Peace Is Here with Avis Kalfsbeek

Avis Kalfsbeek
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Philosophy
  • Updated Semiweekly

Peace Is Here explores global peace light-hearted touch and a scholar’s heart. Join Avis Kalfsbeek, writer of environmental fiction, for a layperson's curriculum of peace. She explores peace treaties, nature’s quiet wisdom, and the down-to-earth creativity required for #TheGreatDisarmament. From deep-dive series on peace heroes to fiction stories and personal riffs, Avis looks beneath the surface to see the peace that is already here.

  1. 2d ago

    Ep 330 Peacewarts:  Morphological Peace 101 - Retrofitting Democracy: Superpac Strangulation Versus the People's Blueprint (Class 11)

    Ep 330 Peacewarts:  Morphological Peace 101 - Retrofitting Democracy: Superpac Strangulation Versus the People's Blueprint (Class 11) We examine how replacing adversarial, Super PAC-driven political processes with direct citizens' assemblies and participatory public budgeting restores the civic commons and dismantles the war economy. Using Porto Alegre's participatory budget, Ireland's Citizens' Assemblies, and Paris's civic funding initiatives as historical anchors, we explore how ordinary people can directly allocate public resources and override technocratic monopolies. Homework: Look up the history of Porto Alegre's participatory budgeting or Ireland's Citizens' Assemblies and summarize how direct public deliberation reshapes policy. Write down one question about any of this episode's topics. If you don't have a question, write 'no question.' Optional: Reflect on a local public budget or community decision. Journal about how shifting that choice to a neighborhood assembly would change the outcome. Books: If you would like to read more on this subject, some book suggestions are Against Elections by David Van Reybrouck, Participatory Budgeting in Europe: Democracy and Public Governance by Yves Sintomer, Anja Röcke, and Carsten Herzberg, and Sand Talk by Tyson Yunkaporta. Learning Topics: Super PACs; Citizens United; Citizens' Assemblies; Participatory Budgeting; Sortition; Peace Infrastructure; Relational Governance. Join the Community / Get the Books: https://www.AvisKalfsbeek.com Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez "I am late, madame Curie" https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

    Ep 330 Peacewarts:  Morphological Peace 101 - Retrofitting Democracy: Superpac Strangulation Versus the People's Blueprint (Class 11)

  2. 3d ago

    Ep 329 Peacewarts: Morphological Peace 101 - Defending the Human Commons Against the Robot Corridor (Class 10)

    Ep 329 Peacewarts: Morphological Peace 101 - Defending the Human Commons Against the Robot Corridor (Class 10) We examine how designing community centers, public squares, and car-free living spaces protects human connection from automated logistics and establishes trust as physical infrastructure. Using Utrecht's public plazas, Venice's historic campi, and Freiburg's Vauban district as historical anchors, we explore how defending our public spaces from automated corridors restores the civic commons. Homework: Look up the urban design of Utrecht's public squares or Freiburg's Vauban district and summarize how car-free frameworks protect community connection. Write down one question about any of this episode's topics. If you don't have a question, write 'no question.' Optional: Reflect on a public square or shared space in your community. Journal about how defending it from automated or vehicular encroachment changes your sense of local trust. Books: If you would like to read more on this subject, some book suggestions are Life Between Buildings by Jan Gehl, Happy City by Charles Montgomery, and Street Fight by Janette Sadik-Khan. Learning Topics: Human Commons; Robot Corridor; Trust as Infrastructure; Utrecht Public Squares; Car-Free Neighborhoods; Community Centers. Join the Community / Get the Books: https://www.AvisKalfsbeek.com Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez "I am late, madame Curie" https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

    Ep 329 Peacewarts: Morphological Peace 101 - Defending the Human Commons Against the Robot Corridor (Class 10)

  3. 6d ago

    Ep 328 Peacewarts: Morphological Peace 101 - Algorithms for Cooperation: Fixing the Digital Public Square (Class 9)

    Ep 328 Peacewarts: Morphological Peace 101 - Algorithms for Cooperation: Fixing the Digital Public Square (Class 9) We examine how digital engagement architectures can be re-engineered to prioritize cooperative problem-solving, open-source auditing, and shared understanding over outrage. Using the GNU Project, the public access cable movement and its legislative restoration via the 1984 Cable Act, and early Usenet networks as historical anchors, we explore how replacing extractive attention economies with transparent, steward-led digital commons restores democratic public discourse. Homework: Look up the history of the GNU Project or the 1984 Cable Communications Policy Act and summarize how open-source or public utility frameworks protect communication commons. Write down one question about any of this episode's topics. If you don't have a question, write 'no question.' Optional: Reflect on a digital space you navigate regularly. Journal about how replacing its engagement algorithm with a cooperative consensus tool would change the tone of community interaction. Books: If you would like to read more on this subject, some book suggestions are The Wealth of Networks by Yochai Benkler, Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus by Douglas Rushkoff, and Program or Be Programmed by Douglas Rushkoff. Learning Topics: Algorithmic Architecture; Attention Economy; Open-Source Auditing; Digital Commons; Cooperative Consensus; Decentralized Protocols. Join the Community / Get the Books: https://www.AvisKalfsbeek.com Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez "I am late, madame Curie" https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

