Podcast
Wiser World
Hosted by Cloud10 · EN
Wiser World is a podcast built on a simple idea: history explains headlines. Hosted by world history teacher and storyteller Alli Roper, the show turns complex global history into clear, compact, approachable episodes for busy adults who want real understanding. Wiser World explores the people, cultures, and turning points that shaped today’s global events, giving you the context you wish you’d learned in school. If you’ve ever read a headline and thought, “Wait… how did we get here?” this podcast helps you answer that — with more nuance, empathy, and confidence.
25episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Introducing: No Such Thing
1w ago00:14:15Tap to summarizeI'm excited to share a preview of a new podcast we think you’d enjoy: No Such Thing No Such Thing is a show where three best friends and journalists settle their dumb arguments — and yours — by actually doing the research. Hosts Manny Fidel, Noah Friedman, and Devan Joseph start each episode with an argument using just their gut feelings. Then they go out into the world, investigate, talk to experts, and conduct some experiments. Finally, the guys bring their findings back to the group to see if they can change minds, enlighten each other, and move past their emotional truths.Find No Such Thing on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. New episodes out Wednesdays Listen here: No Such Thing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →90. Human Dignity: The Bedrock of Cultures of Peace // Brett Scharffs
1w ago01:14:15Tap to summarizeIn this episode, I interview Professor Brett Scharffs, the director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at BYU. His extensive bio is found here. He joins the show fresh from speaking at the UN Human Rights Council — where he was invited to evaluate a landmark unanimous resolution on building cultures of peace. His central argument is that human dignity is the bedrock beneath all of it — the universal concept that makes human rights, religious freedom, and peaceful pluralism possible across wildly different cultures and ideologies. Brett is one of the most thoughtful guests we've ever had on the show, and I loved learning from him. Transcript for this episode. Find additional resources, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and support the podcast at Patreon.com/wiserworldpodcast. Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wiserworldpodcast/ Sign up for our free weekly email newsletter at https://wiserworld.com/ Timestamps: 00:00 — Introduction: The UN resolution on cultures of peace and how Brett got involved 03:30 — How Brett's work in religious freedom led him to human dignity as a universal bridge-building concept 05:40 — Defining peacemaking — Brett's perspective alongside definitions from previous guests 07:49 — The UN Human Rights Council resolution on cultures of peace explained 10:31 — The Punta del Este Declaration, Eleanor Roosevelt, and how human dignity made the UDHR possible 23:33 — AI through the lens of human dignity: dignity-enhancing vs. dignity-degrading uses of technology 29:52 — The components of a culture of peace: virtues of the head, heart, and hand 42:01 — What kills cultures of peace — and the leaders who don't want it 53:37 — Why secular institutions overlook religious actors in peacemaking (and why that's a mistake) 1:04:11 — Brett's closing thoughts: none of us are powerless, and where his hope comes from Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →89. Lebanon: The History Behind the Headlines
2w ago00:52:28Tap to summarizeLebanon has been in the headlines for months — but the real story goes back 3,000 years. In less than an hour, get the context you've been missing: Phoenicians, civil war, Hezbollah, and how all of it leads to today. This is a brief, approachable history of Lebanon for those who know little to nothing about it. Please keep in mind that this is not comprehensive, just a jumping off point for further learning. Find additional resources, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and support the podcast at Patreon.com/wiserworldpodcast. Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wiserworldpodcast/ Sign up for our free weekly email newsletter at https://wiserworld.com/ Sources used in making this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →88. Conflict Avoidance Leads to Conflict: How Skilled Negotiators Build Lasting Peace // Stan Christensen
