Restorative Justice as Relationship: A Conversation with Dominic Barter

"What do you need for repair?" A Conversation with Jonathan Bradley

On this episode of Nonviolence Radio, we continue our exploration of restorative justice with Jonathan Bradley, co-executive director of SEEDS Community Resolution Center. Drawing from years of experience in schools and communities, Bradley reflects on restorative justice not simply as a set of techniques, but as a practice that challenges the assumptions of punitive culture and invites people into accountability, repair, and human connection. The conversation explores what it means to move beyond retribution, why restorative practices require participation and practice rather than rigid formulas, and how communities can rediscover their own capacity to address harm. We also reflect on the broader cultural roots of punishment, the importance of restoring our confidence in human beings, and the role of nonviolence in transforming conflict. In the Nonviolence Report, Michael highlights recent movements and actions from around the world, including protests defending democracy, solidarity flotillas for Gaza, and a remarkable nonviolent campaign that led to the rescue of 1,500 beagles from a breeding and research facility in Wisconsin. Together, the stories point toward the growing power of organized nonviolent action and the importance of uplifting alternatives to violence in public life.

Restorative Justice as Relationship: A Conversation with Dominic Barter

In this conversation, restorative justice practitioner Dominic Barter reflects on more than three decades of work at the intersection of community, justice, and nonviolence. Beginning with his early experiences in Rio de Janeiro, he describes how communities already hold a “dialogical” capacity to respond to harm—one rooted in listening, relationship, and shared needs. From grassroots work in favelas to collaborations with courts, prisons, and governments, Barter traces how restorative justice has evolved across contexts while resisting reduction to a fixed method or technique. Instead, he emphasizes that this work must emerge from within each community’s own culture and lived experience. At a time of deep polarization, the conversation explores how conflict itself can become a source of transformation rather than division. Barter invites us to move beyond retribution and toward rebuilding the relational foundations that make community—and a more humane vision of justice—possible.

Disagreement as Practice: Communication Across Divides (with Francesca Po)

In this episode of Nonviolence Radio, Stephanie Van Hook speaks with nonviolence educator and Metta Center board member Francesca Po about communication as a living practice of nonviolence. Moving beyond any single method or formula, they explore how curiosity, dignity, and self-awareness shape the way we engage across disagreement. Together, they reflect on what it means to stay in relationship without giving up truth, why curiosity can soften conflict before it escalates, and how communication becomes a form of rehumanization in a deeply polarized world. The conversation also touches on the limits of “cancellation” as protest, the importance of restorative approaches, and the role of self-care in sustaining meaningful dialogue.

The Discipline of Nonviolence: Emily Yellin on James Lawson’s life and the making of a movement

In this episode of Nonviolence Radio, we speak with journalist Emily Yellin about her collaboration on Nonviolent: A Memoir of Resistance, Agitation, and Love, offering a rare and deeply personal window into the life and thought of Reverend James Lawson—one of the most important yet often overlooked architects of the U.S. nonviolent movement. Drawing from years of conversations and archival research, Yellin illuminates Lawson’s spiritual grounding, strategic brilliance, and lifelong commitment to nonviolent direct action. The conversation highlights how nonviolence is not a spontaneous tactic but a disciplined, relational, and deeply strategic practice rooted in listening, training, and long-term vision—offering powerful lessons for movements today.

Nonviolence and Revolutionary Love: A Conversation with Valarie Kaur

In this episode of Nonviolence Radio, we speak with civil rights leader and Revolutionary Love Project founder Valarie Kaur about love as a force for transformation in our lives and movements. Kaur describes revolutionary love as “the choice to see no stranger… to risk ourselves for each other,” and shares stories from communities across the country where people are practicing courage, care, and solidarity in the face of violence and fear. These acts—whether on the front lines or in everyday life—offer glimpses of a world grounded in belonging and deep connection. At the heart of the conversation is Kaur’s powerful framing of social change as a kind of labor. Drawing on the wisdom of the midwife, she invites us into a rhythm of “breathe and push,” tending both to our inner lives and to the work of justice in the world. “This is long labor, courageous labor,” she says, encouraging us to find ways to sustain ourselves while acting with purpose. The episode explores how choosing to see the humanity of others—even those who oppose us—can be a radical act of freedom, and how cultivating that inner strength allows us to remain present, brave, and connected in the midst of uncertainty.