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Welcome back to Humanism Now for a special episode coinciding with the critical upcoming UK Parliament vote on assisted dying — a pivotal moment we've long campaigned for and debated. In this episode we hear how what the bill entails, why it matters and how safe assisted dying aligns with values of compassion and autonomy.

Joining us is Nathan Stilwell, Humanists UK's Assisted Dying Campaign Coordinator, Campaigns and Communications Manager at My Death My Decision and a member of The Assisted Dying Coalition Secretariat.

Nathan joins us to discuss the context of this crucial vote, why Humanists UK champions this cause, and why now is the right time for change. We also address key societal concerns and shares how you can get involved to promote this cause and other important humanist issues.

SUPPORT THE CAMPAIGN - WRITE TO YOUR MP

Contact & follow Nathan Stilwell

• 📧 [email protected] 
• ℹ️ Humanists UK Assisted Dying Campaign
• ✖️ Twitter 

Episode References:

• MPs to get first vote on assisted dying for nine years, BBC
• Humanists UK Statement on scope of the Assisted Dying Bill (22 Oct 2024)
• Former archbishop of Canterbury urges bishops in Lords to back assisted dying bill, The Guardian
• Medic MPs urge support for assisted dying bill, BBC
  BBC: Right-to-die man Tony Nicklinson dead after refusing food, BBC (2013)
  
  

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CLH are an official partner group of Humanists UK and an associate member of Humanists International

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"It's difficult to think of an area of work life that isn't connected to humanistic thought. If you start with ideas around the dignity of each human, compassion, kindness, ambitions, ways to behave, being evidence-based and being equitable, fair and not biased wherever possible, you start to understand that those are the foundational concepts of humanism" - Paul Harrison, Humanists in Business Network

This week on Humanism Now, new panellist Christian joins AJ to discuss activism and campaigning; what makes an activist, why is it important to humanism and how has activism changed in the digital age? Plus we introduce CLH's new campaigns initiative.

Our guest interview is with Paul Harrison, Coordinator of the Humanists in Business Network, part of Humanists UK, Co-Founder of the UK chapter of the Humanistic Management Network & Partner at KPMG UK.

Panel references:

• Atheism Plus
• Gro Harlem Brundtland
• Niels Bohr
• Fridtjof Nansen & the Nansen Passport
• Hans Rosling TED Talks
• Moral (Self) Licensing 
• Arab Spring
• 'Clicktivism'

About Paul Harrison & the HiB Network

• KPMG Profile
• Humanists in Business Network LinkedIn Page
• Humanists in Business LinkedIn Group
• Humanists UK Professional Networks 

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"A key tenet of humanism is empathy. Whether that's empathy for those around us or to all humans, but also we should extend that to all life of exists, and then forward in time, to future generations." - Lori Marriott

This week, Katia & Mark join the panel to discuss the merits of identifying with the humanist label. Plus we hear from Lori Marriott, Coordinator of Humanist Climate Action.

References:

• Humanists UK: Defining Humanism
• Humanists International: What is Humanism?
• Humanists UK: How Humanist are you Quiz?
• UnderstandingHumanism.org.uk: Five Core Features

• Follow Lori on X
• HCA Homepage
  • Sign up for newsletter
  • Read past newsletters
  • Email HCA: [email protected]
  • Follow HCA on Facebook, Instagram, and X

• Green your pension: how you can help the environment
• Not the End of the World, How to be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet, Hannah Ritchie
• Climate Disinformation, European Commission

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"It's really not as hard as people think to have a peaceful conversation with somebody who disagrees profoundly with you on deep questions." - Ariel Pontes 

This week on Humanism Now we share our wide ranging interview with Ariel Pontes, a writer, podcast host and advocate for humanism, effective altruism, animal welfare and productive dialogue to counter polarisation. Ariel shares a wealth of experience and learnings from leaving Kardecist Spiritism to supporting Humanist groups in Brazil & Romania.

In our news section, AJ & Lola share their views on Richard Dawkins' recent statements comparing Christianity and Islam, whether we should compare religious virtues and the concept of 'Cultural Christianity'.

References:

• Richard Dawkins: I'm a Cultural Christian, LBC YouTube Channel
• Cultural Christians
• The Trouble with Islam Today, Irshad Manji

Follow (@ArielPontes)

• X.com
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Medium

More on Ariel's Work

• Homepage: ghostlessmachine.com
• Ghostless Machine Podcast
• Youtube @GhostlessMachine
• Humanistas Brasil
• Ariel on Effective Altruism

Ariel's references:

• Kardecist spiritism
• How Minds Change, David McRaney
• A Manual for Creating Atheists

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"Humanism is about human goodness, appreciating reason & potential"  - Ojas Singh Bhanot

This week on Humanism Now, Mark & Nicole join the panel to discuss how illegal faith schools deny children the right to science,  the importance of promoting scientific literacy across society and the impact of scientific fraud.
 
This week's interview is with Ojas Singh Bhanot, Politics and Data Science student at the London School of Economics, where he Founded the Humanist Open Minds Students' Union group. His role involves leading a platform and promoting humanist values within the university community, focusing on open dialogue and inclusivity.

