Randy Butler a mediator and peacebuilder from Houston, TX recently relocated to Boulder, CO, started this podcast in response to the 2016 US Presidential election. His purpose is to "speak into the national conversation in a positive way...to amplify voices for peace building – the voices of men and women calling for people of good will to come together to build bridges of understanding across their differences in order to link arms in collaborating to serve the common good."
Interviewees are diverse in terms of ethnicity, discipline, political affiliation, relgion and nationality. Topics cover race, politics, and reconciliation. Although started with an eye on U.S. polarization, podcasts also explore peacebuilding elsewhere: the January, 2018 podcast talked with Tihomnir Kukija who is working to develop transformational leaders in the Balkans; the July, 2018 conversation explored peacebuilding in Africa with Nii Armah Sowah, a Ghanain-born arts educator who brings people together through dance.
Most of the podcasts, however, focus on innovative responses to U.S. polarization. The August 2018 podcast talks with Jonah Sachs, author of the best-selling book Winning the Story Wars who talks about "unsafe thinking" as a way to get beyond our polarized and misconstrued ideas and come together to find solutions to some of our most challenging problems. The April 2018 Podcast talked with Charles Savage, Executive Director of the Fifth Ward Enrichment Program in Houston, Texas, on "Empowering Boys to Become Responsible Men." His key thought is that "one way to build sustainable peace is to foster a society in which every person has the opportunity to contribute to, as well as benefit from, the common good."
These and many more thought-provoking podcasts are available at the Peacemakers Podcast.
