PODCAST · religion
Society Builders
by Duane Varan
Explores the application of Baha'i principles towards society building.
Episodes
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Episode 42: Spiritual Parenting
The first in a series of episodes exploring what effective social action looks like in practice. In this episode we focus on social action facilitated through individual initiative. Our guest is Faegheh Evans who for over 20 years has been offering 'Spiritual Parenting' courses to almost 700…
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Episode 41: The Ridvan Message of 2026
An exploration of the Universal House of Justice's Ridvan message of 2026 reviewing progress over the past phase of the Nine Year Plan and priorities moving forward. Includes discussion of the state of the world, 'profound, insightful conversations', a framework for hope, and new patterns for...
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Episode 40: Navigating Conversation About the Crisis in Iran
Explore how to engage in meaningful conversations about the turmoil in Iran without falling into division or despair. Centered on the principle of constructive resilience, it reveals a powerful alternative to protest—one rooted in unity, service, and spiritual clarity. Through historical insight...
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Episode 39: UHJ Message of December 31 2025
An exploration of the Universal House of Justice's message to the Conference of the Continental Board of Counsellors on December 31, 2025. The episode explores progress in the Plan as it approaches the end of its first phase and provides an exciting glimpse of new patterns as clusters move beyond...
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Episode 38: The Ridvan Message of 2025
An exploration of the Universal House of Justice's Ridvan message for 2025. Includes an exploration of the construct of 'hope' - a summary of key achievements over the past year - and an appeal based on the urgency of the hour. The episode concludes with an original song, "Ridvan 2025", exploring...
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Episode 37: The Bahá’í Home
An exploration of two key messages by the Universal House of Justice exploring Bahá’í family life: The message of March 19th, 2025 and its Naw Ruz message (2025) to the Baha'is of Iran. We explore the evolution of a new construct in our new Society Building aspirations: 'The Bahá’í Home'…
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Episode 36: Bahá’í Approaches to Social Action (Part Four - Learning in Action)
An exploration of Bahá’í-inspired approaches to social action, one of the key pillars of 'society building'. In Part Four, we explore how our approaches need to facilitate learning in action across four stages: Action, reflection, consultation and study which is framed by application of the...
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Episode 35: Bahá’í Approaches to Social Action (Part Three - Capacity Building)
An exploration of Bahá’í-inspired approaches to social action, one of the key pillars of 'society building'. In Part Three we explore the power of capacity building - and how even impossible dreams can be met as we cultivate this capacity. We explore this on three levels of capacity building: for...
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Episode 34: Baha'i Approaches to Social Action (Part Two - Participation and Agency)
An exploration of Bahá’í-inspired approaches to social action, one of the key pillars of 'society building'. In Part Two, we explore how our approaches should be participatory, giving agency to all. We discuss how this builds on the construct of 'universal participation' and frame agency as both...
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Episode 33: Bahá’í Approaches to Social Action (Part One - Organic Growth & Coherence)
An exploration of Bahá’í-inspired approaches to social action, one of the key pillars of 'society building'. In Part One, we explore two key principles: Organic Growth (that initiatives should start small and grow over time) and coherence (finding balance between our material and spiritual…
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Episode 32: Bahá’í Approaches to Depolarization (Part Three)
The third and final episode in a sequence exploring Bahá’í-inspired approaches to depolarization. Part three explores how to break false binaries and how to optimize conditions for contact between antagonistic groups, including a strong positive-to-negative ratio, facilitating synchronicity,...
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Episode 31: Bahá’í Approaches to Depolarization (Part Two)
An exploration of Bahá’í-inspired approaches to depolarization building on what we've been learning over the past few episodes from the world's leading luminaries in this discourse. Part Two explores what we can do to help 're-humanize' the other and how we can better listen to and understand...
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Episode 30: Bahá’í Approaches to Depolarization (Part One)
An exploration of Bahá’í-inspired approaches to depolarization building on what we've been learning over the past few episodes from the world's leading luminaries in this discourse. Part One explores what we can do to limit the influence of toxic polarization in our own lives and how we can best...
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Episode 29: The Ridvan Message of 2024
An exploration of the Ridvan Message of 2024 by the Universal House of Justice. The message explores the interaction between the forces of disintegration and integration at work in the world today - highlighting the inescapable need for a sustained, rapid rise in the number of those committing...
