful storytelling.

For this special holiday edition of The Next Peacelands, Avis Kalfsbeek changes her focus from the factual grounding of warzones and arms suppliers to highlight the spiritual organizations and networks actively building peace around the world.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com 
• Contact Avis to say hello or share how to say “Peace is Here” in your language: Contact Me Here
• Music: “The Red Kite” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez

Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Intro Music: PulseBox on Pixabay

• Peace Is Here upcoming series: The Peace Experiments (Season Zero)
• L. Frank Baum – A Kidnapped Santa Claus on Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/520 

In today’s holiday edition, Kitty O’Compost reads a short, seasonally grounded passage from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol—his mid-career meditation on generosity, personal transformation, and the moral imagination required to change one’s life. Kitty offers only a brief excerpt, enough to settle listeners into the thoughtful clarity Dickens brought to questions of compassion and social responsibility.

These December readings are part of Kitty’s warm-up for The Peace Experiments: Experiment Zero, the new Peace Is Here series launching on New Year’s Day.

The episode closes with a special holiday version of The Next Peacelands. Instead of the usual real-time list of warzones and weapons suppliers, this month’s practice offers the names of spiritual and humanitarian organizations working quietly and steadily for peace around the world—an invitation to join your intention with theirs during this reflective season.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Contact Avis to say hello or let her know how to say “Peace is Here” in your language: Contact Me Here
• The Next Peacelands source: Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) and the Stockholm Internation Peace Research Institute’s Arms Transfers Database [as updated on Wikipedia.
• Music: "The Red Kite" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

Intro Music: PulseBox on Pixabay

• Peace is Here podcast series Coming Soon!: The Peace Experiments (Season Zero)
• Charles Dickens – A Christmas Carol  on Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19337 

This episode includes a short reading from “Tolstoy’s Letter to a Hindu,” a late-life reflection on nonviolence, conscience, and the moral strength of ordinary people. Kitty offers only a brief portion, giving listeners a steady moment inside Tolstoy’s clear-hearted thinking.

Kitty O'Compost warms up for The Peace Experiments, the upcoming Peace Is Here series exploring peace, AI, and the commons.

For this special holiday edition of The Next Peacelands, Avis Kalfsbeek changes her focus from the factual grounding of warzones and arms suppliers to highlight the spiritual organizations and networks actively building peace around the world.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Contact Avis to say hello or let her know how to say “Peace is Here” in your language: Contact Me Here
• Music: "The Red Kite" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

• Peace is Here podcast series Coming Soon!: The Peace Experiments
• Leo Tolstoy Letter to a Hindu on Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/7176/7176-h/7176-h.htm

This episode features a short reading from Edgar Allan Poe’s playful tale “The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall,” a story that steps away from his darker moods and into a world of odd inventions and improbable journeys. Kitty offers just a brief excerpt, giving listeners a light, curious moment inside Poe’s imaginative side.

Kitty O'Compost warms up for The Peace Experiments (Season Zero) , the upcoming Peace Is Here series exploring peace, AI, and the commons.

The episode closes with The Next Peacelands, where Avis Kalfsbeek reads a real-time list of global warzones and major arms suppliers—an honest grounding in the world as it is, and an invitation to practice peace with intention.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Contact Avis to say hello or let her know how to say “Peace is Here” in your language: Contact Me Here
• The Next Peacelands source: Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) and the Stockholm Internation Peace Research Institute’s Arms Transfers Database [as updated on Wikipedia.
• Music: "The Red Kite" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

• Peace is Here podcast series Coming Soon!: The Peace Experiments (Season Zero)
• Edgar Allan Poe – The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall  on Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2147/2147-h/2147-h.htm 

This episode features a brief excerpt from Plato’s Laws, Book XI, where he reflects on the habits and challenges of retail trade and daily commerce. Kitty reads only a short portion, offering listeners a moment inside Plato’s practical, grounded side—less cosmic than the Republic, more tied to the rhythms of ordinary life.

Kitty O'Compost warms up for The Peace Experiments (Season Zero) , the upcoming Peace Is Here series exploring peace, AI, and the commons.

The episode closes with The Next Peacelands, where Avis Kalfsbeek reads a real-time list of global warzones and major arms suppliers—an honest grounding in the world as it is, and an invitation to practice peace with intention.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Contact Avis to say hello or let her know how to say “Peace is Here” in your language: Contact Me Here
• The Next Peacelands source: Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) and the Stockholm Internation Peace Research Institute’s Arms Transfers Database [as updated on Wikipedia.
• Music: "The Red Kite" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

• Peace is Here podcast series Coming Soon!: The Peace Experiments (Season Zero)
• Plato – Book XI on Guttenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1750/1750-h/1750-h.htm

This episode features a brief reading from Thomas Carlyle’s Sartor Resartus, a playful and philosophical work that blends commentary, imagination, and the search for meaning. Kitty offers only a small portion, giving listeners a gentle, thoughtful moment inside Carlyle’s unusual world.

Kitty O'Compost warms up for The Peace Experiments (Season Zero) , the upcoming Peace Is Here series exploring peace, AI, and the commons.

