Episodes

Scientist-turned-philosopher Massimo Pigliucci on reclaiming skepticism from the deniers, proportioning belief to evidence, and why doubt can lead to a life worth living.

Janet Ellis, the Blue Peter presenter, actress, novelist and new President of Humanists UK, talks to James Hodgson about how she came to humanism, why she finds real comfort in the fact that life is finite, and how to find joy without guilt in anxious times. She discusses her Humanists UK film All We Have Is Each Other, grief after losing her husband, whether Blue Peter was quietly humanist, talking to children about belief without indoctrination, the joy of writing, assisted dying, and why more humanists should say so openly.

Harvard student and humanist advocate Tess Sumner on Christian nationalism, free expression, and why her generation feels democracy is in crisis.

Historian and filmmaker Rory Booth on 19th century bohemianism, the 1990s rave scene, and what running a humanist group has in common with starting a scene.

The American Humanist Association's Shay Leonia on discovering humanism through a job posting, learning out loud, and meeting people where they are.

The world's leading Spinoza scholar on heresy, "God or nature", and why the great philosopher of toleration was an atheist after all

"Education shouldn't be about telling young people what to think. It should be telling them how they can think." — Sharon Booth

How do you hold an honest conversation about one of the world's most divisive conflicts, in a school classroom, without it descending into a shouting match? This episode looks at peace education: the skills, the psychology and the facilitation that let people disagree deeply while still recognising each other's humanity.

Our guest is Sharon Booth, founder and executiv...

Support Humanism Now and Join Our Community! — https://ko-fi.com/humanismnowpod "We are creatures of matter who long to matter — and one of the strongest manifestations of this is people who deny that we are matter." Professor Rebecca Newberger Goldstein is a philosopher, novelist, and MacArthur Fellow whose books include The Mind-Body Problem, Incompleteness, Betraying Spinoza, and 36 Arguments for the Existence of God (a work of fiction). In 2015 she was awarded the National Humanities Meda...

Support Humanism Now & Join Our Community! | https://ko-fi.com/humanismnowpod "I found atheism is not an inoculation against irrationality or awfulness." — Seth Andrews Seth Andrews spent 14 years as a Christian radio host before becoming one of the most recognisable voices in atheist and humanist media as host of The Thinking Atheist Podcast. In this conversation, he traces his slow-burn deconstruction from devout evangelical broadcaster to skeptic, why he now leads with "humanist" rathe...

Support Humanism Now & Join Our Community! "I don't think that we have any solid evidence of a religious revival underway in England, or for that matter, anywhere else." — David Voas In April 2025, the Bible Society published a report claiming church attendance in England had surged by more than 50% since 2018, with young men's churchgoing up fivefold. It made national headlines. A year later, both YouGov and the Bible Society retracted it. This episode unpacks what actually went wrong...

"I used to think eugenics had died out after the Second World War. I no longer believe that, unfortunately." — Rebecca Sear

Most of us think of eugenics as a horror confined to the past. It isn't. This episode examines the worrying re-emergence of eugenics and scientific racism, from discredited claims about race and intelligence to the far-right money funding them, and asks how we defend good science against bad-faith actors. Along the way, Rebecca overturns another myth, that the isolated nuc...

"One of the things I heard again and again was: I thought I was the only one." — Muhammad Syed Leaving religion can be one of the most liberating decisions of a person's life. For those leaving Islam, it can also be one of the most dangerous. This episode looks at why so many ex-Muslims stay hidden, how community breaks that isolation, and what the data really tells us about people leaving the faith worldwide. Our guest is Muhammad Syed, human rights activist, writer, and co-foun...

"It's really about what happens when kindness is the first response to strangeness." — Kestral Gaian What does it take to stay human in a world that often forgets what that means? This episode explores storytelling as an act of resistance: why humans need fiction, why representation matters, and how meeting difference with curiosity rather than judgement can ease the loneliness of modern life. Our guest is Kestral Gaian, an award-winning writer of fiction, theatre and poetry, whose debut you...

"Many in society saw the news and understood there's no hope for peace. But I understood there's no hope but peace." — Yaniv Aknin
What does humanism actually ask of us when we confront the Israel-Palestine conflict? In this episode we preview a special Festival of Humanism session, exploring how secular, rational and compassionate values can cut through motivated reasoning and moral blind spots to rebuild shared ground between Palestinians and Israelis.