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Episode 28: The Naw Ruz Message of 2024
In this episode we explore the recent message which the Universal House of Justice sent to the Baha'is in Iran on Naw Ruz (March 20th, 2024). The message is not only important for the love and admiration which the Universal House of Justice showers on the Persian Bahá’i community, suffering under...
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Episode 27: The Science of Depolarization (Interview with Nealin Parker)
An interview with Nealin Parker, Executive Director of Common Ground USA, exploring the range of like-minded organizations contributing to depolarization (including over 6,700 such organizations in the US alone). Nealin explores the different approaches such organizations take and provides…
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Episode 26: The Science of Depolarization (Interview with Dr. Lisa Schirch)
An interview with Dr. Lisa Schirch, a global authority on social media's impact on polarization. Here, Dr. Schirch explains how the algorithms that drive social media platforms favor polarization, a force further amplified by malicious foreign actors exploiting the platforms. She also explores...
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Episode 25: The Science of Depolarizaton (Interview with Andrea Bartoli)
An interview with Andrea Bartoli, former dean of a number of prestigious conflict resolution schools; diplomat; and President of the Sant'Egidio Foundation for Peace and Dialogue. Andrea shares insights from his participation in a number of successful peace initiatives, starting with efforts that...
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Episode 24: Treasures of Wisdom from the Past Century (Exploring the Message of the Universal House of Justice of November 28, 2023)
On November 28, 2023, the Universal House of Justice shared its message providing a history of our organic evolution as a community over the past hundred years. This episode explores parts of that message addressing the 'society building' focus across four key themes: the organic evolution of...
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Episode 23: The Science of Depolarization (Interview with Rabbi Roly Matalon)
An interview with Rabbi Roly Matalon sharing his efforts to promote depolarization including an amazing exchange which saw representatives of his very progressive-liberal congregation living with MAGA supporters for three days - followed by their living with his congregation for three days. The...
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Episode 22: The Science of Depolarization (Interview with Gary Friedman)
An interview with global pioneer in mediation training, Gary Friedman, co-founder of the Center for Understanding in Conflict which has trained over 10,000 mediators. Gary has taught at both Harvard and Stanford and for the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva and the American Bar...
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Episode 21: The Science of Polarization (Interview with Dr. Peter Coleman)
An interview with award-winning scholar, Dr. Peter Coleman, sharing his research at Columbia University's 'Difficult Conversations Lab', exploring the variables best contributing to bringing antagonistic groups closer together. In this 'power hour', discover the main principles which have emerged...
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Episode 20: The Science of Depolarization (Interview with Amanda Ripley)
An interview with award-winning journalist Amanda Ripley who shares insights on the science of bringing antagonistic groups together based on her recent best-selling book, High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out. Includes discussion on evidence-based strategies for depolarization and...
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Episode 19: Engaging With Discourse
How can you best engage withe the prevalent discourses of society? In this episode, we explore FIVE stages one should consider in engaging with a discourse: Prioritizing which discourse to engage with. 'Reading society' and getting familiar with the discourse. Immersion in the Baha'i Writings in...
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Episode 18: What is Discourse?
The term 'discourse' means different things to different academic disciplines. There's a difference, for example, between political vs. scientific discourse. In this episode, we explore what discourse means to Baha'is, focusing on five key characteristics: 1. A unifying focus; 2. We view…
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Episode 17: The Ridvan Message of 2023
Hot off the press, this episode explores the 2023 Ridvan Message of the Universal House of Justice to the Baha'is of the World, celebrating the key achievements of the past year while articulating priorities for the upcoming one. It's inspiring guidance shaping the society building endeavors for...
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Episode 16: A Mandate for Society Building - Part Three (Summary of the UHJ Message of 2021)
This episode, the third in our trilogy, continues our study of the message of the Universal House of Justice of December 30, 2021, providing us with our mandate for society building. The episode features an interview with Dr. Kynan Feeney, a former Auxiliary Board member, summarizing the…
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Episode 15: A Mandate for Society Building - Part Two (Summary of UHJ Message of 2021)
This episode, the second in our trilogy, continues our study of the message of the Universal House of Justice of December 30, 2021 providing us with our mandate for society building. In this episode, we explore the fourth section of the message which focuses on social transformation.
