After the tragedy of September 11, 2001, some people began thinking about how two cultures could misunderstand each other so much.  How could one group hate another enough to attack them?  Though we live in a time of ever-increasing communication and modern technologies that connect us across continents, we still don't seem to understand each other very well.

In the latest Idealist.org Community Podcast, our guest contributor, Eric Hanser, tells the story of a group called Cultures in Harmony.  This NYC-based nonprofit organization is bringing back an old means of cultural understanding—long ago abandoned by the United States government—by performing music in venues around the world. Set to the backdrop of beautiful global melodies, Eric explores how Cultures in Harmony fosters dialogue, friendship and diplomacy.