Send us a text"It's difficult to think of an area of work life that isn't connected to humanistic thought. If you start with ideas around the dignity of each human, compassion, kindness, ambitions, ways to behave, being evidence-based and being equitable, fair and not biased wherever possible, you start to understand that those are the foundational concepts of humanism" - Paul Harrison, Humanists in Business NetworkThis week on Humanism Now, new panellist Christian joins AJ to discuss activis...
Send us a text"A key tenet of humanism is empathy. Whether that's empathy for those around us or to all humans, but also we should extend that to all life of exists, and then forward in time, to future generations." - Lori MarriottThis week, Katia & Mark join the panel to discuss the merits of identifying with the humanist label. Plus we hear from Lori Marriott, Coordinator of Humanist Climate Action.References:Humanists UK: Defining HumanismHumanists International: What is Humanism?Human...
Send us a text"It's really not as hard as people think to have a peaceful conversation with somebody who disagrees profoundly with you on deep questions." - Ariel Pontes This week on Humanism Now we share our wide ranging interview with Ariel Pontes, a writer, podcast host and advocate for humanism, effective altruism, animal welfare and productive dialogue to counter polarisation. Ariel shares a wealth of experience and learnings from leaving Kardecist Spiritism to supporting Humanist ...
Send us a text"Humanism is about human goodness, appreciating reason & potential" - Ojas Singh BhanotThis week on Humanism Now, Mark & Nicole join the panel to discuss how illegal faith schools deny children the right to science, the importance of promoting scientific literacy across society and the impact of scientific fraud. This week's interview is with Ojas Singh Bhanot, Politics and Data Science student at the London School of Economics, where he Founded the Huma...
Send us a text“The irony of man's condition is that the deepest need is to be free of the anxiety of death and annihilation; but it is life itself which awakens it, and so we must shrink from being fully alive.” ― Ernest Becker, The Denial of DeathEpisode References:BBC News: New extremism definition unveiled by governmentHumanists UK: Extremists ‘negate the fundamental rights and freedoms of others’ – humanists analyse new definition‘Resisting extremism means defending a tolerant socie...
Send us a textWelcome back to Humanism Now! This week AJ & Mark from the Central London Humanists join the panel to discuss the latest news, plus our interview with Monica Belițoiu, Chair of The Romanian Secular Humanist Association (ASUR) .Episode References Humanist UK; Dr Rebecca Wragg Sykes awarded Darwin Day MedalRebecca Wragg Sykes InterviewHumanists UK; Assisted Dying CampaignAssisted Dying Inquiry Report | Everything you need to knowBBC News; Greece legalises same...
Send us a textWelcome to Humanism Now's International Women's Day Special hosted by Audrey Simmons (Association of Black Humanists & CLH) and featuring Lola Tinubu (Assoc. Black Humanists & CLH), Katia Urquiza (Central London Humanists) & Nicole Shasha (Leicester Humanists and Young Humanists) who discuss;The importance of IWD todayDoes being humanist imply being a feminist?Highlighting influential women's voicesTalking more about women's healthEpisode references:Anthony Doe...
Send us a text"We should acknowledge that humanism is something that beats in the heart of every human being" Dr Leo IgweThis week James, Lola & AJ are joined by legendary human rights activist, Leo Igwe. We discuss the merits of Darwin Day, Leo's decades of campaigning for freethought and against superstition and Leo's vision for a new future for atheism and humanism in Africa.Episode referencesGuardian; How should we address Charles Darwin's complicated legacy?JC Candnedo; Tai Sol...
Send us a textWelcome back to Humanism Now. This we learn practical tips for engaging in good faith dialogues with people of different beliefs with expert insight from Jeremy Rodell, Director of Humanist UK's Dialogue Network and our regular panellists Lola & Nicole.Episode references:Humanists UK: Exploring Common Ground, Dialogue with othersHumanists UK: Dialogue Training ApplicationAbout Jeremy Rodell:🎤 Humanists UK Interview🐦 @jeremyr1📌 South West London Humanists Support the showSupp...
Send us a textThis week on Humanism Now, Audrey & AJ join the panel to discuss personal and group activism and support for Social Justice campaigns. The panel discuss; How do humanist vales align with these causes? How do we prioritise issues to best influence changes? and what role should Humanist groups play in leading or supporting campaigns? We delve deeper into these topics with this week's guest Anya Overmann. Anya is a writer, consultant, speaker and digital nomad driven by her val...