Our guests are Dr Jasr Kawkby, a British...

"It's amazing how enduring humans can be with their willingness to look for good."
Kimberly Haley-Coleman is the founder and executive director of GlobeAware, a nonprofit building ethical, community-led volunteer service programmes across more than 25 countries. With a background spanning international business, nonprofit leadership, and global partnership building, Kimberly has spent years thinking deeply about how service, cultural exchange, and shared work can bring people together with digni...

Support Humanism Now and Join Our Community! "Dogmatism is the enemy of reason, after all." Dr Anjan Chakravartty is the Apignani Foundation Chair for the Study of Atheism, Humanism, and Secular Ethics at the University of Miami and a philosopher of science whose work explores the nature of knowledge and what science tells us about the world. His latest edited volume, Science and Humanism: Knowledge, Values, and the Common Good, brings together leading philosophers to examine the relati...

Support Humanism Now and Join Our Community! "Culture is a representation of what our habits are on a daily basis. If we drop the habit, we are not building the culture we're wanting to see." Dr AJ Lauer is a leadership and diversity educator, executive coach, and founder of Thriving IBIS Leadership Solutions. With two decades of experience across higher education, non-profit research, and STEM, she specialises in imposter syndrome, psychological safety, and helping organisations make more hu...

"You are unlocked to a whole new world... you're not alone, and it's that community that makes you reaffirming yourself"
Timothy David, known as Tim Talks, is a UK-based content creator whose TikTok videos on humanism, faith deconstruction, and Black freethinking have racked up millions of views. Drawing on his own journey away from Pentecostal Christianity, Tim uses social media to spark honest conversations about belief, identity, inclusivity, and what it means to question everything.

Topics ...

Support Humanism Now and Join Our Community! https://ko-fi.com/humanismnowpod "That's what humanism is about, isn't it? That we have the freedom to do whatever we feel is right for us." Tale Pleym is Chair of the European Humanist Professionals and Senior Ceremonial Advisor of the Norwegian Humanist Association, where she has been conducting humanist ceremonies for more than 15 years. She joins us to explore how humanist ceremonies and secular services are shared and strengthened across Europ...

Support Humanism Now and Join Our Community! Micki McAllen, known online as Apostate Barbie, spent 30 years as a Jehovah's Witness before leaving in 2021. Now based in the UK, she uses social media to raise awareness of high control religious groups, support others navigating life beyond faith, and advocate for an end to mandated shunning. Topics we cover ✔︎ What life inside a high control group really looks like — and how coercive control works without physical force ✔︎ The Norwa...

Support Humanism Now and Join Our Community! “Curiosity leads to fully understanding someone’s situation and being empathetic to that person.” Steve Ghikadis is a Humanist Officiant, author, and speaker who leads secular weddings, memorials, and other life-affirming ceremonies in Ontario. In this conversation, he explores street epistemology, interfaith family life, raising curious and compassionate children, and why humanism needs to lead with empathy as well as reason. Connect...

Support Humanism Now and Join Our Community! - ko-fi.com/humanismnowpod
"Science is not objective. It is subjective. And I think having conversations about it is very important."

Dr Jenny Lange is a neuroscientist specialising in uncovering the mechanisms of rare neurological disorders. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the UK Dementia Research Institute, University College London. Outside the lab, Dr Lange is a public speaker and writer on medical history, the intersection of science a...

"Home Office officials do not understand what apostasy is — and this affects how non-religious asylum seekers are recognised, questioned, and believed."
Dr Lucy Potter returns to Humanism Now to share the findings of her landmark new report on non-religious asylum claims in the UK, produced in collaboration with Humanists UK. Drawing on three years of in-depth qualitative research, the report is the first study to analyse Home Office decision-making policies for those seeking asylum on the basis...

"An estimated one person in three seeking asylum in the UK has experienced torture in their home country."
This is a bonus episode of Humanism Now, recorded as part of Podcasthon 2026: the global initiative uniting podcasters to raise awareness for charitable causes.

This year, we are supporting Freedom from Torture, a UK charity that has spent more than 40 years providing specialist therapeutic care, rehabilitation, and advocacy to survivors of torture. Their work centres on restoring dignity,...