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ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom

by Polly Young-Eisendrath, Ph.D. and friends

Why do we need enemies? From intimate relationships to politics, tribalism, and community, we cannot seem to stop dehumanizing each other. Are chronic conflicts in our families, societies, and nations inevitable? In this podcast, Polly Young-Eisendrath, Ph.D. and Eleanor Johnson analyze human hostilities from the most mundane to the most sophisticated as we apply psychology, psychoanalysis, art, spirituality, and relational theory in conversations about belonging and othering in our relationships and ideologies. Each program will reach for a fresh wisdom that shows us how to step back from creating enemies in our lives.

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Episodes

  1. ENEMIES: From War To Wisdom Episode 50: Why War is Not Necessary

    In this final episode, Eleanor and Polly look back over their time together in doing the podcast and they assess where humanity seems to be standing in regard to war and wisdom. They reflect on the state of war and why humans return repeatedly to armed polarization, called “war.” And they talk...

  2. ENEMIES: From War To Wisdom Episode 49: Remaining Curious

    In this episode, we discuss the meaning of curiosity as a primary emotion and how it is expanded or restricted, throughout our development from infancy through old age, by conscious and unconscious factors. Curiosity or “interest” motivates us to engage with our experiences in ways that we can...

  3. ENEMIES: From War To Wisdom Episode 48: Listening Mindfully: Getting Out of Your Own Head

    Why is it so hard to hear and feel another person’s meaning when you are in difficult conversations? Even though you may love the other person, when they speak about something that “makes you angry,” you may find it’s impossible to hear anything except your own thoughts. When we feel emotionally...

  4. ENEMIES: From War To Wisdom Episode 47: Speaking For Yourself: Foundation of Real Dialogue

    In this podcast, we talk about how and why a speaker should LOWER emotional threat if that person wants to be seen, heard, and felt accurately. We don’t have to “be nice” or even “be kind,” be we have to limit ourselves to our own experience in speaking (not using “we” or “you” or claim to know...

  5. ENEMIES: From War To Wisdom Episode 46: What is Power? What is Vulnerability?

    How do Homo Sapiens get and control power? What do we mean by power and how does it relate to influencing others or taking control? What is “true power” that can sustain us through our difficulties and “false power” that leads only to fears and misgivings? In this podcast, we will contemplate…

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  6. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 45: Fear of Death (Part 3)

    What is death? Is it a flat-lining on the EEG in which the brain goes quiet? Is it cardiac arrest, the stopping of the heart? Is it the departing of consciousness from the body? Why does our definition of death change? If we cannot define death, how do we understand our fear of it? What’s the...

  7. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 44: Fear of Death (Part 2)

    What is death? Is it a flat-lining on the EEG in which the brain goes quiet? Is it cardiac arrest, the stopping of the heart? Is it the departing of consciousness from the body? Why does our definition of death change? If we cannot define death, how do we understand our fear of it? What’s the...

  8. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 43: Fear of Death (Part 1)

    What is death? Is it a flat-lining on the EEG in which the brain goes quiet? Is it cardiac arrest, the stopping of the heart? Is it the departing of consciousness from the body? Why does our definition of death change? If we cannot define death, how do we understand our fear of it? What’s the...

  9. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 42: Free Speech and Right Speech: Following the Path of Non-Hatred Part 2

    There are many public debates about “free speech” in terms of limiting “hate speech” that includes insults, hostility, or slander against others, especially “vulnerable others.” In this podcast we discuss how speech (the ways we speak to ourselves and others) plays a central role in ceding or...

  10. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 41: Free Speech and Right Speech: Following the Path of Non-Hatred

    There are many public debates about “free speech” in terms of limiting “hate speech” that includes insults, hostility, or slander against others, especially “vulnerable others.” In this podcast we discuss how speech (the ways we speak to ourselves and others) plays a central role in ceding or...

  11. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 40: What is Propaganda? How Can We Tell That We Are Being Persuaded by False or Fake Narratives? Part 2

    Episode 40: What is Propaganda? How Can We Tell That We Are Being Persuaded by False or Fake Narratives? Part 2 with Polly Young-Eisendrath, Ph.D. and Eleanor Johnson with special guest Robert Caper In this second part of this podcast, we will explore the nature of propaganda and how easy it is…

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  12. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 39: What is Propaganda? How Can We Tell That We Are Being Persuaded by False Rhetoric?

