Conversations with journalists, filmmakers, scholars, and changemakers on the frontlines of both peace and conflict. Hosted by Jamil Simon.
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Our Podcast
In the news media, war gets more headlines than peace, conflict more airtime than reconciliation. On The Making Peace Visible Podcast, we speak with journalists and peacebuilders who help us understand the human side of conflicts and peace efforts around the world. From international negotiations in Colombia to gang violence disruptors in Chicago, to women advocating for their rights in the midst of the Syrian civil war, these are the storytellers who are changing the narrative.
Featured Episode:
Democracy Works: Youth activism gets pragmatic
David Hogg, survivor of the 2018 Parkland, FL school shooting, speaks about his activism with March for Our Lives, and how he's overcome political gridlock to make progressive change in the United States.
“Thank you for really listening to my work and picking up on the nuances and what’s behind them. I don’t think I’ve ever done an interview quite like this and I am really grateful for your care.”
— Daniel Estrin, NPR international correspondent, Jerusalem
2024 Episodes
How do you measure peace?with Steve Killelea
How do you measure peace in a country? Steve Killelea, Founder and Executive Chairman of the Institute for Economics and Peace, shares his insights.
Teaching Peace Journalism in Lebanon
Vanessa Bassil is the founder and president of the Media Association for Peace, and has personally trained journalists and journalism students in Lebanon and other countries in the Middle East.
Making Peace “Possible”
William Ury, one of the world’s most influential peacebuilders and experts on negotiation, talks about how lessons from the failures and success of the past can be instructive when dealing with the conflicts.
Tales of Tibetan resilience and resistance in exile
Journalist Amy Yee's book, Far from the Rooftop of the World, follows the stories of ordinary Tibetans who have lived extraordinary lives.
Decoding dehumanization in the brain
According to Tim Phillips, founder of Beyond Conflict, brain science opens up a new understanding of how conflicts arise, and how violence can be prevented.
Understanding intergenerational trauma in Israel/Palestine
Journalist and researcher Lydia Wilson helps us understand the Israel/Palestine conflict through a lens of intergenerational trauma.
In Search of Good Conflict
From street gangs to Congress, journalist and author Amanda Ripley studied how to turn intractable conflicts into workable ones.
Reporting from Iran with a bias towards peace
Journalist Reza Sayah says the corporate news model often works to perpetuate conflicts. But, another way is possible.
What’s missing from the narrative about refugees and immigration
Dina Francesca Haynes is an immigration and human rights attorney who has represented hundreds of asylum seekers.
Telling Murder Stories Differently
Adrian Walker, an associate editor and columnist at the Boston Globe, retells a Boston murder story in a new way, providing an opportunity for healing.
Why we make this show: An interview with Jamil Simon
Our very own Jamil Simon, documentary filmmaker and peace activist, is interviewed by This is My Silver Lining, a podcast about ordinary people doing extraordinary things
All the peace we cannot see
Jonathan Cohen, executive director of Conciliation Resources, shares stories from ongoing peace processes in an ethnic Somali state called Ogaden in Ethiopia and in Bangsamoro in the Philippines.
2023 Episodes
Democracy Works: Between Democracy and Autocracy
New research shows that civil wars are mostly likely to begin neither in autocracies nor democracies, but in countries that fall somewhere in the middle.
Unmasking American myths about war and the military
Why do we accept a militarized status quo, and is it making us any safer? Stephanie Savell, anthropologist and Co-Director of The Costs of War Project, has answers.
Storytelling with equal-opportunity empathy
Guest Trey Kay is host of Us & Them, an award-winning narrative podcast about America’s culture wars, in partnership with West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
In Modi's India, journalists must toe the line or risk jail time
With the erosion of democratic freedoms in India, independent journalists have become enemies of the state, says Suchitra Vijayan.
How do we design for peace?
Cynthia Smith is the Curator for Socially Responsible Design at the Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York City and spent five years creating the remarkable exhibition Designing Peace.
Un-embedding Western narratives about Afghanistan
Dutch journalist Bette Dam covered the war in Afghanistan for 15 years. Now she's on a mission to counter Western bias in war reporting.
Inside comms strategy at the world’s largest peacebuilding NGO
Jack Farrell, Director of Communications for Search for Common Ground, offers tips on communicating effectively about peace.
Spotlight Colombia: Moving forward with wounds still fresh
Crisis Group analyst Elizabeth Dickinson says Colombians are healing the wounds of a civil war with the FARC, even while “total peace” is a long way off.
Spotlight Colombia: After demilitarization, a new narrative
For Colombia’s peace agreement to be successful, society as a whole needs to embrace it, says journalist Daniel Salgar.
Spotlight Colombia: Behind the scenes of making peace
Juan Carols Borrero’s documentary film “A Call for Peace” tells the story of the peace process in Colombia, through interviews with peace builders who played key roles.
Journalism as a brave space to talk about race
Deborah Douglas sees journalism as a “brave space” to excavate the impact of America’s racial history on the current moment.
When covering the Holy Land, hope is in the details
NPR international correspondent Daniel Estrin, based in Jerusalem, has a keen ear for both the suffering and the tenacity that coexist side by side in places of conflict.
