• 14 minutes 15 seconds
    Introducing: No Such Thing

    I'm excited to share a preview of a new podcast we think you’d enjoy: No Such Thing

    No Such Thing is a show where three best friends and journalists settle their dumb arguments — and yours — by actually doing the research. Hosts Manny Fidel, Noah Friedman, and Devan Joseph start each episode with an argument using just their gut feelings. Then they go out into the world, investigate, talk to experts, and conduct some experiments. Finally, the guys bring their findings back to the group to see if they can change minds, enlighten each other, and move past their emotional truths.Find No Such Thing on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. New episodes out Wednesdays

    Listen here: No Such Thing


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    7 May 2026, 7:00 am
  • 1 hour 14 minutes
    90. Human Dignity: The Bedrock of Cultures of Peace // Brett Scharffs

    In this episode, I interview Professor Brett Scharffs, the director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at BYU. His extensive bio is found here. He joins the show fresh from speaking at the UN Human Rights Council — where he was invited to evaluate a landmark unanimous resolution on building cultures of peace. His central argument is that human dignity is the bedrock beneath all of it — the universal concept that makes human rights, religious freedom, and peaceful pluralism possible across wildly different cultures and ideologies. Brett is one of the most thoughtful guests we've ever had on the show, and I loved learning from him.

    Transcript for this episode.


    Timestamps:

    00:00 — Introduction: The UN resolution on cultures of peace and how Brett got involved

    03:30 — How Brett's work in religious freedom led him to human dignity as a universal bridge-building concept

    05:40 — Defining peacemaking — Brett's perspective alongside definitions from previous guests

    07:49 — The UN Human Rights Council resolution on cultures of peace explained

    10:31 — The Punta del Este Declaration, Eleanor Roosevelt, and how human dignity made the UDHR possible

    23:33 — AI through the lens of human dignity: dignity-enhancing vs. dignity-degrading uses of technology

    29:52 — The components of a culture of peace: virtues of the head, heart, and hand

    42:01 — What kills cultures of peace — and the leaders who don't want it

    53:37 — Why secular institutions overlook religious actors in peacemaking (and why that's a mistake)

    1:04:11 — Brett's closing thoughts: none of us are powerless, and where his hope comes from

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    6 May 2026, 7:03 am
  • 52 minutes 28 seconds
    89. Lebanon: The History Behind the Headlines

    Lebanon has been in the headlines for months — but the real story goes back 3,000 years. In less than an hour, get the context you've been missing: Phoenicians, civil war, Hezbollah, and how all of it leads to today.

    This is a brief, approachable history of Lebanon for those who know little to nothing about it. Please keep in mind that this is not comprehensive, just a jumping off point for further learning.

    Sources used in making this episode.

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    30 April 2026, 7:03 am
  • 1 hour 13 minutes
    88. Conflict Avoidance Leads to Conflict: How Skilled Negotiators Build Lasting Peace // Stan Christensen

    What does negotiation have to do with peacemaking? Turns out, A LOT. Stan Christensen has spent decades negotiating in over 75 countries — between governments, ethnic groups, and armed factions — and he joins Wiser World to bring that hard-won wisdom down to earth. We talk about why conflict avoidance creates more conflict, how trust is built and broken, what skilled negotiators do differently, and why Stan believes there is no such thing as an intractable conflict. This one will change how you see every difficult conversation in your life.

    Check out Stan's podcast "All Things Negotiation" to learn more about negotiation.

    Transcript for this episode.


