This is My Silver Lining Silver Linings Media LLC

Jamil Simon is a documentary filmmaker, development worker, peace activist and lifelong adventurer.  Over the course of multiple capacity building projects across sub saharan Africa, the Middle East, and beyond, Jamil gained insights into the deep challenges associated with building and maintaining lasting peace in several conflict-ravaged areas.  He witnessed firsthand that signing peace agreements and shaking hands in front of the cameras does little to repair divisions and discord. Peace-building is a practice that requires learning what each side needs and wants in order to find common ground.  That sounds straightforward and obvious, but in an age of great division, 24/7 news, and the proliferation of misinformation on social media, finding enough daylight to cultivate meaningful peace seems almost unimaginable.
Jamil is undeterred; he believes peace is possible.  We speak with Jamil about the practice of building lasting peace and the powerful role of journalists in shaping public consciousness. On his podcast, Making Peace Visible, Jamil speaks with journalists and peacebuilders who help us understand the human side of war and peacemaking efforts around the world. 
Please note that in this episode, we mistakenly refer to Abraham Trail.  It is the Abraham Path, a monumental undertaking and true testament to what is possible in the name of peace.  Links to Jamil’s interview with Josh Weiss and Anisa Mehdi about the Abraham Path is linked below, as is his interview with Dutch investigative journalist, Bette Dam, to which we also refer in this episode.
If you would like to be notified of future episodes of the Making Peace Visible podcast, news and other publications, sign on to the War Stories Peace Stories website on the contact page: https://www.warstoriespeacestories.org/contact
Links and Resources:
Jamil Simon (http://www.linkedin.com/in/jamil-simon-245580)
War Stories Peace Stories (https://www.warstoriespeacestories.org/)
Making Peace Visible Podcast, Un-embedding Western narratives about Afghanistan with Bette Dam
Making Peace Visible Podcast, Building peace on a walk through the Middle East with Joshua Weiss and Anisa Mehdi
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Music is considered “royalty-free” and discovered on Audio Blocks.
Technical Podcast Support by: Jon Keur at Wayfare Recording Co.
© 2023 Silver Linings Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.

For Meredith Tapper, boxing is as much about patience and persistence as it is about landing the perfect punch.  Meredith is a 38-year-old lawyer from Winnipeg, Manitoba who works on Wall Street.  She’s a big thinker driven by intellectual challenge who gets things done.  She is also a risk taker who won't hesitate to take a solo trip to Southeast Asia or some other far-flung destination.  In 2019, she embarked on a new adventure right at home in New York City when she started taking boxing classes.  She had a hard time fitting in at first.  She tried several gyms.  Coaches and other fighters asked her why she kept coming back - she didn’t seem like the type.  Undeterred, she kept at it.  There was something about boxing.  She wanted to master it.  

On November 2, 2023, Meredith will enter the ring officially at the Haymakers for Hope 11th Annual Hope NYC charity boxing event at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City.  Haymakers for Hope gives everyday people the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete in their first sanctioned boxing event. Over the years, Haymakers has raised over $25 million dollars for cancer related charities.  Meredith is raising funds and awareness for cancer patients who cannot afford treatment or the broader economic consequences that come with fighting a terminal illness.  

We speak with Meredith about how she discovered her passion for boxing and what it continues to teach her about life outside the ring.  She dispels many of the myths that surround boxing, notably that it’s all about violence.  To the contrary, Meredith says she is more centered, focused and patient with herself (and others) thanks to boxing.  For those who are truly committed to the sport and their community, there is love, kindness, and respect for others.

Links and Resources:

Meredith’s Fundraising Page on Haymakers for Hope

To Buy at Ticket to Haymakers for Hope 11th Annual Hope NYC Boxing Event - Make sure to type “Tapper” as the unlock code.

Haymakers for Hope
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Music is considered “royalty-free” and discovered on Audio Blocks.
Technical Podcast Support by: Jon Keur at Wayfare Recording Co.
© 2023 Silver Linings Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.

When she was just seven years old Erin Dionne knew she wanted to be an author.  She took all the right steps - she majored in English at Boston College, she earned a Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing at Emerson College in Boston, and set her sights on writing the great American novel.  But a chance opportunity to take a class in children’s literature ignited a new creative spark. Today, Erin is a successful author who has written 7 books for tweens, children's picture books, and recently, a nonfiction book about writing.  She also writes mystery novels –for grownups– under a pen name.  
Erin talks with us about launching herself into the creative process, how she has learned to receive and accept feedback, and the generous community of writers she has found to share her experiences and challenges with. Erin confesses that she’s not one of those writers who writes every single day. She’s a busy mom and a professor of creative writing at Montserrat College. But, she finds at least 15 minutes every day to work on something related to her writing. 
At a time when it’s harder and harder to get our kids to put their devices down, we talk to Erin about the importance of reading and storytelling and the connection between reading and learning empathy. 
Episode Links and Resources
Erin Dionne
Montserrat College of Art 
Books by Erin:
Moxie and the Art of Rule Breaking - A 14 Day Mystery 
Models Don’t Each Chocolate Cookies
The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet
Bad Choices Make Good Stories
Lights, Camera Disaster
 
Books Erin Recommends:
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (A Memoir of the Craft), Stephen King
Bird by Bird: Som

