How to Humanist

 ****This information isn’t a replacement for medical care, advice, diagnosis, or treatment from a healthcare professional, and it shouldn’t be considered legal advice. If you have questions about your health or a legal matter, we encourage you to speak with a qualified professional.**** Humanism advocates for each of us to have the rights to our own bodily autonomy. And yet, for over half of the...

The fight against Christian Nationalism can leave us feeling powerless as we witness those in power trying to destroy our freedoms. But we refuse to let that threat come to fruition, and our Policy and Political Director, Rachel Deitch is here to tell us what we can do about it. If you're still left with any questions, reach out to our policy team at the email below, and we'll be happy to help.  A...

If you're new to humanism, then you're probably also new to the American Humanist Association, a nonprofit that's been around for nearly 100 years. And we've been BUSY! In this episode you'll be inspired by the mentions of some important revolutionaries in our world's history, and then you'll learn about the ambitious and passionate work being done by the AHA with the help of supporters like you....

Today we return to the foundations, the brick laying of humanism, if you will. In this episode, Greg Epstein — Harvard and MIT's Humanist Chaplain and author of the NY Times bestseller Good Without God — joins us to break down what humanism actually is, where it came from, and why some of our biggest existential questions have been getting wrestled with for millennia, by regular people who just wa...

We're chatting with actor, director, writer (and humanist) Jon Huertas today, traveling down the memory lane of his iconic roles and learning some of our favorite tidbits from his career. Jon also shares how humanism has impacted his career and just how cuddly cows are. Enjoy this conversation with Jon as we continue to honor Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month. #meetyourheroes ABOUT JON HUERTAS...

Why wait? We're still on a kick from celebrating AHA's 85th annual conference this past weekend which included honorees Jordan Klepper, Anthea Butler, and Hank Green. And although we sold out of tickets for it (not once, but) twice, we know that not everyone got a chance to attend all the wonderful sessions. So we figured, let's give the people what they want -- and what everyone wants -- is more...

It's a humanist crossover episode! "I've never heard of humanism, but is this what I've been all along?" What happens when you discover the word for what you've believed your whole life? Shay Leonia came to humanism only recently, and rather than hide the learning curve, she has made it the heart of her work. In this episode, James Hodgson talks with Shay about her journey into humanism, the art o...

Have a question about Humanism that you'd like answered on an upcoming episode of How to Humanist? Great! We'd love to hear from you! Send your questions to ->-> podcast [at] americanhumanist.org for your chance to hear your question on a future episode! podcast [at] americanhumanist.org LEARN MORE AHA Conference 2026: https://conference.americanhumanist.org For more on humanism: https://lin...

As humans, we can find comfort in the most uncomfortable environments as long as it means we don't have to face change and sacrifice the only life we've known. Well, not only did Rev. Leika Lewis take that brave step and live to tell the tale -- they did it twice! As a professional Change Management expert, who better to assist us than Rev. Lewis on the windy road that can be deconstructing our be...

Where there's one of us, there's many. All around the country, people are searching for like-minded community, something AHA's 2025 Humanist Volunteer of the Year, Elizabeth Hegwood, knows very well. AHA has over 230 chapters and affiliates, but far more are needed to reach the communities that want them. That's why we're so grateful to have Elizabeth and Jake walk us through exactly how to start...

Ever wonder if it's possible to give your children and teenagers books they will love purely for their entertainment value, while also teaching them about capitalist societies and the giant tapioca balls that can destroy evil? Oddly specific, but Jordan Ifueko is up to the challenge. The NYT Bestselling Author joins us this week to discuss children's rights, her journey through deconstruction, and...

Dr. Anthony Pinn spent 13 years in ministry before he couldn't preach what he no longer believed. What he found on the other side of that was humanism, and what he's found inside humanism since then has not always been pretty. Hip hop and religion are asking the same questions, he says. Who are we, what are we, and why are we here. The difference is who gets to answer those questions, and who gets...