    TIMESTAMPS

    • 00:00 – Introduction & Stan's background
    • 02:57 – What is negotiation, really?
    • 04:10 – How negotiation and peacemaking differ
    • 05:33 – Inside peace negotiations: what actually happens in the room
    • 06:59 – What separates skilled negotiators from unskilled ones
    • 09:27 – "Conflict avoidance leads to conflict"
    • 10:20 – The key skills: curiosity, inquiry, and the orange story
    • 14:41 – How trust is built (and broken)
    • 17:32 – Why negotiation is never really a one-time thing
    • 20:37 – How culture shapes negotiation (Colombia & France stories)
    • 32:27 – The power of questioning your own assumptions
    • 35:52 – There is no such thing as an intractable conflict
    • 37:41 – The Peru-Ecuador story: finding common ground
    • 40:50 – A seven-element framework for preparing to negotiate
    • 44:56 – Reframing conflict as "creative problem solving"
    • 48:41 – Negotiating with someone who has more power than you
    • 53:04 – The role of emotion in conflict resolution
    • 55:35 – "Go to the balcony": how to avoid getting emotionally hijacked
    • 59:19 – Why we all under-apologize — and why it matters
    • 1:02:25 – Apology at the macro level: why politicians won't do it
    • 1:05:35 – What gives Stan hope
    • 1:07:21 – Stan's one takeaway for listeners

    For Wiser World:

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    23 April 2026, 7:03 am
  • 34 minutes 19 seconds
    87. Peacemakers Who Changed History: Part 2

    Today we explore the stories of five MORE impactful peacemakers throughout the world: Wangari Maathai, José Ramos-Horta, Mohandas Gandhi, Rigoberta Menchú, and Mairead Corrigan. Their stories are inspiring and very human, and I hope you enjoy learning about them as much as I did.

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    15 April 2026, 7:04 am
  • 1 hour 23 minutes
    86. Women at the Peace Table: Why It Works and Why It's Still a Struggle // Sanam Naraghi Anderlini

    In this episode, I sit down with Sanam Naraghi Anderlini — peace strategist, founder of the International Civil Society Action Network and one of the architects of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 — to talk about what it actually takes to build lasting peace. We cover the research behind women's inclusion in peace processes, how a scrappy international coalition got a landmark resolution passed at the UN Security Council, why women's unique approach to peacebuilding is a superpower rather than a liability, and what ordinary people can do right now when the architecture of international peace feels like it's crumbling.

    • 00:00 — Introduction to Sanam Naraghi Anderlini
    • 01:20 — Sanam's origin story: the Iranian Revolution, Rwanda, and South Africa
    • 05:06 — The 1998 women in war zones conference that changed everything
    • 10:04 — Defining peacemaking and peacebuilding
    • 14:23 — The story behind UN Security Council Resolution 1325
    • 26:27 — The four pillars of Resolution 1325 explained
    • 30:07 — Has 1325 worked? An honest assessment 25 years later
    • 34:57 — Why is there still so much resistance to women at the peace table?
    • 42:32 — How ICAN finds, trains, and supports women peacebuilders worldwide
    • 51:17 — Women's unique role in understanding and countering radicalization
    • 1:00:57 — What cutting international aid and multilateralism means for this work
    • 1:09:48 — What sustains Sanam — and what ordinary people can do

    You can find Sanam's podcast "If You Were In Charge" anywhere you get your podcasts.


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    7 April 2026, 7:03 am
  • 38 minutes
    85. Peacemakers Who Changed History: Part 1

    Today we explore the stories of five impactful peacemakers throughout the world: Bertha Von Suttner, Nelson Mandela, Eleanor Roosevelt, Óscar Arias, and Leymah Gbowee. Their stories are inspiring and very human, and I hope you enjoy learning about them as much as I did.

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    1 April 2026, 7:04 am
  • 35 minutes 8 seconds
    84. The Ambitious Project of Peace: How Humans Built the Infrastructure of Peace

    What is the history of peacemaking? In this episode, we trace the origins of diplomacy and international law from the ancient world to the present day. Topics include the Treaty of Kadesh — the world's oldest peace treaty — the Great Law of Peace and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the birth of modern diplomacy at the Peace of Westphalia, the founding of the Red Cross, the Geneva Conventions, the League of Nations, the United Nations, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We also explore what different traditions — Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Confucianism — have taught about peace throughout history.


