Humanism Now | Secular Ethics, Curiosity and Compassionate Change – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Humanism Now is produced by Humanise Live a podcast production agency based in London, serving charities, companies, and individuals across the globe.

Podcast transcripts are AI-generated and may contain errors or omissions. They are provided to make our content more accessible, but should not be considered a fully accurate record of the conversation.

66. Fish Stark on How The AHA Is Building a Humanist Revival In America

Saison 1 · Épisode 66

dimanche 22 février 2026 • Durée 49:38

"If science tells you what's real and compassion tells you what's right, you're a humanist" - Fish Stark

Fish Stark, Executive Director of the American Humanist Association (AHA), joins Humanism Now to unpack what a modern humanist revival could look like in the United States. From creator-led storytelling to legal strategy and mutual aid, Fish shares how the AHA is building power, community, and a clearer public-facing vision of humanism rooted in empathy, agency, and responsibility.

Connect with Fish Stark

Personal Website – fishstark.com
AHA Speakers Bureau
LinkedIn

Topics we cover

Why Fish believes the moment is right for a “humanist revival” in America
Humanism as identity, not just ideas: agency, responsibility, and moral confidence
What the AHA actually does: community-building, lobbying, legal action, and public narrative
Why the real arena is online, and how the AHA is backing creators to meet people where they are
Church-state separation under pressure, and how coercion shows up in schools and public life
Humanist chaplaincy and “parallel place” legal recognition as a strategic advantage
The American Empathy Project and why mutual aid is humanism in practice
What comedy teaches about organising: pacing, attention, clarity, and joy

Resources & further reading

Humanist Manifesto I – American Humanist Association (1933) – https://americanhumanist.org/what-is-humanism/manifesto1/
Peace First – https://peacefirst.org/
Born This Way Foundation – https://bornthisway.foundation/
The Good Place – https://www.nbc.com/the-good-place
Person-centered therapy (Carl Rogers) overview – NCBI Bookshelf / StatPearls (2023) – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK589708/

Humanism Now is produced by Humanise Live a podcast production agency based in London, serving charities, companies, and individuals across the globe.

57. Will Gervais on the Origins of Religion, Disbelief, and Morality

Saison 1 · Épisode 57

dimanche 14 décembre 2025 • Durée 39:09

“Humans didn’t evolve to believe in gods — we evolved to learn from culture, and sometimes culture points away from gods.”

Dr Will M. Gervais, psychologist and author of Disbelief, joins Humanism Now to examine one of the most persistent puzzles in the study of religion: why a species capable of deep religiosity also produces millions of convinced non-believers. Drawing on cultural evolution, cognitive science, and cross-cultural data, Will shows why belief and disbelief are shaped less by raw rationality than by social signals, security, and learning environments.

Contact & resources;

Website – http://willgervais.com/
University profile – https://www.brunel.ac.uk/people/will-gervais
ResearchGate – https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Will-M-Gervais-16312567
Disbelief – Gervais (2023) – https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Disbelief-by-Will-M-Gervais/9781633889248

Topics we cover

• Why humans evolved a capacity for religion, not a destiny to believe
• The twin puzzles of belief and disbelief explained scientifically
• Why comfort-based and “God-spot” theories fall short
• Cultural signals, credible displays, and how communities transmit belief
• Why atheism often emerges where signals are mixed or muted
• Weak and fragile links between analytic thinking and non-belief
• Moral distrust of atheists — and what behavioural data actually show
• Differences in moral style rather than moral behaviour
• Agnosticism as a distinct epistemic position, not a midpoint
• Existential security and why stable societies secularise
• Cultural evolution and the “big gods” hypothesis
• Why scientific self-correction matters more than tribal loyalty

Humanism Now is produced by Humanise Live a podcast production agency based in London, serving charities, companies, and individuals across the globe.

56. Indian Rationalism to Global Humanist Resistance - Alavari Jeevathol on Duty, Dialogue & Youth Power

Saison 1 · Épisode 56

dimanche 30 novembre 2025 • Durée 50:13

“Activism is the rent we pay to live on this world.” Alavari Jeevathol

AJ board member of Humanists International, founding trustee of the National Multifaith Youth Centre, and National Coordinator of Young Humanists UK — returns to Humanism Now to explore a humanism shaped by South Indian pluralism, UK youth organising, and a lifelong commitment to duty, solidarity, and awe. This conversation traces India’s rationalist heritage, the case for humanistic spirituality, and why resistance must be global, hopeful, and rooted in material realities.

