Humanism Now | Secular Ethics, Curiosity and Compassionate Change

As Humanism Now wraps up 2025, host James Hodgson is joined by familiar voices from across the UK humanist movement to reflect on the year just gone and look ahead to 2026. Together, they explore community-building, youth engagement, activism, collaboration, and why humanism continues to resonate in uncertain times. Guests & Links Lola Tinubu – Association of Black Humanists (ABH) Association...

“[Magical beliefs in childhood] serve an important function.”  - Dr Lois Lee For our festive special, Dr. Lois Lee, Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies at the University of Kent and one of the world’s leading scholars of non-belief, joins Humanism Now to explore why atheism spreads culturally and what Christmas reveals about humanist meaning in everyday life. Connect with Dr. Lee University of Ke...

“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, co...

 “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...

 “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-beli...

“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 hea...

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 Sentientism.info Apple Spotify YouTube “You cannot go wrong with compassion” – primatologist Frans de Waal – Sentientist Conversations Frans ( fr...

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! Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Podcast Index Overcast Podcast Addict Goodpods All other directories & RSS Feed If you enjoy the show, please follow, rate, and review.  ***** " We believe in...

“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...

“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 Societ y and Editor of The Skeptic , Marsh has gone undercover at fl...

"Another form of resistance is joy.” Maggie Ardiente, newly elected President of Humanists International, joins Humanism Now to share how humanism grounded in curiosity, compassion, and community can meet today’s rising threats to democracy and science. From a Catholic upbringing to global leadership, Maggie lays out a practical, joyful vision: build resilient humanist networks and live our v...

“No one ever said it was going to be easy. Humanists don’t think a better world is inevitable—we think a better world is possible, but we have to work for it.” Andrew Copson OBE, Chief Executive of Humanists UK and former President of Humanists International, joins us for our 50th episode to reflect on two decades of humanist leadership. From growing up in a secular working-class community to cham...

“You don’t change the world. You change the way one person views the world—and then you’ve changed the world for that person.” What if true strength lies not in certainty, but in listening with respect? In this episode, Morgan DeNicola , Executive Director of the DeNicola Family Foundation, shares how dialogue across divides, cultural diplomacy and everyday acts of humanity redefine what philanthr...

Ubuntu: I am because we are. 🌍✨ In this bonus episode of Humanism Now, we’re sharing the live recording of Professor James Ogude ’s talk from the online event Understanding Ubuntu Traditions part of the Global Origins of Humanism series (co-hosted by Central London Humanists and the Association of Black Humanists).  Prof. Ogude is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for the Advancement of Sch...

“ The arc of history bends towards justice only if you keep pushing it in that direction. ” David Livingstone-Smith, Ph. D.,  award-winning author, Professor of Philosophy at the University of New England and a leading authority on dehumanization joins us to unpack how ordinary people come to see others as “less than human,” why that shift makes atrocities feel morally necessary, and what practica...

“Inclusion is the behaviors that result in others feeling valued, respected, seen and heard.” Dr. Victoria Mattingly (Dr. V) —industrial-organizational psychologist, CEO & founder of Mattingly Solutions, and co-author of Inclusalytics —joins us to show how rigorous data and deeply human connection can coexist. We unpack practical, measurable ways to build cultures of belonging—at work and in c...

“If humanism is anything, it’s self-education. It’s progressing, becoming more educated, more enlightened.” - Dr Bill Angus Dr Bill Angus takes us on a provocative journey through his transition from devout evangelical Christian to secular humanist in this candid, thought-provoking conversation. After 30 years of committed faith, Angus found himself re-examining the foundations of Christianity, le...

“It’s on the basis of our shared humanity that we need to try to understand the world and think about how to live in it.” Professor Richard Norman , philosopher and author of What Is Humanism For? , joins us to explore the enduring question at the heart of secular ethics. From his journey out of Christianity to his role shaping humanist thought in the UK, Richard shares why humanism matters, how i...

“I believe in autonomy, I believe in choice, I believe in human freedom, and I believe in having less suffering… all of which are fundamentally humanist values.” –  Lizzi Collinge MP Lizzi Collinge —Labour MP for Morecambe & Lunesdale and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group—shares how openly declaring “I am a humanist” now shapes her work on championing freedom, autonomy and hu...

"Compassion has no borders"  - Katherine Lacefield Katherine Lacefield—founder of Just Be Cause Consulting—shares why swapping confrontational animal-rights tactics for compassion-first community building creates deeper, lasting change for animals, people and the planet. Connect with Katherine Website – justbecause.consulting Facebook – @ JustBeCauseConsulting Instagram – @ just.because....

“Rituals are in the roots of our humankind.” —  Iván Antezana Adrián Núñez and Iván Antezana—leading organisers of the Peruvian Association of Atheists (APERAT)—reveal how their victory in the 2025 Humanist Accelerator Program is turning the dream of legally-recognised humanist ceremonies into a nationwide reality, challenging deep-rooted stigma and funding vital support for Peru’s growing secular...

 “Research has found that the amount of questions kids ask dramatically decreases once they start formalized education.”   – Bridget Shirvell Journalist and climate-communicator Bridget Shirvell joins Humanism Now to share a four-part roadmap— feel, love, build, act —for raising climate-resilient kids. Drawing on her new book Parenting in a Climate Crisis , she explains how families can turn eco-a...

“Focusing on the positive outcomes gives you agency; you can literally see the progress happening and that keeps you moving forward.” - Nick Cooney Nick Cooney is a social entrepreneur, alternative‑protein investor, and author. He joins Humanism Now to discuss to unpack the hidden moral cost of doing nothing. Drawing on insights from his new book What We Don’t Do , Nick explains why inaction outwe...

“We need to care more about believing what is true than being right and being proved right.” - Bo Bennet With outrage-bait, memes and “gotcha” clips swarming every feed, being able to think about our thinking is no longer optional. Social psychologist, entrepreneur and Positive Humanism author Dr Bo Bennett joins host James Hodgson to show why critical thinking is a life skill for everyone, not a...

“Curiosity isn’t a trait — it’s a practice. And like any practice, we have to keep doing it even when it’s hard.” — Dr. Julie Pham In this episode of Humanism Now , we explore curiosity as a practice . Dr. Julie Pham — social scientist, community builder, and author of the bestselling 7 Forms of Respect® — joins us to unpack how curiosity, respect, and communication transform not just workplaces,...