Experiment Zero - The Peace Experiments: The Question from Osprey Point The hearing resumes with more speeches, more caution, and less listening. While officials debate peace as an abstract risk, the youth delegation is sidelined—literally placed in overflow. When Garrett steps forward to ask a single, clear question, the room is forced to confront something it has carefully avoided: what happens if young people are allowed to test the assumptions adults keep defending. This episode marks the turning point of Experiment Zero, where observation becomes interruption and silence finally breaks. Experiment Zero is the prequel to The Peace Experiments, a peace-forward series where a group of young people are brave enough to challenge conventional arguments against peace and disarmament. Next here on Peace is Here: Peacewarts School (Understars 101) Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com Free 2025 Podcast Recap eBook: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/2025 Music:  Alana Jordan (alanajordan) on Pixabay

Experiment Zero - The Peace Experiments: The Hearing on Global Inertia Kitty travels to the capital to cover a high-level hearing on global disarmament. Inside a cavernous hotel ballroom, officials and defense contractors frame peace as a dangerous gamble and delay as responsibility. The youth delegation is present but constrained, allowed to speak just long enough to be thanked and ignored. As the hearing concludes, Kitty realizes the system is not failing by accident—it is working exactly as designed, and the real test is still ahead. Experiment Zero is the prequel to The Peace Experiments, a peace-forward series where a group of young people are brave enough to challenge conventional arguments against peace and disarmament. Next here on Peace is Here: Peacewarts School (Understars 101) Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com Free 2025 Podcast Recap eBook: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/2025 Music:  Alana Jordan (alanajordan) on Pixabay

Experiment Zero - The Peace Experiments: The Midway Broadcast, Myths Debunked In a rare break from standard reporting, Kitty O’Compost goes live from the Beacon to name the myths that keep peace permanently postponed. With Marzipan providing emphatic fact-checks and Garrett’s voice cutting through the static, the broadcast reframes inevitability, fear, and scale as claims that can be tested rather than truths to be obeyed. This is the night the story stops circling the pothole and starts naming what dug it. Experiment Zero is the prequel to The Peace Experiments, a peace-forward series where a group of young people are brave enough to challenge conventional arguments against peace and disarmament. Next here on Peace is Here: Peacewarts School (Understars 101) Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com Free 2025 Podcast Recap eBook: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/2025 Music:  Alana Jordan (alanajordan) on Pixabay

Experiment Zero - The Peace Experiments: Ch 8 - Server Farms and Seed Banks Kitty O’Compost follows a question out of town and into two very different systems. At the edge of Midway, she encounters the guarded logistics hub, sealed tight with jargon and authorization. Downriver, she visits the Midway Community Seed Bank, where knowledge, resilience, and future harvests are shared freely. Between the two, Kitty begins to see the real conflict taking shape—not over weapons alone, but over who controls the infrastructure that defines what is possible. Experiment Zero is the prequel to The Peace Experiments, a peace-forward series where a group of young people are brave enough to challenge conventional arguments against peace and disarmament. Next here on Peace is Here: Peacewarts School (Understars 101) Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com Free 2025 Podcast Recap eBook: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/2025 Music:  Alana Jordan (alanajordan) on Pixabay

Experiment Zero - The Peace Experiments: Ch 7 - No Gates in the Garden Today’s chapter takes us out of meetings and into the soil. Kitty visits a place where ideas don’t argue. They decompose, rest, and come back changed. If you’ve ever wondered whether peace has a practice, not just a policy, this chapter begins to answer that question. Experiment Zero is the prequel to The Peace Experiments, a peace-forward series where a group of young people are brave enough to challenge conventional arguments against peace and disarmament. Next here on Peace is Here: Peacewarts School (Understars 101) Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com Free 2025 Podcast Recap eBook: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/2025 Music:  Alana Jordan (alanajordan) on Pixabay