The episode closes with The Next Peacelands, where Avis Kalfsbeek reads a real-time list of global warzones and major arms suppliers—an honest grounding in the world as it is, and an invitation to practice peace with intention.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Contact Avis to say hello or let her know how to say “Peace is Here” in your language: Contact Me Here
• The Next Peacelands source: Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) and the Stockholm Internation Peace Research Institute’s Arms Transfers Database [as updated on Wikipedia.
• Music: "The Red Kite" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

• Peace is Here Podcast Series Coming Soon!: The Peace Experiments
• Carlyle – Sartor Resartus on Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1051/pg1051-images.html

This episode includes a brief excerpt from Daniel Defoe’s The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, offering a small step into the early moments of the novel’s world. Kitty reads just enough to catch Defoe’s plainspoken tone and the quiet sense of possibility that opens the story.

Kitty O'Compost warms up for The Peace Experiments (Season Zero) , the upcoming Peace Is Here series exploring peace, AI, and the commons.

The episode closes with The Next Peacelands, where Avis Kalfsbeek reads a real-time list of global warzones and major arms suppliers—an honest grounding in the world as it is, and an invitation to practice peace with intention.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Contact Avis to say hello or let her know how to say “Peace is Here” in your language: Contact Me Here
• The Next Peacelands source: Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) and the Stockholm Internation Peace Research Institute’s Arms Transfers Database [as updated on Wikipedia.
• Music: "The Red Kite" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

• Peace is Here podcast series Coming Soon!: The Peace Experiments (Season Zero)
• Daniel Defoe – The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe on Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/521

Avis also turns to The Next Peacelands, describing how this developing thread connects to the long-term mission of imagining peaceful futures, strengthening the cultural commons, and examining the technologies and habits that shape our ability to build a more livable world. The episode places Kitty, The Next Peacelands, and the larger Peace Is Here project within a shared commitment to inquiry, imagination, and the slow peace work of cultural and planetary repair.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Follow the podcast to get notified: Coming New Year’s Day! The Next Peacelands (Season Zero)
• Music: Nick Panek on Pixabay NickPanek620

This episode features a brief passage from Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle, offering a small step into one of America’s classic folk tales. Kitty reads just enough to feel the gentle rhythm of Irving’s storytelling and the quiet magic he wove into everyday life.

Each day’s reading continues to serve as Kitty’s warm-up for CTRL–AI–DISARM, the upcoming Peace Is Here series exploring truth, power, and the systems shaping our shared future.

The episode closes with The Next Peacelands, where Avis Kalfsbeek reads a real-time list of global warzones and major arms suppliers—an honest grounding in the world as it is, and an invitation to practice peace with intention.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Contact Avis to say hello or let her know how to say “Peace is Here” in your language: Contact Me Here
• Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving on Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/60976/60976-h/60976-h.htm
• The Next Peacelands source: Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) and the Stockholm Internation Peace Research Institute’s Arms Transfers Database [as updated on Wikipedia.
• Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

• Peace is Here podcast series Coming Soon!: CTRL-AI-DISARM

This episode includes a brief excerpt from Émile Zola’s Nana, capturing the early stirrings of the novel’s world—its crowded rooms, shifting glances, and Zola’s careful attention to human behavior. Kitty reads only a short passage, offering a steady, quiet moment inside a story known for its vivid detail.

Each day’s reading continues to serve as reporter Kitty O'Compost’s warm-up for CTRL–AI–DISARM, the upcoming Peace Is Here series exploring truth, power, and the systems shaping our shared future.

The episode closes with The Next Peacelands, where Avis Kalfsbeek reads a real-time list of global warzones and major arms suppliers—an honest grounding in the world as it is, and an invitation to practice peace with intention.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Contact Avis to say hello or let her know how to say “Peace is Here” in your language: Contact Me Here
• The Next Peacelands source: Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) and the Stockholm Internation Peace Research Institute’s Arms Transfers Database [as updated on Wikipedia.
• Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

• Peace is Here podcast series Coming Soon!: CTRL-AI-DISARM

This episode offers a brief excerpt from William Makepeace Thackeray’s The History of Henry Esmond, a reflective, gently paced novel told through a narrator looking back on his life. In this short selection, Kitty brings forward Thackeray’s quiet observational humor and the steady tone that shaped so much of his work.

Kitty O’Compost warms up her reporter voice for CTRL–AI–DISARM, the upcoming Peace Is Here series exploring truth, power, and the systems shaping our shared future.

The episode closes with The Next Peacelands, where Avis Kalfsbeek reads a real-time list of global warzones and major arms suppliers—an honest grounding in the world as it is, and an invitation to practice peace with intention.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Contact Avis to say hello or let her know how to say “Peace is Here” in your language: Contact Me Here
• The Next Peacelands source: Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) and the Stockholm Internation Peace Research Institute’s Arms Transfers Database [as updated on Wikipedia.
• Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

• Peace is Here podcast series Coming Soon!: CTRL-AI-DISARM

This episode features a brief reading from E.B. White’s essay “The Door,” a quiet, wandering reflection full of his signature warmth. Kitty shares just a small portion, offering listeners a steady moment of ease and curiosity.