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    25 March 2026, 7:02 am
  • 1 hour 20 minutes
    83. Peacemaking, Reframed: The Art of Productive Discourse // Steven Collis

    Most of us think peacemaking means keeping the peace — avoiding conflict, not ruffling feathers, smoothing things over. But what if that's actually not peacemaking?

    In this episode, I sit down with Steven Collis — law professor, First Amendment scholar, and author of Habits of a Peacemaker — to dig into what productive dialogue actually looks like in real life. Not in a boardroom or a courtroom, but in your home, your family, your neighborhood.

    We talk about why intellectual humility is the foundation of everything, how to reframe a conversation from a fight into a treasure hunt, why you probably don't need a strong opinion on most things, and what it actually means to listen — not just wait for your turn to talk.

    This one is packed. I think you're going to love it.


    TIMESTAMPS

    [00:00] — Why keeping the peace isn't the same as making peace

    [01:30] — Introducing Steven Collis and how he got interested in peacemaking

    [03:37] — What is peacemaking, really? Steven reframes it as "productive discourse"

    [06:32] — Intellectual humility: the most important habit of a peacemaker

    [07:40] — How to hold humility and conviction at the same time

    [11:27] — Do you actually need an opinion on everything? (Probably not.)

    [12:41] — Reframing conversations as a treasure hunt for understanding

    [14:44] — Live example: how to defuse a heated argument as a third party

    [19:02] — Real learning vs. being fed: how peacemakers gather information

    [22:06] — How to navigate media bias and find overlap across opposing sources

    [25:35] — Why you should hunt for the best argument against your own position

    [30:48] — Comment sections, bots, and why online arguing is mostly a waste of your life

    [34:11] — What to do when someone comes at you hard — and how to reframe it

    [35:04] — What happens when someone genuinely won't engage? Is there a point of no return?

    [38:50] — The lost art of pausing before you respond

    [42:35] — Active listening: why most of us are terrible at it and how to get better

    [50:41] — Going into a conversation with an open mind — what that actually looks like

    [52:20] — Is peacemaking being weaponized? When "don't stir things up" becomes avoidance

    [55:31] — The difference between being a peacemaker and being a pushover

    [1:04:45] — How to have productive dialogue with someone who has more power than you

    [1:09:48] — Finding where the real disagreement actually lives

    [1:13:00] — If you remember one thing: don't give up on becoming a peacemaker


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    18 March 2026, 7:01 am
  • 25 minutes 12 seconds
    82. Lessons from Iran: What Happens When You Suppress a Nation

    Five macro-level lessons I have learned from studying Iran's history.


    Find additional resources, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and support the podcast at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/wiserworldpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

    Join us on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/wiserworldpodcast/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    Sign up for our free weekly email newsletter at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://wiserworld.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

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    12 March 2026, 7:01 am
  • 1 hour 9 minutes
    81. Iran's Unfinished Revolution: A Conversation with Sahar Delijani

    Today's guest, Sahar Delijani, is the author of Children of the Jacaranda Tree, an internationally acclaimed novel, translated into 32 languages and published in more than 75 countries. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Literary Hub, LARB, Jewish Currents, BOMB, McSweeney’s and elsewhere. Her second novel, For Every Person You Kill, is forthcoming in Spring 2027.

    In this episode, Sahar shares her family’s story — including being born in Evin Prison — and reflects on Iranian identity, cultural resilience, and the role of joy, history, and women in today’s movement for freedom. We also discuss what solidarity can look like from the international community, and how stories and literature can help humanize a struggle that’s often reduced to geopolitics.

    Find additional resources, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and support the podcast at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/wiserworldpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

    Join us on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/wiserworldpodcast/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    Sign up for our free weekly email newsletter at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://wiserworld.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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    2 March 2026, 8:03 am
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