Experiment Zero - The Peace Experiments: Ch 6 - The Science of Skepticism, Scarcity Edition Kitty O’Compost visits Room 213 at Osprey Point High School, where skepticism is treated not as an attitude but as a scientific discipline. Under the guidance of Ms. Finch, students are running live experiments on the stories adults tell about competition, fear, and scarcity. At the center of the lab is a single slice of cafeteria pizza, framed as a scarce resource and then deliberately removed from circulation. What follows is not conflict, but a shift in tone, imagination, and cooperation. The students observe what happens when the object everyone is meant to fight over no longer exists. As Garrett and her classmates collect data, Kitty begins to see that peace may not be a moral argument or a policy goal, but a methodology. One that questions who decides what is scarce, who benefits from that belief, and what becomes possible when the rules are tested rather than obeyed. Experiment Zero is the prequel to The Peace Experiments, a peace-forward series where a group of young people are brave enough to challenge conventional arguments against peace and disarmament. Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com Free 2025 Podcast Recap eBook: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/2025 Music:  Alana Jordan (alanajordan) on Pixabay

Experiment Zero - The Peace Experiments: Ch 5 - Arguments Against Peace, Interview Day Kitty O’Compost spends a single morning gathering the most common objections to peace, beginning with a defense contractor’s carefully rehearsed fears and ending in a public school science lab where those fears are treated as testable claims rather than permanent truths. As corporate language leans on economic anxiety, innovation myths, and national identity, a science teacher and her students respond with hypotheses, experiments, and clarity, reframing peace not as an aspiration but as a practice subject to evidence. This chapter sharpens the divide between postponement as policy and inquiry as action, revealing how power protects itself through delay while younger minds quietly begin designing what comes next. Experiment Zero is the prequel to The Peace Experiments, a peace-forward series where a group of young people are brave enough to challenge conventional arguments against peace and disarmament. Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com Free 2025 Podcast Recap eBook: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/2025 Music:  Alana Jordan (alanajordan) on Pixabay

Experiment Zero – The Peace Experiments: Ch 4 - The Leak: Protocol of Postponement In this chapter, Kitty receives an unexpected document that reveals how close the world is to disarmament and how far it remains from choosing it. What appears to be a serious plan for peace is revealed instead as a ritual of postponement, built from charts, committees, and comfort thresholds. As Kitty reads deeper, the real obstacle becomes clear. The technology is ready, the safeguards are complete, and the systems can act. What is missing is not capacity but courage. This chapter explores how bureaucratic language can function as a form of fear, how delay is disguised as responsibility, and how peace can be quietly stalled by those who insist it must first be made comfortable. Experiment Zero is the prequel to The Peace Experiments, a peace-forward series where a group of young people are brave enough to challenge conventional arguments against peace and disarmament. Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com Free 2025 Podcast Recap eBook: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/2025 Music:  Alana Jordan (alanajordan) on Pixabay

Experiment Zero – The Peace Experiments: Ch 3 - Scratch-Fact-Check, The Global Pothole A routine local story takes an unexpected turn when Kitty O’Compost realizes her reporting has begun to attract attention far beyond Midway. What started as a single pothole on County Route 12 now sits at the center of a widening web of polite warnings, unfamiliar acronyms, and unusually interested observers. As Marzipan delivers increasingly emphatic scratch-fact-checks, Kitty begins to name the pattern emerging beneath the language of “harmonization” and “metadata.” This chapter introduces the idea of the global pothole—the space between ordinary facts and the carefully managed stories meant to contain them—and marks the moment when simple journalism starts to feel like evidence. Experiment Zero is the prequel to The Peace Experiments, a peace-forward series where a group of young people are brave enough to challenge conventional arguments against peace and disarmament. Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com Free 2025 Podcast Recap eBook: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/2025 Music:  Alana Jordan (alanajordan) on Pixabay