    Ep 328 Peacewarts: Morphological Peace 101 - Algorithms for Cooperation: Fixing the Digital Public Square (Class 9)

  4. Sep 25

    Ep 327 Peacewarts: Morphological Peace 101 - Factories for Peace: Re-Engineering the Business Model (Class 8)

    Ep 327 Peacewarts: Morphological Peace 101 - Factories for Peace: Re-Engineering the Business Model (Class 8) We examine the legal and structural mechanics of transitioning extractive corporate enterprises into worker-owned, steward-led operations. Using the Mondragon Cooperative Corporation, the Carl Zeiss Foundation, and the Patagonia Purpose Trust as historical anchors, we explore how perpetual purpose trusts and democratic governance re-engineer business models to ensure AI and automation build a peaceful public commons. Homework: Look up the history of the Carl Zeiss Foundation or the Patagonia Purpose Trust and summarize how their ownership structures protect company mission over profits. Write down one question about any of this episode's topics. If you don't have a question, write 'no question.' Optional: Reflect on a company or workplace in your community. Journal about how transitioning it to a worker-owned cooperative or steward trust would change its relationship with the surrounding neighborhood. Books: If you would like to read more on this subject, some book suggestions are Regenerative Economics: Revolutionary Thinking for a World in Crisis by John Fullerton, Owning Our Future: The Emerging Ownership Revolution by Marjorie Kelly, and Think Like a Commoner by David Bollier. Learning Topics: Steward Ownership; Worker Cooperatives; Perpetual Purpose Trusts; Industrial Democracy; Mission Locking; Automation Commons. Join the Community / Get the Books: https://www.AvisKalfsbeek.com Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez "I am late, madame Curie" https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

    Ep 327 Peacewarts: Morphological Peace 101 - Factories for Peace: Re-Engineering the Business Model (Class 8)

  5. Sep 23

    Ep 326 Peacewarts: Morphological Peace 101 – From Asset to Commons: Reimagining Land Ownership (Class 7)

    Ep 326 Peacewarts: Morphological Peace 101 – From Asset to Commons: Reimagining Land Ownership (Class 7) We examine how land is moved out of speculative real estate markets and placed into community land trusts and public stewardship. Using New Communities, Inc., the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, and the Isle of Eigg community buyout as historical anchors, we explore how legal ground leases and commons governance guarantee permanent housing security and ecological health. Homework: Look up the history of New Communities, Inc. in Albany, Georgia, and summarize how the trust overcame discrimination and foreclosure to rebuild collective agricultural stewardship at Cypress Pond. Write down one question about any of this episode's topics. If you don't have a question, write 'no question.' Optional: Reflect on a vacant or speculatively held land parcel in your community. Journal about how converting it to a land trust could serve local housing or ecological needs. Books: If you would like to read more on this subject, some book suggestions are Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action by Elinor Ostrom and The Community Land Trust Readeredited by John Emmeus Davis. Learning Topics: Community Land Trusts; De-Financialization; Public Stewardship; Commons Governance; Land Reform. Join the Community / Get the Books: https://www.AvisKalfsbeek.com Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

    Ep 326 Peacewarts: Morphological Peace 101 – From Asset to Commons: Reimagining Land Ownership (Class 7)

  6. Sep 21

    Ep 325 Peacewarts: Morphological Peace 101 - The Inverse Loop: AI as a Self-Disarming Engine (Class 6)

