The Women, War & Peace Podcast Series

Welcome to the Women, War & Peace podcast series with our host, Amy Costello. Click on the links below to listen to individual episodes, or find the full series on iTunes.

In Egypt, A Revolution of the Mind
Egyptian-born commentator Mona Eltahawy says Egyptians need to change the way they think about women’s role in society.

Rape as a Weapon
As reports of Qaddafi soldiers raping women emerge from Libya, we talk to feminist Gloria Steinem about the root causes of sexual violence against women in times of conflict.

The Greatest Moral Challenge of the Century
Sheryl WuDunn, co-author of Half The Sky with her husband Nick Kristoff, about the experiences that turned her from detached journalist to impassioned champion for women and girls.

Do Women See Things That Men Don’t?
Our guest Wendy Lobwein has spent a career helping people who testify in war crimes trials, and talks about the importance of having female witnesses take the stand.

Is the U.S. Troop Withdrawal Bad for Afghan Women?
Author Gayle Tzemach Lemmon‘s latest book The Dressmaker of Khair Khana challenges many of our ideas about the lives of women under the Taliban.

Women in the Military
Juggling work and motherhood is always hard, but imagine if you were an admiral in the Navy. Rear Admiral Wendi Carpenter raised a family while also being among the first women in the Navy to become a pilot.

Congo Crimes Literally Unspeakable
When Congolese journalist Chouchou Namegabe first started reporting on sexual abuse in her country, the language didn’t even have a word for “rape.”

Wasting Young Minds: The Taliban in Pakistan
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy‘s acclaimed film, Children of the Taliban, takes viewers to areas of Pakistan that are off-limits to outsiders, to show how the Taliban specifically targets boys and girls.

Let Them Eat Cake
Annabelle Abaya wasn’t above baking for peace as the Philippines’ Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process and founder of The Conflict Resolution Group Foundation.

Can Africa’s Most Violent Men Fight for Peace?
Activist Stella Sabiiti works with rebels in conflict zones like Darfur and Somalia, and reveals how her own experience as a victim of torture in Uganda has been vital to her understanding of the minds of perpetrators.

From Terrorized to Terrorist
Why do women join armed groups or become suicide bombers? Tufts Professor Dyan Mazurana talks about how a cycle of violence is more to blame for women’s participation in terrorist groups than poverty or ideology.

Are Boys Natural Born Killers?
Are all little boys meant to be warriors? Are little girls programmed to stay out of the fray? Professor Joshua Goldstein, author of War and Gender, talks about whether gender determines our roles in war.

Playwright Finds Voice in Congo
After interviewing survivors of Congo’s civil war in 2004, playwriter Lynn Nottage was inspired to write Ruined, which earned her a Pulitzer Prize.

In Palestinian Village, a Fertile Resistance
Documentary filmmaker Julia Bacha talks about her new film, Budrus, which features Palestinian villagers who protested Israeli forces through creative, non-violent means.

Complex Picture of Rape in Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo has been called the “rape capital of the world.” Jocelyn Kelly and Dr. Julie VanRooyen of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative have spoken extensively with victims and perpetrators in the region.

The Women, War & Peace podcast is produced by Amy Costello, Nina Chaudry, Lauren Feeney and Caitlin Thompson.