Humanism Now
by Humanise Live
What Makes Us Human? Neanderthals, Denisovans and Our Origins |…
About this podcast
Support Humanism Now and join our community.
Every episode, guest and transcript is at humanism.now.
Humanism Now is a weekly podcast for anyone curious about secular humanism and making the most of the one life we have.
Host James Hodgson, founder of podcast studio Humanise Live, is joined by scientists, philosophers, campaigners, authors and everyday people who are building a fairer world, cultivating human flourishing and celebrating the joy of being human.
Every episode is a long-form interview that takes one hard ethical question seriously, using reason and evidence rather than dogma, and always with compassion for the people involved. Recurring themes include:
secular ethics and moral philosophy
freedom of religion or belief and human rights
Resisting nationalism and the future of democracy
AI ethics, technology and what it means to stay human
climate action, equality and social justice
science, scepticism and critical thinking
awe, meaning and our place in the cosmos
You will come away with ideas you can actually use: better arguments, better questions, and practical ways to live an ethical, purpose-driven life while understanding more about yourself, other people and the universe.
Whether you are a lifelong humanist or simply curious about a naturalistic worldview, hit follow and join a global community working towards a fairer, kinder and more rational world, for this generation and the next.
Every episode, guest and transcript is at humanism.now.
Support Humanism Now and join our community
Follow @HumanismNowPod on YouTube | TikTok | Instagram | Facebook | Threads | X | Bluesky
Humanism Now is produced by Humanise Live, a podcast production agency based in London, serving charities, companies and individuals across the globe. To start your own podcast, visit humanise.live or email [email protected].
Music credit: Blossom by Light Prism
Podcast transcripts are AI-generated and may contain errors or omissions. They are provided to make our content more accessible and should not be treated as a fully accurate record of the conversation.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 102 episodes
- What Makes Us Human? Neanderthals, Denisovans and Our Origins | Oscar Lozada · 1 h 0 min · Season 1 Episode 93Support Humanism Now & Join Our Community! What if our view of ourselves as a unique species is wrong? This week we are joined by Oscar Lozada, an archaeologist and biological…
- Katherine Stewart on Christian Nationalism, Trump and the Fight for Democracy · 46 min · Season 1 Episode 92Support Humanism Now & Join Our Community! www.humanism.now Follow @HumanismNowPod | YouTube | TikTok | Instagram | Facebook | Threads | X.com | BlueSky Two years ago…
- Introducing: Humanism Ireland Podcast | James Hodgson on Humanism, Curiosity and the Story So Far | Bonus Crossover · 29 minSupport Humanism Now & Join Our Community! www.humanism.now Follow @HumanismNowPod | YouTube | TikTok | Instagram | Facebook | Threads | X.com | BlueSky ******** "We are…
- Massimo Pigliucci on How to Be a Happy Skeptic | The Power & Joy of Doubt · 48 min · Season 1 Episode 91"I'm a skeptic, which means I'm entitled to change my mind — and that's not a bug, it's a feature." — Massimo Pigliucci Support Humanism Now & Join Our Community! Check out…
- Janet Ellis on the Joy of this One Life | New President of Humanists UK · 51 min · Season 1 Episode 90Support Humanism Now & Join Our Community! Check out our new website! www.humanism.now "I genuinely find comfort in the fact that life is finite." — Janet Ellis She shaped…
- United by Hope: Live from the World Humanist Congress 2026 Part 2 · 45 minSupport Humanism Now & Join Our Community! Part two of our dispatches from the World Humanist Congress 2026 in Ottawa. On the second and final day, James Hodgson caught up with…
- Christian Nationalism, Free Speech and Gen Z | Tess Sumner · 28 min · Season 1 Episode 89Support Humanism Now & Join Our Community! "Evidence is most powerful when it's paired with empathy." What is it like to come of age when politics has never felt calm? Tess…
- Humanism as Resistance: Live from the World Humanist Congress 2026 Part 1 · 37 minSupport Humanism Now & Join Our Community! Something a little different this week. James Hodgson took Humanism Now on the road to the World Humanist Congress 2026 in Ottawa…
- Is Humanism a Subculture? Rory Booth on Style, Space and Belonging · 40 min · Season 1 Episode 88Support Humanism Now & Join Our Community! "It's harder for the mass market to hit a moving target." — Rory Booth Punks had the mohawk. Ravers had the warehouse. What does…
- "Am I a Humanist?" Shay Leonia on Discovering Humanism in Public · 37 min · Season 1 Episode 87"I've never heard of humanism, but is this what I've been all along?" What happens when you discover the word for what you've believed your whole life? Shay Leonia came to…
- Was Spinoza an Atheist? Steven Nadler on the Philosopher Who Defined Free Thought · 40 min · Season 1 Episode 86"If there's a theme that unites all of Spinoza's philosophical writings, it's freedom: both personal freedom, how we become liberated from irrational passions, and political and…
- How to Disagree Without Dehumanising | Sharon Booth, Solutions Not Sides · 43 min · Season 1 Episode 85"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…
- 84. The Mattering Instinct with Rebecca Goldstein · 49 min · Season 1 Episode 84Support 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…
- 83. Seth Andrews, Host of 'The Thinking Atheist', on Leaving Faith, Finding Values, and Fighting Tribalism · 52 min · Season 1 Episode 83Support Humanism Now & Join Our Community! | https://ko-fi.com/humanismnowpod "I found atheism is not an inoculation against irrationality or awfulness." — Seth AndrewsSeth…
- 82. The Quiet Revival That Wasn't: David Voas on Faked Data and the Truth About Religion in Britain · 42 min · Season 1 Episode 82Support 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…
- 81. The Re-emergence of Eugenics and How to Fight Back with Science, with Rebecca Sear · 39 min · Season 1 Episode 81"I used to think eugenics had died out after the Second World War. I no longer believe that, unfortunately." — Rebecca SearMost of us think of eugenics as a horror confined to…
- 80. Inside the Ex-Muslim Movement - Muhammad Syed on why leaving Islam Can Be Liberating, and Dangerous · 46 min · Season 1 Episode 80"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…
- 79. Meet strangeness with kindness - Kestral Gaian on the role of representation, community and politics in fiction · 37 min · Season 1"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…
- 78. "No Hope But Peace and Justice" - An Israeli and a Palestinian in Dialogue · 47 min · Season 1 Episode 78"Many in society saw the news and understood there's no hope for peace. But I understood there's no hope but peace." — Yaniv AkninWhat does humanism actually ask of us when we…
- 77. Ethical Volunteering with Kimberly Haley-Coleman - Building Bridges Through Community Led Service · 31 min · Season 1 Episode 77"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…







