The latest episode of Books and Ideas (BI 53) is an interview with Rebecca Hale, president of the American Humanist Association. We explore the basic tenets of humanism and also discuss the particular challenges facing humanists in the United States. 

Hale describes humanism as "a life philosophy based on personal responsibility: humans made the problems in the world, and it's up to us to take responsibility to fix them, so that we leave the planet better than we found it."

Listen to Episode 53 of Books and Ideas (right click to download mp3)

Free Episode Transcript (Download PDF) 

Related Episodes:

• Episode 21: Interview with Dr. Eugenie Scott about the ongoing battle between evolution and creationism.
• Episode 27: Interview with Jennifer Michael Hecht, author of Doubt: A History: The Great Doubters and Their Legacy of Innovation from Socrates and Jesus to Thomas Jefferson and Emily Dickinson.
• Episode 30: Interview with Tom Clark, author of Encountering Naturalism: A Worldview and Its Uses.
• Episode 50: Interview with Ted Meisner, host of The Secular Buddhist podcast.

Links and References: 

• Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism by Susan Jacoby
• American Humanist Association website
• International Humanist and Ethical Union- umbrella organization for humanists around the world
• Humanist Press and The Humanist magazine
• Humanism as the Next Step by Lloyd and Mary Morain
• The Philosophy of Humanism by Corliss Lamont (revised ed 1997)
• See the FREE episode transcript for additional links and references.

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