Society Builders Duane Varan

An exploration of the Ridvan Message of 2024 by the Universal House of Justice.
The message explores the interaction between the forces of disintegration and integration at work in the world today - highlighting the inescapable need for a sustained, rapid rise in the number of those committing their time, energy and concentration to the success of our peace-building initiatives.
CONTENTS:0:00 Introduction1:26 Dark Times8:15 Our Role as Haven11:24 Methods & Instruments12:58 Our Message16:19 Closing Thoughts

In this episode we explore the recent message which the Universal House of Justice sent to the Baha'is in Iran on Naw Ruz (March 20th, 2024).  The message is not only important for the love and admiration which the Universal House of Justice showers on the Persian Bahá’i community, suffering under intense and relentless persecution, but also because in many ways, it represents the next chapter, building on its November 28, 2023 message - helping us navigate a path to universal peace.  The episode also explores the Universal House of Justice's message of January 18, 2019, which they reference here, exploring strategies for peace building and the promotion of the oneness of the human race.  
Key referencesMar 20, 2024 Naw Ruz Message: https://payamha-iran.org/en/document/833Nov 28, 2023 Message: https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/20231128_001/1Jan 18, 2019 Message: https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/20190118_001/1
CONTENTS:0:00 Introduction
2:12 Love for Persian Baha’is
7:55 State of the World
12:40 Key Milestones for Peace
19:44 Disintegration on the Rise
24:07 A Crisis of Identity
29:36 Agency & Peace Building
34:11 Peace as Meta Narrative
37:19 Closing Thoughts

An interview with Nealin Parker, Executive Director of Common Ground USA, exploring the range of like-minded organizations contributing to depolarization (including over 6,700 such organizations in the US alone).
Nealin explores the different approaches such organizations take and provides guidance on how to find collaborators, assess  their quality and best engage with them.
She also explores the  role of neighborhoods, society building and more.
Organization referenced in episode (in order of appearance): 
• Living Room Conversations (www.livingroomconversations.org)• Preemptive Love Coalition (Love Anyway Feasts) (www.preemptivelove.org/feast-templates)• Braver Angels (www.braverangels.org)• Listen First Coalition (www.listenfirstproject.org/listen-first-coalition)• Telos (www.telosgroup.org)• Make America Dinner (www.makeamericadinneragain.com)• The People’s Supper (www.thepeoplessupper.org)• Resetting the Table (www.resettingthetable.org)• Bridge USA (www.bridgeusa.org)• Campus Conversation (www.aascu.org/resources/campus-conversations-toolkit)• Sustained Dialog (www.sustaineddialogue.org)• Solia (www.solia.net)• American Exchange Project (www.americanexchangeproject.org)• Shoulder to Shoulder (www.shouldertoshouldercampaign.org)• Telos (www.telosgroup.org)• Interfaith America (www.interfaithamerica.org)• Habitat for Humanity (www.habitat.org)• One America Movement (www.oneamericamovement.org)• City Year (www.cityyear.org)• AmeriCorps (www.americorps.gov)• Red Cross (www.redcross.org)• United Way (www.unitedway.org)• All Sides (www.allsides.com)• The Flip Side (www.theflipside.io)
CONTENTS
0:00 Introduction3:45 Mapping Depolarization11:21 Flavors of Depolarization17:50 Cooking as Unifier22:37 Interfaith Dialog25:17 Service as Unifier28:08 Finding Collaborators30:11 Assessing Quality33:41 The Role of Neighborhood38:55 Society Building48:21Engaging with the Like-Minded51:37 Closing Thoughts

An interview with Dr. Lisa Schirch, a global authority on social media's impact on polarization. 
Here, Dr. Schirch explains how the algorithms that drive social media platforms favor polarization, a force further amplified by malicious foreign actors exploiting the platforms.
She also explores solutions at the individual level designed to improve our media diet and improve our etiquette of expression.
CONTENTS
0:00 Introduction2:10 How social media amplify polarization14:27 Feeding our lower nature19:05 The death of ‘objective’ news31:00 Case Study: Myanmar37:12 Solutions for us as individuals46:02 The need for in-person interaction50:46 The future for social media53:17 Closing Thoughts

An interview with Andrea Bartoli, former dean of a number of prestigious conflict resolution schools; diplomat; and President of the Sant'Egidio Foundation for Peace and Dialogue.  
Andrea shares insights from his participation in a number of successful peace initiatives, starting with efforts that brought an end to the civil war in Mozambique.  He also shares lessons learned through Sant'Egidio, a Catholic force for peace.

On November 28, 2023, the Universal House of Justice shared its message providing a history of our organic evolution as a community over the past hundred years.  This episode explores parts of that message addressing the 'society building' focus across four key themes: the organic evolution of initiatives, our interaction with wider society, principles for society building and the interplay between the forces of integration and disintegration at work in the world today.