Amid brutal wars in Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan, and violence and instability in western Africa, Myanmar, and elsewhere, it seems like a good time to talk about nonviolence.

It’s an interesting and opportune time to explore this subject: The protests calling for a ceasefire in Gaza have raised issues and created complexities in our discourse about the Middle East, antisemitism, war and violence, and justice and human rights.

That’s certainly been true in the Berkshires, as nonviolent rallies held here in the days after the Hamas terrorist attack, and since, have sometimes used rhetoric cheering that violence as an acceptable response to the plight of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

To discuss all of this, last month Berkshire Argus Editor Bill Shein spoke with Eric Stoner, an activist, writer, and journalist who is co-founder and editor of Waging Nonviolence, a nonprofit news website that has, for a decade and a half, provided original news reporting and analysis of nonviolent social movements around the world.

In this Berkshire Argus Podcast episode, a conversation with Steven Pedigo, a professor of urban development and director of the LBJ Urban Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. Pedigo, who is also a part-time Great Barrington resident, has worked with dozens of cities and communities around the world on leveraging their assets to meet their challenges.

Earlier this year, the consumer advocate, public-interest lawyer, and (still controversial) former presidential candidate Ralph Nader turned ninety years old. In this Berkshire Argus Podcast conversation, we discuss the American Museum of Tort Law that he established in his hometown of Winsted, Connecticut, his faith in the jury system, and his belief in the ability of citizens to successfully organize and influence their government.

A companion profile of the Tort Museum, “The Unlikeliest Museum,” is at https://www.berkshireargus.com/the-unlikeliest-museum/

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