Send us a text"Peace is more than just the absence of war. Peace requires respect for the worth and dignity of our fellow human beings, tolerance among individuals, and harmony within each person." Humanist International's Oslo Declaration on PeaceThis week, AJ and Mark tackle Humanist perspectives on global conflicts such as the current Israel-Palestine crisis and the role of religion in exacerbating or potentially resolving this deep-seated conflict. Our interview with journalis...
Send us a textJoin us as we review the 2023 year in Humanism and preview the events for 2024 with our regular panellists, Mark, Nicole & Katia.Together with host James, they discuss; insights from 2023 meetups and conventions, inspiring personal experiences, a varied events calendar and the important role of humanist voices in 2024's major democratic elections. Finally we pay a special thanks to our Producer Rob, who is moving on to bigger things in 2024!This week's panel only discussion ...
Send us a text"I know so many people whose lives got better when they learned how to use a crock pot and make a decent chili"Welcome back to Humanism Now. This week we are delighted to share an extended interview with Bart Campolo, host of the inspirational podcast, Humanize Me! After decades as a Christian evangelist, Bart embraced humanism and now uses his platform to advocate for a more compassionate, curious and connected society. Together, we dissect the intricacies of growing a humanist...
Send us a text"When we're upholding secularism, we're making sure that that is freedom of religion or belief for all, and not just for the non-religious to be safe" - Emma Wadsworth-JonesOn this week's Humanism Now we are delighted to be joined by Emma Wadsworth-Jones, Casework & Campaigns Manager Of Humanists International and principle editor of the Freedom of Thought Report. The FOTR assesses every country in the world on the basis of human rights and the legal status with regard to hu...
Send us a text"Conscious morality cannot exist in any being except so far as it can look behind, before, and around; and can remember, compare, and reason about right and wrong so as to choose for itself, and for those it can influence, a given course." - Zona VallanceWhat does it mean to be a humanist in the modern world? Join James, Mark and new contributor Katia as we test the definition of humanism and assess how the term has evolved and what additions we'd like to see to reflect changing...
Send us a text“If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.”― George Bernard ShawThis week on Humanism Now, Nicole and AJ join James to discuss the relationship between comedy, freethought and humanism. We discuss the role of comedy in challenging authority and changing social norms, our personal comedy heroes and what should be off-limits to joke about? Plus we're fortunate to present our interview with the incredibly talented London-based com...
Send us a textWelcome to Humanism Now. This week James is joined by Mark from Central London Humanists and Nicole of Leicester & Young Humanists to tackle more common misconceptions about humanism. The panel counter some of the frequent critiques of a humanist worldview; from misleading definitions of Humanism (by prominent thinkers!) to misperceptions of how humanists view religious people and whether we all politically aligned. In an enlightening conversation, Lucy Potter, a ...
Send us a textThis week on Humanism Now as we welcome Lola Tinubu, Co-Founder of the Association of Black Humanists and Nicole Shasha, Founder of Leicester Humanists to discuss their experiences creating and cultivating secular communities and challenging misconceptions. We also discuss the implications of Ayaan Hirsi Ali's recent article Why I am Now a Christian, the critiques of atheism contained within and Hirsi Ali's impact, influence and legacy for global Humanists and freeth...
Send us a textThis week on Humanism now, Audrey & Mark join the panel to discuss taking a humanistic approach to issues around Free Speech and free expression, drawing on recent international news items. Our guest this week is Terri O'Sullivan from Faith to Faithless. Terri shares her deeply personal journey to humanism and her role as Apostate Services Development Officer, at FTF (part of Humanists UK). She also provides detailed advice for those seeking support when leaving high-c...
Send us a textOn this episode of Humanism Now, we're exploring the inspiring world of young humanists. Our co-host AJ and new panellist Nicole, fellow coordinators of Young Humanist UK share what campaigns and activities motivate Humanists in the 18-35 age range. Nicole also shares her experience of starting a new humanist group in Leicester and the joys of bringing humanist values to life through meaningful Humanists Ceremonies.AJ & Nicole share how they became engaged with Humanism and ...