    Ep 325 Peacewarts: Morphological Peace 101 - The Inverse Loop: AI as a Self-Disarming Engine (Class 6) We examine how advanced artificial intelligence and automated systems can be inverted from weapons-optimization engines into self-disarming frameworks that systematically audit, dismantle, and convert military supply chains from 100 percent to zero. Using automated chemical stockpile disposal robotics, IAEA digital safeguards, and CTBTO global sensor networks as historical anchors, we explore how software-driven transparency can guide total demilitarization. Homework: Look up the automated destruction of chemical weapon stockpiles at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant and summarize how robotics and automated neutralization dismantled dangerous munitions safely. Write down one question about any of this episode's topics. If you don't have a question, write 'no question.' Optional: Reflect on an automated system in your daily life. Journal about how its targets could be inverted from extraction to restoration. Books: If you would like to read more on this subject, some book suggestions are World Peace Through World Law by Grenville Clark and Louis B. Sohn, a comprehensive legal blueprint for total national disarmament and enforceable global security, Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control by Stuart Russell, and Verification of Disarmament or Limitation of Armaments: Instruments, Negotiations, Proposals edited by Serge Sur. Learning Topics: Algorithmic Disarmament; Automated Verification; Stockpile Destruction Robotics; Supply Chain Auditing; Inverse Optimization. Join the Community / Get the Books: https://www.AvisKalfsbeek.com Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

    Ep 325 Peacewarts: Morphological Peace 101 - The Inverse Loop: AI as a Self-Disarming Engine (Class 6)

  7. Sep 18

    Ep 324 Peacewarts: Morphological Peace 101 – The Afterlife of Walls: Turning Borders into Bridges (Class 5)

    Ep 324 Peacewarts: Morphological Peace 101 – The Afterlife of Walls: Turning Borders into Bridges (Class 5) We examine the physical mechanics of border transformation, tracing how dividing walls, military buffer zones, and fortifications are redesigned into shared spaces of cross-cultural encounter, local commerce, and ecological stewardship. Using the Nicosia Master Plan in Cyprus, the German and European Green Belts, and the 1998 Ecuador-Peru border settlement as historical anchors, we explore how to dismantle barriers and return divided land to the civic commons. Homework: Look up the history of the Nicosia Master Plan in Cyprus and summarize how municipal planners utilized the UN buffer zone for joint urban restoration. Write down one question about any of this episode's topics. If you don't have a question, write 'no question.' Optional: Reflect on a physical barrier, wall, or administrative dividing line in your region. Journal about how its architecture could be redesigned to serve cross-community exchange and ecological restoration. Books: If you would like to read more on this subject, some book suggestions are Hollow Land: Israel's Architecture of Occupation by Eyal Weizman and The Green Belt of Europe: From Vision to Reality edited by Andrew Terry, Karin Ullrich, and Uwe Riecken. Learning Topics: Border Architecture; Spatial Seams; The Nicosia Master Plan; European Green Belt; National Ecological Reserves; Ecological Stewardship; Re-Commoning. Join the Community / Get the Books: https://www.AvisKalfsbeek.com Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

    Ep 324 Peacewarts: Morphological Peace 101 – The Afterlife of Walls: Turning Borders into Bridges (Class 5)

  8. Sep 16

    Ep 323 Peacewarts: Morphological Peace 101 – Military Base to Parkland: Reclaiming Occupied Ground (Class 4)

    Ep 323 Peacewarts: Morphological Peace 101 – Military Base to Parkland: Reclaiming Occupied Ground (Class 4) We examine the physical mechanics of base conversion, tracing how military perimeters and closed installations are transformed into ecological preserves, public parks, and community housing. Using the Presidio of San Francisco, the BRAC conversion process, and post-Cold War Western Group of Forces garrison restorations in Germany as historical anchors, we explore how to dismantle enclosures and return occupied land to the civic commons. Homework: Look up how the 1972 Golden Gate National Recreation Area legislation set the stage for the Presidio's transition, and write down how the 1996 Presidio Trust Act changed its administrative management. Write down one question about any of this episode's topics. If you don't have a question, write 'no question.' Optional: Reflect on a closed military base, airfield, or industrial enclave in your region. Journal about how its land use could be redesigned to serve ecological restoration and community housing. Books: If you would like to read more on this subject, some book suggestions are War and Architecture by Lebbeus Woods and The Presidio: From Army Post to National Park by Lisa M. Benton. Learning Topics: Geographic Enclosure; Base Conversion; The Presidio of San Francisco; BRAC Commission; Ecological Restoration; Perimeter Deconstruction; Re-Commoning. Join the Community / Get the Books: https://www.AvisKalfsbeek.com Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

    Ep 323 Peacewarts: Morphological Peace 101 – Military Base to Parkland: Reclaiming Occupied Ground (Class 4)
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Peace Is Here explores global peace light-hearted touch and a scholar’s heart. Join Avis Kalfsbeek, writer of environmental fiction, for a layperson's curriculum of peace. She explores peace treaties, nature’s quiet wisdom, and the down-to-earth creativity required for #TheGreatDisarmament. From deep-dive series on peace heroes to fiction stories and personal riffs, Avis looks beneath the surface to see the peace that is already here.

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