We act sometimes as though we think women are new to the freethought movement, to atheist and humanist leadership. We're not. We've been here all along, and we've never gone away. Our history has just sat in boxes, disregarded where it hasn't been thrown away altogether. Our stories have gone untold. This week's guest, Vickie Stangl, did something about that. In her book, Etta Semple: Kansas Freethinker and "Ideal" Woman, she took that history out of the archives and made it live. Etta Semple wa...
Nov 09, 2016
The Humanists of Houston are American Humanist Association's largest local chapter and they're on pace to become the largest secular movement Meetup group very shortly. They've achieved that growth largely through reaching out to groups that we don't often see at humanist meetings, through executing strategies that some people try to tell us will drive people away. This week, Vic Wang, president of Humanists of Houston, and Benita Malone, volunteer coordinator, join the Humanist Hour to talk abo...
Nov 02, 2016
We tend to think of the process of converting from one religion to another as a religious experience, but how much of that reflects the outlook of the people who usually talk about conversion? When author Susan Jacoby set out to explore conversion from the perspective of an atheist, she found, by contrast, that many if not most religious conversions are undertaken for frankly pragmatic reasons. From politics to position in society, she details many of the reasons people convert in her latest boo...
Oct 19, 2016
"Interfaith" is not a word that comes easily to all humanists. Even more difficult for some is the idea of partnering with religious leaders and believers to work together on the world's problems. However, a panel composed of humanist minister Rebecca Armstrong, past American Humanist Association president Mel Lipman, former AHA board member Paula Rochelle, and former AHA regional coordinator Ben Wade came together at the AHA's national conference in Chicago this past May to argue that we should...
Oct 12, 2016
If anyone in today's secular movement should require no introduction, it's Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-founder and now co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF). Fresh off a speech this past weekend at the Women in Secularism conference about her mother, Anne Nicol Gaylor, Annie Laurie joins us to talk more about her mother's accomplishments. She talks to us about how feminism requires secularism and how FFRF is carrying on Anne Nicol's outspoken legacy.
Sep 28, 2016
Today's adolescent humanists in the U.S. aren't the first generation of young people to be raised in a nonreligious philosophy. They are, however, the largest in modern times here – and the demographic shift means the generations that follow will likely be even larger. That means it's time for us to pay attention to the challenges and opportunities faced by teenaged humanists. At the American Humanist Association's annual conference in Chicago this past May, the AHA convened a panel of familiar ...
Sep 21, 2016
Skepticon is an unusual conference in several ways. It started as a student-run event that survived its founders' graduation. It's an independent event, run as its own nonprofit organization. It's a free conference and vows to remain that way. In any given year, roughly half its speakers are women. It's held in a smaller city in the middle of the country in a very religious area. It attracts a younger audience on average, many of whom bring their families. It blends religious skepticism with wha...
Sep 14, 2016
We like to say that we’re “good without a god,” but the fact of the matter is that we’re not always very organized about it. One of the good things organized religion has introduced to the world is ways to encourage giving and volunteering to help those in need. Foundation Beyond Belief is a secular nonprofit organization that provides a similar structure to help those of us who have left religion or who never had religion in the first place when we want to give. Noelle George is the executive d...
Sep 07, 2016
Sex positivity sounds like a wonderful thing, but do you really know what it is? As a social movement, it's older than you might think. It can be traced back through the Free Love movement. No, not the one in the 1960s: the Victorian Free Love movement. In its more modern incarnation, sex positivity has been associated with LGBTQ liberation and the battles within feminism over pornography and sex work. It's also closely tied to movements to destigmatize kink and polyamory. With all these associa...
Aug 31, 2016
The concept of social justice is enjoying a renaissance. That doesn't necessarily translate into action, however. Even people who support social justice may find themselves uncertain how to put their principles into practice. They may be unsure what is needed from them. At the American Humanist Association's 75th Anniversary Conference in Chicago this year, Sincere Kirabo, social justice coordinator of the AHA, moderated a panel on this problem. Diane Burkholder, co-founder of Kansas City Freeth...