    In this podcast, we will explore the nature of propaganda and how easy it is to believe. How can a listener/reader/consumer discern whether there are facts and evidence backing any particular attitude, statement or marketing? Is there some way to know if something is likely to be true or false…

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  13. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 38: What Is “Crowd Psychology”? How Does It Affect Individuals and Groups (Part 2)

    NEW EPISODE of Enemies: From War to Wisdom is now live! Episode 38 (Part 2): What Is “Crowd Psychology”? How Does It Affect Individuals and Groups with Polly Young-Eisendrath, Ph.D. and Eleanor Johnson with special guest Robert Caper Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, believed that…

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  14. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 37: What Is “Crowd Psychology”? How Does It Affect Individuals and Groups (Part 1)

    Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, believed that crowd behavior (sometimes called “mob psychology”) leads to unlocking the unconscious mind in becoming identified with a “group mentality” in the slogans or motivations of a charismatic leader. More contemporary theories of crowd…

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  15. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 36: What About Mothers & Daughters? Why Is It So Hard?

    In the arena of entangled and often painful human relationships, the mother-daughter relationship may be paramount. If you think about it for a moment, you realize that every woman on earth has been inside of another woman, and then come out and had to differentiate or at least grow apart from…

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  16. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 35: Taking a Look at the Illusion of Reality: The Work of Donald Hoffman Part 2

    In part two of this episode, we will talk about the theory offered by contemporary cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman to explain why our natural desires and fears do not lead us to insights about “reality.” We will review some of Hoffman’s model and approach which are still very much a...

  17. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 34: Taking a Look at the Illusion of Reality: The Work of Donald Hoffman Part 1

    In this episode, we will talk about the theory offered by contemporary cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman to explain why our natural desires and fears do not lead us to insights about “reality.” We will review some of Hoffman’s model and approach which are still very much a work-in-progress. We…

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  18. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 33: How Do We Make Sense of What Others Do to Us and What We Do to Others When Our Actions Seem Harmful or Helpful?

    In 1958, psychologist Fritz Heider originated “attribution theory” in psychology. This theory tried to answer the question: How do people make sense of what happens to them? How do they hold themselves and others responsible or not responsible without knowing the actual causes or evidence for...

  19. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 32: The Dove is Never Free: Our Podcast Logo

    In this podcast, we talk about the philosophy and meaning behind our logo of a white peace dove that is caught in a red interdiction circle – either wholly caught or partly escaping. Of course, the dove is a symbol of peace or harmony, or even a peace offering when it has an olive branch in its...

  20. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 31: The Help that Hurts and the Hurt that Helps: Knowing How to Help When Others Are in Need

    Years ago, there was a saying that came out of family psychiatry, especially in working with families of young adults with severe psychological disorders. It went like this, “When it comes to parents, there’s the help that hurts and the hurt that helps” – meaning that it is very difficult to know...

  21. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 30: The Snow Globe of Our Subjectivity: Why It’s So Hard to Agree

    On earlier podcasts, we have talked about what it means to be a human being, an individual person who has a complex experience of seeing, hearing and feeling. On this episode we will go into the details of the individual world of being human and why it’s so hard for us to agree about what is...

  22. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 29: Opposites/Contraries During the COVID 19 Crisis

    At this crucial juncture when we are beginning to contemplate our return to “life outside,” when the lock-down is over, we especially need to be reflective, thoughtful, and open-minded. The famous poet and artist William Blake wrote “Without Contraries, No Progress” in his famous poem “The…

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  23. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 28: Self-Righteousness and Moral Superiority

    More than three centuries ago in 1793, the great poet and artist William Blake said, “Without Contraries is no progression. Attraction and Repulsion, Reason and Energy, Love and Hate, are necessary to Human existence.” And then in 1916, the imminent psychoanalyst Carl Jung wrote as though he were...

  24. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 27: Humiliation-Rage Cycle in Private and Public Situations

    Humiliation is the experience of being exposed in our weaknesses and losing our social status in a couple or group. Being humiliated naturally evokes rage as a protective mechanism because an individual feels undermined and loses face in front of others. As we have pointed out many times on the...

  25. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 26: Projection and Projective-Identification Part 2

    Polly and Jill continue their conversation with psychoanalyst Robert Caper (expert on projective identification) about the emotional kidnapping and confusion that occur in unconscious communication in couples, other dyads, and groups when people get emotionally activated. This is the second part…

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  26. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 25: Projection and Projective-Identification: What do they mean?

