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Humanism Now

Humanism Now

By: Humanise Live
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⁠⁠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 hello@humanise.live. 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.© 2026 Humanise Live Philosophy Science Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Massimo Pigliucci on How to Be a Happy Skeptic | The Power & Joy of Doubt

    Massimo Pigliucci on How to Be a Happy Skeptic | The Power & Joy of Doubt
    Oct 4 2026
    "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 our new website! www.humanism.now Skepticism has a reputation problem. To many it sounds like cynicism, a reflex of doubt that drains the colour out of the world. But what if doubt is actually a path to a richer, more honest, happier life? James Hodgson is joined by scientist-turned-philosopher Massimo Pigliucci to reclaim skepticism as a way of life, from its ancient Greek roots to the vaccine debates and demagogues of today. We trace the two great schools of ancient skepticism, explore why "skeptic" originally meant inquirer rather than denier, and get practical: how to judge expertise when you're not an expert, why changing your mind is a strength, and how doubt and happiness belong together. About the guest Massimo Pigliucci is the K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York, with doctorates in both evolutionary biology and philosophy. Best known for How to Be a Stoic and his work on philosophy as a way of life, his new book is How to Be a Happy Skeptic: The Power of Doubt in a Meaningful Life. In this episode Who the ancient Skeptics really were, from the Pyrrhonists to the Academic skeptics, and why "skeptic" means inquirer, not cynic Proportioning belief to evidence, how to judge expertise when you can't be an expert yourself, and why changing your mind is a feature, not a flaw Why doubt and happiness belong together: eudaimonia, "a life worth living," and the ethics of belief Links and references Massimo Pigliucci, How to Be a Happy Skeptic: The Power of Doubt in a Meaningful Life: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/806907/how-to-be-a-happy-skeptic-by-massimo-pigliucci/ Massimo Pigliucci, How to Be a Stoic: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35102306-how-to-be-a-stoic Massimo Pigliucci's writing, Figs in Winter: https://figsinwinter.medium.com Massimo in conversation with the Central London Humanists: https://www.meetup.com/central-london-humanists/events/316243117/ Chapters 00:00 Introduction: can you hold doubt and joy? 00:57 Who were the Skeptics? Inquiry, not cynicism 03:52 How skepticism survived: the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Hume 06:30 Pyrrhonists vs Academic skeptics: suspending judgment 10:00 Degrees of belief: Carneades, Cicero and proto-Bayesian reasoning 15:21 The problem of expertise: who to trust 22:30 Why changing your mind is a feature, not a bug 23:47 Certainty, demagogues and the ethics of belief 29:38 Why a "happy" skeptic? Eudaimonia and a life worth living 34:28 The Stoics, the Skeptics and humanism 39:39 Changing Minds Support Humanism Now & Join Our Community! www.humanism.now Follow @HumanismNowPod | YouTube | TikTok | Instagram | Facebook | Threads | X.com | BlueSky Humanism Now is produced by Humanise Live, a podcast production agency based in London, serving charities, companies, and individuals across the globe. Contact us to get started in podcasting today at humanise.live or hello@humanise.live. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    48 mins
  • Janet Ellis on the Joy of this One Life | New President of Humanists UK

    Janet Ellis on the Joy of this One Life | New President of Humanists UK
    Sep 27 2026
    ⁠Support 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 the childhoods of millions on Blue Peter, and now she's making the case for living well without religion. Janet Ellis, broadcaster, actress, novelist and the new President of Humanists UK, joins James for a warm, wide-ranging conversation about how she came to humanism, what it offers in turbulent times, and why she finds genuine comfort in the idea that this life is the only one we get. We talk about her film All We Have Is Each Other, grief and mortality after the loss of her husband, finding joy without guilt, whether Blue Peter was quietly humanist, how to talk to children about belief without indoctrination, the joy of writing, and her hopes for her time as President. About the guest Janet Ellis MBE is a broadcaster, actress and novelist, known to generations for presenting Blue Peter and Jigsaw. She is the author of the novels The Butcher's Hook and How It Was, hosts the podcast Twice Upon a Time, and in 2026 became President of Humanists UK. Links and references All We Have Is Each Other, the Humanists UK film with Janet Ellis: https://humanists.uk/janetellisfilm/ Janet Ellis, Humanists UK profile: https://humanists.uk/about/our-people/patrons/janet-ellis/ Twice Upon a Time, Janet's podcast on favourite childhood books (@twiceuponapod): https://linktr.ee/twiceuponpod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/missjanetellis/ Substack: https://janetellis925764.substack.com/ Janet's novels: The Butcher's Hook (2016): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35407568 How It Was (2019): https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/45901019-how-it-was In this episode Her slow realisation of being a humanist, joining Humanists UK, and stepping up from patron to president Grief, mortality and the film All We Have Is Each Other: why she finds comfort, not fear, in a finite life Finding joy in turbulent times, talking to children about belief without indoctrination, and a call for humanists to be "out and proud" Chapters: 00:00 Introduction: meet Janet Ellis 01:10 A slow realisation: discovering humanism 02:47 From patron to President of Humanists UK 05:07 Being publicly affiliated, and the conversations it starts 07:53 "All We Have Is Each Other": grief and a finite life 11:45 Finding joy in turbulent times 18:45 Blue Peter: was it a humanist show? 23:07 Talking to children about belief without indoctrination 27:18 Books that shaped her worldview 32:05 The joy of writing 36:53 Her hopes as President of Humanists UK 44:24 Closing question: changing minds Support Humanism Now & Join Our Community! www.humanism.now Follow @HumanismNowPod | YouTube | TikTok | Instagram | Facebook | Threads | X.com | BlueSky Humanism Now is produced by Humanise Live, a podcast production agency based in London, serving charities, companies, and individuals across the globe. Contact us to get started in podcasting today at humanise.live or hello@humanise.live. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    51 mins
  • United by Hope: Live from the World Humanist Congress 2026 Part 2