3w ago01:13:02Tap to summarizeWhat does negotiation have to do with peacemaking? Turns out, A LOT. Stan Christensen has spent decades negotiating in over 75 countries — between governments, ethnic groups, and armed factions — and he joins Wiser World to bring that hard-won wisdom down to earth. We talk about why conflict avoidance creates more conflict, how trust is built and broken, what skilled negotiators do differently, and why Stan believes there is no such thing as an intractable conflict. This one will change how you see every difficult conversation in your life. Check out Stan's podcast "All Things Negotiation" to learn more about negotiation. Transcript for this episode. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 – Introduction & Stan's background 02:57 – What is negotiation, really? 04:10 – How negotiation and peacemaking differ 05:33 – Inside peace negotiations: what actually happens in the room 06:59 – What separates skilled negotiators from unskilled ones 09:27 – "Conflict avoidance leads to conflict" 10:20 – The key skills: curiosity, inquiry, and the orange story 14:41 – How trust is built (and broken) 17:32 – Why negotiation is never really a one-time thing 20:37 – How culture shapes negotiation (Colombia & France stories) 32:27 – The power of questioning your own assumptions 35:52 – There is no such thing as an intractable conflict 37:41 – The Peru-Ecuador story: finding common ground 40:50 – A seven-element framework for preparing to negotiate 44:56 – Reframing conflict as "creative problem solving" 48:41 – Negotiating with someone who has more power than you 53:04 – The role of emotion in conflict resolution 55:35 – "Go to the balcony": how to avoid getting emotionally hijacked 59:19 – Why we all under-apologize — and why it matters 1:02:25 – Apology at the macro level: why politicians won't do it 1:05:35 – What gives Stan hope 1:07:21 – Stan's one takeaway for listeners For Wiser World: Find additional resources, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and support the podcast at Patreon.com/wiserworldpodcast. Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wiserworldpodcast/ Sign up for our free weekly email newsletter at https://wiserworld.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →87. Peacemakers Who Changed History: Part 2
Apr 1500:34:19Tap to summarizeToday we explore the stories of five MORE impactful peacemakers throughout the world: Wangari Maathai, José Ramos-Horta, Mohandas Gandhi, Rigoberta Menchú, and Mairead Corrigan. Their stories are inspiring and very human, and I hope you enjoy learning about them as much as I did. Find additional resources, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and support the podcast at Patreon.com/wiserworldpodcast. Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wiserworldpodcast/ Sign up for our free weekly email newsletter at https://wiserworld.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →86. Women at the Peace Table: Why It Works and Why It's Still a Struggle // Sanam Naraghi Anderlini
Apr 701:23:05Tap to summarizeIn this episode, I sit down with Sanam Naraghi Anderlini — peace strategist, founder of the International Civil Society Action Network and one of the architects of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 — to talk about what it actually takes to build lasting peace. We cover the research behind women's inclusion in peace processes, how a scrappy international coalition got a landmark resolution passed at the UN Security Council, why women's unique approach to peacebuilding is a superpower rather than a liability, and what ordinary people can do right now when the architecture of international peace feels like it's crumbling. 00:00 — Introduction to Sanam Naraghi Anderlini 01:20 — Sanam's origin story: the Iranian Revolution, Rwanda, and South Africa 05:06 — The 1998 women in war zones conference that changed everything 10:04 — Defining peacemaking and peacebuilding 14:23 — The story behind UN Security Council Resolution 1325 26:27 — The four pillars of Resolution 1325 explained 30:07 — Has 1325 worked? An honest assessment 25 years later 34:57 — Why is there still so much resistance to women at the peace table? 42:32 — How ICAN finds, trains, and supports women peacebuilders worldwide 51:17 — Women's unique role in understanding and countering radicalization 1:00:57 — What cutting international aid and multilateralism means for this work 1:09:48 — What sustains Sanam — and what ordinary people can do You can find Sanam's podcast "If You Were In Charge" anywhere you get your podcasts. For Wiser World: Find additional resources, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and support the podcast at Patreon.com/wiserworldpodcast. Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wiserworldpodcast/ Sign up for our free weekly email newsletter at https://wiserworld.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →85. Peacemakers Who Changed History: Part 1