Experiment Zero – The Peace Experiments: Ch 2 - The Council Meeting of Unwanted Attendance Kitty O’Compost arrives at a so-called informational meeting in the Old Gym, where folding chairs, fluorescent lights, and carefully chosen language are meant to keep the public at a comfortable distance. Joined by Marzipan and an unexpected student attendee, Kitty listens as officials explain a new facility using jargon that seems designed to obscure more than it reveals. As terms slip, silences stretch, and a forbidden idea briefly surfaces, the meeting exposes a quiet tension between governance and participation, secrecy and shared responsibility. What was meant to reassure instead sharpens Kitty’s sense that something important is being managed out of sight—and that certain concepts unsettle authority simply by being named. Experiment Zero is the prequel to The Peace Experiments, a peace-forward series where a group of young people are brave enough to challenge conventional arguments against peace and disarmament. Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com Get the 2025 Podcast Recap eBook: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/2025 Music:  Alana Jordan (alanajordan) on Pixabay

Experiment Zero – The Peace Experiments: Ch 1 - Goats, Potholes, and Servers Chapter One introduces Kitty O’Compost, a small-town reporter easing into an ordinary assignment in Midway, armed with a notebook, a sense of humor, and a highly observant goat named Marzipan. What begins as a routine walk toward town—past murals, potholes, and familiar civic neglect—takes an unexpected turn at the edge of a newly built facility that doesn’t quite belong. This opening chapter sets the tone for The Peace Experiments: attentive, wry, and quietly unsettled. It’s a story about noticing small things, trusting instincts, and recognizing the moment when a local story begins to lean toward something larger—before anyone has named it, and before anyone admits they’re watching. Experiment Zero is the prequel to The Peace Experiments, a peace-forward series where a group of young people are brave enough to challenge conventional arguments against peace and disarmament. Join the Community / Get the Books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com Get the 2025 Podcast Recap eBook: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/2025 Music:  Alana Jordan (alanajordan) on Pixabay

This year-end episode offers a moment to pause and take stock. Avis reflects on the work of Peace is Here in 2025, the questions that shaped the podcast, and what it has meant to study peace seriously in a world still organized around war. The episode looks back on a year of daily practice through series such as Wolff Peace, The Great Disfarmament and The Great Disarmament, Architects of Enough, and the introduction of The Next Peacelands. It also marks personal and creative milestones, including the release of Mono Mutante, the first Kickstarter campaign, and the arrival of Kitty O’Compost. Looking ahead, Avis shares the direction Peace is Here will take in 2026. The podcast moves into a more intentional curriculum, inviting listeners to become peace scholars through attention, inquiry, and lived moral practice. Peace will be explored through history, philosophy, satire, and fiction, with an emphasis on imagining peace as a practical path rather than a distant ideal. The episode closes with The Tip of the Peaceberg Prayer, a quiet New Year reflection on gratitude, unweaponed life, and the deeper truth of peace beneath the surface of the world as it appears. Tomorrow begins a new thirteen-episode fiction series, The Peace Experiments  Experiment Zero, where a small town reporter, a fact-checking goat, and a group of young people begin asking the questions adults avoid. Thank you for listening, for your presence this year, and for walking into the next one together. Peace and love, Avis Get the Winter Holiday Reading list with links to the full stories: www.aviskalfsbeek.com/holiday Get Avis’s books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com Music: “Una Manana” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW Upcoming series: The Peace Experiments – Season Zero starts 1/1/26! (Ep 184)

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: Edith Wharton – 12/30/25 (The ’Seventies) plus The Next Peacelands This episode features a New Year’s-season reading from Edith Wharton’s story “New Year’s Day — The ’Seventies,” part of her 1924 collection Old New York. In this piece, Wharton examines memory, reputation, and the quiet consequences of a life lived under the watchful eye of society. Kitty reads a short excerpt that brings out Wharton’s signature blend of precision, empathy, and moral insight. Kitty O’Compost continues warming up her reporter voice for the forthcoming Peace Is Here series The Peace Experiments exploring peace, AI, and the commons. For this special holiday edition of The Next Peacelands, Avis Kalfsbeek changes her focus from the factual grounding of warzones and arms suppliers to highlight the spiritual organizations and networks actively building peace around the world. Get the Winter Holiday Reading list with links to the full stories: www.aviskalfsbeek.com/holiday Get Avis’s books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com Music: “The Red Kite” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW Intro Music: PulseBox on Pixabay Upcoming series: The Peace Experiments Edith Wharton – New Year’s Day (The ’Seventies) on Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/61321