Two Fish walk into a podcast... One is the Executive Director of the American Humanist Association. The other is the President of American Atheists. They have been getting each other's mail, confusing each other's colleagues, and creating increasingly dorkier inside jokes with one another. Yet somehow, in the middle of all that chaos, they managed to become one of the most effective partnerships i...

Chris Line is a lawyer at the Freedom From Religion Foundation who lost 270 pounds and has kept it off for years. But this isn't a weight loss episode. Well... it is, but... it's a lot more, too. It's a conversation about what happens when you stop looking for a trick and start thinking clearly about your own life. Chris talks about growing up in a family where processed food was just the reality,...

Have you or anyone you know ever been pulled over for speeding? What if instead of issuing a ticket and a court date, you were stripped of your rights and thrown into a gulag across the country, with no way for your loved ones to know where you are or if you're even safe. This nightmare scenario only scratches the surface of what predominantly Black & Brown immigrants are facing in the United...

As kids, we sometimes grow up fantasizing about the many jobs we can have simultaneously. Somehow, we'll manage to be a fireman, a fashion designer, and a florist all at the same time. And while that example does a piss-poor job of conveying the realities of a multi-hyphenate professional with big dreams, it should land you somewhere in the ballpark of understanding what makes someone like Franche...

Someone reached out to our team not long ago and asked a question that a lot of people are probably carrying around: when you stop believing, where does the magic go? Faith Litchfield, content creator and professional lover of people, is basically a living answer to that question. Her entire existence is proof that wonder, whimsy, and the deep conviction that life is genuinely special do not requi...

Reverend Dr. Je' Exodus Hooper is an arts and cultural community curator, clergy leader, and scholar, but none of those words will prepare you for what it actually feels like to be in conversation with them. Je' moves through ideas the way a painter moves through color, layering meaning on top of meaning until you realize you've been seeing the world in a shade you didn't have a name for before. F...

Jack Harrison-Quintana has spent his career doing work that has shaped LGBTQ lives in corners of the world most advocates never get to reach. He has shown up, in person, in over 76 countries, building real relationships with LGBTQ activists on the ground, helping communities collect their own data on discrimination when their governments wouldn't, and working to make sure that the most vulnerable...

As the founder of Yesterqueers, Amanda W. Timpson is doing the work of restoring what got left out of queer history, correcting narratives that were shaped by white supremacy and patriarchy, and sharing it in an accessible and entertaining way. This conversation goes beyond Stonewall and the names we think we already know. Amanda makes a case that history belongs to all of us. The diary you're not...

Shane Lukas runs an award-winning design agency, has a TEDx Talk dropping, and owns a record collection that is genuinely not fair. He also does respite foster care with his partner in North Carolina -- meaning when a kid comes into the system with nowhere to go, sometimes they land at Shane's house. It's a commitment, it's not always easy, and he's not here to make it sound like it is. What this...

Shay has been known to keep her cool in interviews... until now. But it's Cain Culto, so... fair. Cain's music and striking visual artistry has been breaking people's brains since from the beginning, even while working at Sprouts and finding ways to build professional-grade visuals from scratch. He is, as Shay's sister Seren put it, a piece of art on two feet. Get ready for one of the most inspiri...

Shay has a bestie. Her bestie is a Christian named Cheryl. They have been besties since May 19th, 2009, and neither of them has tried to convert the other once. And yet they've both survived. It's a miracle. This episode is for everyone who has ever wondered whether an interfaith friendship can actually work, or whether you have to choose between your beliefs and the people you love. You don't . A...

On our first international episide, we visit Bergen to talk to Christian Lomsdalen -- the president of the Norwegian Humanist Association, a high school teacher, a religious studies scientist at the University of Bergen, and a person who has gods tattooed on his back. Apparently this is completely normal in Norway. So is a state-funded humanist organization with 180,000 members, a confirmation cer...

Dr. Monica Johnson is a licensed clinical psychologist, a self-proclaimed Swiss Army knife of a human being, and someone who will absolutely bring up DMX at exactly the right moment in a conversation about allyship. That's ok -- if you've been listening, you'll already know that Shay was ready with her jukebox trigger. "Flesh of my FLESH!", and all that. Anyway... This is one of those episodes whe...