Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: Washington Irving – Rip Van Winkle plus The Next Peacelands

This episode features a brief passage from Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle, offering a small step into one of America’s classic folk tales. Kitty reads just enough to feel the gentle rhythm of Irving’s storytelling and the quiet magic he wove into everyday life.

Each day’s reading continues to serve as Kitty’s warm-up for CTRL–AI–DISARM, the upcoming Peace Is Here series exploring truth, power, and the systems shaping our shared future.

The episode closes with The Next Peacelands, where Avis Kalfsbeek reads a real-time list of global warzones and major arms suppliers—an honest grounding in the world as it is, and an invitation to practice peace with intention.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Contact Avis to say hello or let her know how to say “Peace is Here” in your language: Contact Me Here
• Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving on Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/60976/60976-h/60976-h.htm
• The Next Peacelands source: Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) and the Stockholm Internation Peace Research Institute’s Arms Transfers Database [as updated on Wikipedia.
• Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

• Peace is Here podcast series Coming Soon!: CTRL-AI-DISARM

Reads Lit for Peace: Émile Zola – Nana plus The Next Peacelands

This episode includes a brief excerpt from Émile Zola’s Nana, capturing the early stirrings of the novel’s world—its crowded rooms, shifting glances, and Zola’s careful attention to human behavior. Kitty reads only a short passage, offering a steady, quiet moment inside a story known for its vivid detail.

Each day’s reading continues to serve as reporter Kitty O'Compost’s warm-up for CTRL–AI–DISARM, the upcoming Peace Is Here series exploring truth, power, and the systems shaping our shared future.

The episode closes with The Next Peacelands, where Avis Kalfsbeek reads a real-time list of global warzones and major arms suppliers—an honest grounding in the world as it is, and an invitation to practice peace with intention.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Contact Avis to say hello or let her know how to say “Peace is Here” in your language: Contact Me Here
• The Next Peacelands source: Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) and the Stockholm Internation Peace Research Institute’s Arms Transfers Database [as updated on Wikipedia.
• Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

• Peace is Here podcast series Coming Soon!: CTRL-AI-DISARM

Kitty Reads Lit for Peace: William Thackeray – The History of Henry Esmond plus The Next Peacelands

This episode offers a brief excerpt from William Makepeace Thackeray’s The History of Henry Esmond, a reflective, gently paced novel told through a narrator looking back on his life. In this short selection, Kitty brings forward Thackeray’s quiet observational humor and the steady tone that shaped so much of his work.

Kitty O’Compost warms up her reporter voice for CTRL–AI–DISARM, the upcoming Peace Is Here series exploring truth, power, and the systems shaping our shared future.

The episode closes with The Next Peacelands, where Avis Kalfsbeek reads a real-time list of global warzones and major arms suppliers—an honest grounding in the world as it is, and an invitation to practice peace with intention.

• Get the books: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com
• Contact Avis to say hello or let her know how to say “Peace is Here” in your language: Contact Me Here
• The Next Peacelands source: Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) and the Stockholm Internation Peace Research Institute’s Arms Transfers Database [as updated on Wikipedia.
• Music: "Dalai Llama Riding a Bike" by Javier "Peke" Rodriguez

Bandcamp: https://javierpekerodriguez.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QuyqfXEKzrpUl6b12I3KW?si=uszJs37sTFyPbXK4AeQvow

• Peace is Here podcast series Coming Soon!: CTRL-AI-DISARM