Kitty O'Compost warms up her reporter voice for CTRL–AI–DISARM, the upcoming Peace Is Here series exploring truth, power, and the systems shaping our shared future.

The episode closes with The Next Peacelands, where Avis Kalfsbeek reads a real-time list of global warzones and major arms suppliers—an honest grounding in the world as it is, and an invitation to practice peace with intention.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Contact Avis to say hello or let her know how to say “Peace is Here” in your language: Contact Me Here
• The Next Peacelands source: Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) and the Stockholm Internation Peace Research Institute’s Arms Transfers Database [as updated on Wikipedia.
• Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

• Peace is Here podcast series Coming Soon!: CTRL-AI-DISARM

This episode features a brief reading from “Economy,” the opening section of Henry David Thoreau’s Walden. In this short passage, Kitty offers a moment of Thoreau’s clear-eyed simplicity—his reminder that paying honest attention to how we live can be its own quiet liberation.

Kitty’ warms up her reporter voice for CTRL–AI–DISARM, the upcoming Peace Is Here series exploring truth, power, and the systems shaping our shared future.

The episode closes with The Next Peacelands, where Avis Kalfsbeek reads a real-time list of global warzones and major arms suppliers—an honest grounding in the world as it is, and an invitation to practice peace with intention.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Contact Avis to say hello or let her know how to say “Peace is Here” in your language: Contact Me Here
• The Next Peacelands source: Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) and the Stockholm Internation Peace Research Institute’s Arms Transfers Database [as updated on Wikipedia.
• Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

• Peace is Here podcast series Coming Soon!: CTRL-AI-DISARM

Mark Twain’s “How I Edited an Agricultural Newspaper” brings a touch of mischief to today’s episode of Kitty Reads Literature for Peace. Kitty offers a short, good-natured excerpt that captures Twain’s humor and his fondness for human overconfidence, all delivered in her warm, steady voice.

Each day’s reading continues to serve as Kitty’s gentle warm-up for CTRL–AI–DISARM, the upcoming Peace Is Here series exploring truth, power, and the systems shaping our shared future.

The episode closes with The Next Peacelands, where Avis Kalfsbeek reads a real-time list of global warzones and major arms suppliers—an honest grounding in the world as it is, and an invitation to practice peace with intention.

Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com

Contact Avis to say hello or let her know how to say “Peace is Here” in your language: Contact Me Here

The Next Peacelands source: Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) and the Stockholm Internation Peace Research Institute’s Arms Transfers Database [as updated on Wikipedia.

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

Peace is Here podcast series Coming Soon!: CTRL-AI-DISARM

Kitty O’Compost reads a short, whimsical passage from Thomas Wolfe—a writer known for his sweeping, emotional prose and his lifelong effort to capture the bigness of ordinary American life.

As always, this daily reading serves as Kitty’s warm-up for CTRL–AI–DISARM, the upcoming Peace Is Here series exploring truth, power, and the deep systems shaping our shared future.

At the end of the episode, we continue with The Next Peacelands, where Avis Kalfsbeek reads a real-time list of global warzones and major arms suppliers—an honest acknowledgement of the world we live in, and an invitation to practice peace with purpose.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Contact Avis to say hello or let her know how to say “Peace is Here” in your language: Contact Me Here
• The Next Peacelands source: Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) and the Stockholm Internation Peace Research Institute’s Arms Transfers Database [as updated on Wikipedia.
• Peace is Here podcast series Coming Soon!: CTRL-AI-DISARM

Welcome back to Kitty Reads Literature for Peace, a quiet act of daily storytelling in a noisy world. In this episode, Kitty O’Compost reads the opening of The Unhappy Girl by Ivan Turgenev—one of Russia’s great humanist writers, known for his emotional clarity, quiet observation, and the compassion he brought to ordinary lives.

With her warm delivery, Kitty brings out the stillness in Turgenev’s prose, allowing listeners to feel the gentler currents beneath his storytelling. These short readings continue to serve as her daily warm-up for CTRL–AI–DISARM, an upcoming Peace Is Here series on truth, power, and the systems shaping our shared future.

At the end of the episode, we continue with The Next Peacelands, where Avis Kalfsbeek reads a real-time list of global warzones and arms suppliers—an honest grounding in the world as it is, and an invitation to practice peace with intention.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Contact Avis to say hello or let her know how to say “Peace is Here” in your language: Contact Me Here
• The Next Peacelands source: Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) and the Stockholm Internation Peace Research Institute’s Arms Transfers Database [as updated on Wikipedia.
• Peace is Here podcast series Coming Soon!: CTRL-AI-DISARM

Welcome back to Kitty Reads Literature for Peace, a quiet act of daily storytelling in a noisy world. In this episode, Kitty O’Compost reads the opening of The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens—a writer who turned social conscience into art and believed deeply in the redemptive power of attention.