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: Henry David Thoreau – A Winter Walk plus The Next Peacelands This episode features a reflective reading from Henry David Thoreau’s 1843 essay A Winter Walk—a quiet meditation on landscape, attention, and the moral clarity that comes from observing nature with patience. Kitty reads a short excerpt that highlights Thoreau’s deliberate pace and his belief that paying attention is its own form of ethical living. Kitty O’Compost continues warming up her reporter voice for the forthcoming Peace Is Here series The Peace Experiments exploring peace, AI, and the commons. For this special holiday edition of The Next Peacelands, Avis Kalfsbeek changes her focus from the factual grounding of warzones and arms suppliers to highlight the spiritual organizations and networks actively building peace around the world. Get the Winter Holiday Reading list with links to the full stories: www.aviskalfsbeek.com/holiday Get Avis’s books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com Music: “The Red Kite” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW Intro Music: PulseBox on Pixabay Upcoming series: The Peace Experiments • Henry David Thoreau – A Winter Walk on Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/9846/pg9846-images.html#chap05

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: Sarah Orne Jewett – “Aunt Cynthy Dallett” plus The Next Peacelands This episode features a winter excerpt from Sarah Orne Jewett’s “Aunt Cynthy Dallett,” published in her 1899 collection The Queen’s Twin and Other Stories. Set in the snowy Maine hill country, the story offers a calm, closely observed portrait of kinship, hospitality, and the quiet bonds that hold a community together even in the most isolated seasons. Kitty O’Compost continues warming up her reporter voice for the forthcoming Peace Is Here series The Peace Experiments exploring peace, AI, and the commons. For this special holiday edition of The Next Peacelands, Avis Kalfsbeek changes her focus from the factual grounding of warzones and arms suppliers to highlight the spiritual organizations and networks actively building peace around the world. Get the Winter Holiday Reading list with links to the full stories: aviskalfsbeek.com/holiday Get Avis’s books: AvisKalfsbeek.com Music: “The Red Kite” by Javier “Peke” RodriguezBandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW Intro Music: PulseBox on Pixabay Upcoming series: The Peace Experiments Sarah Orne Jewett – “Aunt Cynthy Dallett” on Gutenberg:https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/74980/pg74980-images.html#Page_279

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: John Burroughs – Winter Sunshine plus The Next Peacelands This episode features a winter selection from John Burroughs’ 1875 essay collection Winter Sunshine—a calm, observant reflection on landscape, weather, and the steadying practice of paying close attention. Kitty reads a short excerpt that highlights Burroughs’ quiet conviction that nature offers both clarity and companionship. Kitty O’Compost continues warming up her reporter voice for the forthcoming Peace Is Here series The Peace Experiments exploring peace, AI, and the commons. For this special holiday edition of The Next Peacelands, Avis Kalfsbeek changes her focus from the factual grounding of warzones and arms suppliers to highlight the spiritual organizations and networks actively building peace around the world. Get the Winter Holiday Reading list with links to the full stories: www.aviskalfsbeek.com/holiday Get Avis’s books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com Music: “The Red Kite” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW Intro Music: PulseBox on Pixabay Upcoming series: The Peace Experiments John Burroughs – Winter Sunshine on Gutenberg (various editions): https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/4279/pg4279-images.html

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: Kate Douglas Wiggin – The Birds’ Christmas Carol plus The Next Peacelands This episode features a warm, humane reading from Kate Douglas Wiggin’s 1886 novella The Birds’ Christmas Carol—a tender holiday story shaped by Wiggin’s early work as a teacher and social reformer. Kitty reads a short excerpt that highlights Wiggin’s belief in community care and the quiet dignity of everyday kindness. Kitty O’Compost continues warming up for The Peace Experiments (Season Zero), the forthcoming Peace Is Here series exploring peace, AI, and the cultural commons through grounded storytelling and thoughtful reflection. For this special holiday edition of The Next Peacelands, Avis Kalfsbeek changes her focus from the factual grounding of warzones and arms suppliers to highlight the spiritual organizations and networks actively building peace around the world. Get the Winter Holiday reading list with links to full stories: www.aviskalfsbeek.com/holiday  Get the Avis’s books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com Music: “The Red Kite” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW Intro Music: PulseBox on Pixabay Upcoming series: The Peace Experiments Kate Douglas Wiggin – The Birds’ Christmas Carol on Gutenberg: https://gutenberg.org/cache/epub/721/pg721-images.html