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Episode 14: A Mandate for Society Building - Part One (Summary of UHJ Message of 2021)
This is the first of a three part trilogy exploring the message of the Universal House of Justice of December 30, 2021 laying out the vision for Society Building for the global Baha'i community for the next 25 years. Part 1 (this episode) explores the 'bookends' of the message - the first and…
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Episode 13: Championing Race Unity (Part Three)
The third in a three part trilogy exploring how the early American Baha'i community championed race unity - perhaps the best example of society building by Baha'is in the Western World. This episode explores the impact the work of the early American Baha'i community had in the evolution of the...
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Episode 12: Championing Race Unity (Part Two)
This is the second in a 3 part sequence exploring how the early American Baha'i community championed race unity - perhaps the best example of society building by Baha'is in the Western World. This episode explores Abdul-Baha's engagement with the American race unity discourse - focusing on His...
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Episode 11: Championing Race Unity (Part One)
This is the first in a 3 part sequence exploring how the early American Baha'i community championed race unity - perhaps the best example of society building by Baha'is in the Western World. This episode explores the historical context prior to Abdul-Baha's arrival in America. We explore how...
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Episode 10: The Transformation of Education in Iran (Part Two)
This episode continues our interview with eminent Baha'i historian, Dr. Moojan Momen, on the transformation of education in Iran facilitated by the Persian Baha'i community's network of over 60 schools spread throughout the nation. At a time when Iran was almost entirely illiterate, the literacy...
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Episode 9: Transforming Education in Iran (Part One)
In our last two episodes, we explored how the early Persian Baha'i community engaged in society building by helping facilitate a discourse on governance reform for Iran. But with the enactment of Iran's first constitution, the reform movement grew increasingly divisive resulting in Abdul-Baha...
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Episode 8: Governance with Integrity (Part Two)
This episode continues the interview with Dr. Moojan Momen exploring the contributions of the early Persian Baha'is in the rise of Iran's first democratic institutions. It explores how Baha'is acted on the guidance provided by Abdul-Baha to contribute to society building in their day through...
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Episode 7: Governance with Integrity (Part One)
In the late 19th century, governance in Iran was in desperate need of reform. Corruption was rife and the country was being sold off through foreign concessions. In this episode, eminent Baha'i scholar, Dr. Moojan Momen, provides the historical context and background to two key books authored by...
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Episode 6: Society Building, Abdul-Baha and the Generation He Inspired
In a truly blockbuster episode, we discover how most modern discourse (on issues like world peace, race unity, the empowerment of women and more) was influenced by Abdul-Baha and the generation he inspired. Fasten your seatbelts for this one... you'll be blown away by what you discover. You'll be...
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Episode 5: Learning From Our Mistakes
This episode continues the theme of reflection from episode 4. Where episode 4 celebrated our victories of the past 25 years, this episode explores some of our potential mistakes. The episode focuses on four possible mistakes: allowing our sense of focus to exclude other vital community…
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Episode 4: From 'Community' to 'Society' Building - Celebrating the Victories of the Past 25 Years
In this episode, we explore how the efforts of Baha'i communities worldwide in 'community building' over the past 25 years now lay the foundation for the 'society building' of the next 25 years. In particular, we focus on four key achievements: 1) The rise of a system of learning, empowering...
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Episode 3: A History of Tomorrow (Part Two)
This episode continues to explore how vision gets effectively translated into reality. But where Part One explores this at the individual level, Part Two explores this at a community level. How can a collective group of people work together to bring vision into fruition? And what role does vision...
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Episode 2: A History of Tomorrow (Part One)
This is the first in a two part episode exploring the capacity to translate vision into reality. When vision is accompanied by faith, determination and action, you can write the history of tomorrow, today. In this episode, we explore the art of 'fashioning' - the ability to bring vision into...
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Episode 1: Society Builders - Series Intro
The series introduction to the Society Builders podcast - a response to the call for the release of the society-building power of the Baha'i Faith in ever-increasing measures.
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Explores the application of Baha'i principles towards society building.
HOSTED BY
Duane Varan
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Society Builders have?
Society Builders currently has 42 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Society Builders about?
Explores the application of Baha'i principles towards society building.
How often does Society Builders release new episodes?
Society Builders has 42 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Society Builders?
You can listen to Society Builders 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 Society Builders?
Society Builders is created and hosted by Duane Varan.
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