With her warm lilt, Kitty slows Dickens down just enough for us to hear the tenderness at the heart of his writing: the oddities, the wanderers, and the small mercies that hold a broken world together. These short readings are her daily warm-up for CTRL–AI–DISARM, the upcoming Peace Is Here series about truth, power, and the technologies shaping our future.

At the end of the episode, we continue with The Next Peacelands, where Avis Kalfsbeek reads a real-time list of global warzones and arms suppliers. This segment grounds the work in honesty and invites listeners into a wider, quieter practice of peace.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Contact Avis to say hello or let her know how to say “Peace is Here” in your language: Contact Me Here
• The Next Peacelands source: Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) and the Stockholm Internation Peace Research Institute’s Arms Transfers Database [as updated on Wikipedia.
• Peace is Here podcast series Coming Soon!: CTRL-AI-DISARM

With her small town lilt, Kitty slows Voltaire down just enough for us to hear the wisdom beneath the wit. These brief readings are her daily warm-up for a larger assignment: CTRL–AI–DISARM, an upcoming Peace Is Here series on truth, power, and the systems shaping our future.

At the end of the episode, we return to The Next Peacelands, where Avis Kalfsbeek reads a real-time list of global warzones and arms suppliers. It is grounding, sobering, and quietly insistent—an invitation to stay awake, to stay human, and to stay committed to peace.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Contact Avis to say hello or let her know how to say “Peace is Here” in your language: Contact Me Here
• The Next Peacelands source: Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) and the Stockholm Internation Peace Research Institute’s Arms Transfers Database [as updated on Wikipedia.
• Peace is Here podcast series Coming Soon!: CTRL-AI-DISARM

Welcome back to Kitty Reads Literature for Peace, a quiet act of daily storytelling in a noisy world. In this episode, Kitty O’Compost reads the opening lines of Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert—a classic of French realism, where longing, observation, and melancholy all take root in the smallest of details.

With her trademark twang and tenderness, Kitty draws out the stillness inside Flaubert’s language—reminding us that literature doesn’t have to shout to be powerful. These short readings are her warm-up for a much bigger report: CTRL–AI–DISARM, an upcoming series on truth, power, and peace in a transforming world.

At the end of the episode, we pause for The Next Peacelands, where Avis Kalfsbeek reads a real-time list of global warzones and arms suppliers, grounding us in truth and calling us—gently but firmly—toward peace.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Contact Avis to say hello or let her know how to say “Peace is Here” in your language: Contact Me Here
• The Next Peacelands source: Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) and the Stockholm Internation Peace Research Institute’s Arms Transfers Database as updated on Wikipedia.
• Peace is Here podcast series Coming Soon!: CTRL-AI-DISARM

Kitty is preparing her reporting voice for CTRL–AI–DISARM, the upcoming audio series on truth, power, and peace in a rapidly shifting world. These short daily episodes are her warm-up—dusting off old books, practicing out loud, and reclaiming literature as a form of resistance.

At the end of the episode, we ground ourselves in the truth of the world around us with a segment called The Next Peacelands. Avis Kalfsbeek reads a list of real warzones, arms suppliers, with words for peace.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Contact Avis to say hello or let her know how to say “Peace is Here” in your language: Contact Me Here https://us8.list-manage.com/contact-form?u=82bbb5a1424db416114055532&form_id=c2c98c09e84a7880e5699d37f0685155
• The Next Peacelands source: Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) and the Stockholm Internation Peace Research Institute’s Arms Transfers Database [as updated on Wikipedia.
• Peace is Here podcast series Coming Soon!: CTRL-AI-DISARM

Kitty’s getting ready for something big: a bold new podcast series called CTRL–AI–Disarm, launching in early 2026. But before she jumps into dismantling digital weapons and reporting from the frontlines of peace futures, she’s brushing up on her storytelling chops—with literature.

In this transition episode, I reflect on the surprising discovery of the I Ching in a tiny trailer bookstore in Yak, Montana, and share a moment of synchronicity that’s been guiding this next chapter. These upcoming Kitty Reads Lit episodes will be short, soulful, and just a little odd—in true Kitty fashion. She’s reading to practice her voice, deepen her insight, and invite us all to slow down.

Each reading will close with a roll call of global conflicts in a segment we call The Next Peacelands, a reminder that our peaceful futures must be grounded in present-day truth.

This is a warmhearted moment of shift—bridging the reflective tone of The Architects of Enough with the fierce tenderness of the peace warrior work ahead.

Get the Books: aviskalfsbeek.com

Music is The Red Kite by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

A Letter to My Children – A Plea to Not Eat Animals

Written and read by Avis Kalfsbeek

This short, heartfelt episode was recorded in the car on the way to ecstatic dance in Sacramento. It’s a letter to my children, and maybe yours too, about why I stopped eating animals, and why I hope they will consider doing the same.

In it, I share my own journey toward a plant-based life, the films and books that opened my eyes, and the quiet but persistent question that lives in my bones: what kind of world do we want to co-create, and how much harm will we allow?

Along the way, I reference:

• The film Earthlings (narrated by Joaquin Phoenix)
• The research for my book Mono Mutante
• Temple Grandin’s work and the limits of so-called humane slaughter
• A passage from Kitchen Literacy by Ann Vileisis with an Upton Sinclair quote.