    (Part 1) Why are even simple topics often difficult to discuss, especially if people have different viewpoints? Underlying many confusions and animosities in human interactions in couples and groups is a form of unconscious emotional communication that implies and evokes strong reactions in ways...

  27. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 24: Why Do Marriage and Commitment Bring Up Feelings of Hostility and Fear?

    When people are preparing to go through a wedding – whether it’s their first or not – they often dream they are dying or are about to attend a funeral instead of a wedding. Why does monogamous commitment to another person, who is an equal, tend to bring up deep anxiety and even hostility towards...

  28. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 23: Troubled Sisterhood: Veiled Aggression and Competition

    There are now many studies that demonstrate how successful white women will undermine other high-status women instead of sharing resources, praise or support. If you are a working white woman, especially if you are in a position of leadership or management in a stressful setting, you have…

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  29. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 22: The Problem of Hostile Dependency: Biting the Hand that Feeds You

    You have heard the saying “No good deed goes unpunished” and you know there is a wisdom in it. But what is that wisdom? In today’s podcast, we are going to talk about a human condition that occurs in families and with friends: There is an unequal need or dependency between supposed equals (e.g. a...

  30. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 21: Free Will and Wisdom: the Ten Commandments, the Five Precepts, and the Golden Rule

    In this podcast, Polly Young-Eisendrath, Ph.D., Sarah Brodie, M.A. and Eleanor Johnson explore the meaning of “free will” and some of the arguments for and against it. They talk about free will in the context of the timeless “laws” or guidelines for how to develop our intentions wisely: The Ten...

  31. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 20: Introducing Sarah Brodie, Co-host for Real Dialogue Live Events

    Preparing to bring the podcast live, on-stage, we interview Sarah Brodie, a Dialogue Therapist from Toronto, who will co-host Real Dialogue for Opposing Sides with Polly. These are structured conversations between those with opposing views or those who have been hurt by each other. These events...

  32. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 19: Once Again, What is the Human Self?

    Most of us find it confusing to see/hear/feel “the self.” We somehow believe it’s inside our bodies or is the same thing as our bodies. But the self is no thing. It does not exist as a thing anywhere, but instead is an interactional process that we begin to practice when we are about 18 months…

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  33. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 18: Clearing the Fog of War

    As the history of Homo Sapiens suggests, we are more likely to be at war against others in our species, than to be able to live peacefully with them. And yet, some of this agitation about facing others who have opposed or harmed us might be able to be contained and understood. In the 5th century...

  34. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 17: What is War?

    In North American society, we make war on our enemies, opposing ideals, cancer, drugs, bullying, and false news. What do we mean and what does this attitude imply? In this podcast, we will talk about the implications and consequences of imbuing our deepest ideals and beliefs with meanings of...

  35. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 16: Speaking the Truth Kindly

    In this podcast we will return again to the way we speak to ourselves and others. Once again, we will tune into the problem of speaking the truth to ourselves and to others. We will discern speaking the truth from judging what is right and is wrong with ourselves and others. In order to speak the...

  36. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 15 Dressed to Kill: Appearance as Power

    The Buddha repeatedly taught that we should regard ourselves and others by the consequences of our actions (including our speech) and not by our appearances. And yet, most of us evaluate and compare ourselves by our appearances all of the time. Why is that? In this podcast, we will talk about the...

  37. Enemies: From War to Wisdom Episode 14: Love & Hate for Self

    In our podcasts, we have defined “self” as an “interactional process” with others. Self becomes a habitual set of dynamics with others, connected to narratives about identity, body, family and tribe. The ways we talk to ourselves and to others about ourselves are often imbued with negativity and...

  38. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 13: Hatred & Non-Hatred: What the Buddha Taught

    What is the nature of hatred and how is it related to love? What about non-hatred, is it the same as love? Love and hate abide together in the ambivalence of close relationships. Why do we hold them as opposites? Why does hate become a recurring problem in our relationships, from the family to…

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  39. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 12: Real Dialogue: Rules and Realities

    We all recognize Real Dialogue when we encounter it: people speak only for themselves and listen, really listen, to others. In times of conflict, opposition and emotional warfare, Real Dialogue seems impossible — but it is the only way to avoid schisms, active and passive aggression, and...

  40. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 11: Speaking to Yourself & Speaking to Others

    Most of the time, we are walking around talking to ourselves in a manner that strongly affects how we feel about ourselves and others. Most of the time, we are not conscious of what we are saying, why we are saying it, and what the consequences are when we are speaking to ourselves. Our self-talk...

  41. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 10: The Difference Between Aggression & Anger

    How are passive and active essentially biological and hard-wired through our mammalian brains? What does the limbic system have to do with our sense of outrage and disgust and what do these have to do with morality? Why is anger an essentially human emotion and how is it useful in conflict with...

  42. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 9: Rejecting Humiliation, Hostility & Hate

    If we embrace an uncompromising rejection of racism, sexism or other means of demeaning or dismissing other humans as inferior, how can we proceed in relating to others with whom we have conflict of needs, status, or ideals? How can we conduct ourselves if we constrain or restrain our destructive...

  43. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 8: Love & Hate Part 2

    Polly Young-Eisendrath, Ph.D. and Eleanor Johnson continue the discussion on human relating Why is love not an emotion or feeling? Why is hate not at all like love and yet often contained within our love for others or another? What can we learn about our enemies by understanding love and hate?

  44. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 7: Love & Hate Part 1

    Polly Young-Eisendrath, Ph.D. and Eleanor Johnson. What are these two great categories of human relating? What are they about and are they biological? Why is love not an emotion or feeling? Why is hate not at all like love and yet often contained within our love for others or another? What can we...

  45. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 6: Ourselves & Others

    What allows us to feel comfortable in ourselves with others? What does it mean to feel like we "belong"? Can we do this without creating an "other" and without setting up an enemy, even though we may feel envious, jealous, ashamed, or self-conscious about our situation or status? Can we move...

  46. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 5: Emotions & Feelings Part 2

    In Part 2, Polly Young-Eisendrath, Ph.D. and Eleanor Johnson talk especially about the two great categories of human emotions — primary emotions (that we are born with) and secondary emotions that develop to allow us to compare and protect ourselves in human groups, especially our families and...

  47. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 4: Emotions & Feelings Part 1

    Human emotions are complex and widely called “feelings” when much of what we call our “feelings” are actually our opinions, our preferences, our ideals, and the stories that we repeatedly tell ourselves about what’s going within the interactive process we call “self.” In this two part episode we...

  48. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 3: Conflict

    What is the meaning of conflict? Why do the exact same conflicts often recur repeatedly and not lead to any solutions? In this episode, we will deconstruct the roots of conflict and see why conflicts are so repetitive, and why and how unity has to enter into the encounter or relationship in order...

  49. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 2: Why Enemies?

    Polly Young-Eisendrath, Ph.D. and Eleanor Johnson explore their reasons for starting a podcast: the major reason is to be able to hold hope a forum and a space in which we can explore from each our own perspectives the roots of war and peace. Polly starts with the family and the unconscious...

  50. ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom Episode 1: Why do we need enemies?

    Join Polly Young-Eisendrath, Ph.D. and Eleanor Johnson in their new podcast about ENEMIES. EPISODE 1: Why do we need enemies? From intimate relationships to politics, tribalism, and community, we cannot seem to stop dehumanizing each other. Are chronic conflicts in our families, societies, and...

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ABOUT THIS SHOW

Why do we need enemies? From intimate relationships to politics, tribalism, and community, we cannot seem to stop dehumanizing each other. Are chronic conflicts in our families, societies, and nations inevitable? In this podcast, Polly Young-Eisendrath, Ph.D. and Eleanor Johnson analyze human hostilities from the most mundane to the most sophisticated as we apply psychology, psychoanalysis, art, spirituality, and relational theory in conversations about belonging and othering in our relationships and ideologies. Each program will reach for a fresh wisdom that shows us how to step back from creating enemies in our lives.

HOSTED BY

Polly Young-Eisendrath, Ph.D. and friends

Produced by Polly Young-Eisendrath

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom have?

ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom currently has 50 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom about?

Why do we need enemies? From intimate relationships to politics, tribalism, and community, we cannot seem to stop dehumanizing each other. Are chronic conflicts in our families, societies, and nations inevitable? In this podcast, Polly Young-Eisendrath, Ph.D. and Eleanor Johnson analyze human...

How often does ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom release new episodes?

ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom has 50 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.

Where can I listen to ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom?

You can listen to ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.

Who hosts ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom?

ENEMIES: From War to Wisdom is created and hosted by Polly Young-Eisendrath, Ph.D. and friends.
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