Just off the coast of Portland, Maine, in the Casco Bay lies Great Diamond Island, the home of Crown Jewel, a unique dining hotspot where you are sure to make new friends and memories while you delight in the chef’s creative twists on seafood standards and truly smashing cocktails.  A 20-minute ferry or water taxi ride will get you there, but you’ll definitely need a reservation.  This gem is open Memorial Day to Columbus Day and offers an intimate dining setting, with 35 seats, in what was long-ago a Blacksmith’s shop.
Crown Jewel’s creator and owner, Alex Wight, has had a longstanding passion for creating memorable dining experiences; she has made this her life’s work.  As we discuss, after studying at the Institute for Culinary Education, Alex received hands-on training in the kitchens of some of the most renowned restaurants in New York and San Sebastian, Spain.  Hardwired for entrepreneurship, she knew early on that she wanted to bring her creative visions to life with her own restaurant.  
As with many entrepreneurial journeys, getting to and succeeding on Great Diamond Island has not been easy.  Alex learned to be a resilient and creative problem solver from her mom.  Her unflappable demeanor continues to serve her well.  We discuss the challenges of owning and operating a seasonal restaurant on an island with a limited water supply, making friends with neighbors, and launching a “boatside” service during the pandemic.  We get Alex’s impressions on how the restaurant business has evolved during her career with respect to diversity and equity.  Finally, Alex shares her thoughts on labor shortages and environmental sustainability in the industry.   
Episode Links and Resources
Crown Jewel
These Maine restaurants are making the extra effort for the environment, Tim Cebula, Portland Press Herald, June 11, 2023.
The 18 Essential Maine Restaurants, Kate McCarty, Eater.com, July 21, 2022.
Saved From the Flames, Ready for Love, Sandy Keenan, The New York Times, August 27, 2014
Fabulous Femmes at Flanagan’s Table, Karen Watterson, The Maine Mag, November 2016.
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Music is considered “royalty-free” and discovered on Audio Blocks.
Technical Podcast Support by: Jon Keur at Wayfare Recording Co.
© 2023 Silver Linings Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.

For Bram Zeigler, an economist and unapologetic capitalist, changing the narrative on poverty starts with dignity and self-determination.  In 2021, Bram founded Capitalists for Shared Income (C4si).  Inspired by the work of Milton Friedman, who advocated for a negative income tax in the late 1960s, C4si offers an innovative approach to address poverty and income inequality.  Through one-time debit card cash payments of $58, C4si partners with existing nonprofit organizations that work with the disenfranchised to lift them out of poverty.  While $58 may not seem like a lot to many listeners, it can make a lasting difference to someone in need of groceries, a tank of gas, or an oil change.  Bram intentionally chose $58, which is "a day's pay" for anyone working a job at today's federal minimum wage.  That’s a full day’s pay — $ 58.
While he sees a role for the government in addressing income inequality, Bram’s focus is on the private sector.  Despite its imperfections, Bram believes that capitalism is the best economic system we have devised to allocate resources and reward individual effort efficiently.  For the system to work for everyone, however, Bram believes that the individuals and organizations who reap the benefits of a free market economy are also responsible for self-regulating and addressing the widening income disparities between rich and poor.  Working with his board, partner organizations, and investors, Bram is applying his expertise in Asset Management to raise an endowment to fund C4si’s cash distributions.  
Through C4si, Bram has created a life with social impact, one debit card at a time.  
Episode Links and Resources:
Capitalists for Shared Income
A New Year’s Resolution For Capitalism, Kevin Coldiron, Forbes, January 6, 2022
Milton Friedman - The Negative Income Tax, interview on “The Firing Line with William F. Buckley Jr.”, 1968, YouTube
Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive, Stephanie Land, 2019.
Support this podcast by subscribing and reviewing!
Music is considered “royalty-free” and discovered on Audio Blocks.
Technical Podcast Support by: Jon Keur at Wayfare Recording Co.
© 2023 Silver Linings Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.

How do we teach students about civics and generate excitement around civic engagement in the 21st century?  Like our ever-evolving American experiment, we try new tools.  iCivics leverages a suite of interactive video games that put students at the center of the educational action. 
By the time Justice O’Connor retired from the Supreme Court, she had grown increasingly concerned about the lack of understanding, awareness, and appreciation of the basic tenets of democracy and civic engagement during her time on the Court.  In 2009, she founded iCivics and worked with a team of educators and engineers to reimagine and reinvigorate civics education through gaming.  iCivics has become the nation’s premier non-profit civic education provider of high-quality, non-partisan, engaging, and FREE resources to more than 9 million students annually in all 50 states. 
Today, we are honored to speak with Louise Dubé, the Executive Director of iCivics.  Louise was born and raised in Quebec, Canada.  After earning a law degree from McGill University in Montreal, she came to the US and earned an MBA from Yale.  She became a US citizen.  Working in the criminal justice system in New York in the 1990s, Louise co-founded CASES, a mentoring and skills program for young offenders that offered an alternative to incarceration.  This experience ignited in Louise a passion for the transformative power of education, particularly the use of rapidly evolving technology to deliver memorable content.  She and her team at iCivics are committed to activating our young citizens, preparing them to solve problems and engage in challenging but respectful debate in their communities.   
Episode Links and Resources:
iCivics
Louise Dube Bio
CivXNow Coalition
Civics Secures Democracy Act
A Supreme Court Pioneer, Now Making Her Mark on Video Games, New York Times, March 27, 2016
New Poll Shows Strong Support for Civic Education Across Party Lines, Cision PR Newswire, October 27, 2022
Support this podcast by subscribing and reviewing!
Music is considered “royalty-free” and discovered on Audio Blocks.
Technical Podcast Support by: Jon Keur at Wayfare Recording Co.
© 2023 Silver Linings Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.