This is not a lecture. It’s a love letter. And it ends with a simple invitation: start small. Try a few days without meat. Then see where it leads you.

Peace and love,

Mom / Avis

Find the Books: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Reading: Kitchen Literacy by Ann Vileisis

Music: "The Red Kite" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

The Path of Radical Simplicity concludes the series. In this final episode, we honor Lanza del Vasto—poet, pilgrim, and founder of the Community of the Ark. As a disciple of Gandhi, he brought nonviolence to the West not as an idea but as a life. We explore how his radical simplicity, voluntary poverty, and service-centered communities created a living model of peace for generations to come.

Find the Books AvisKalfsbeek.com

Music: “Dalai Llama Riding a Bike” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Find the Books: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Watch the Film: A lovely experience is watching him with Desmond Tutu in the film "Mission Joy: Finding Happiness in Troubled Times."

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp:https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
• Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp:https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
• Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: The Little Flowers of Saint Francis

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp:https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: The Enchiridion by Epictetus

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp:https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
• Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: Walden by Henry David Thoreau

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp:https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
• Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

In this episode, we meet textile artist Celia Pym, who is best known for her visible mending—repairing garments in ways that honor their wear. We explore the power of slowing down, the meaning of listening through craft, and what it means to mend without hiding the damage.

AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: On Mending by Celia Pym

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

Creative Vision and Mindful Craft continues. In this episode, we honor Gary Snyder—poet, ecologist, Buddhist practitioner—whose work calls us back into conversation with land. We reflect on speaking from place, on grounded wildness, and on how poetry can be humble care.

Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: The Practice of the Wild by Gary Snyder

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: On Weaving by Anni Albers

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp:https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

Creative Vision and Mindful Craft continues. In this episode, we honor George Nakashima—architect, craftsman, and wood whisperer—who listened to trees and let design grow from them rather than impose upon them. We explore his philosophy, his time in internment, and his vision of Altars for Peace.

Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: The Soul of a Tree: A Master Woodworker’s Reflections

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

Creative Vision and Mindful Craft continues. This episode looks at the life and work of Virginia Woolf, whose writing and essays transformed how we understand time, consciousness, and creative independence. We reflect on her insistence that women need money and space in order to write—and how that applies to all of us trying to think clearly in today’s noisy world.

Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

Creative Vision and Mindful Craft continues. We explore the life of Leonard Cohen—a poet, singer, and spiritual seeker—whose artistry emerged from stillness and whose words embraced brokenness. This episode reflects on his monastic years and how silence can become a keeper.

Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: Leonard Cohen: A Remarkable Life by Anthony Reynolds

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

Creative Vision and Mindful Craft: Frida Kahlo didn’t minimize or mask her pain. She turned it into art—and by doing so, left a legacy of radical honesty and emotional survival. In this episode, we reflect on the unflinching beauty of her life and work, and what it means to keep our hardest stories with care.

Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: Frida Kahlo: The Paintings by Hayden Herrera

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

Creative Vision and Mindful Craft: In this episode, we meet Albert Einstein—the physicist whose ideas reshaped the cosmos, and whose life showed ways to simplify without loss. We lean into his habits of clarity and how we might adopt simplicity today.

Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: Twenty Years at Hull-House (1910) by Jane Addams

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp:https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
• Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

The Social & Systemic "Enough" continues. In this episode, we honor Bill Cunningham, whose lifelong devotion to street fashion gave dignity to everyday dressing. We reflect on how noticing detail, preserving integrity, and staying rooted in curiosity can be quiet acts of peace and resistance to commercial influence.

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: Bill Cunningham: On the Street (Five Decades of Iconic Photography)

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

The Social & Systemic "Enough" continues. In this episode, we meet Bea Johnson—mother, minimalist, and pioneer of the zero waste lifestyle. We explore her 5R philosophy, the in-home challenges, and how refusing can become a spiritual act that challenges consumer systems.

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life by Reducing Your Waste

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

The Social & Systemic "Enough" continues! Chef and humanitarian José Andrés has redefined how we feed people in crisis. But at the heart of his mission is something simple: building longer tables, not higher walls.

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: We Fed an Island by José Andrés

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

The Social & Systemic "Enough" continues! In this episode, we honor Toni Cade Bambara, whose writing, activism, and teaching insisted that stories matter. We reflect on her commitment to language as a tool of justice, and on what it means for us to speak when silence feels safer.

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: Deep Sightings & Rescue Missions: Fiction, Essays & Conversations by Toni Cade Bambara

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

The Social & Systemic "Enough" continues! In this episode, we explore how Arundhati Roy has used literature and activism to speak truths often ignored. We reflect on how her small acts of witness challenge power, and how we might find our own voice of moral alignment.

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: My Seditious Heart by Arundhati Roy

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

Theme 3: The Social & Systemic "Enough" continues! In this episode, we explore how Eleanor Roosevelt expanded the role of public service through consistent advocacy, principled presence, and moral imagination. We consider how she kept her convictions alive and used her influence for universal dignity.