Aug 24, 2016
There is a significant portion of the U.S. electorate this year who seem determined to "take back their country". It's rare, however, that these people are willing to explicitly state who they want to take the country back from. In reality their political fears reflect a voting population that is less white, less male, and less religious than it has ever been before. Juhem Navarro-Rivera is a political scientist who studies the political behavior of many of the groups within this rising American...
Aug 17, 2016
Kelly McCullough is a fantasy and science fiction author with twelve novels under his belt to date. Despite being raised outside religion, his work often focuses on what it means to exist in a world where gods are real. In his WebMage series, McCullough’s protagonist is the descendent of one of the Greek Fates. His Fallen Blade series follows what happens when the goddess of justice is killed by the other gods in her pantheon. This week, Kelly McCullough talks to Stephanie Zvan about why he expl...
Aug 10, 2016
The 2016 U.S. presidential election has turned into something that wasn't supposed to be able to happen anymore. We’re supposed to be past this kind of open racism, yet here we are. So much for living in a “post-racial” America. Alix Jules is a secular activist, writer, and sometimes co-host on Dogma Debate. He's also on the advisory council of American Humanist Association's Black Humanist Alliance. This week, he joins us to talk about the politics of racial resentment. We'll talk about Alix's ...
Aug 03, 2016
Earlier this month, model and activist Qandeel Baloch was found dead in her home in Pakistan. She'd been drugged and murdered by her brother in what he claimed was an honor killing. Baloch was a feminist and a pop star who didn't adhere to local Islamic modesty standards. Her brother claimed that this brought shame upon their family. Baloch's murder was more widely reported in the U.S. than most honor killings. Reactions to the news were varied but demonstrated a broad lack of understanding of t...
Jul 27, 2016
When Callie Wright came out as a trans woman in 2013, there weren't a lot of queer voices in the secular movement that focused on issues affecting queer people. She set out to change that. With her partner in crime Ari Stillman, she now runs The Gaytheist Manifesto podcast and the blog of the same name. She is also co-chair of the American Humanist Association's LGBTQ Humanist Alliance. Callie joins Jenn Wilson this week to talk about founding the podcast and its mission to support the LGBTQ com...
Jul 20, 2016
Any year in which we have the first female major party presumptive nominee for president is going to be a busy one in feminist politics. Beyond Hillary Clinton, however, there's still plenty going on in current political discourse that's of interest to feminists. From the misogyny of Donald Trump to the recent Supreme Court decision on abortion, we have a lot to talk about. To cover these topics—as well as Clinton's rise to nominee—Stephanie Zvan talks this week with Amanda Marcotte, a political...
Jul 06, 2016
This year, the American Humanist Association's Appignani Humanist Legal Center celebrates a decade of service. The center provides legal assistance to defend the constitutional rights of religious and secular minorities by directly challenging clear violations of the Establishment Clause and seeking equal rights for humanists, atheists and other freethinkers. Through a combination of staff and pro bono attorneys, the center engages in amicus activity, litigation, and other legal advocacy. This M...
Jun 29, 2016
In spring of 2012, the secular movement was a different place for women. We were grossly underrepresented on stage, in print, and in the membership of our organizations. In a movement that prides itself on asking questions, the people asking why this under-representation was happening were being shouted down. The Center for Inquiry's (CFI) Women in Secularism conference in Washington, D.C. was created to address these problems. The brain child of Melody Hensley, the conference featured a weekend...
Jun 22, 2016
"So you're an atheist. Now what? The way we deal with life—with love and sex, pleasure and death, reality and making stuff up—can change dramatically when we stop believing in gods, souls, and afterlives. When we leave religion—or if we never had it in the first place—where do we go? With her unique blend of compassion and humor, thoughtfulness and snark, Greta Christina most emphatically does not propose a single path to a good atheist life. She offers questions to think about, ideas that may b...
Jun 15, 2016
Just before the American Humanist Association's 75th Anniversary Conference a couple of weeks ago, the organization announced that it was launching a new Black Humanist Alliance and the revamped and revitalized Feminist Humanist Alliance and LGBTQ Humanist Alliance. Stephanie Zvan caught up with several alliance advisory council members at and after the conference. In this show, we bring you the first of those interviews. Andy Semler is a trans nonbinary activist working in rural Indiana. They a...
