Society Builders

An exploration of the Ridvan Message of 2024 by the Universal House of Justice.The message explores the interaction between the forces of disintegration and integration at work in the world today - highlighting the inescapable need for a sustained, rapid rise in the number of those committing their time, energy and concentration to the success of our peace-building initiatives.CONTENTS:0:00 Introduction1:26 Dark Times8:15 Our Role as Haven11:24 Methods & Instruments12:58 Our Message16:19 Closing Thoughts

In this episode we explore the recent message which the Universal House of Justice sent to the Baha'is in Iran on Naw Ruz (March 20th, 2024).  The message is not only important for the love and admiration which the Universal House of Justice showers on the Persian Bahá’i community, suffering under intense and relentless persecution, but also because in many ways, it represents the next chapter, building on its November 28, 2023 message - helping us navigate a path to universal peace.  The episode also explores the Universal House of Justice's message of January 18, 2019, which they reference here, exploring strategies for peace building and the promotion of the oneness of the human race.  Key referencesMar 20, 2024 Naw Ruz Message: https://payamha-iran.org/en/document/833Nov 28, 2023 Message: https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/20231128_001/1Jan 18, 2019 Message: https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/20190118_001/1CONTENTS:0:00 Introduction2:12 Love for Persian Baha’is7:55 State of the World12:40 Key Milestones for Peace19:44 Disintegration on the Rise24:07 A Crisis of Identity29:36 Agency & Peace Building34:11 Peace as Meta Narrative37:19 Closing Thoughts

An interview with Nealin Parker, Executive Director of Common Ground USA, exploring the range of like-minded organizations contributing to depolarization (including over 6,700 such organizations in the US alone).Nealin explores the different approaches such organizations take and provides guidance on how to find collaborators, assess  their quality and best engage with them.She also explores the  role of neighborhoods, society building and more.Organization referenced in episode (in order of appearance): • Living Room Conversations (www.livingroomconversations.org)• Preemptive Love Coalition (Love Anyway Feasts) (www.preemptivelove.org/feast-templates)• Braver Angels (www.braverangels.org)• Listen First Coalition (www.listenfirstproject.org/listen-first-coalition)• Telos (www.telosgroup.org)• Make America Dinner (www.makeamericadinneragain.com)• The People’s Supper (www.thepeoplessupper.org)• Resetting the Table (www.resettingthetable.org)• Bridge USA (www.bridgeusa.org)• Campus Conversation (www.aascu.org/resources/campus-conversations-toolkit)• Sustained Dialog (www.sustaineddialogue.org)• Solia (www.solia.net)• American Exchange Project (www.americanexchangeproject.org)• Shoulder to Shoulder (www.shouldertoshouldercampaign.org)• Telos (www.telosgroup.org)• Interfaith America (www.interfaithamerica.org)• Habitat for Humanity (www.habitat.org)• One America Movement (www.oneamericamovement.org)• City Year (www.cityyear.org)• AmeriCorps (www.americorps.gov)• Red Cross (www.redcross.org)• United Way (www.unitedway.org)• All Sides (www.allsides.com)• The Flip Side (www.theflipside.io)CONTENTS0:00 Introduction3:45 Mapping Depolarization11:21 Flavors of Depolarization17:50 Cooking as Unifier22:37 Interfaith Dialog25:17 Service as Unifier28:08 Finding Collaborators30:11 Assessing Quality33:41 The Role of Neighborhood38:55 Society Building48:21Engaging with the Like-Minded51:37 Closing Thoughts

An interview with Dr. Lisa Schirch, a global authority on social media's impact on polarization. Here, Dr. Schirch explains how the algorithms that drive social media platforms favor polarization, a force further amplified by malicious foreign actors exploiting the platforms.She also explores solutions at the individual level designed to improve our media diet and improve our etiquette of expression.CONTENTS0:00 Introduction2:10 How social media amplify polarization14:27 Feeding our lower nature19:05 The death of ‘objective’ news31:00 Case Study: Myanmar37:12 Solutions for us as individuals46:02 The need for in-person interaction50:46 The future for social media53:17 Closing Thoughts

An interview with Andrea Bartoli, former dean of a number of prestigious conflict resolution schools; diplomat; and President of the Sant'Egidio Foundation for Peace and Dialogue.  Andrea shares insights from his participation in a number of successful peace initiatives, starting with efforts that brought an end to the civil war in Mozambique.  He also shares lessons learned through Sant'Egidio, a Catholic force for peace.