Get the book Peace Stuff: Enough (Kickstarter)

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: This Is My Story by Eleanor Roosevelt

Music: "Dalai Llama Rides a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

Theme 3: The Social & Systemic "Enough" continues! Sojourner Truth (born Isabella Baumfree) escaped slavery, recovered her child through the courts, and became a traveling preacher and abolitionist who challenged both racism and sexism. This episode looks at the power of her conviction and the importance of leaving no one behind.

Get the book Peace Stuff: Enough (Kickstarter)

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: Narrative of Sojourner Truth (1850)

Music: "Dalai Llama Rides a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

Theme 3: The Social & Systemic "Enough" begins! In this episode, we honor Maya Angelou, whose writing practice, poetic clarity, and pared-down rituals remind us that beauty doesn’t come from abundance—it comes from presence. We explore the quiet power of a woman who kept what mattered and let the rest go.

Get the book Peace Stuff: Enough (Kickstarter)

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

This episode concludes our theme: Stewards of the Earth. We honor Charles Darwin, whose life of patient observation and scientific humility offers lessons far beyond biology. We reflect on how his walks, notebooks, and quiet persistence helped reframe humanity’s place in the world.

Get the Book Peace Stuff: Enough (Kickstarter)

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Resource: Darwin: A Life in Science by John Gribbin & Michael White

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

In this episode, we honor Yvon Chouinard—climber, craftsman, environmental innovator, and founder of Patagonia—who asked the question: how light can a life be? We trace his path from forging pitons to founding Patagonia and explore how choosing durability, repair, and purpose can reshape how we live, continuing our theme: Stewards of the Earth.

Get the Book Peace Stuff: Enough (Kickstarter)

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman by Yvon Chouinard (Book) and here is a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79e7fvfrMJ0

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

In this episode, we meet Greta Thunberg—young climate activist, moral clarion, and living challenge to complacency. We explore her school strikes, her public voice, and how urgency and care can coexist, continuing our theme: Stewards of the Earth.

Get the Book Peace Stuff: Enough (Kickstarter)

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference by Greta Thunberg

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

In this episode, we honor Wendell Berry, whose life combines farming, writing, and moral witness rooted in local land. We reflect on how staying close, resisting abstraction, and caring for our home ground may be radical acts of peace, continuing our theme: Stewards of the Earth.

Get the book Peace Stuff: Enough (Kickstarter)

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: The Unsettling of America by Wendell Berry

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

Get the book Peace Stuff: Enough (Kickstarter)

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: Reason for Hope by Jane Goodall

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp:https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
• Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

In this episode, we honor Rachel Carson—the marine biologist turned environmental prophet—whose cautionary voice saved countless lives and ecosystems. We reflect on how she listened to nature’s silence and urged us to do the same, carrying on our theme: Stewards of the Earth.

Get the book Peace Stuff: Enough (Kickstarter)

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

Get Peace Stuff: Enough (Kickstarter)

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Further Reading: Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability and Peace by Vandana Shiva

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp:https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
• Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

In this episode, we explore the life and legacy of John Muir—writer, wanderer, and early environmental advocate. We reflect on his long walks, the trees he loved, and the complicated truths of his era, as we launch our new theme: Stewards of the Earth.

Get the book Peace Stuff: Enough (Kickstarter)

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/32540

Music: "Dalai Llama Rides a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

In this episode Avis Kalfsbeek honors Mary Tuthill Lindheim, whose ceramics, sculpture, and activism manifested a life lived by creed. We explore how her moral compass intertwined with material, land, and service.

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here:AvisKalfsbeek.com

Mary Tuthill Lindheim Recommended References: 

Crocker Art Museum: https://www.crockerart.org/blog/post/mary-tuthill-lindheim-kindred-responses-to-life

Mary Tuthill Lindheim: Art and Inspiration: https://abbywasserman.net/book-mary-tuthill-lindheim#:~:text=Publication%20details:,purchase%20from%20Publisher

And see her Credo below.

Music: "Dalai Llama Rides a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow
•  

Mary Tuthil Lindheim’s Credo:

• To greet each day as a gift.
• To find richness in a simple way of living.
• To be inventive, self-reliant, curious, searching.
• To find ways to do the most with the least.
• To never make money the goal.
• To share what I have with those who have less.
• To value ideals. To always try to live up to them and never count the cost of standing up for convictions.
• To value the friendship of shared commitments.
• To be in awe of the incredible intricacies and order of the universe… the rhythms of the sun and the moon and the seasons, the blossoming earth, the waters and the mountains and deserts and stars, the marvel of a human body or the architecture of a flower.
• To find the divine in the profoundness of the cosmos and in the struggles and joys of the human heart.
• To be responsible for my part to preserve our planet—the earth, the plants, the animals, air, water.
• To fight for the rights of people to be free of terror… To take part in this responsibility even when I feel afraid, or inadequate or in jeopardy.
• To feel richness in each stage of life and to always search for beauty.
• To feel the flow of music in every creative act.
• To never be afraid of emotion, to use it richly, responsibly and creatively.
• To value above all the love that is shared in its fullness.
• To treasure memories of shared love and respect and to never be afraid if there is pain as well as joy in reliving them.