Jun 08, 2016
Art has the potential to reach people in ways no simple argument can. As such, it's always been harnessed for activist pursuits. From design that adds impact to a message, to providing the sugar coating on an educational pill, to telling us stories we need to hear – activism needs art. Humanist activism is no exception. On this week's show, we talk to two artists whose art exists for far more than art's sake. Stephanie Zvan talks to Josiah Mannion about his photography and his motto, "I take pic...
Jun 01, 2016
Of all the recent "religious freedom" legislation passed around the country, perhaps none is so restrictive as North Carolina's "Act to Provide for Single-sex Multiple Occupancy Bathroom and Changing Facilities in Schools and Public Agencies and to Create Statewide Consistency in Regulation of Employment and Public Accommodations". The short version of the bill's name is the "Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act," but it quickly became infamous as HB2. Passed as a response to a non-discr...
May 25, 2016
David Cobb is a lawyer and co-founder of Move to Amend, a coalition dedicated to winning a constitutional amendment to firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights. He has sued corporate polluters, lobbied elected officials, run for political office himself, and been arrested for non-violent civil disobedience. He believes we must use every tool available to effect the systemic social change we so desperately ne...
May 18, 2016
This year is a special one for the American Humanist Association – it marks 75 years since our founding. To celebrate, our annual conference returns to the AHA's original home of Chicago this May 26–29 with lots to do for everyone. In addition to being AHA's Director of Development and Communications, Maggie Ardiente also organizes AHA's annual conference. She took time this week out of her busy schedule to talk to us about the history of the conference, what attendees can expect, how to make th...
May 04, 2016
"We show up so you don't have to." That's the tagline for the Oh No, Ross and Carrie podcast. If you've ever wanted to get out and experience all the world's weirdness for yourself, this podcast might not be for you. If, however, you've been dying to have other people put themselves through that and then tell you about it, you're in the right place. Skeptics Ross Blocher and Carrie Poppy are ready to experience it all (or almost all) for you and share all the best stories afterward. On this week...
Apr 20, 2016
Gene Roddenberry was openly humanist, and his best-known creation, Star Trek, reflects his views in many ways. Our guests this week talk about how Star Trek informed their humanism and how they use the show to educate others about humanism. Susan Sackett became Roddenberry's executive assistant in the mid-1970s and a humanist shortly thereafter. She contributed story ideas for two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and worked with Roddenberry until his death. She joins us to talk about h...
Apr 06, 2016
Over the past year or so, the American Humanist Association has been making changes to reflect its commitment to social justice. These changes can be found in the pages of The Humanist magazine and the words of its leaders. Change can also be found more recently in the announcement that Sincere Kirabo would be stepping into the role of the AHA's social justice coordinator. This week, we welcome Sincere back to the show. He speaks with Peggy Knudtson and Jenn Wilson about his new role, what socia...
Mar 23, 2016
On this week's show, Stephanie Zvan interviews Dr. Bethany "SciCurious" Brookshire about effective strategies for convincing people of scientific truths, the common mistakes we make when we set out to teach people about science. Brookshire recently co-edited Science Blogging: The Essential Guide. For nearly a decade, former neuroscientist Dr. Bethany Brookshire has been writing about science for online audiences. Best known to science-blogging fans as "SciCurious," Dr. Brookshire writes about – ...
Mar 09, 2016
In this week's show, Stephanie Zvan introduces interviewer Peggy Knudtson, and Peggy and Jenn Wilson talk to Justin Scott about his work to get politicians on record on the separation of church and state. As an Iowan, activist, and atheist, Justin Scott has had a unique opportunity to represent nontheists in the political process. The timing of the Iowa caucuses means that 2016 presidential candidates spend a lot of time answering questions from average citizens, and Scott has used this opportun...
Feb 24, 2016
In this episode, Jenn Wilson introduces our new producer, Stephanie Zvan, and Kim Ellington talks to Frank Edwards, Ronald F. Murphy, Cheryl Abram, and Darrell Smith – authors who presented at the Black Nonbelievers fifth anniversary celebration in Atlanta last month. On January 16, 2016, Black Nonbelievers from all over gathered together in Atlanta to celebrate the organization’s five year anniversary. One of the day's panels focused on black atheist and humanist authors. Kim Ellington attended...
Feb 10, 2016