
#67 With David Cortright, leading scholar on war, peace, and nonviolent resistance: "we have brought about historic change".
From The Nonviolent Jesus by Fr. John Dear
April 13, 2026 · 43 min · Season 2 · Episode 67
About this episode
Fr. John Dear interviews David Cortright about his work on war, peace, and nonviolent resistance.
Today I speak with my friend Prof. David Cortright, author and a leading scholar on war, peace and nonviolent resistance. He is the former executive director of SANE, the Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy which under his leadership in the 1980s grew from 4,000 to 150,000 members and became the largest disarmament organization in the U.S. He also co-founded Win Without War in 2002. He is a visiting scholar at Cornell University’s Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies and professor emeritus at Notre Dame. David is the author, co-author or co-editor of 23 books, including Protest and Policy in the Iraq, the Nuclear Freeze and Vietnam Peace Movements; Civil Society, Peace and Power; Gandhi and Beyond: Nonviolence for a New Political Age ; and Peace: A History of Movements and Ideas . He has written widely about nonviolent social change, nuclear disarmament, and sanctions, and provided research services to the foreign ministries of Canada, Denmark, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland. He has served as consultant or advisor to the United Nations, the Carnegie Commission, the International Peace Academy, the MacArthur Foundation and Catholic Relief Services. He…
People in this episode
Host: Fr. John Dear
Guest: David Cortright
Topics covered
- war
- peace
- nonviolent resistance
- nuclear disarmament
- social change
- U.S.-Israeli relations
Keywords
- nonviolence
- disarmament
- social change
- military aid
- Iran
- Vietnam
- peace movements
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: SANE, Win Without War, Cornell University, Notre Dame, United Nations, Carnegie Commission, International Peace Academy, MacArthur Foundation, Catholic Relief Services
More episodes of The Nonviolent Jesus
- #75 John Dear in conversation with bestseller writer Joyce Rupp on her award winning book "The Years of Ripening": "The Serenity Prayer is the prayer of elderhood, not just for AA!" · June 8, 2026 · 42 min
- #74 Part 2 of 2: John Dear with authors John Dominic Crossan and Michael Okinczyc-Cruz on their new book "Jesus and Justice" and organizing work on the streets of Chicago: "We have a savage culture". · June 1, 2026 · 43 min
- #73 Part 1 of 2: John Dear with scripture scholar John Dominic Crossan:"Has God given us the freedom to destroy ourselves and the world?" · May 25, 2026 · 42 min
- #72 John Dear with Bishop Michael Curry, prophetic leader and best-selling author on the way of God and the way of life: "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!" · May 18, 2026 · 35 min
- #71 John Dear with professor and theologian Kate Common on the two of the Great Heresies, the nonviolent origins of the Hebrew community and her book "Undoing Conquest". · May 11, 2026 · 44 min
- #70 With Bishop Mariann Budde of the National Cathedral on returning to Minneapolis this January: “There was a sense of resolve, horror, exhaustion, fear and defiance. I've never been part of anything like it.” · May 4, 2026 · 37 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Nonviolent Jesus podcast page.