“If we focus so much on the 5% that divides us, we miss the 95% we already share.” — Alan Palmer

Alan Palmer is the former Chair of Central London Humanists, a trustee of Humanists UK, and a long-time NHS Trust Director. With over 17 years of experience in grassroots organising, Alan shares how London’s most active humanist group grew from pub chats to public campaigns, and how dialogue, ethics, and diversity remain central to its mission.

In This Episode

• How Central London Humanists became the UK’s largest humanist group
• Why participation is harder in a more secular, but less mobilised, society
• Lessons from pioneering Catholic-Humanist and Muslim-Humanist dialogue
• The power of repeating others’ views honestly in effective dialogue
• Working on COVID-19 triage ethics as an NHS Trust Director
• Why diversity, campaigning, and neutrality all matter in modern humanism
• Reflections on political inclusivity and unity across difference

🔗 Learn more or join a CLH event
www.centrallondonhumanists.org.uk

🔗 Learn more or join The Blackham Society
https://humanists.uk/join-the-blackham-society/

This episode was originally recorded in January 2024.

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Music: Blossom by Light Prism

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.