Connect with AJ

Website – alavari.info
Instagram – @alavarij
Facebook – @alavari
X (Twitter) – @alavarij
LinkedIn – in/alavari/
TikTok – @alavarij
Young Humanists UK
National Multifaith Youth Centre

Resources & further reading

Disenchanting India: Rationalist Criticism and Cultural Politics – Quack (2012)
Humanist Society Scotland Statement on Palestine & Israel (2023)
AJ's events & talks
- Humanists UK Event: “India’s Rationalist Heritage”
- CLH Discussions | Gaza: genocide, ceasefire, and future prospects
- CLH Talk: Roots of Rationalism in India - Origins of Humanism Series
Humanists International World Humanist Congress 2026

Humanism Now is produced by Humanise Live a podcast production agency based in London, serving charities, companies, and individuals across the globe.

55. Sarah Levin on Secular Strategies to Mobilise Coalitions Defending Church–State Separation

Saison 1 · Épisode 55

dimanche 23 novembre 2025 • Durée 52:00

“We will lose a lot before we win — that’s just the reality of starting the race 50 years behind.” — Sarah M. Levin

Sarah M. Levin - strategist, lobbyist, founder of Secular Strategies and co-founder of The Secular Vote, joins us to explore how secular voters are reshaping U.S. politics. She breaks down the real demographics behind the “nones,” why neutrality protects both believers and non-believers, and how church–state separation is at the heart of today’s fights over rights, democracy, and pluralism.

Connect with Sarah:

Website: sarahmlevin.com
Secular Strategies: secularstrategies.com
The Secular Vote: hesecularvote.com
X (Twitter): @SarahMLevin
LinkedIn: sarahmlevin

Topics we cover

✔︎ Why Secular Strategies exists
✔︎ “Unaffiliated” vs “atheist”: what the data really shows
✔︎ Secularism in law and public life
✔︎ Media myths about religious “revivals”
✔︎ Connecting secular voters with messages that resonate (one life, one world)
✔︎ How Christian nationalism drives today’s policy rollbacks
✔︎ Relationship-led coalition building across deep differences
✔︎ Inside The Secular Vote: correcting media blind spots
✔︎ Debunking the “anti-Christian bias” narrative
✔︎ State-level wins: transparency for healthcare sharing ministries
✔︎ Practical ways to get involved for the long term

Resources & further reading

“Religious ‘Nones’ in America: Who They Are and What They Believe,” Pew Research Center (2024) – https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2024/01/24/religious-nones-in-america-who-they-are-and-what-they-believe/
Presidential Action on “Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias” – The White House (2025) – https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/eradicating-anti-christian-bias/
Religious Liberty Commission – U.S. Department of Justice – https://www.justice.go

Humanism Now is produced by Humanise Live a podcast production agency based in London, serving charities, companies, and individuals across the globe.

54. Nursing the Nation Hosts on Why Nurses Belong At The Centre Of Public Debate About Health, Policy and Human Dignity

Saison 1 · Épisode 54

samedi 15 novembre 2025 • Durée 43:23

“Nursing is the most humanistic of professions — it operationalises the philosophical groundings of humanism.” — Jamie Bourgeois

“Nurses have 24/7 eyes on the human experience — we see how policy shows up in real people’s lives.” — Melissa Anne DuBois

Jamie Bourgeois and Melissa Anne DuBois are the co-hosts of Nursing the Nation — a podcast giving nurses a national voice in debates that shape health, policy, and our daily lives. Together they explore how an ethic of evidence and empathy can challenge wellness hype, inform better policy, and centre human dignity in every decision that touches a patient’s life.

In this episode Melissa & Jamie discuss the historical erasure of women healers to today’s media blind spots — and what happens when they’re finally heard. They reveal how nursing science quietly powers trauma-informed practice, safer hospitals, and better education.

Join us to hear how nurses bridge the gap between policy and people and why the world’s most trusted profession must lead public conversations.

Connect with Jamie Bourgeois & Melissa Anne Dubois

Blog – nursingthenation.substack.com
Podcast Links – Nursing the Nation
Instagram – @nursing.the.nation
LinkedIn – Melissa Anne Dubois
- Research – ORCID | ResearchGate
- Writing – Writers Camp

Resources & further reading

Witches, Midwives & Nurses: A History of Women Healers – Barbara Ehrenreich (1973)
Ann Burgess – pioneer of forensic nursing, Wikipedia
Clara Barton & the Geneva Convention – Library of Congress Blog
Florence Nightingale and Data Visualisation

Humanism Now is produced by Humanise Live a podcast production agency based in London, serving charities, companies, and individuals across the globe.

Introducing Sentientist Conversations: Jamie Woodhouse discusses Animal Morality with Frans de Waal

samedi 8 novembre 2025 • Durée 52:58

This week we bring we are delighted to share the a guest episode from Sentientist Conversations, a podcast hosted by Jamie Woodhouse (Humanism Now Episode 4). In this episode, Jamie speaks with legendary primatologist Frans de Waal.

