Recent BI and Substack Posts

We still have a lot of work to do, but here's things to think about as we do it.

This is the second in a series on the Crane Brinton Effect, showing how it relates to the U.S., even though we haven't (thank heavens!) had a violent revolution. Considering its implications now can help prevent one.

The first of a two-part essay looking at how hard it is to bring about democracy after a revolution, and why continued oppression is more likely. Here we apply this to Iran, Venezuela, Syria, and Gaza.

The news is getting ahead of us! LOTS of stuff going on and people writing thoughtful pieces about what to make of it all.

A conversation with Chip Hauss about his new book that is trying to get millions of "everyday" people engaged in what we would call "peacebuilding" here in the United States. Those people would probably call it "mending our broken country."

More interesting, sometimes scary and depressing, but sometimes hopeful readings. And all things we should know about!

The second of two posts by Stories Change Power CEO Piper Hendrix offering lessons on how we can strengthen our democracy, while simultaneously strengthening our relationships and ourselves.

The first of two posts by Stories Change Power CEO Piper Hendrix offering lessons on how we can strengthen our democracy, while simultaneously strengthening our relationships and ourselves.

Catching up from the holiday--lots of New Year's reading.

Daniel Stid applies the "Willie Sutton Rule" to governance reform. Work (and provide funding) where the action and motivation is--at the local and state levels, not the federal level.

Another set of important readings to give us all much to ponder over this holiday break.

Highlights from the webinar announcing the launch of the Phase II Civil Rights Mediation Oral History Project website -- including 11 new interviews added to 19 original ones, all telling amazing stories of how CRS "did the impossible."

Catching up, we have a lot of interesting readings to share today.

Excerpts from a conversation we had with computer scientist/journalist/peacebuilding and AI expert Jonathan Stray about all of that and how AI might actually be able to help us reduce polarization and heal U.S. democracy.

A list of questions we need to answer as we consider how the democracy we are working for should be structured and should function.

The 7th installment of our "Big Picture Series," this post explains why "massively parallel" action--in peacebuilding, problem solving, democracy building, and civic renewal is the best way to deal with the staggering complexity and scale of society-wide conflicts.

More important readings we want to share.

An obituary for the U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service, reflecting on its important work and what is being lost with its closure.

Thoughts on how to have good holiday conversations, not angry ones.

A pre-holiday set of readings. We have much to think about.

In his Better Conflict Bulletin, Jonathan Stray asks his readers how to stop our serious democratic backsliding. We respond that decoupling partisan politics from "saving democracy" is key.

Another sobering set of articles to highlight the importance of Veteran's day and what it commemorates.

The scale and complexity of society-wide conflicts make them unmanageable with small scale, technical fixes that work with interpersonal disputes. We need large scale complex processes to address such conflicts constructively.

Longtime Israeli/Palestinian peacebuilder talks about living in Israel during the war, some causes and outcomes of the war, and what she hopes for now.

More important readings we want to share.