The Dialogue Studio

Happy 2026! We are starting the year with another episode of “And the dialogue continues…” This time, Lillian talks with Preandra and the Center’s new Peace Research Fellow, George Koichi Wong, about our recent Dialogue Nights. Tune in to hear about how Dialogue Nights attendees created their own 30-day challenge vision calendar and what inner dialogue looks like for George and Preandra. For more information on Dialogue Nights, visit the page here. Music attribution: Podcast MusicTo learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at podcast@ikedacenter.org 

We are back with another episode in our What Do We Mean By series, this time unpacking what we mean by hope. Host Lillian Koizumi delves into the concept and introduces Daisaku Ikeda’s writings and perspectives on hope. She also invites Ikeda Center’s Program and Office Assistant Preandra Noel to share what hope means to her, how she cultivates and sustains it in her life, and how we can continue to have hope in seemingly hopeless times. Learn more about the Center’s perspectives on hope here: https://www.ikedacenter.org/resources/what-do-we-mean-hope Resource from episode: Hope is a Decision: Selected Essays of Daisaku Ikeda. Middleway Press.  Music attribution: Podcast Music“Space”Podington BearSoundofpicture.com To learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at podcast@ikedacenter.org

In April of this year (2025), several staff members of the Ikeda Center visited the city of Nagasaki in Japan. During their time there, they had the opportunity to visit the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Hypocenter Monument, the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, and other sites impacted by the US bombing of Nagasaki in 1945. They also had a chance to meet with several hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors) to learn about their experiences as well as their efforts to advance peace. In the episode, host Lillian Koizumi is joined by Center staff Kevin Maher (Executive Director), Alexander Harang (Senior Peace Researcher), Anri Khare (Outreach Manager), and Preandra Noel (Program and Office Assistant). Together, they reflect on their learnings and takeaways from visiting this beautiful city and how they hope to continue this work at the Center. Music attribution: Podcast MusicTo learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at podcast@ikedacenter.org 

In recent years,  folks in our community have expressed deeper challenges when it comes to engaging in dialogue across differences and having difficult conversations. With this in mind, this episode explores how we might navigate these interactions  through the Center’s dialogue commitments and ground rules, which are informed by Daisaku Ikeda’s dialogic ethos and strategies. In the episode, you’ll hear two scripted dialogues, followed by reflections by Ikeda Center staff (Lillian Koizumi, Anri Khare, Preandra Noel, and Sophia Robertson). Together, they explore how the dialogues went, what could have gone better, and ways we can practice genuine dialogue in our daily lives.  Read about the Center’s dialogue commitments here. Read about the Center’s ground rules for genuine dialogue here.Music attribution: Podcast MusicTo learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at podcast@ikedacenter.org 

In this episode, host Lillian Koizumi talks with nuclear disarmament experts and educators Brennan Tierney and Masako Toki about their personal journeys, what inspired them to pursue this work, their thoughts on the role education plays in creating a nuclear-free world, the role of young people in the disarmament movement, and much more. Brennan is a public school civics teacher and is passionate about building students’ capacity and leadership to create positive change in their communities. In 2024, he received the Richard Aieta Award for Promising New Teacher from the Massachusetts Council for the Social Studies. Brennan also serves as a Development Consultant with Back from the Brink, a national grassroots campaign working toward a world free of nuclear weapons, and as a Program Assistant for the Ellsberg Initiative for Peace and Democracy. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Legal Studies (2018) and a Master’s in Education (2023), both from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He lives in Northampton, Massachusetts.Learn more about Back from the Brink here: https://preventnuclearwar.org/ Masako is a Senior Project Manager and Research Associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute in Monterey, CA. She is passionate about disarmament and nonproliferation education for young generations.  She coordinates the Critical Issues Forum (CIF) to promote disarmament and nonproliferation education to high school students and teachers in the US, Japan, Russia and other countries, and the Summer Undergraduate Nonproliferation Fellowship Program. Her research interests include Japan’s nuclear disarmament policy, nonproliferation and disarmament education, humanitarian initiative, and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. She is also a member of the Japan Association of Disarmament Studies and the US-Japan Leadership Program (US-Japan Foundation). Learn more about the Critical Issues Forum here: https://sites.middlebury.edu/criticalissuesforum/  Music attribution: Podcast MusicTo learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at podcast@ikedacenter.org 

