Episode 61:Graseilah Coolidge: Redwoods, Refuge, and Renewal on Paths Towards Peace

Aiming to stop conflict nearly broke us; learning to create peace brought us back. That’s the arc we explore with our guest, Graceilah Coolidge—born in Iowa, raised in Venezuela through coups and shutdowns, trained in nonproliferation, and recruited into intelligence after 9/11. The work was high‑stakes and mission‑driven, until a harsh realization landed: data doesn’t always drive decisions when agendas are in play. When that worldview cracked, she didn’t double down on noise; she went to the redwoods.

We talk about forest immersion as a practical, grounded practice: days in nature with water, warmth, and no distractions; fasting that quiets the body; stillness that lets memory and meaning surface. Senses sharpen. Awe returns. Priorities reorder. And because belonging is medicine, the process is held in community so reintegration is real, not just a peak moment. We dig into why fear spreads so easily in a media economy, how data addiction can bankrupt attention, and why presence—not more information—is the antidote. Santa Cruz becomes a character in this story: a place of radical expression and prickly borders, contradictions and care, redwoods and neighborhood kindness that keep us rooted as the town keeps changing.

We also get practical about civic agency. Voting won’t hand us peace, but it’s one lever that keeps space open for peace to grow. If America is a promise to keep trying, we renew that promise by showing up: in the booth, under the trees, with our neighbors. Come for the intelligence-to-intuition pivot; stay for the tools—fasting, attention, community—that make peace a daily practice. If you’re ready to trade doomscrolling for presence and find a more resilient way to live, press play, share with someone who needs it, and leave a review to help more listeners find the show.