The Wicked Truth: Third Things First

Suzanne Ross
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  • ARTS

Author, educator, and nonprofit founder Suzanne Ross sits down to explore the complexities of human nature with scholars, artists and activists who are giving their all to cultivate peaceful, compassionate communities. These dialogues focus on art as a "third thing" which peacebuilders use to bend the imagination away from violence.These conversations reflect decades of partnership and lessons learned in the pursuit of conflict transformation, healed trauma, and true peace. At the heart of each exchange is a distressing insight, a "wicked truth" about human society: When we become convinced of our own righteousness, "good people" can do some really, really bad things.Come join a growing community of peacebuilders, educators, authors, and changemakers willing to be seen as "wicked" for their commitment to empathy, nonviolence, and transformative learning. Let’s create a more compassionate world!

Episodes

  1. FEB 9

    Defying the Gravity of Going It Alone: Wicked and Queering Vocation with Dr. Brian Ammons, Part 1

    In this episode of Third Things First, Suzanne and Rev. Dr. Brian Ammons discuss the queer elements of Wicked, how its story pushes back against oppressive systems ... But also, how Elphaba's journey can help us claim the gift of otherness. They delve into "Defying Gravity" as a metaphor for rejecting old narratives and embracing otherness as a source of unique insight and perspective that still needs a strong community to flourish.

    21 min

  2. JAN 26

    Dialogue Is Not Enough: Dr. David Anderson Hooker on Changing the Story of Conflict

    Dr. David Anderson Hooker joins Third Things First to explore narrative transformation, conflict transformation, peacebuilding, and racial reconciliation through the lens of stories vs. narratives, victim narratives, and the practice of mediating conflict through a “third thing”. Host Suzanne Ross talks with the peacebuilder, mediator, and theologian about why dialogue across difference is necessary, but not sufficient for real change in conflicted communities.Drawing on decades of work in racial reconciliation, community building, law, and ministry, Dr. Hooker explains how narratives—not just stories—shape our sense-making, our systems, and what we believe is possible. He distinguishes between stories (told in hindsight) and deeper narrative frames that can trap us in victimhood or open pathways to courage, inclusion, and transformation. You’ll hear powerful examples from his work in trauma healing, reflections on how competing Christian narratives fuel exclusion or belonging, and how “third things” like film or art safely surface our different ways of seeing.​If you care about peacebuilding, theology, social justice, or simply changing the story you live inside, this conversation offers language, practices, and hope! Follow Dr. Hooker, and the Wicked Truth, for more resources like this.Dr. Hooker's website, Counter Stories Consulting: https://counterstoriesconsulting.com/Purchase Dr. Hooker's book, "The Little Book of Transformative Community Conferencing": https://shorturl.at/dCcLvRead more about Dr. Hooker's work through his page at the KROC Institute at the University of Notre Dame: https://shorturl.at/RlzEKFollow us for more updates! http://thewickedtruth.com/And Don't forget to sign up for the Wicked Truth newsletter! https://thewickedtruthsr.substack.com/

    36 min
  • 2 Episodes

About

Author, educator, and nonprofit founder Suzanne Ross sits down to explore the complexities of human nature with scholars, artists and activists who are giving their all to cultivate peaceful, compassionate communities. These dialogues focus on art as a "third thing" which peacebuilders use to bend the imagination away from violence.These conversations reflect decades of partnership and lessons learned in the pursuit of conflict transformation, healed trauma, and true peace. At the heart of each exchange is a distressing insight, a "wicked truth" about human society: When we become convinced of our own righteousness, "good people" can do some really, really bad things.Come join a growing community of peacebuilders, educators, authors, and changemakers willing to be seen as "wicked" for their commitment to empathy, nonviolence, and transformative learning. Let’s create a more compassionate world!

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