We are living in a time when cruelty is normalized, war is justified as inevitable, and violence is often explained away as simply “human nature.” But what if that story is wrong?

On this episode of Nonviolence Radio, we speak with peace anthropologist Doug Fry about the evidence — archaeological, cross-cultural, and contemporary — that challenges the assumption that humans are wired for war. Drawing on decades of research, Fry explores peace systems, restraint, interdependence, and the ways societies have sustained nonviolence across history.

If war had conditions that gave rise to it, then it is not destiny. And if peace has deeper roots in our human story than we’ve been taught, then reclaiming human sanity may begin with reclaiming the truth about who we are.

As Fry reminds us, the task is not to debate whether change is possible — but to act:

“I don’t waste my time thinking whether this is possible or not. Take steps to try to get it done. I fail or I succeed. And if I fail, back to the drawing board. Try something else. Do it. Do it better. Do something different.”

This episode of Nonviolence Radio opens with neuroscientist Marco Iacoboni on empathy, imitation, and the “dark side” of emotional contagion, followed by reflections on Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Love Your Enemy” sermon and Michael’s Nonviolence Report. A thoughtful exploration of how understanding human behavior can strengthen the practice of nonviolence.

Transcript available at nonviolenceradio.org

On this episode of Nonviolence Radio, we explore Active Hope—the practice of choosing a direction and moving toward it, even when the future feels uncertain.

We begin with Chris Johnstone (co-author of Active Hope with Joanna Macy), who shares a grounded, non-sugarcoated view of hope as something we activate: by naming what we love, honoring our pain for the world, and building the emotional and communal skills that help us keep going. Johnstone’s “thrutopian” lens offers a way through crisis that refuses both denial and despair.

The episode then turns from inner resourcing to urgent reality on the ground. In a powerful Nonviolence Report, Michael speaks with Mel Duncan, co-founder of Nonviolent Peaceforce, who has just returned from the occupied West Bank to what he calls the “occupied Twin Cities.” Mel draws a direct line between what he witnessed under settler and military impunity in Palestine and what he describes as ICE activity and intimidation in Minnesota—naming the shared dynamics of fear, disappearance, and the erosion of accountability. But he also brings a crucial through-line of connection: nonviolent protective presence. From villages and school routes in the West Bank to neighborhoods and high schools in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Mel describes the same essential practice—trained civilians showing up, documenting, accompanying, de-escalating, and organizing community care—to interrupt harm and protect the vulnerable. The conversation makes a compelling case that the “distance” between global conflict zones and our own streets can collapse quickly—and that nonviolence is a practical discipline we can strengthen now, together.

Transcript Available at nonviolenceradio.org