This month, host Lillian Koizumi talks with Drs. Josh Snyder and Stephanie Edwards about the role of spirituality and interfaith dialogue in these times of division. Dr. Snyder is Associate Professor of the Practice in Theological Ethics at Boston College. He also is the Director of the Faith, Peace, and Justice Minor.  He earned his Ph.D. in Theological Ethics from Boston College.  His dissertation entitled, Love Promoting Justice: An Augustinian Ethic for Transitional Justice from the Context of Guatemala explored how charity as a civic virtue can bring about social reconciliation in a divided society. Dr. Snyder’s research focuses on transitional justice and Catholic Peace-Building with an emphasis on the Guatemalan Catholic Church & Human Rights. Additionally, he is interested in Catholic Social Teaching and its contribution to global public health with a specific focus on ethical accompaniment and end of life care.  Dr. Edwards is the Executive Director of the Boston Theological Interreligious Consortium. After undergraduate studies at Santa Clara University, Dr. Edwards spent a formative year as a Jesuit Volunteer in post-Katrina New Orleans. She holds a PhD in Theological Ethics from Boston College, where her interdisciplinary research focused on the ties between Christian theology and trauma. Her research can be found in the Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics and Political Theology, and her first book, Enfleshed Counter-Memory: A Christian Social Ethic of Trauma. Her interest in such work has its roots in her “other” career as a social worker, wherein she has practiced diverse service delivery, grant writing, and non-profit management for over a decade. She lives in Biddeford, Maine, with her husband, Pete, and rescue dog, EmmyLou, where you can most often find her in nature: canoe camping in summer, leaf-peeping in fall, and bombing down the slopes in winter.In this episode, they discuss their work, their personal journeys that led to where they are today, the importance of interfaith dialogue in this current climate, and the role of religion in bringing people together and restoring our humanity. Music attribution: Podcast MusicTo learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at podcast@ikedacenter.org 

Last year, we launched a new series called What Do We Mean By? where host Lillian Koizumi unpacks different concepts we explore and practice at the Ikeda Center. All of these concepts are informed by the philosophy of our late founder Daisaku Ikeda. In this episode, Lillian unpacks the concept of dignity. She also invites Ikeda Center’s Outreach Manager Anri Khare to share her thoughts on dignity and examples of how she’s applying and practicing dignity in her own life.For more information on dignity, click here.Read our interview with Dr. Donna Hicks.Quotes from Daisaku Ikeda shared in the episode: “The foundation of a culture of human rights is established when we can develop an empathetic openness toward the sufferings of others, feeling their pain as our own, and when we can ceaselessly strive to bring out our “best self,” to behave at all times and in all situations in a manner that we can proudly affirm.” (“Learning About Dignity,” The Japan Times, Dec. 23, 2011) “If we picture a global society of peace and coexistence as an edifice, the ideals of human rights and human security are key pillars that hold it up, while the foundation on which these rest is respect for the dignity of life. If this foundation remains no more than an abstract conceptualization, the entire structure will be unstable and could collapse in the event of a severe challenge or crisis.” (2013 Peace Proposal)“…recognizing the dignity of the individual must result in mutual recognition and respect.” (A Dialogue between East and West: Looking to a Human Revolution)Music attribution: Podcast Music“Space”Podington BearSoundofpicture.comTo learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at podcast@ikedacenter.org

In our last episode of the year, host Lillian Koizumi welcomes Ikeda Center Executive Director Kevin Maher back to the Dialogue Studio to reflect on 2024 and the Center’s work and mission. In their conversation, Lillian asks Kevin about memorable events from this past year, how he continues to draw inspiration from and apply Mr. Ikeda’s philosophy, what he’s excited about for 2024, and more. Quotes referenced in this episode: “I firmly believe that the more severe the challenges we face the more crucial it is that we persist in dialogue because dialogue has the power to break down the walls of mistrust, hatred, and division in the hearts of people everywhere.” - From Daisaku Ikeda’s 1995 message to the Ikeda Center“I likewise believe that the value of dialogue is to be found in its processes, perhaps even more than in its concrete results. For the vibrant and mutually catalytic process of dialogue between individuals and between whole civilizations dynamically illustrates humanitarian competition, the competition in self-mastery….“My own meetings with leading figures and thinkers from the nations of the world are motivated by the belief that dialogue indeed has the power to unite humankind. At the same time, I am moved by the desire to try to find, through dialogue, solutions to the many problems that loom before us.“Without dialogue, humans are fated to walk in the darkness of their own dogmatic self-righteousness. Dialogue is the lamp by which we dispel that darkness, lighting and making visible for each other our steps and the path ahead.” - From Daisaku Ikeda’s 2002 Peace Proposal “The Humanism of the Middle Way: Dawn of a Global Civilization” Music attribution: Podcast MusicTo learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at podcast@ikedacenter.org 

This month, host Lillian Koizumi talks to Eliza O’Neil, who is a Senior Curriculum Developer at the Constructive Dialogue Institute (CDI). Eliza’s role at CDI is to create dialogue-focused curriculum, resources, and trainings for students, educators, administrators, and anyone looking to cultivate skills to foster connection across differences in any context. In the episode, Eliza shares her career journey, what constructive dialogue means and looks like, her insights on the role of dialogue in an increasingly divisive world, inspiring examples of individuals and groups transforming conflicts through dialogue, and more.Before joining CDI, Eliza was a program director for Seeds of Peace, where she ran dialogue and facilitation training programs for young adults and educators from around the world. She spent 6 years as a facilitator for Essential Partners, working with communities of all ages looking to bridge divides and connect more meaningfully. Eliza previously taught at experiential high schools in Maine and Colorado and led wilderness trips around the world for groups of young adults. Eliza holds a B.A. from Bates College and an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.For more information on Eliza’s work, visit https://constructivedialogue.org/. To learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at podcast@ikedacenter.org Music attribution: Podcast Music

Earlier this year, we launched a new series called What Do We Mean By? where host Lillian Koizumi unpacks different concepts we explore and practice at the Ikeda Center. All of these concepts are informed by the philosophy of our late founder Daisaku Ikeda. In this episode, Lillian unpacks the concept of human revolution. She also invites Ikeda Center’s Publications & Communications Specialist Mitch Bogen to share his thoughts on human revolution and why he thinks it is important as we strive to create a more peaceful world.Click here for more information on human revolution.Music attribution: Podcast Music“Space”Podington BearSoundofpicture.comTo learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at podcast@ikedacenter.org

We are launching another new series in the Dialogue Studio called “And the dialogue continues…” where host Lillian Koizumi reflects on highlights and perspectives from the Center’s Dialogue Nights/Dialogue Nights Lite event series with her colleagues. In this episode, Lillian talks with Anri, Preandra, and Lanre about the recent Dialogue Nights Lite launch and the insights they gained from the evening’s takeaway activity.   Click here for more information on Dialogue Nights.To learn more about our recent Dialogue Nights Lite, read the write-up here. Music attribution: Podcast MusicTo learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at podcast@ikedacenter.org 

 In this episode, host Lillian Koizumi continues her conversation with nuclear disarmament activists Molly McGinty and Emma Pike. In part 2 of this conversation, they discuss the importance of engaging in dialogue with those we don’t agree with, why it is so important for youth to get involved, and what gives them hope in these times of conflict and division. Molly joined the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) in 2019 as a Quaker Voluntary Service Fellow and has remained on staff since the completion of the program. She graduated from Salisbury University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Social Work and Gender & Sexuality Studies, where she engaged in advocacy on police demilitarization and anti-human trafficking policy. It was through these positions that she came to understand the power of grassroots organizing and youth-led movements. As Program Director, Molly coordinates IPPNW’s work on educating the public and decision-makers on the medical and humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons, promoting the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and supporting our medical student movement and youth partners. She is on the International Steering Group of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), Steering Committee of Youth for TPNW, and Board of the Nuclear Truth Project.As an undergraduate studying International Relations, Emma was deeply moved by Daisaku Ikeda’s philosophy of peace as a pursuit that begins within each individual, eventually writing her thesis on Ikeda’s philosophy as a model for peace in the nuclear age. As a peace educator and specialist in global citizenship education, Emma is a firm believer in the central role that education plays in building a more peaceful and equitable world for all. Emma holds a Master of Arts in International Relations from the University of St Andrews, a Master of Arts in Development Education and Global Learning from the UCL Institute of Education, and a Master of Education in International Educational Development from Teachers College, Columbia University. In her current role at Lex International, she focuses on strengthening the role of international law, particularly in nuclear disarmament and regulation of autonomous weapons systems. She also engages in public education on these topics, highlighting the power that each individual person holds to effect positive change.Learn more about Molly and IPPNW’s work on their website here: https://www.ippnw.org/about/staff For educational content on nuclear disarmament, follow Emma on TikTok: @emma_pike_Music attribution: Podcast MusicTo learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at podcast@ikedacenter.org 

Molly McGinty, IPPNW In this episode, host Lillian Koizumi talks with two nuclear disarmament activists Molly McGinty and Emma Pike about how they started their careers in this field as young people, what they feel are the biggest obstacles to abolishing nuclear weapons at this time, and how their friendship has sustained and deepened their commitment to this work. Molly joined the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) in 2019 as a Quaker Voluntary Service Fellow and has remained on staff since the completion of the program. She graduated from Salisbury University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Social Work and Gender & Sexuality Studies, where she engaged in advocacy on police demilitarization and anti-human trafficking policy. It was through these positions that she came to understand the power of grassroots organizing and youth-led movements. As Program Director, Molly coordinates IPPNW’s work on educating the public and decision-makers on the medical and humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons, promoting the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and supporting our medical student movement and youth partners. She is on the International Steering Group of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), Steering Committee of Youth for TPNW, and Board of the Nuclear Truth Project. Emma Pike, Lex International As an undergraduate studying International Relations, Emma was deeply moved by Daisaku Ikeda’s philosophy of peace as a pursuit that begins within each individual, eventually writing her thesis on Ikeda’s philosophy as a model for peace in the nuclear age. As a peace educator and specialist in global citizenship education, Emma is a firm believer in the central role that education plays in building a more peaceful and equitable world for all. Emma holds a Master of Arts in International Relations from the University of St Andrews, a Master of Arts in Development Education and Global Learning from the UCL Institute of Education, and a Master of Education in International Educational Development from Teachers College, Columbia University. In her current role at Lex International, she focuses on strengthening the role of international law, particularly in nuclear disarmament and regulation of autonomous weapons systems. She also engages in public education on these topics, highlighting the power that each individual person holds to effect positive change. Music attribution: Podcast MusicTo learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at podcast@ikedacenter.org  

In this episode, host Lillian Koizumi talks with Dr. Roland Joseph, a member of the “Nonkilling Security & International Relations Research Committee” at the Center for Global Nonkilling. In their dialogue, Dr. Joseph talks about the importance of peace education and promoting nonkilling, the aspects of Daisaku Ikeda’s peace philosophy that inspire him, what it would look like to teach children love instead of war, as well as what gives him hope at this time. Dr. Joseph has been deeply influenced by Dr. Glenn D. Paige, a friend of Daisaku Ikeda, who coined the concept of the nonkilling paradigm in his seminal book Nonkilling Global Political Science. His doctoral research focused on the transformative experiences of scholars and activists promoting nonkilling political science to anti-nuclear weapon activists and realists. As a Haitian living in Massachusetts, Dr. Joseph has initiated nuclear disarmament education within the Haitian community with the collaboration of the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament, and Common Security (CPDCS). He also launched a campaign for peace in Haiti, including a working group on peace education with professors and students from the Université Publique du Sud-Est à Jacmel (UPSEJ), supported by the International Peace Bureau (IPB). Roland holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the Institut Supérieur des Sciences Économiques, Politiques et Juridiques (ISSEPJ) in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, a master’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from UMass Lowell, and a PhD in Conflict Analysis and Resolution with a concentration in Global Conflict from Nova Southeastern University (NSU). Dr. Joseph has been a good friend of the Center since 2018, following his participation in a Dialogue Nights event on nuclear weapons. Music attribution: Podcast MusicTo learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at podcast@ikedacenter.org 

This month’s Dialogue Studio guest is the Center’s new Senior Peace Researcher, Professor Alexander Harang. In the episode, Lillian talks with Professor Harang about how he got involved in the peace field, his introduction to Daisaku Ikeda’s work, his reflections on the current state of peace, and what he is looking forward to in his new role at the Center.In addition to his role at the Center, Professor Harang holds the position of Distinguished Adjunct Professor at Soka University of America (SUA), where he specializes in exploring the contributions of Daisaku Ikeda to global peacebuilding endeavors. He is also Senior Research Fellow at SUA’s Soka Institute for Global Solutions. Professor Harang brings more than two decades of leadership experience from the international peace movement, as well as research and teaching experience from peace academia.Music attribution: Podcast MusicTo learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at podcast@ikedacenter.org 

