Peace Is Here with Avis Kalfsbeek

Ep 218 Peacewarts: Living Roots 101 - Hunger as a Weapon (Class 4)

Peacewarts: Living Roots 101 - Hunger as a Weapon (Class 4)

We examine the brutal history of manufactured famine as a tactical instrument of war. From the Holodomor to the "soft power" of the 1960s Food for Peace program, this class teaches scholars how to recognize when hunger is being used as a logistical weapon of control and why local agricultural sovereignty is a vital peace strategy.

Homework:

1. Look up "The Holodomor" and read the "Causes" section to understand how government policy, not weather, created the famine.
2. Write down one question about any of this episode’s topics. If you don’t have a question, write “no question.”
3. Optional:Journal for five minutes about the concept of "Calorie Leverage." How does it feel to realize that your own food security might be tied to a global logistical "valve"?

Learning Topics:

The Holodomor (Logistical Famine); Scorched Earth Tactics vs. Soil Health; Food for Peace (PL 480) and Calorie Leverage; Modern Supply Chain Blockades; Agricultural Sovereignty as a Peace Strategy

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Ep 217 Peacewarts: Living Roots 101 - The Scarcity Script (Class 3)

Peacewarts: Living Roots 101 - The Scarcity Script (Class 3)

Episode Summary: We explore how the concept of "shortage" is used as a psychological and political tool to justify war. This class examines the history of the Enclosure Acts, the chemical dependency of modern agriculture, and the "Food as a Weapon" strategy to reveal how scarcity is often a manufactured policy rather than a biological reality.

Homework:

1. Look up "The Enclosure Acts" and read a summary of how they changed the "Common Land" system in England.
2. Write down one question about any of this episode’s topics. If you don’t have a question, write “no question.”
3. Optional:Journal for five minutes about a "shortage" you see in the news today (gas, food, or water). Is it a biological shortage of the earth, or a logistical shortage of the "fence"?

Learning Topics: The Scarcity Script vs. Biological Abundance; The Enclosure Acts and the End of the Commons; Haber-Bosch: The Fertilizer-Weapon Link; Strategic Food Reserves and Political Leverage; The Yield Gap and Distribution Waste

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough

• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Ep 216 Peacewarts: Living Roots 101 - Seed Sovereignty (Class 2)

Peacewarts:  Living Roots 101 - Seed Sovereignty (Class 2)

We move from the soil to the seed. This class explores why the right to save and exchange seeds is a foundational act of a peaceful society. We examine the transition from "Common" to "Commodity," the hidden costs of the 1960s Green Revolution, and the heroic sacrifice of the Vavilov Institute scientists who guarded the world's genetic heritage during the Siege of Leningrad.

Homework:

1. Look up "Vandana Shiva" and read one paragraph about her work with Navdanya and seed freedom.
2. Write down one question you have after this episode or your research. If no question comes to mind, write "no question."
3. Optional:Journal for five minutes about the difference between an "heirloom" seed and a "patented" seed.

Learning Topics: Seed Sovereignty vs. Patent Extraction; Open-Pollinated vs. Hybrid Systems; The Green Revolution's Dependency Loop; The Vavilov Martyrs (Stchukin and Ivanov); Seed Saving as an Act of Disarmament

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com

• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Ep 215 Peacewarts: Living Roots 101 - Orientation & Soil as a Peace Treaty (Class 1)

Peacewarts: Living Roots 101 - Orientation & Soil as a Peace Treaty (Class 1)

We descend into the Greenhouse to introduce the Law of Return. This class focuses on the historical cause-and-effect chain between soil health and social stability, examining Mesopotamian salinization, the American Dust Bowl, colonial monocultures, and modern fertilizer dependency. 

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routine – wait, maybe this has non become your routine… Look up the "Dust Bowl" and  "Human Displacement."
2. Write down one question you have about how food scarcity impacts local peace, or anything about this episode. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional: Journal for five minutes about where your calories come from. Do they come from a local "Law of Return" system, or an extractive "Monoculture" system?

Learning Topics:

1. The Law of Return (Anti-Extraction)
2. Mesopotamian Salinization & Systemic Collapse
3. The Dust Bowl as a Displacement Driver
4. Colonial Monocultures vs. Soil Health
5. Synthetic Fertilizer Dependency

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Ep 214 Walk for Peace - The Long Tradition of Nonviolent Walking

In this episode, Avis pauses the Peacewarts series to explore a long tradition of walks for peace. Across history, people have chosen to walk slowly and publicly as a form of nonviolent witness, reclaiming roads and landscapes through presence rather than force.

From Gandhi’s Salt March and Vinoba Bhave’s land gift walks to Peace Pilgrim, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez, and monastic peace walkers, this episode traces how walking has been used to make injustice visible and invite participation without violence.

The episode closes by situating today’s walk for peace within this wider historical lineage, reminding us that walking remains one of humanity’s most durable tools for peace — slow, visible, and human.