In this episode, we reflect on the life and writings of Cheryl Strayed—memoirist, advice-giver, and seeker of emotional truth. Her walk along the Pacific Crest Trail, made famous in Wild, became a public reckoning with private loss. We explore what it means to carry grief with honesty, to return to our truest self, and to walk toward peace—even with a heavy pack.

Get the new book Peace Stuff: Enough (Kickstarter)

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

In this episode, we meet Fred Rogers—minister, musician, public television pioneer—who used quiet words, ritual, and consistency to honor the inner lives of children. We explore how kindness in speech, consistency in care, and everyday integrity can be radical acts of peace.

Get the new bookPeace Stuff: Enough (Kickstarter)

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers

Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

In this episode, we honor Tom of Holland (Tom van Deijnen)—textile artist, mender, and teacher of visible repair. We explore his journey from fiber craft to founding the Visible Mending Programme, his philosophy of repair, and how we might rethink the story in our worn things.

Get the book Peace Stuff: Enough: https://aviskalfsbeek.com/kickstarter 

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com 

@TomofHolland

Music: "Dalai Llama Rides a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

In this episode, we honor Agnes Martin—a painter of silence, repetition, and inward vision. We explore her life, artistic philosophy, spiritual leanings, and how empty space can be full of meaning.

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: Agnes Martin: Writings

Music: "Dalai Llama Rides a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

In this episode, we explore Fumio Sasaki’s journey toward minimalism: how he pared possessions, redefined identity, and reclaimed space. We reflect on letting lightness become not absence, but invitation.

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism by Fumio Sasaki

Music: "Dalai Llama Rides a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here:AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: Crow with No Mouth translated by Stephen Berg

Music: "Dalai Llama Rides a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp:https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

Satish Kumar walked across continents without money to bear witness against nuclear arms. In this episode, we trace how that pilgrimage shaped a life devoted to ecology, justice, and spiritual humility. His journey reminds us that trust and simplicity may be the deepest form of richness.

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: No Destination: An Autobiography of a Pilgrim by Satish Kumar

Music: "Dalai Llama Rides a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

More on Gandhi's Talisman:

• Read Gandhi’s Talisman text: MKGandhi.org
• Recommended reading:The Story of My Experiments with Truth by Gandhi

Music: "Dalai Llama Rides a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp:https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
• Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

In this episode, we celebrate the life of Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay)—Zen monk, poet, peace activist, and pioneer of Engaged Buddhism. We reflect on how mindfulness and action can be the same gesture, how every step can carry peace, and how breath can anchor us when the world is loud.

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

Recommended Reading: The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh

Music: "Dalai Llama Rides a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

Find the Books, Podcast & Kickstarter: Everything you need to follow the Peace Stuff: Enough journey is here: AvisKalfsbeek.com

More on Peace Pilgrim: Find the free booklet Steps Toward Inner Peace and more about her life:https://www.peacepilgrim.org/fopp-quickstart

Music: "Dalai Llama Rides a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

• Bandcamp:https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=oI0QIypvT3uulj0XxTKcWg 

As part of my monthly Shakespeare Sherpa project, I turn toward poetry and performance as a quiet ritual of peace. Today, that takes the form of two voices in deep lament:

• Constance, from King John by William Shakespeare (Act 3, Scene 4), a mother devastated by the imprisonment of her son.
• Edna St. Vincent Millay, in her haunting poem Dirge Without Music, refusing to soften the sorrow of death.

In this episode, I also briefly reflect on a teaching from Ram Dass (Ep. 283 of Be Here Now) and the difference between righteous helping and liberative helping. Can we mourn and still be spiritually free? Can we serve peace while holding the full weight of what we feel?

Awkward Alert: I read Shakespeare not because I am a Shakespearean actor, or ever plan to be, but because this is my podcast and I can. As such, I remind listeners of the fast forward button.

Peace and love,

Avis

Texts Featured:

• King John, Act 3, Scene 4 – William Shakespeare
• Dirge Without Music – Edna St. Vincent Millay

Shakespeare Sherpa Club (free): AvisKalfsbeek.com/ShakespeareSherpa

Follow my Kickstarter: AvisKalfsbeek.com/Kickstarter

Get the books: aviskalfsbeek.com

Music:

“Dalai Llama Rides a Bike” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

• Spotify: Javier “Peke” Rodriguez

From ancient farming to nuclear warfare, from compost to chemical weapons, this 14-part podcast series traces the parallel histories of agricultural violence and militarized conflict—and the courageous movements working to undo them.

A Future Retold offers a poetic, historical, and deeply human recap of the series. It revisits the voices that have shaped this work—Rachel Carson, Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, adrienne maree brown, and many more—and names the everyday actions that make peace not just possible, but already underway.

We explore the symbolism of the Doomsday Clock, the myth of perpetual war, and the dream of a Peace Clock that points to something new: a world where disarmament becomes part of daily life.