 This year, we are launching a new series in the Dialogue Studio called What Do We Mean By? where host Lillian Koizumi unpacks different concepts we explore and practice at the Ikeda Center. All of these concepts are informed by the philosophy of our late founder Daisaku Ikeda. In this episode, we kick off the series by examining peace cultures. In it, Lillian delves into the Center and Mr. Ikeda’s perspective on, and approach to fostering cultures of peace. She also invites Executive Director Kevin Maher to share how he is thinking about peace cultures in this current moment, and how we can enact peace cultures in our daily lives. Music attribution: Podcast Music“Buoancy”Podington BearSoundofpicture.comTo learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at podcast@ikedacenter.org 

For our first episode of the year, we are taking a moment to reflect on 2023 as a start to the new year. Dialogue Studio host Lillian Koizumi invites her colleagues Anri Tanabe and Preandra Noel to share their takeaways and learnings from the Center’s 30th anniversary year. They also discuss what continues to give them hope and what building cultures of peace means to them. Music attribution: Podcast MusicTo learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at podcast@ikedacenter.org 

This month, we are wrapping up our special 30th anniversary series where we unpack themes from Daisaku Ikeda’s 1993 Harvard address, “Mahayana Buddhism and Twenty-first Century Civilization.” In this final episode of the year, our host Lillian explores the theme of dialogue and dignity with renowned scholar Dr. Donna Hicks. In their conversation, Lillian asks Dr. Hicks about the role of dignity in engaging in genuine dialogue; the challenge of having dialogue with those who violate our dignity; how Dr. Hicks continues to maintain hope in her work in the face of an epidemic of indignity in our world; and much more. Dr. Hicks is an Associate at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University. She is a leading expert in Dignity and Conflict Resolution and has worked extensively in areas of conflict around the world for several decades. She was a consultant to the British Broadcasting Company where she co-facilitated encounters between victims and perpetrators of the Northern Irish conflict with Archbishop Desmond Tutu. You can read her full bio on her website: https://drdonnahicks.com/ To learn more about Dr. Hicks’ work on dignity, check out her two books: Dignity: It’s Essential Role in Resolving ConflictLeading with Dignity: How to Create a Culture That Brings Out the Best in PeopleMusic attribution: Podcast MusicTo learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at podcast@ikedacenter.org 

This month, we continue our special 30th anniversary series where we unpack themes from Daisaku Ikeda’s 1993 Harvard address, “Mahayana Buddhism and Twenty-first Century Civilization.” In this episode, our host Lillian dives into the theme of human restoration with two Ikeda Center Youth Committee members Kip Clark and Yuko Tsuji. In their dialogue, Lillian invites Kip and Yuko to share reflections on the Center’s recent Dialogue Nights event in August which explored Mr. Ikeda’s perspective on the restoration of humanity. They discussed whether they believe that our humanity can be restored; how we lost our humanity along the way; and what it will take to restore it at this crucial time in our world. In his lecture, Mr. Ikeda writes “The function of the Buddha nature is always to encourage us to be strong, to be good, to be wise; the message is always one of human restoration.” Kip is a podcast producer, improv actor, and data analyst who believes that we would all benefit from more sincere, vulnerable conversation and cooperative worldviews. And Yuko is currently pursuing her masters in social work at Boston College. When she’s not doing school work (which is all the time) she enjoys watching anime, eating vegetables, trying new types of sriracha sauce, and hand washing her clothes. Music attribution: Podcast MusicTo learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at podcast@ikedacenter.org 

In this episode, host Lillian I speaks with two friends of the Ikeda Center, Angie Lu and Sakshi Khurana, about the timely theme of interdependence. Angie is completing her Master of Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education and Sakshi is a Research & Teaching Fellow at Harvard University and a doctoral candidate in Value-Creating Education for Global Citizenship at DePaul University. Both Angie and Sakshi are regular attendees of the Center’s Dialogue Nights event series. In their dialogue, Lillian invites them to share what interdependence means to them, how this concept has changed the way they interact with others, and how they think the world would be different if more people lived with a deeper understanding of interdependence. Music attribution: Podcast MusicTo learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at podcast@ikedacenter.org