World Beyond War: A New Podcast

Antiwar activist John Reuwer joined a peace mission in Romania in 2022 with the goal of organizing nonviolent resistance to the raging war that began in February of this year. Visiting refugees outside Ukraine and working with pacifists in Kyiv and elsewhere, John found the best hope for healing in the cooperative movement to prevent nuclear meltdown in Zaporizhzhia. An extensive interview about a month in war-ravaged Europe with podcast host Marc Eliot Stein.

Did you know that Colombia has a truth commission working in rural areas to heal the proud country after 75 years of brutal civil war? This truth commission is only one of many far ranging topics we talk about with Maria Antonia Perez, a visual artist, graphic designer and peace activist in Medellin, Colombia who worked for humanitarian causes from Sri Lanka to Cambodia to Haiti before returning to her home country.

Robert Fantina’s new book “Settler-Colonialism in Palestine and Kashmir” breaks down the massive human rights violations in two regions where populations are manipulated to remove people from their longtime homes, or to make life unlivable in their homes. Marc Eliot Stein talks to Robert Fantina about Kashmir’s unique crisis, about Hindutva and Modi, and about his beginnings as a peace activist. (Music removed.)

At the age of 16, Hungarian-born Timi Barabas heard a song that inspired her to become an activist. Today, at the age of 20, she has founded organizations for climate awareness, anti-bullying, suicide prevention and poverty relief, and with her team at Rise For Lives led a large protest in New Zealand to raise awareness of the war in Yemen. We caught up with this amazing and unstoppable youth leader in New York City where she is working to find and discuss possible solutions for the war in Ukraine.

Podcast host Marc Eliot Stein talks about his path to antiwar activism, the Holocaust, his grandmother’s family and the awareness of generational collective trauma that eventually led him to work for a global grassroots peace organization. Also featuring Marc’s blog post welcoming songwriter/activist Roger Waters to a webinar in August 2022 and discussing the deep connections to social justice activism in Pink Floyd's long musical legacy.

Medea Benjamin is one of the most dynamic and dedicated antiwar activists in the world today. In this interview with World BEYOND War's Marc Eliot Stein, Medea talks about recent progressive wins in Colombia and all over Latin America, the tragedy of the brutal but profitable proxy war in Ukraine and the many ways peacebuilders and hardworking organizations are keeping the international struggle for a livable, humane planet alive. Musical excerpt: Emma's Revolution.

Alison Broinowski is an author, diplomat and global peace activist with an amazing career calling attention to the corruption and dysfunction motivating Australia's past military leadership. This month, in May 2022, Alison is bringing good news to the world as Australia mobilizes woman power to turn an election. Alison talks about this and more - including Australia's risky brinksmanship against China - in a freewheeling conversation with Marc Eliot Stein. Also featuring Greta Zarro with a preview of this year's upcoming World BEYOND War conference #NoWar2022.

Stakes are high for activists and advocates for a humane world to catch on to the shockingly rapid pace of change in the field of advanced technology. What is blockchain, and how can it help protect our freedom of speech? How do we monitor military spending in an age when bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies defy monitoring? What about artificial intelligence and cloud computing in the hands of monopolistic, US-centric tech giants? And is the world’s cooperative open source software community staying healthy through all these paradigm shifts? Tech innovator and artist Robert Douglass joins Marc Eliot Stein for an in-depth discussion of futuristic topics that are already changing the landscape of progressive activist movements.

Peace activist Kathy Kelly has crossed borders into dangerous war zones and been arrested more than 80 times to help refugees and victims and gain an understanding of the true nature of war, sanctions, structural violence, imprisonment and injustice. In episode 34 of the World BEYOND War podcast, Anni Carracedo and Marc Eliot Stein talk to Kathy Kelly about her life of fearless activism and welcome her into the new role of Board President for this organization. Musical excerpt: "Para la guerra nada" by Marta Gomez.

We’re joined by four peace students on four continents: Iryna Bushmina of Ukraine, Stephanie Effevottu of Nigeria, Brittney Woodrum of USA and Anniela Carracedo of Venezuela. These students led creative projects as part of the new Peace Education and Action for Impact program, along with Dr. Phill Gittins who founded this educational program along with World BEYOND War and Rotary International. Including musical excerpts from two of the projects, as well as a preview of the Water & War Film Festival with Greta Zarro and Rachel Small.

Peace activist Koohan Paik-Mander joins Marc Eliot Stein to talk about the crisis of military escalation in Europe and the specter of superpower proxy wars in Ukraine, Taiwan, Iran, Venezuela. Koohan talks about her life's work as an environmental and antiwar activist, and how a significant protest movement to stop the construction of a US military base in Korea’s Jeju Island revealed to her the deep power of solidarity. We also talk about biodeiversity, anarcho-pacifism, white nationalism in US military and police forces, Xi Jinping's appearance at Davos, massive whale deaths in the Pacific ocean from military actions, the place of technology and social media in the lives of activists, the parallels between today’s Ukraine/Russia buildup and Europe’s collapse into the first world war in 1914, and what must be remembered from Barbara Tuchman’s history book “The Guns of August”. Musical excerpt: Youn Sun Nah.