On November 28, 2023, the Universal House of Justice shared its message providing a history of our organic evolution as a community over the past hundred years.  This episode explores parts of that message addressing the 'society building' focus across four key themes: the organic evolution of initiatives, our interaction with wider society, principles for society building and the interplay between the forces of integration and disintegration at work in the world today.

An interview with Rabbi Roly Matalon sharing his efforts to promote depolarization including an amazing exchange which saw representatives of his very progressive-liberal congregation living with MAGA supporters for three days - followed by their living with his congregation for three days.  The results of this exchange will move you and highlight the power of personal transformation in better learning to understand others.

An interview with global pioneer in mediation training, Gary Friedman, co-founder of the Center for Understanding in Conflict which has trained over 10,000 mediators.  Gary has taught at both Harvard and Stanford and for the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva and the American Bar Association and is the author of three books.  In this episode, Gary shares his 'understanding-based' model of mediation, providing strategies to help those in conflict better understand each other in their path towards finding resolution.

An interview with award-winning scholar, Dr. Peter Coleman, sharing his research at Columbia University's 'Difficult Conversations Lab', exploring the variables best contributing to bringing antagonistic groups closer together.In this 'power hour', discover the main principles which have emerged in thescientific literature for effective depolarization.  This includes the benefits of complicating the narrative, the power of movement, pursuing a common goal, the limits of contact theory, appreciating the temporal dimension of change, positive deviance, shaping first impressions, articulating theories of change, maintaining a strong positive-to-negative comment ratio.  Dr. Coleman also shares details about his 4 week, daily training program, 'The Challenge'.Key references:Cross-cutting structure (4:24)https://www.jstor.org/stable/3088437Movie: A Walk in the Woods (20:11)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Walk_in_the_Woods_(film)Habitat for Humanity (23:04)https://www.habitat.org/Movie: The First Step (24:15)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_First_Step_(film)Allport's Contact Theory (27:02)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_hypothesisPositive Deviance (33:56) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_deviancehttps://www.amazon.com/Power-Positive-Deviance-Unlikely-Innovators/dp/1422110664Blum's Islands of Agreement (35:19)https://www.amazon.com/Islands-Agreement-Managing-Enduring-Rivalries/dp/067402446XDerek Kilmer (37:48)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_KilmerSensitivity to Initial Conditions (39:03)https://sites.psu.edu/academy/2016/04/25/sensitive-dependence-of-initial-conditions/Chasin's Public Conversation's Project (40:53)https://www.publicconversations.org/Popper's Clock vs Cloud Problem (44:31)http://www.the-rathouse.com/2011/Clouds-and-Clocks.htmlThe Negativity Bias (47:20)https://positivepsychology.com/3-steps-negativity-biasGottman's Love Lab (48:52)https://www.gottman.com/love-lab/Starts with Us - The Challenge (52:17)https://findingthewayout.startswith.us/--Chapters:0:00 Introduction8:40 Complicating the Narrative15:53 The Power of Movement 23:47 Pursuing A Common Goal26:04 Contact Theory33:03 Positive Deviance38:27 Shaping First Impressions42:37 Theories of Change46:31 Positive/Negative Ratio50:48 The “Challenge”53:50 Advice for Baha’i Communities56:05 Closing Thoughts

An interview with award-winning journalist Amanda Ripley who shares insights on the science of bringing antagonistic groups together based on her recent best-selling book, High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out.  Includes discussion on evidence-based strategies for depolarization and on how the Baha'i community serves as a role model in this arena.CONTENTS0:00 Introduction5:20 Background to the Book11:29 Avoiding High Conflict16:03 Feeling Heard19:10 Breaking Binaries21:00 Avoiding Conflict Entrepreneurs32:12 Cultivating Calm35:40 Complicating the Narrative39:29 Reaching a Saturation Point 41:56 The Baha’i Community as Model47:48 Hope & Human Triumph50:15 Applications for the Workplace53:00 Closing Thoughts

