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Freedom of Thought from Humanists International is a global news and interview podcast examining the state of freedom of belief, expression, and human rights worldwide.
Hosted by Gary McLelland and Leon Langdon, the podcast draws on Humanists International’s flagship Freedom of Thought Report to bring together researchers, human rights defenders, activists, and policy experts to unpack the realities facing humanists, atheists, and non-religious people in different countries and regions.
Each episode explores key findings from the report alongside wider developments in international law, politics, and civil society. Through in-depth conversations, case studies, and timely analysis, the show highlights where freedoms are under threat, where progress is being made, and what solidarity and advocacy can achieve.
Produced by Humanise Live, Freedom of Thought offers clear, accessible insight into global freedom of thought issues for anyone interested in human rights, secularism, democracy, and evidence-based policy.
9 Episodes
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Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter This week's guest is Dr. Lucy Potter, postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Sociological Studies at the University of York. Her landmark three-year study — Freedom of Religion or Belief for All: Recognising and Protecting the Non-Religious in the Asylum System — reveals how the UK's asylum system routinely misunderstands and fails people fleeing persecution for leaving their religion. Lucy shares her key findings, her policy recommendation...
Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter This week Gary and Leon zoom out from day-to-day advocacy to reflect on the wider global climate shaping freedom of thought. From rising populism and religious nationalism to legal battles and cultural shifts, the episode explores how political, legal, and social trends are reinforcing division, and what that means for humanists globally. They revisit key Humanists International declarations, discuss pressures on courts and human rights syste...
Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter Gary and Leon open with updates from New York and the closing days of the UN Human Rights Council — including concerns about efficiency measures cutting special rapporteur reporting, and urgent debates around the crisis in Iran. Gary reflects on Humanists International's statement, reaffirming that concern for human rights in Iran and concern about US military action are grounded in the same principles of international law. This week's guest ...
Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter Leon returns from the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva with a concerning update: so-called efficiency measures are cutting special rapporteur reporting with a blunt, one-size-fits-all approach that threatens the most urgent human rights mandates. He also shares news of a landmark European Court of Human Rights case on religious symbols in Greek courtrooms and his published response to Alliance Defending Freedom International in the Oxford Hu...
Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter This week, Leon reports live from Geneva at the UN Human Rights Council, where a special session on children in armed conflict brings the human cost of global conflict into sharp focus. Against that backdrop, Gary and Leon reflect on the US military action in Iran and what it means for the international rules-based order. We are then joined by Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of Humanists UK and former President of Humanists International for a...
Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter Welcome to Freedom of Thought, the podcast by Humanists International. This week the roles reverse. Instead of interviewing a guest, Leon Langdon becomes the policymaker explaining how Humanists International works inside the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. Leon walks through how the Council functions, why the Universal Periodic Review matters, and what actually happens during a typical session, from negotiating resolutions and...
Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter This week’s episode features a conversation with Maggie Ardiente, President of Humanists International, reflecting on the global defence of freedom of belief and the role of humanists in resisting rising authoritarianism. Maggie shares the origin story of the Freedom of Thought Report, explaining how early engagement with the US State Department helped ensure discrimination against atheists and humanists was formally documented. What be...
Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter This week's podcast coincides with the publication of the 2025 Freedom of Thought Report, Humanists International’s flagship annual study tracking discrimination and persecution faced by people because of their belief, or lack of belief. We preview key findings from the 2025 edition and discuss wider global trends, including democratic backsliding, religious nationalism, and the instrumentalisation of “religious freedom” to undermine universa...
Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter Welcome to Freedom of Thought a new podcast series by Humanists International! In this first episode hosts Gary McLellend and Leon Langdon introduce Humanists International, the global representative body at the heart of the humanist movement, how a global humanist network works inside the UN system, and why universal rights need a louder defence right now. We share the member‑led model, lessons from the IRF Summit, and what really happ...
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