Covering civil resistance amidst rising authoritarianism
With regimes around the world suppressing dissent, clear-eyed journalism is crucial. With Hardy Merriman, Director of the International Center for Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC).
Peace messaging: Fighting crisis fatigue with hope
Beth Hallowell, Director of Research and Analytics at the American Friends Service Committee, shares research-based insights on effective communication about peace.
Storytelling with equal-opportunity empathy
Guest Trey Kay is host of Us & Them, an award-winning narrative podcast about America’s culture wars, in partnership with West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
How news media shortchanges nonviolent resistance
Political scientist Maria Stephan widens the lens on nonviolent resistance and offers tips for how journalists could apply that lens to tell more complete and captivating stories.
Against the tide: tech for social cohesion
Shamil Idriss, CEO of Search for Common Ground, says it’s crucial for the peacebuilding field to understand and harness digital technology.
Iraq 20 years later – what was the media’s role?
Babak Bahador has analyzed American news coverage of armed conflicts from WWII through the 2003 Iraq War. He shares his findings.
Building peace on a walk through the Middle East
The Abraham Path is a collection of walking trails through parts of the Middle East, where trust and connection are arising out of the curiosity of travelers.
Peace has a PR problem. How do we fix it?
How do you talk about peacebuilding in a way where people will pay attention and feel compelled to take action? With Elizabeth Hume and Andrew Volmert.
Podcasting for a free Ukraine
On a podcast called Power Lines, two Ukrainian journalists examine the big questions behind the war with Russia, and why the world should care.
From Ukraine, war reporting that feels personal
Photographer Anastasia Taylor-Lind and writer Alisa Sopova create intimate portraits of Ukrainian civilians living close to the frontlines of the Russian invasion.
Solutions Journalism: news beyond problems
David Bornstein of the Solutions Journalism Network discusses alternative models for journalism that prioritize solutions to societal and environmental problems.
Why peace stories rarely make the nightly news
PBS NewsHour business and economics correspondent Paul Solman discusses peace efforts in the media and how economic inequality factors into polarization.
Ending toxic polarization starts with you
Psychologist Peter T. Coleman empowers each of us to fight cynicism and restore relationships across the American political divide.
Decolonizing international journalism
Award winning Syrian journalist Zaina Erhaim shares razor sharp insights into reporting on violent conflict, while upholding the dignity of sources and collaborators.
2022 Episodes
Kitchen coexistence in a film about Middle Eastern food
Filmmaker Beth Elise Hawk discusses the making of Breaking Bread, a documentary where Israeli chefs from Arab and Jewish backgrounds collaborate in the kitchen.
Illuminating Ethiopia's hidden war
Investigative journalist Lucy Kassa has spent over two years documenting war crimes, including widespread sexual violence, in Ethiopia’s secretive civil war.
Dignity: a new way to look at conflict
Donna Hicks, conflict resolution expert and author of Dignity: Its Essential Role in Resolving Conflict, says at the root of all conflicts is a violation of dignity.
Peace Journalism: at least don't make matters worse
Steven Youngblood, founding director of the Center for Global Peace Journalism, discusses ways of reporting the news that create an atmosphere conducive to peace.
A reporter’s view from Tehran
Tehran-based journalist Reza Sayah helps us make sense of the protest movement in Iran after the controversial death of a twenty-two year old Iranian woman named Mahsa Amini.
Film as a catalyst for reconciliation
While filming ritual reconciliation processes in Sierra Leone, peacebuilder Libby Hoffman learned that justice comes through making the community whole again.
A new opening for peace in Colombia
Colombian journalist Daniel Salgar just finished work as an editor on the Colombia Truth Commission Final Report – a national reflection on fifty years of civil war.
Decolonizing international journalism
Award winning Syrian journalist Zaina Erhaim shares insights about reporting on violent conflict while upholding the dignity of collaborators and sources.
A bias towards peace
Reza Sayah is an Iranian-American journalist, currently based in Tehran who has reported on major events around the world. He discusses how the corporate news model often works to perpetuate conflicts.
Rethinking the way we cover conflict
Should journalists change the way they cover conflict? Amanda Ripley, author of High Conflict: Why We Get Stuck and How We Get Out, says it’s time for a rethink.
Building peace on a walk through the Middle East
The Abraham Path is a collection of walking trails through parts of the Middle East, where trust and connection are arising out of the curiosity of travelers.
A filmmaker’s perspective on the Colombian peace process
Juan Carlos Borrero’s documentary A Call for Peace tells the story of the lead-up to the 2016 peace accord between the FARC and the Colombian government.
Using films to foster peace
Nina Streich, Director and Founder of the Global Peace Film Festival, talks about the nature of films on peace and what motivates filmmakers to make them.
How our brains are affected by war
Mari Fitzduff is a peacebuilder and the author of a fascinating book, Our Brains at War: The Neuroscience of Conflict and Peacebuilding.
How do we address polarization?
An interview with Julia Roig, Chairman of the Board of the Alliance for Peacebuilding and Founder of The Horizons Project.