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: Mark Twain – A Letter from Santa Claus plus The Next Peacelands This episode presents a warm, humorous seasonal reading of Mark Twain’s 1875 piece A Letter from Santa Claus—written originally for his young daughter and now beloved for its gentle wit and clear-eyed affection. Kitty reads the letter in full, highlighting Twain’s ability to offer comfort, humor, and truth in the same breath. Kitty O’Compost continues warming up for The Peace Experiments (Season Zero), the forthcoming Peace Is Here series exploring peace, AI, and the cultural commons. For this special holiday edition of The Next Peacelands, Avis Kalfsbeek changes her focus from the factual grounding of warzones and arms suppliers to highlight the spiritual organizations and networks actively building peace around the world. Get the Winter Holiday reading list with links to full stories: www.aviskalfsbeek.com/holiday Get the Avis’s books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com Music: “The Red Kite” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW Intro Music: PulseBox on Pixabay Upcoming series: The Peace Experiments Mark Twain – A Letter from Santa Claus https://americanliterature.com/author/mark-twain/short-story/a-letter-from-santa-claus

Kitty Reads Holiday Lit for Peace: Alphonse Daudet – The Pope’s Mule (Part 2) plus The Next Peacelands This episode concludes the story begun in Episode 175! We return to Alphonse Daudet’s classic short story The Pope’s Mule—a charming, historic satire about pride, patience, and delayed revenge set during the Christmas season in Avignon, France. Kitty reads the final portion, where the long-awaited moment of truth arrives. Catch up: If you haven't heard the start of this tale, please go back one episode to Episode 175 Kitty O’Compost continues warming up for The Peace Experimentsthe forthcoming Peace Is Here series exploring peace, AI, and the commons. For this special holiday edition of The Next Peacelands, Avis Kalfsbeek changes her focus from the factual grounding of warzones and arms suppliers to highlight the spiritual organizations and networks actively building peace around the world. Get the Winter Holiday Reading list with links to the full stories: www.aviskalfsbeek.com/holiday  Get the Avis’s books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com Music: “The Red Kite” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW Intro Music: PulseBox on Pixabay Upcoming series: The Peace Experiments Alphonse Daudet – The Pope’s Mule onProject Gutenberg  https://gutenberg.org/cache/epub/73621/pg73621-images.html

Kitty Reads Holiday Lit for Peace: Alphonse Daudet – “The Pope’s Mule” (Part 1) plus The Next Peacelands This episode features a holiday reading from Alphonse Daudet’s classic short story The Pope’s Mule—a charming, historic satire about pride, patience, and delayed revenge set during the Christmas season in Avignon, France. Kitty reads an excerpt that highlights Daudet’s light touch and his talent for character-driven humor. Kitty O’Compost continues warming up for The Peace Experiments  the forthcoming Peace Is Here series exploring peace, AI, and the cultural commons. For this special holiday edition of The Next Peacelands, Avis Kalfsbeek changes her focus from the factual grounding of warzones and arms suppliers to highlight the spiritual organizations and networks actively building peace around the world. Get the Winter Holiday Stories Reading list with links to the full stories: www.aviskalfsbeek.com/holiday  Get Avis's books:AvisKalfsbeek.com Music:“The Red Kite” by Javier “Peke” Rodriguez Bandcamp:https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW Intro Music:PulseBox on Pixabay Upcoming series:The Peace Experiments ( Alphonse Daudet – “The Pope’s Mule” on Project Gutenberg  https://gutenberg.org/cache/epub/73621/pg73621-images.html