Follow Sentientism

“You cannot go wrong with compassion” – primatologist Frans de Waal – Sentientist Conversations

Frans (fransdewaal.com) is a primatologist & ethologist. He is Professor of Primate Behavior at Emory University, director of the Living Links Center at Emory & the author of many books including “Chimpanzee Politics”, “Our Inner Ape” & “The Bonobo & the Atheist”. He has featured in TV/radio productions & TED talks viewed by tens of millions of people. His research centers on primate social behavior, including conflict resolution, cooperation, inequity aversion, & food-sharing. He is a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences & the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts & Sciences.

In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?” Sentientism is “evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” The audio is on our Podcast here on Apple and here on the other platforms. You can watch the video here.

Humanism Now is produced by Humanise Live a podcast production agency based in London, serving charities, companies, and individuals across the globe.

Introducing The Secular Sankofa Podcast - Reclaiming African Identity Through Secular Humanism

lundi 27 octobre 2025 • Durée 32:07

This week we bring we are delighted to share the first episode of The Secular Sankofa Podcast, from the Association of Black Humanists.

Subscribe to The Secular Sankofa wherever you get your podcasts!

If you enjoy the show, please follow, rate, and review.

*****

"We believe in people, not prophets, we believe in freedom, not fear, and we believe in integrity, not doctrine" - Audrey Simmons, Podcast Host

The Secular Sankofa podcast is a platform for Black humanists to reconnect with African identity and heritage through a secular lens. The hosts introduce the Association of Black Humanists, its mission, and vision for creating a space where Black people can explore humanism without religious dogma.

Stay connected with the Association of Black Humanists:

Learn more about our work and community at abhumanists.org

Music: Icy by Jeff Kaale

Humanism Now is produced by Humanise Live a podcast production agency based in London, serving charities, companies, and individuals across the globe.

53. David B McLaughlin on Five Humanistic Values for Living Well

Saison 1 · Épisode 53

dimanche 19 octobre 2025 • Durée 34:23

“Human dignity is really the foundation for reasoned morality — there’s nothing we can do to increase it or decrease it. Even the worst people still deserve it simply because they’re human.” - David B. McLaughlin

David B. McLaughlin, leadership coach and author of Humanism: Five Values for Living Well, joins us to map a practical, hopeful framework for meaning without dogma. From life in the U.S. Bible Belt to boardrooms wrestling with equity, we explore how meaning, dignity, reason, compassion, and justice work together to guide everyday choices and systemic change.

Connect with David B. McLaughlin

Website – pendulumcoaching.com
Newsletter – exploringhumanism.substack.com
LinkedIn – www.linkedin.com/in/davidbmc

Topics we cover

Dignity as a moral floor you can’t earn or revoke
Spotting dehumanisation and resisting it
The Pillar Model of meaning
Rituals beyond religion: building habits that anchor values
Reason + compassion: escaping autopilot and widening concern
Justice at work: equity, fair policies, and psychological safety
Seeing hidden power: systemic awareness for better decisions
The “reverse wager of humanism”: urgency to do tangible good now

Resources & further reading

Humanism: Five Values for Living Well – David B. McLaughlin – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Humanism-Five-Values-Living-Well/dp/B0FNRP5GKR
Pendulum Coaching Podcast – Conversations on modern leadership – https://www.pendulumcoaching.com/podcast
“Pale Blue Dot,” Voyager 1 image & essay – background on Sagan’s perspective – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_Blue_Dot

Humanism Now is produced by Humanise Live a podcast production agency based in London, serving charities, companies, and individuals across the globe.

52. Michael Marshall on Compassionate Skepticism: Empowering Critical Thinking, Beyond Being Right

Saison 1 · Épisode 52

dimanche 12 octobre 2025 • Durée 45:08

“Being a skeptic doesn’t make me smarter or infallible—it just means I’m trying to fail slightly less often.”

Michael Marshall has spent more than 15 years investigating pseudoscience, conspiracy theories and the psychology that sustains them. As Project Director of the Good Thinking Society, President of the Merseyside Skeptics Society and Editor of The Skeptic, Marsh has gone undercover at flat-earth conventions, exposed fake psychics, and campaigned successfully to end NHS funding for homeopathy. In this conversation, he explores how “compassionate skepticism”, leading with empathy and curiosity rather than confrontation can help us counter misinformation and connect more deeply with one another.

Connect with Michael

Topics we cover

✔︎ Skepticism as practice, not a badge of superiority
✔︎ The ethics of “compassionate skepticism”
✔︎ How pseudoscience harms—and why empathy works better than ridicule
✔︎ What Flat Earth believers reveal about human psychology
✔︎ The legacy of QED and building communities grounded in reason

Resources & further reading

The Skeptic – Marshall’s author archive: skeptic.org.uk/author/michael
Wikipedia – Michael Marshall (skeptic)
Skeptical Inquirer interview: “Marsh Interview”
BBC News – “NHS homeopathy funding to end”: bbc.co.uk/news/health-43373817
The Guardian – “The Universe is an Egg and the Moon Isn’t Real”: Read article
PBS Independent Lens –