Dr. May Farid is the newest professor at the Kroc School of Peace Studies and just finished her first year teaching here in San Diego. Dr. Farid is a specialist in NGOs and grassroots movements and her research focuses on the intersection between citizen initiatives and state policies and how this dynamic plays into development and good governance. Dr. Farid talks about the importance of community-driven development, expanding ways for people to engage in social movements and what it was like growing up attending local schools in Macao and China.

Natalia Ventura and Nanzi Muro are activists transforming their communities through art. Natalia, an interdisciplinary artist and abolitionist from Chula Vista, California, blends her Mexican-Cuban-American heritage with her passion for nonviolence. Nanzi, an artivist from the borderlands, channels her unique experiences of living between the U.S. and Tijuana into powerful social practice art, advocating against the injustices at the U.S.-Mexico border. Both are dedicated to using their creative talents to illuminate critical social issues and foster radical love and transformation. Tune in to hear their inspiring stories and their vision for a more just world.

Natalia's website -- https://www.nataliaventura.com/

Nanzi's website -- https://nanzi-muro.wixsite.com/artivism⁠

Yaroslav Trofimov is the Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent at the Wall Street Journal, where he has worked since 1999 covering the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. He has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize the last two years for his coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. An author of 3 books, his latest is "Our Enemies Will Vanish: The Russian Invasion and Ukraine's War of Independence." Listen for the inside story on the history of Ukraine, Russia's propaganda warband the role of journalists during conflict.

Keep up with Yaroslov Trofimov and his work here: https://yarotrof.com/

Check out his new book, "Our Enemies Will Vanish" here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/731521/our-enemies-will-vanish-by-yaroslav-trofimov/

Kelsey O. Daniels is a dynamic creative force and seasoned community organizer from South East San Diego. Kelsey delves into the ancestral, wellness, and liberation dimensions of dreaming. As the founder of "Check, Please!" and "The Black Dream Experiment," Kelsey curates spaces that empower authentic storytelling and celebrate the rich tapestry of Black dreaming. Beyond their roles as a poet, mixed media artist, singer, and dreamworker, they have been a dynamic force in community advocacy, collaborating with organizations such as Creative Mornings, Women's March San Diego, Amnesty International, and ACLU San Diego. Join us as Kelsey challenges notions of white failurism and champions self and community care as paths to dream space.

To learn more about Kelsey’s work you can check out her website: https://kelseyshere.com/

To stay updated on Kelsey's live performances follow

https://www.instagram.com/andsheshere_/ and https://www.instagram.com/dreamforgetreturn/

You can contact her via email at heylove@kelseyshere.com

Mara Tissera Luna is an international consultant focusing on understanding the root causes of forced displacement in Latin America and the Caribbean and improving protection for displaced populations. She's a social anthropologist who specializes in Latin America and the Caribbean. She advises UNICEF, Georgetown University, the University of Edinburgh and Refugees International among others and has helped write more than 25 reports, handbooks, and short articles. Her latest work is “A Ridiculously Simplified Guide to Intersectional & Decolonial Research.” In this episode, we talk about decolonial, intersectional, and feminist practices that peacebuilders should be bringing to all of their work.

Reach out to Mara:

:https://www.linkedin.com/in/maratisseraluna/

For more on her research and publications:

https://maratisseraluna.academia.edu/

Ridiculously Simplified Guide to Intersection & Decolonial Research here: https://latinamerica.website/guide

Suggested reading:

https://aidnography.blogspot.com

The World's Most Neglected Displacement Crisis:

https://www.nrc.no/feature/2023/the-worlds-most-neglected-displacement-crises-in-2022/

An interview with Dr. Nadine Puechguirbal, an expert with over two decades working in gender, peace, and security. The breadth of her experience ranges across a diverse landscape including gender mainstreaming, addressing sexual and gender-based violence, preventing and responding to sexual exploitation and abuse, safeguarding, diversity and social inclusion, and advocating for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. Throughout her career in peace building she has worked in different sectors of the United Nations training her unique gender lens on humanitarian work in Niger, Somalia, Zambia, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and more.

For part 2 of our series highlighting the state of prisons in the U.S., we speak with Wehtahnah Tucker, a lawyer with more than a decade experience working in the California Department of Corrections and co-moderator of a recent lecture by Angela Davis on prison abolition. Leeya and Wehtahnah go deep on the current state of the carceral system, the Norway Model and the tricky business of shutting down prisons in communities that have come to rely on them as a source of economic stability. Wehtahnah details the complex issues faced by trans prisoners in California and tells us her "audacious" vision for the future of prisons in the state.

• https://www.vera.org/california-state-of-incarceration

• https://www.vera.org/news/justice-reform-101?ms=email_110323_e1_eng_b&utm_medium=email&utm_source=email_110323_e1_eng_b&emci=22f9d2e3-1f74-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&emdi=76e4f8ac-597a-ee11-b004-00224832eb73&ceid=87625

• https://www.themarshallproject.org/

• https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/end-mass-incarceration

Legendary activist Angela Davis delivers the Kroc School's Distinguished Lecture on the history of American prisons and the urgency of prison abolition. Recorded in front of a live audience on Oct. 11, 2023, Davis speaks about the importance of convincing people that prisons are not inevitable, the role of imagination in advocating for change and how to avoid burnout in social justice activism. She calls out the dangers of prison reform and hails the collective wisdom of incarcerated populations.