Freedom of Thought by Humanists International

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  Update from World Humanist Congress 2026 12.08.2026 1min

  Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter https://humanists.international/sign-up-for-the-newsletter/ The Humanists International team are busy delivering the World Humanist Congress in Ottawa this week. Gary took some time out to provide a special update from the Congress, with some exciting announcements to follow, including the announcement of Lima, Peru, as host venue for the 2027 World Humanist Congress, the launch of the Amsterdam Circle, and the Ottawa Declaration on Humanism...
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  How Humanists International Makes Decisions At The Global Level - Guide to the General Assembly 05.08.2026 37min

  Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter https://humanists.international/sign-up-for-the-newsletter/ With less than a week to go before the World Humanist Congress in Ottawa, Gary McLelland and Leon Langdon step back from interviews to do something different: build an evergreen guide to how Humanists International's General Assembly actually works. The idea came from a board meeting where HI decided to use the podcast to create resources that will remain useful long after any parti...
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  What If Meaning Was A Public Service? Scaling Humanism with Urtė Žukauskaitė-Zabuke 29.07.2026 27min

  Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter https://humanists.international/sign-up-for-the-newsletter/ Leon reports back from Berlin and a visit to HVD, one of the world's most comprehensive humanist service organisations. He also updates on HI joining the Human Rights and Democracy Network (HRDN), giving HI new access to EU institutions and setting up a December event to highlight humanists and atheists as human rights defenders. Gary and Leon close the pre-interview reflecting on a...
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  How the Humanist Association of Ireland Serves a Changing Country, with Niamh Clowry 22.07.2026 35min

  Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter https://humanists.international/sign-up-for-the-newsletter/ Gary and Leon reflect on the countdown to the World Humanist Congress in Ottawa, now just three weeks away and plans for HI's 75th anniversary in 2027, including a possible supplement to the 1952-2002 history book written by Babu Gogineni and Bert Gassenbeek — freely available on the Humanists International website. Leon also invites members and supporters to share their views on HI...
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  A Strong Humanist Movement Needs Shared Futures and Practical Services - Lone Ree Milkær, EHSN 15.07.2026 28min

  Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter https://humanists.international/sign-up-for-the-newsletter/ Gary and Leon reflect on the Humanists International quarterly staff gathering in London. Leon updates on the UN Human Rights Council 62nd session, where HI delivered statements on domestic violence and the Istanbul Convention, and supported an Austrian member's statement in the Universal Periodic Review. Gary introduces the upcoming deep-dive episode on the General Assembly. This ...
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  The Fight to Keep Religion Out of Government - Rachel Laser, Americans United for Separation of Church and State 08.07.2026 33min

  Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter https://humanists.international/sign-up-for-the-newsletter/ Gary and Leon are joined this week by Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church. Americans United (AU) is the only organization dedicated solely to defending the separation of church and state. We are the shield protecting the foundational American principle of freedom of religion — including the right to believe or not believe — for all. Rac...
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  What Does a Humanist Life Stance Look Like in Practice? with Christian Lomsdalen 01.07.2026 28min

  Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter https://humanists.international/sign-up-for-the-newsletter/ Gary and Leon mark World Humanist Day — sharing a brief history of how the 21st of June became the humanist calendar's most important date, from the American Humanist Association's grassroots observances in the 1980s to its official adoption by the AHA and Humanists International in the 1990s. Leon also notes that blasphemy laws have now been repealed in Northern Ireland — a meaning...
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  Fighting Religious Indoctrination in Schools with Monica Belițoiu, ASUR 24.06.2026 32min

  Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter Gary reports from the Humanist UK Festival of Humanism — over 650 humanists gathered in Bournemouth for the flagship annual event. Leon updates on the 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council, where Humanists International is active on resolutions covering freedom of expression, domestic violence, and early child marriage. And the World Humanist Congress in Ottawa is now six weeks away and close to sold out. This week's guest is Monica B...
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  Resisting Christian Nationalism with Empathy, Community and Creators - Fish Stark 17.06.2026 32min

  Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter Gary and Leon open Season Two with updates on the World Humanist Congress — now just two months away and on track to sell out in Ottawa — alongside news of a new Latin American Membership Development Officer, an upcoming Human Rights Council session, and Humanists International's participation in EU dialogues on artificial intelligence in Brussels. This week's guest is Fish Stark, Executive Director of the American Humanist Association — one ...
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  Humanists International Answer Your Questions 29.04.2026 33min

  Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter To mark the end of Season One, Gary and Leon are joined by Harry, Fundraising and Communications Officer at Humanists International, who hosts a special listener Q&A. Questions came in from around the world covering everything from digital safety under repressive regimes, to the future of the UN, to humanism's role in the age of AI and climate change. In this episode we cover How humanists living under restrictive regimes can stay safe an...
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  Humanism Has Answers - Inside Humanist Canada with Janalee Morris 22.04.2026 27min

  Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter Gary joins from Guatemala, where he has been meeting with Humanistas Guatemala and learning about the growing influence of American evangelical Christianity and the fascinating tradition of Catholic-Mayan syncretism. Leon meanwhile shares updates including cautious optimism around the Hungarian election result, ongoing tensions in Iran and the Middle East, the worrying composition of the newly elected UN Committee on NGOs, and welcome news th...
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  How the UK Asylum System Is Failing the Non-Religious with Dr. Lucy Potter 15.04.2026 25min

  Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter This week's guest is Dr. Lucy Potter, postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Sociological Studies at the University of York. Her landmark three-year study — Freedom of Religion or Belief for All: Recognising and Protecting the Non-Religious in the Asylum System — reveals how the UK's asylum system routinely misunderstands and fails people fleeing persecution for leaving their religion. Lucy shares her key findings, her policy recommendation...
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  How Humanists Push Back Against Populism And The Politics Of Division 08.04.2026 30min

  Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter This week Gary and Leon zoom out from day-to-day advocacy to reflect on the wider global climate shaping freedom of thought. From rising populism and religious nationalism to legal battles and cultural shifts, the episode explores how political, legal, and social trends are reinforcing division, and what that means for humanists globally. They revisit key Humanists International declarations, discuss pressures on courts and human rights syste...
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  Growing Humanism Worldwide - Membership, Grants and Community with Javan Lev Poblador 01.04.2026 34min

  Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter Gary and Leon open with updates from New York and the closing days of the UN Human Rights Council — including concerns about efficiency measures cutting special rapporteur reporting, and urgent debates around the crisis in Iran. Gary reflects on Humanists International's statement, reaffirming that concern for human rights in Iran and concern about US military action are grounded in the same principles of international law. This week's guest ...
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  How Humanist Legislators Turn Values Into Progress with Lizzi Collinge MP & Heidi Nordby Lunde 25.03.2026 32min

  Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter Leon returns from the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva with a concerning update: so-called efficiency measures are cutting special rapporteur reporting with a blunt, one-size-fits-all approach that threatens the most urgent human rights mandates. He also shares news of a landmark European Court of Human Rights case on religious symbols in Greek courtrooms and his published response to Alliance Defending Freedom International in the Oxford Hu...
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  Humanist Values Are Ideal For This Moment with Andrew Copson 18.03.2026 25min

  Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter This week, Leon reports live from Geneva at the UN Human Rights Council, where a special session on children in armed conflict brings the human cost of global conflict into sharp focus. Against that backdrop, Gary and Leon reflect on the US military action in Iran and what it means for the international rules-based order. We are then joined by Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of Humanists UK and former President of Humanists International for a...
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  Inside The UN Human Rights Council 11.03.2026 31min

  Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter Welcome to Freedom of Thought, the podcast by Humanists International. This week the roles reverse. Instead of interviewing a guest, Leon Langdon becomes the policymaker explaining how Humanists International works inside the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. Leon walks through how the Council functions, why the Universal Periodic Review matters, and what actually happens during a typical session, from negotiating resolutions and...
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  Humanism As Resistance with Maggie Ardiente 04.03.2026 24min

  Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter This week’s episode features a conversation with Maggie Ardiente, President of Humanists International, reflecting on the global defence of freedom of belief and the role of humanists in resisting rising authoritarianism. Maggie shares the origin story of the Freedom of Thought Report, explaining how early engagement with the US State Department helped ensure discrimination against atheists and humanists was formally documented. What be...
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  Inside The 2025 Freedom Of Thought Report & Blasphemy Laws with Mubarak Bala 25.02.2026 44min

  Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter This week's podcast coincides with the publication of the 2025 Freedom of Thought Report, Humanists International’s flagship annual study tracking discrimination and persecution faced by people because of their belief, or lack of belief. We preview key findings from the 2025 edition and discuss wider global trends, including democratic backsliding, religious nationalism, and the instrumentalisation of “religious freedom” to undermine universa...
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  Reclaiming Humanism As A Radical Defence Of Universal Human Rights 18.02.2026 20min

  Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter Welcome to Freedom of Thought a new podcast series by Humanists International! In this first episode hosts Gary McLellend and Leon Langdon introduce Humanists International, the global representative body at the heart of the humanist movement, how a global humanist network works inside the UN system, and why universal rights need a louder defence right now. We share the member‑led model, lessons from the IRF Summit, and what really happ...