References: 

• Religion for Atheists, Alain de Botton
• Humanists UK at UN: Illegal schools deny the right to science
• Humanists UK campaign: State-funded faith schools & education
• National Secular Society: End Faith Schools Campaign
• Centre for Inquiry: Why Scientific Literacy Matters 
• Humanists UK: Humanist Students
• Fraud in curcumin research is a warning to all of science, FuturoProssimo

About Ojas Singh Bhanot

• LinkedIn
• LSE Students Union Humanist Open Minds 
• LSE Humanist Open Minds on Instagram

Ojas' References:

• Oxford Handbook of Digital Ethics, Carissa Véliz

Upcoming events:

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“The irony of man's condition is that the deepest need is to be free of the anxiety of death and annihilation; but it is life itself which awakens it, and so we must shrink from being fully alive.”  ― Ernest Becker, The Denial of Death

Episode References:

• BBC News: New extremism definition unveiled by government
• Humanists UK: Extremists ‘negate the fundamental rights and freedoms of others’ – humanists analyse new definition
• ‘Resisting extremism means defending a tolerant society’, Andrew Copson
• Atheist Bus Campaign
• Radio 5: Elis James and John Robins Show

About Valerie Jack;

• Living with Life without God
  • Amazon
  • GoodReads
  • AbeBooks
• Twitter @ValerieJack
• Instagram/Facebook: @valeriejackwrites

Valerie's References:

• How religious and spiritual beliefs explain prolonged grief disorder symptoms, Kim M. Christian, Samar M. Aoun & Lauren J. Breen
• The Denial of Death, Ernest Becker
• Why Death is Nothing to Fear: Lucretius and Epicureanism, Jack Maden, PhilosophyBreak
• Snoopy Carto

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Welcome back to Humanism Now! This week AJ & Mark from the Central London Humanists join the panel to discuss the latest news, plus our interview with  Monica Belițoiu, Chair of The Romanian Secular Humanist Association (ASUR) .

Episode References

•  Humanist UK; Dr Rebecca Wragg Sykes awarded Darwin Day Medal
  • Rebecca Wragg Sykes Interview
• Humanists UK;  Assisted Dying Campaign
  • Assisted Dying Inquiry Report | Everything you need to know
• BBC News; Greece legalises same-sex marriage
• Matthew Walker; Why We Sleep

Monica Belițoiu

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Humanists International; Why I contribute my experience and time to the Freedom of Thought Report, Monica Belițoiu
• Humanists International; Romanian humanists launch ScienceCalendar mobile app

Download ScienceCalendar App on Play Store

Follow ASUR

• Homepage
• Instagram @asur.ro
• Facebook @secularumanisti
• Yo

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Welcome to Humanism Now's International Women's Day Special hosted by Audrey Simmons (Association of Black Humanists & CLH) and featuring Lola Tinubu (Assoc. Black Humanists & CLH), Katia Urquiza (Central London Humanists) & Nicole Shasha (Leicester Humanists and Young Humanists)  who discuss;

• The importance of IWD today
• Does being humanist imply being a feminist?
• Highlighting influential women's voices
• Talking more about women's health

Episode references:

• Anthony Doerr, All the Light We Cannot See
• Humanists UK: Human rights and equality
• Humanist Life: Why Humanism and feminism go hand in hand (2015)
• Minna Salami: The difference between feminism and humanism (2014) 
• The Guardian: Margaret Atwood on feminism, culture wars and speaking her mind
• Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale
• Omolara Ogundipe-Leslie
• Wiki: Stiwanism
• Claudia Roden
• WHO: Women's Health Fact Sheet

Upcoming events:

• Association of Black

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"We should acknowledge that humanism is something that beats in the heart of every human being"  Dr Leo Igwe

This week James, Lola & AJ are joined by legendary human rights activist, Leo Igwe. We discuss the merits of Darwin Day, Leo's decades of campaigning for freethought and against superstition and Leo's vision for a new future for atheism and humanism in Africa.

Episode references

• Guardian; How should we address Charles Darwin's complicated legacy?
• JC Candnedo; Tai Solarin Day
• HUK: Humanists highlight Rwanda bill flaws
• HUK: MPs raise Mubarak Bala case 
• HI: Free Mubarak Bala Campaign

Leo Igwe

• @LeoIgwe
• Humanist Association of Nigeria
• Advocacy for Alleged Witches (AfAW)
• critTHINK.africa
• TED; Why I Choose Humanism Over Faith
• FOTR: Nigeria

Upcoming events:

• Association of Black Humanists
• Central London Humanists
• Humanists International

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Welcome back to Humanism Now. This we learn practical tips for engaging in good faith dialogues with people of different beliefs with expert insight from Jeremy Rodell, Director of Humanist UK's Dialogue Network and our regular panellists Lola & Nicole.

Episode references:
Humanists UK: Exploring Common Ground, Dialogue with others
Humanists UK: Dialogue Training Application

About Jeremy Rodell:
🎤 Humanists UK Interview
🐦 @jeremyr1
📌 South West London Humanists

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CLH are an official partner group of Humanists UK and an associate member of Humanists International