How can you best engage withe the prevalent discourses of society?  In this episode, we explore FIVE stages one should consider in engaging with a discourse:Prioritizing which discourse to engage with.'Reading society' and getting familiar with the discourse.Immersion in the Baha'i Writings in search of relevant insights.Sharing insights in ways that be best understood and welcomed.Reflection - an iterative cycle of action and reflection.CHAPTERS0:00 Introduction3:27 Choosing a Discourse9:39 Reading Society17:02 Turning to the Writings20:28 ‘Hearable’ Insights24:27 Reflection29:30 Closing Thoughts

The term 'discourse' means different things to different academic disciplines.  There's a difference, for example, between political vs. scientific discourse.  In this episode, we explore what discourse means to Baha'is, focusing on five key characteristics:1. A unifying focus;2. We view discourse as consultative;3. We strive for an uplifting approach;4. Our contributions are principled;5. We focus on constructive solutions.We close the episode also exploring approaches which we should avoid.CHAPTERS0:00 Introduction4:34 What is Discourse?12:40 A Unifying Focus22:38 Discourse as Consultation29:10 An Uplifting Approach33:50 Principled Contributions37:53 Constructive Solutions40:34 What to Avoid44:36 Conclusions

Hot off the press, this episode explores the 2023 Ridvan Message of the Universal House of Justice to the Baha'is of the World, celebrating the key achievements of the past year while articulating priorities for the upcoming one.  It's inspiring guidance shaping the society building endeavors for Baha'i communities worldwide.

This episode, the third in our trilogy, continues our study of the message of the Universal House of Justice of December 30, 2021, providing us with our mandate for society building.  The episode features an interview with Dr. Kynan Feeney, a former Auxiliary Board member, summarizing the remaining 27 paragraphs of the message, addressing clusters, training institutes and Baha'i administration.

This episode, the second in our trilogy, continues our study of the message of the Universal House of Justice of December 30, 2021 providing us with our mandate for society building.  In this episode, we explore the fourth section of the message which focuses on social transformation.

This is the first of a three part trilogy exploring the message of the Universal House of Justice of December 30, 2021 laying out the vision for Society Building for the global Baha'i community for the next 25 years.  Part 1 (this episode) explores the 'bookends' of the message - the first and last sections.

The third in a three part trilogy exploring how the early American Baha'i community championed race unity - perhaps the best example of society building by Baha'is in the Western World.  This episode explores the impact the work of the early American Baha'i community had in the evolution of the nascent Civil Rights Movement.  It features interviews with Dr. Robert Stockman, Dr. Gayle Morrison, Dr. Chris Buck and Dr. Guy Emerson Mount.

This is the second in a 3 part sequence exploring how the early American Baha'i community championed race unity - perhaps the best example of society building by Baha'is in the Western World.  This episode explores Abdul-Baha's engagement with the American race unity discourse - focusing on His talks to African-American audiences in 1912.  This sets the stage for our next episode where we explore the impact this all had on both the transformation of the American Baha'i community and on the nascent Civil Right's movement.

This is the first in a 3 part sequence exploring how the early American Baha'i community championed race unity - perhaps the best example of society building by Baha'is in the Western World.  This episode explores the historical context prior to Abdul-Baha's arrival in America.  We explore how 'scientific racism' marred racial attitudes throughout America - and how churches that once championed the abolition of slavery now turned a blind eye - setting the stage for Abdul-Baha'is engagement with the race discourse in America upon His arrival in 1912.

This episode continues our interview with eminent Baha'i historian, Dr. Moojan Momen, on the transformation of education in Iran facilitated by the Persian Baha'i community's network of over 60 schools spread throughout the nation.  At a time when Iran was almost entirely illiterate, the literacy rate in the Baha'i community was near universal.  It's a remarkable story.  In this episode we explore the impact this network of schools had in Iran - and the circumstances that led to their closure by imperial decree in 1934.