    United by Hope: Live from the World Humanist Congress 2026 Part 2
    Sep 23 2026
    Support 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 more attendees, from the humanist chaplains bringing secular pastoral care into the Canadian Armed Forces, to the local Ottawa organisers who hosted the event, an Icelandic politician on humanist values in turbulent times, and two returning Humanism Now guests reflecting on the movement's past and future. Across every conversation the theme of the Congress, humanism as resistance, keeps surfacing: resisting the erosion of truth, the normalisation of dehumanising rhetoric, and the complacency that assumes rights won can never be lost. "It just takes one person in a room to change a whole conversation and change the course of history." — Roslyn Mould Featured in this episode Silvana Morales-Boiardi, humanist chaplain with Humanist Canada, training as a military humanist chaplain in the Canadian Armed Forces Buela Nokutubo, member of Humanist Ottawa Dr Richard Thain, Humanist Ottawa, long-time humanist and recipient of a service award at the Congress Arndís Anna Kristínardóttir Gunnarsdóttir, President of Siðmennt (the Icelandic Humanist Association) and former member of Iceland's parliament Chris Cameron, historian and author, representing the Association of Black Humanists Roslyn Mould, of Accra Atheists and outgoing Vice President of Humanists International Highlights Building humanist chaplaincy in the Canadian Armed Forces, and how the first humanist military chaplain opened the door for the next generation Why local groups matter: Humanist Ottawa on community, and Dr Richard Thain on four decades in the movement Arndís Anna on resisting the normalisation of dehumanisation, and Roslyn Mould reflecting on stepping down after years of leadership at Humanists International CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 01:06 Silvana Morales-Boiardi, Humanist Canada, humanist chaplaincy in the Armed Forces 08:12 Buela Nokutubo, Humanist Ottawa, finding community 13:50 Dr Richard Thain, Humanist Ottawa, four decades in the movement 20:17 Arndís Anna Kristínardóttir Gunnarsdóttir, Siðmennt, humanist politics as resistance 29:02 Chris Cameron, Association of Black Humanists, humanism and history 35:15 Roslyn Mould, reflections on leaving the Humanists International board Support Humanism Now & Join Our Community! www.humanism.now Follow @HumanismNowPod | YouTube | TikTok | Instagram | Facebook | Threads | X.com | BlueSky Humanism Now is produced by Humanise Live, a podcast production agency based in London, serving charities, companies, and individuals across the globe. Contact us to get started in podcasting today at humanise.live or hello@humanise.live. 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. World Humanist Congress, Humanists International, humanism, resistance, Ottawa, humanist chaplaincy, military chaplaincy, Humanist Canada, Humanist Ottawa, Siðmennt, Arndís Anna Kristínardóttir Gunnarsdóttir, Chris Cameron, Association of Black Humanists, Roslyn Mould, Accra Atheists, secularism, Humanism Now Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    45 mins
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All stars
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I really like how James, panelist's and guests are tackling important subjects, with compassion, knowledge and vulnerability.
There is some great quality guests, with profound personal stories, that are both touching and relatable. I have learnt a lot about Humanism from this podcast and will look forward to hearing more.

On a personal note; the humanist outlook conveyed, has really struck a chord (ration, reason, compassion) and I think I have found my people. 🙏🏽💕

Engaging and informative 💭

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