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In this powerful episode of The Joy of Living, Barry Shore sits down with Doug Noll, a former award-winning trial lawyer turned peacemaker, to explore his remarkable nonprofit initiative called Prison of Peace. Doug shares how he and his colleague Laurel Coffer began training women serving life sentences in the largest women's prison in California to become certified mediators and peacemakers — and how that work helped dramatically reduce violence behind bars.
Doug breaks down the foundational skill behind it all: affect labeling. Rooted in brain science from UCLA studies, this technique involves naming another person's emotions using simple you-feel statements. When done correctly, it calms the emotional centers of the brain within 90 seconds, bypassing the amygdala threat response and restoring access to the prefrontal cortex. Doug explains why this works on any human brain — whether you are incarcerated, a corrections officer, a CEO, or a parent.
The conversation weaves together neuroscience, compassion, and the transformative power of emotional de-escalation. Barry and Doug discuss the American spirit of breaking through circumstance, the universal nature of human emotion across prisons in Italy, Greece, South Africa, and beyond, and why simply saying you feel angry can rebuild a relationship after 18 years of silence.
Doug Noll is a former California trial lawyer, author of four books including De-Escalate, and the founder of Prison of Peace, a program now active in multiple U.S. states and countries worldwide
Show Notes:
- 0:00 - Welcome and the Three Fundamentals of Joyful Living
- 3:30 - Introducing Doug Noll and Prison of Peace
- 7:00 - Doug's Journey from Trial Lawyer to Peacemaker
- 12:00 - The Letter That Started Prison of Peace
- 18:00 - Training Incarcerated Women to Become Mediators
- 24:00 - A Gang Riot Stopped in 10 Minutes and Other Remarkable Stories
- 31:00 - The Neuroscience of Affect Labeling and De-Escalation
- 37:00 - The Amygdala, Cortisol, and Why Our Brains Struggle with Conflict
- 43:00 - How These Skills Travel from Prison to the Wider World
Important Links:
About Doug Noll
Doug Noll, JD, MA is a Distinguished Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators, the world's most prestigious mediation organization, and recipient of IAM's Syd Leezak Award of Excellence. Named California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (2012) and Best Lawyers in America Lawyer of the Year (2013), he was a Purpose Prize Fellow for pioneering the Prison of Peace program, teaching emotional literacy to violent offenders in maximum security facilities over 10 years (2010-2020).
As Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine University's Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution (ranked #1 in the nation), Doug teaches graduate courses on decision-making under stress and conflict resolution.
Doug is the author of four books, including the bestselling De-Escalate (45,000+ copies, translated into five languages) and the forthcoming book, Empathy Leadership:
The Powerful Skill that Drives Winning Results (Atria Books/Beyond Words, Sept. 8, 2026). Doug delivered a TEDx talk entitled “How to Listen Someone into Existence” at TEDxApex in Apex, North Carolina on April 18, 2026