Marc Eliot Stein talks to Matthew Petti, an up-and-coming journalist studying Arabic in Amman, Jordan. The wide-ranging conversation covers the politics of water, the credibility of journalism, the status of refugee communities in Jordan from Palestine, Syria, Yemen and Iraq, the outlook for peace in an age of imperial decline, empires from USA to Russia to China to Iran to France, "middle east" vs. "west asia" vs "holy lands", Saddam Hussein nostalgia and much more. Musical excerpt: "Yas Salam" by Autostrad.

An interview about the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow with Tim Pluta, World BEYOND War’s chapter organizer in Spain. Tim joined a coalition to protest COP26’s weak stance on the “carbon bootprint”, the disastrous abuse of fossil fuels by military forces that USA and other nations refuse to acknowledge. Host Marc Eliot Stein talks to Tim about his experience on the streets of COP26 along with Nancy Mancias and Greta Thunberg, about his life as a veteran turned peace activist, and about the mood of political conservatism in Spain. (Music removed.)

On October 6, 2021, World BEYOND War presented the first War Abolisher awards to Peace Boat, Mel Duncan and Save Sinjajevina. This episode brings us into the ceremony where Peace Boat founder Yoshioka Tatsuya, nonviolent defense pioneer Mel Duncan and Save Sinjajevina activists Milan Sekulovic and Petra Glomazic talk about their inspiring achievements, introduced or joined by friends and allies Ann Wright, John Reuwer, Rosemary Kabaki, Leah Bolger, Pablo Dominguez and Persida Jovanovic. With live music by Ron Korb. Also including a chat with World BEYOND War's development director Alex McAdams about the organization's exciting growth.

Jodie Evans learned about civil disobedience from Jane Fonda as a teenage activist in the late 1960s, and is still being arrested with Jane Fonda in 2021. Along the way, she worked on the disruptive presidential campaign of Jerry Brown, co-founded CODE PINK with Medea Benjamin, and travelled on peace delegations to North Korea, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Cuba and Venezuela. Today she is leading “China is Not Our Enemy”, with an urgent message of cross-cultural bridge-building as a remedy for insane hyper-militarism. For the 28th episode of the World Beyond War podcast, Marc Eliot Stein interviews Jodie Evans about her remarkable life of peace activism. (Music removed.)

USA’s investment in high-tech weapons and military artificial intelligence is rapidly accelerating, as Microsoft and Amazon enter the top ranks of corrupt military profiteers. The people are completely left out of the conversation as our governments devote billions of dollars to the grotesque science of mass murder, and our familiar tech giants betray our trust. Jan Weinberg of Show Up America joins Marc Eliot Stein to talk about Project JEDI, Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2), killer robots, “Black Mirror”, facial recognition, surveillance clouds, autonomous nuclear weapons triggers, the Senate Armed Services committee and the need for greater investigative journalism on this topic. Musical excerpt: “American Idiot” by Green Day.

We cover the #NoWar2021 global peace gathering in real time, featuring on-the-spot interviews with antiwar activists Julie Watkins, John Reuwer, Bart Bolger, Kate Jones, Margaret Rao, Noel Marshall, Donnal Walter, Scott Oates, Jean Cushman, Pauline Mary Lally, Terri Sleeva, Paul Maillet and Maryam Ahmad. Thanks to all who participated in this on-the-spot podcast episode at World BEYOND War’s #NoWar2021 virtual annual conference.

Hammam Farah of Palestine House in Toronto and Ariel Gold of CODEPINK join Marc Eliot Stein to talk about the crucial role the antiwar movement can and must play in Israel, Palestine and Gaza. Our in-depth conversation ranges from the experience of apartheid and urban bombardment in Gaza to the rising influence of Kahanism in Israel to the history of Hamas. An overview of a region in crisis, and of a global antiwar movement that must help find the path to peace.

Two of our guests, Vanessa Lanteigne and Dr. Brendan Martin, are on day 12 of a fast to protest Canada’s purchase of 88 fighter jets. We’re also joined by World BEYOND War’s Canada organizer Rachel Small to talk about commitment to difficult protest actions, Canada’s growing militarism, Gandhi, Ursula LeGuin and more. Hosted by Marc Eliot Stein. Musical excerpt “We can do it” by Amai Kuda et les Bois.

World BEYOND War's chapter leaders build regional movements to address a global problem. In this episode, Guy Feugap of Yaoundé, Cameroon, Helen Peacock of South Georgian Bay, Canada and Heinrich Buecker of Berlin, Germany join Marc Eliot Stein to talk about the activist chapters they run and the shared hopes and motivations behind the work they do. We talk about peace education and violence indoctrination, Erica Chenoweth, Defender21 and the right-wing resurgence in Europe. (Music removed.)