• Get the book Peace Stuff Enough: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/peace-stuff-enough
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “Dalai Lama Riding a Bike” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Ep 213 Peacewarts: Universal Understars 101 - Peace as Infrastructure (Class 14)

Peacewarts: Universal Understars 101 - Peace as Infrastructure (Class 14)

In this final lesson of the Understars series, we explore why peace is a stable infrastructure while war is a fragile system requiring constant upkeep. We summarize the "Understars Perspective" and dive deeper into JFK’s 1963 "Strategy of Peace" speech as a blueprint for human-made solutions. We define our role as Peace Scholars as we prepare to bring the High View down to the ground.

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routine by looking at your passport or ID card. Imagine it doesn't just list a country, but says "Citizen of the Understars." How does that change your responsibility to the person standing next to you?
2. Write down one final question for this department. If no question comes to mind, write "no question."
3. Optional:Look up at the night sky tonight. Tell the stars, "Hey Understars, let's keep an eye on peace. How about it?"

Learning Topics:

• Peace as infrastructure vs. war as a fragile system
• Summary of the Understars Perspective
• JFK’s 1963 "Strategy of Peace" Speech (American University)
• Reclaiming global citizenship
• Transitioning from theory to daily practice

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Ep 212 Peacewarts: Universal Understars 101 - The Tools of Peace, A Survey (Class 13)

Peacewarts: Universal Understars 101 - The Tools of Peace: A Survey (Class 13)

We shift our focus from philosophy to the practical "infrastructure" of peace. We survey the various tools—from shared scientific endeavors to verification treaties—that allow humanity to maintain the High View. We look back at what we have named The Great Disarmament (1963) to see how tools like the Partial Test Ban Treaty protected our shared biology. We conclude with the understanding that peace is an inevitable destination that requires constant maintenance.

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routineto look up the "Global Peace Index." Find one "Tool" or metric they use to measure how peaceful a country is.
2. Write down one questionyou have after this episode or doing homework #1. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional:Journal about your own "Personal Toolkit." When you feel a conflict rising, what is the first "tool" you reach for? (Is it a deep breath? A question? Taking a walk?)

Until our final lesson in this department, keep your eyes on the Understars. Class dismissed.

Learning topics: Peace Infrastructure, Verification Treaties, Shared Science, The Global Peace Index, 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty, The Great Disarmament.

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Ep 211 Peacewarts: Universal Understars 101 - The 1967 Outer Space Treaty (Class 12)

Peacewarts: Universal Understars 101 - The 1967 Outer Space Treaty (Class 12)

We examine the 1967 Outer Space Treaty as the "Magna Carta" of planetary peace, detailing its core articles and historical origins between the US, UK, and USSR. We also address the modern "scramble" for orbital space by private corporations and why the treaty must evolve to protect the night sky from satellite clutter and the digital colonization of the AI era.

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routineto look up a video of a "Starlink Satellite Train" or maybe you have seen one livepassing over the night sky. Notice how it changes your feeling of the "Understars."
2. Write down one questionyou have after this episode or doing homework #1. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional:Journal about the "New Scramble." Whether it’s AI or satellites, how do we protect a "Common" when people are trying to move faster than the law?

Learning topics: 1967 Outer Space Treaty (Articles I, II, & IV), The Province of All Mankind, Non-Appropriation, Orbital Debris and Satellites, The Scramble for AI/Data, Species-Level Restraint.

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Ep 210 Peacewarts: Universal Understars 101 - John F. Kennedy's American University Speech (Class 11)

Peacewarts: Universal Understars 101 - JFK’s American University Speech (Class 11)

We conduct a critical analysis of JFK’s 1963 "Strategy of Peace." While acknowledging its power in humanizing the Cold War "enemy" and breaking the Red Scare spell, we challenge Kennedy’s dismissal of "universal peace" as a fantasy. We explore why Peacewarts embraces the aspirational goal of absolute peace over mere mutual tolerance.

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routine to read the full text of the American University Speech. Find the "fantasies and fanatics" quote and sit with it.
2. Write down one question you have after this episode or doing homework #1. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional:Journal about a "fantasy" you have for the world that others might call unrealistic. Why is that dream actually the most logical thing to want?

Learning topics: JFK's American University Speech, Practical vs. Universal Peace, The Strategy of Peace, Breaking the Red Scare, Humanizing the Other, The Role of the Peace Scholar.

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW

Ep 209 Peacewarts: Universal Understars 101 - Watersheds vs. Nation-States (Class 10)

Peacewarts: Dept. of Universal Understars - Watersheds vs. Nation-States (Class 10)

We explore the concept of Bioregionalism and why natural topography—specifically watersheds—is a more logical and peaceful way to organize human society than abstract nation-states. We examine John Wesley Powell’s failed 1890 proposal and look at modern proponents of watershed-based boundaries who seek to align political logic with ecological reality.

Homework:

1. Interrupt your routine to find out the name of the watershed you currently live in.
2. Write down one question you have after this episode or doing homework #1. If no question comes to mind, write: "no question."
3. Optional: Journal about how your relationship with your "neighboring town" might change if you realized you both relied on the exact same underground aquifer.

Learning topics: Watersheds, Bioregionalism, John Wesley Powell, Topography vs. Cartography, Modern Water-Sharing Movements, Ecological Sovereignty.

Resources & Links:

• Follow the podcast as we launch into the first semester of this new peace school.
• Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Podcast Music: Javier Peke Rodriguez “I am late, madame Curie” https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW