All Episodes

February 17, 2025 68 mins

Part 2 of 2. Lamar and Tom talk with Heidi and Guy Burgess who have been life and professional partners for more than 50 years. They received their PhDs in sociology in the same year from the University of Colorado.

In the late 1980s they received a grant from the Hewlett Foundation to start a conflict resolution "theory-building center" that is now known as the Conflict Information Consortium. In addition to directing the Consortium, both Guy and Heidi taught peace and conflict at the University of Colorado, the University of Denver, and in George Mason University's School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, now the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution.

As Co-Directors of the Consortium, the Burgesses have been able to self-design rather unusual careers which combined theory building, practice, and teaching using theories and strategies from many disciplines, not just sociology.  Drawn to complexity and systems theory very early by Kenneth Boulding's work, they almost always tried to focus on the big picture, focusing particularly on difficult conflict problems from international conflicts to environmental and public policy conflicts in the United States.

In the early 1990's they also began focusing on the use of computer-based information systems and the Internet to disseminate conflict knowledge to as many people as possible. This resulted in the development of two extremely large knowledge bases: CRInfo (The Conflict Resolution Information Source) and the follow-on Intractable Conflict Knowledge Base Project which produced a second very large online knowledge base called Beyond Intractability (BI)

The Burgess' current focus is on hyper-polarization and constructive approaches to conflict. They have a free Substack newsletter that focuses on those topics, and will soon be releasing (on BI) a free guide (i.e., growing online book) on those topics.

To Learn more:

Beyond Intractability (BI) Website: https://www.beyondintractability.org/

BI Newsletter: https://beyondintractability.substack.com/

The US in 2024: An Election that Worked and a Democracy that Doesn’t by Heidi and Guy Burgess: https://beyondintractability.substack.com/p/newsletter-306

"Massively Parallel Problem Solving and Democracy Building: An Ongoing Response to the Threats to Democracy in the U.S": (https://toda.org/policy-briefs-and-resources/policy-briefs/report-200-full-text.html)

The Perception Gap: https://perceptiongap.us/

BeHumankind at Really Useful Change: https://www.reallyusefulchange.com/ 

Meet Lamar and Tom

Lamar Roth and Tom Klaus are lifelong friends exploring how to get to a 3rd Space - a space where two or more people with opposing viewpoints, ideologies, and worldviews can come together to hear, listen, share, and connect with one another. Together Lamar and Tom hope to carve out a 3rd Space where everything can be on the table for open, straightforward, honest, and, yet kind and respectful inquiry. 

Want to watch us do the podcast? Visit the Klaus Haus Productions YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/@KlausHausProductions. 

Comments? Suggestions? Ideas for guests or topics? 

Send us a voice message on Spotify or email us at lamar3rdSpace@gmai

Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.

Crime Junkie

Crime Junkie

Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.