The Peace Parade: Recent Episodes
Fran Faraz
The Peace Parade is a podcast that introduces listeners to artists, photographers, philosophers, playwrights, and poets whose work is focused on issues connected to Peace Studies, including cultural memory, environmental conservation, gender equality, human rights, non-violence, and religious diversity. Join hosts Kareem Tayyar and Farzane Farazdaghi as they interview creatives from around the globe about the ways artistic expression can help both individuals and societies and achieve a more peaceful, just world.
In this episode, we are joined by Kaleem Hussain, a peace advocate, thought leader, and multi-disciplinary change consultant whose work bridges diplomacy, law, sustainability, and social transformation. Rooted in the vision of the harmony of the heart as a new default for humanity, Kaleem shares how poetry, faith, and community are central to his peacebuilding journey. As the founder of United in Hope – United for Humanity, he reminds us that even in crisis, collective compassion can guide the way forward.
This episode is a reflection on peace as a courageous, everyday practice grounded in meaning and connection.
Join us for a deeply human conversation on peace, not as theory, but as a lived, daily practice. One that begins with the heart.
In this episode, we speak with Rukhsar, a peacebuilder, journalist, and advocate, about her inspiring work uplifting women and girls in Afghanistan through education and peace leadership. She shares what motivates her, offers insight into daily life in Afghanistan since 2021, and calls on women around the world to stand in solidarity with their Afghan sisters. Her message is a powerful reminder that peacebuilding and education are collective efforts, requiring shared commitment across borders.
In this episode, we talk with Monica Curca, the founder of Activate Labs, about their work empowering frontline communities through peace building, creative storytelling, and design. They share how their experiences as a refugee and advocate shaped their approach to transforming conflict, fostering resilience, and amplifying grassroots movements worldwide.
In today's episode, we speak with Janessa Gans Wilder, founder of the Euphrates Institute, a global peace-building organization. Previously a CIA counterinsurgency analyst during the Iraq War, Janessa shares how her experiences observing the cycles of violence inspired her transition into cultural diplomacy and conflict resolution work. We discuss the innovative methods employed by the Euphrates Institute to foster dialogue across divides and the role of grassroots organizations in driving social change.
In today’s episode we speak with Parto Aram, who is the Founding Director of Inspire-Tech, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing technology education to girls in under-represented communities. Prior to Inspire-Tech, Parto was a hardware design engineer and semi-conductor marketing manager for private-sector companies, and she currently holds a part time position with UC Davis Graduate School of Management as a Career Counselor in addition to her work with Inspire-Tech.
Shahba Shahrukhi currently serves as a Visiting Assistant Project Scientist at the University of California, Irvine. Previously, she worked as a professor in the Department of Psychology of Balkh University and as a practicing psychologist. She continues to serve her community today as a member of the Afghan Youth Leaders, where she works to advance equality, political participation, and the right to education for Afghan women and girls.
In today’s episode we speak with Dr. Sarah Safari, who is is the founder and president of the non-profit Climb Your Everest, and who received the Global Citizen award from the United Nations Association in 2015.
In today’s episode we speak with Jess Markt, who is a wheelchair basketball coach working with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as a Sport and Inclusion Advisor. Jess was injured following a spinal cord accident at age 19, and he joined the ICRC in 2011 to help bring the sport of basketball to wheelchair-bound men and women in countries around the world, including Afghanistan, Cambodia, India, and South Sudan.
In today’s episode we speak with Professor LeeAnne McIlroy about her new book Sleeping With Lions: A Year in Tanzania, which chronicles the year she spent living and working in East Africa. Over the course of our discussion we touch on a number of subjects, including the linguistic beauty of Swahili, the enduring wonders of Tanzanian wildlife, and the importance of academic and professional collaboration.
In today’s episode we speak with Dr. Daniel Brunstetter about his project This Butterfly Wing to Remember Me By, which looks at the last letters of members of the French Resistance, penned hours before their execution by Nazi firing squad. During our conversation with Daniel we touch on a variety of topics, including Just War Theory, Modernism, and how an understanding of history can contribute to contemporary ethics.
In today’s episode we speak with Arun Gandhi about his career as a journalist, historian, scholar and advocate for nonviolent resistance, including the responsibility he feels to preserve and sustain the legacy of his grandfather, Mahatma Gandhi.