Apr 100:38:00Tap to summarizeToday we explore the stories of five impactful peacemakers throughout the world: Bertha Von Suttner, Nelson Mandela, Eleanor Roosevelt, Óscar Arias, and Leymah Gbowee. Their stories are inspiring and very human, and I hope you enjoy learning about them as much as I did. Find additional resources, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and support the podcast at Patreon.com/wiserworldpodcast. Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wiserworldpodcast/ Sign up for our free weekly email newsletter at https://wiserworld.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →84. The Ambitious Project of Peace: How Humans Built the Infrastructure of Peace
Mar 2500:35:08Tap to summarizeWhat is the history of peacemaking? In this episode, we trace the origins of diplomacy and international law from the ancient world to the present day. Topics include the Treaty of Kadesh — the world's oldest peace treaty — the Great Law of Peace and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the birth of modern diplomacy at the Peace of Westphalia, the founding of the Red Cross, the Geneva Conventions, the League of Nations, the United Nations, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We also explore what different traditions — Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Confucianism — have taught about peace throughout history. Find additional resources, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and support the podcast at Patreon.com/wiserworldpodcast. Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wiserworldpodcast/ Sign up for our free weekly email newsletter at https://wiserworld.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →83. Peacemaking, Reframed: The Art of Productive Discourse // Steven Collis
Mar 1801:20:39Tap to summarizeMost of us think peacemaking means keeping the peace — avoiding conflict, not ruffling feathers, smoothing things over. But what if that's actually not peacemaking? In this episode, I sit down with Steven Collis — law professor, First Amendment scholar, and author of Habits of a Peacemaker — to dig into what productive dialogue actually looks like in real life. Not in a boardroom or a courtroom, but in your home, your family, your neighborhood. We talk about why intellectual humility is the foundation of everything, how to reframe a conversation from a fight into a treasure hunt, why you probably don't need a strong opinion on most things, and what it actually means to listen — not just wait for your turn to talk. This one is packed. I think you're going to love it. Find additional resources, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and support the podcast at Patreon.com/wiserworldpodcast. Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wiserworldpodcast/ Sign up for our free weekly email newsletter at https://wiserworld.com/ TIMESTAMPS [00:00] — Why keeping the peace isn't the same as making peace [01:30] — Introducing Steven Collis and how he got interested in peacemaking [03:37] — What is peacemaking, really? Steven reframes it as "productive discourse" [06:32] — Intellectual humility: the most important habit of a peacemaker [07:40] — How to hold humility and conviction at the same time [11:27] — Do you actually need an opinion on everything? (Probably not.) [12:41] — Reframing conversations as a treasure hunt for understanding [14:44] — Live example: how to defuse a heated argument as a third party [19:02] — Real learning vs. being fed: how peacemakers gather information [22:06] — How to navigate media bias and find overlap across opposing sources [25:35] — Why you should hunt for the best argument against your own position [30:48] — Comment sections, bots, and why online arguing is mostly a waste of your life [34:11] — What to do when someone comes at you hard — and how to reframe it [35:04] — What happens when someone genuinely won't engage? Is there a point of no return? [38:50] — The lost art of pausing before you respond [42:35] — Active listening: why most of us are terrible at it and how to get better [50:41] — Going into a conversation with an open mind — what that actually looks like [52:20] — Is peacemaking being weaponized? When "don't stir things up" becomes avoidance [55:31] — The difference between being a peacemaker and being a pushover [1:04:45] — How to have productive dialogue with someone who has more power than you [1:09:48] — Finding where the real disagreement actually lives [1:13:00] — If you remember one thing: don't give up on becoming a peacemaker Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →82. Lessons from Iran: What Happens When You Suppress a Nation
Mar 1200:25:12Tap to summarizeFive macro-level lessons I have learned from studying Iran's history. Find additional resources, ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and support the podcast at Patreon.com/wiserworldpodcast. Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wiserworldpodcast/ Sign up for our free weekly email newsletter at https://wiserworld.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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