If you care about climate justice, nuclear disarmament, regenerative agriculture, nonviolent resistance, or simply the possibility of a livable future—this episode is for you. Because peace is not a gimmick. It’s a choice. A story. A path.

This is #TheGreatDisarmament.

Download the Peace Resource Guide: AvisKalfsbeek.com/PeaceGuide

Follow my Kickstarter: AvisKalfsbeek.com/Kickstarter

Get the books: aviskalfsbeek.com

Music:

“Dalai Llama Rides a Bike” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

• Spotify: Javier “Peke” Rodriguez

It may not be on the news. But it is happening—everywhere.

In this final episode of the historical timeline, we trace disarmament from the early 2000s to the present. From gang-intervention programs to post-conflict organic farms, from library circles to peace walkers, we explore how peace is being built—not by treaties alone, but by people. Quietly, daily, defiantly.

Weapons still exist. Wars are still waged. But in homes, classrooms, gardens, and songs The Great Disarmament is already underway.

Featuring the voices of Malala Yousafzai, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Father Gregory Boyle, adrienne maree brown, and Arundhati Roy.

Inspired by Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown, we reflect on how small acts—like composting, listening, or holding a moment of peace—are not peripheral. They are the strategy.

Download the Peace Resource Guide: AvisKalfsbeek.com/PeaceGuide

Follow my Kickstarter: AvisKalfsbeek.com/Kickstarter

Get the books: aviskalfsbeek.com

🎵 Music by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez

Bandcamp: javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: Javier “Peke” Rodriguez

We explore the 1980s and ’90s not as a triumph of treaties, but as the moment peace gained fluency—in arguments, in law, and in imagination.

We also remind ourselves: disarmament is not a speedy process, and it is never guaranteed. But it happens. And we are still part of it.

Featuring historian Howard Zinn and James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time.

Download the Peace Resource Guide: AvisKalfsbeek.com/PeaceGuide

Follow my Kickstarter: AvisKalfsbeek.com/Kickstarter

Get the books: aviskalfsbeek.com

🎵 Music by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez

Bandcamp: javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: Javier “Peke” Rodriguez

We mark the year 1963—the year of the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty—as the beginning of The Great Disarmament.

Not the beginning of bombs. But the beginning of refusal.

This turning point in Cold War history reminds us that resistance is not the opposite of despair. It is the antidote.

Featuring the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the voice of Kurt Vonnegut through Slaughterhouse-Five, we trace how conscience, courage, and creative protest began to build a counterweight to destruction—and a new peace culture began to rise.

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🎵 Featured Music:

“Dalai Llama Rides a Bike” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez

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World War I ushered in the age of mechanized killing—from mustard gas to machine guns. But amid the devastation came something new: organized resistance, international treaties, and the first serious conversations about disarmament. In this episode, we mark the moment when the world’s conscience awoke—and disarmament began.

Download the Peace Resource Guide: AvisKalfsbeek.com/PeaceGuide

Follow my Kickstarter: AvisKalfsbeek.com/Kickstarter

Get the books: aviskalfsbeek.com

🎵 Music by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

• Spotify: Javier “Peke” Rodriguez on Spotify

As gunpowder redefined the global balance of power, another force quietly emerged—conscience. This episode explores the 1600s to 1800s, when the rise of modern empires was met by the first organized refusals to fight. From the Quaker Peace Testimony and early abolitionist resistance to Enlightenment philosophers imagining peace as policy, we follow the voices who rejected war, empire, and extraction as the price of civilization.

We trace the moral origins of nonviolence through:

• The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and their refusal to bear arms
• The philosophical foundations of Utopia and early social contract theory
• William Penn’s peaceful treaties and anti-militarist governance
• The link between war, slavery, and the moral awakening that would influence Tolstoy, Gandhi, and King

Through these stories, we ask: When did peace stop being passive? And how did disobedience become a sacred act?

This episode is part of The Great Disarmament – The Great Disfarmament, a 14-part podcast series on the deep history of war, agriculture, and the movements to end them.

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🎵 Music by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez

• Bandcamp: javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

• Spotify: Listen here

Before nations, before bombs, before “progress,” there was another kind of peace—one rooted in ritual, kinship, and restraint. In this episode, we trace the earliest forms of disarmament: warriors who buried weapons before councils, spiritual leaders who practiced nonviolence, and poetic traditions that chose mercy over might. With voices from The Bhagavad Gita, the Rig Veda, and Zulu proverbs, we rediscover surrender as sacred wisdom.

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🎵 Music is by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez: The Red Kite and Dalai Llama Rides a Bike

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We recap key voices: the ecological grief of The Epic of Gilgamesh, the defiant poetry of William Blake, the wartime witness of Erich Maria Remarque, the prophetic science of Rachel Carson, the double-edged legacy of Norman Borlaug, and the braided wisdom of Robin Wall Kimmerer.

The Great Disarmament didn’t begin with a summit or a ceasefire. It began when people said no. When they composted control. When they made peace in the soil.