Freedom of Thought by Humanists International

Humanise Live
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Freedom of Thought from Humanists International is a global news and interview podcast examining the state of freedom of belief, expression, and human rights worldwide. Hosted by Gary McLelland and Leon Langdon, the podcast draws on Humanists International’s flagship Freedom of Thought Report to bring together researchers, human rights defenders, activists, and policy experts to unpack the realities facing humanists, atheists, and non-religious people in different countries and regions. Each episode explores key findings from the report alongside wider developments in international law, politics, and civil society. Through in-depth conversations, case studies, and timely analysis, the show highlights where freedoms are under threat, where progress is being made, and what solidarity and advocacy can achieve. Produced by Humanise Live, Freedom of Thought offers clear, accessible insight into global freedom of thought issues for anyone interested in human rights, secularism, democracy, and evidence-based policy.

  1. Sep 2

    Raising Hope in a Turbulent World - Season 2 Listener Q&A

    Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter https://humanists.international/sign-up-for-the-newsletter/ We've reached the end of Season 2. Harry Linley joins as host for this season finale as Gary McLelland and Leon Langdon take listener and member questions from around the world — covering hope in dark times, HI's 2026 achievements, the difference between freedom of thought and freedom of expression, how to support people leaving religion, and the thinkers who shaped their own humanist paths. In this episode we cover How to stay hopeful when the news cycle is relentlessly negativeHI's 2026 year in review and goals aheadWhy refer to "freedom of thought" rather than "freedom of expression"How HI supports people leaving religion and where to find safety and security resourcesGary and Leon's Humanist influences and inspirationsFurther reading and references Ottawa Declaration on Humanism as Resistance: https://humanists.international/policy/the-ottawa-declaration-on-humanism-as-resistance/Humanists International safety and security resources: https://humanists.international/resources/safety-and-security/Faith to Faithless (Humanists UK): https://www.faithtofaithless.com/Free from Faith helpline (South African Secular Society): https://www.secularsociety.org.za/the-sass-free-from-faith-helpline/Aware Girls: https://www.girlsnotbrides.org/en/our-partnership/member-directory/aware-girls/Contact HI about membership or starting a group: https://humanists.international/about/contact-us/Why I choose humanism over faith | Leo Igwe (TED Talk): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9Zz4hYuGdwThe Meaning of Things, A.C. Grayling: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1791575Humanists UK recommended reading and course. For introductory texts on humanism: https://humanists.uk/education/recommended-resources/Follow Humanist International Sign up for our free NewsletterSupport Humanists InternationalFollow our CampaignsAbout - Humanists International Freedom of Thought ReportThis podcast is produced by Humanise Live. Start your podcast today, visit: humanise.live 🎶Music: Horizon by Simon Folwar 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.

    Raising Hope in a Turbulent World - Season 2 Listener Q&A

  2. Aug 27

    Ghana's Award Winning Humanist on Billboards, Bills and Backlash

    Content note: this episode includes references to rape and sexual assault. Sign up for the Humanists International Newsletter https://humanists.international/sign-up-for-the-newsletter/ Gary and Leon return from the World Humanist Congress in Ottawa — the biggest Congress in over a decade, bringing together 500 people from 60 countries under the theme Humanism as Resistance. They discuss the Ottawa Declaration on Humanism as Resistance adopted at the General Assembly, the launch of the Amsterdam Circle (HI's new major donor initiative), the announcement of Lima, Peru as host of the 2027 World Humanist Congress, and a historic first: a UN independent expert report specifically mentioning humanist organisations. Rosalind Mould is President of Accra Atheists and Coordinator of the West African Humanist Network. She was formerly President of the Humanist Association of Ghana (2015-2019) and Chair of the Young Humanist International African Working Group (2014-2019). In 2019, she became the first African Vice President of Humanists International, concluding a seven-year board tenure at the 2026 General Assembly in Ottawa, where she received the Distinguished Service to Humanism Award. In this episode we cover How Roz found humanism in Ghana when there was no language for it, no community, and no one she knew who had done it beforeBuilding Accra Atheists from a group who met in person just to check whether each other were realThe economic cost of being visibly non-religious in Ghana: half of Accra Atheists members have had to leave the countryAdvocating for Ghana's LGBT community — the resource center raid, the anti-LGBT bill, and how a coalition defeated it after three yearsSeven years on the HI board: what it meant to be the first African woman VP, and why she believes it can be done againFurther reading and references Amsterdam Circle: https://humanists.international/amsterdam/Accra Atheists: https://www.facebook.com/AccraAtheists/Lima Congress: https://humanists.international/event/world-humanist-congress-2027/Freedom of Thought Report: https://fot.humanists.internationalFollow Humanist International Sign up for our free NewsletterSupport Humanists InternationalFollow our CampaignsAbout - Humanists International Freedom of Thought ReportThis podcast is produced by Humanise Live. Start your podcast today, visit: humanise.live 🎶Music: Horizon by Simon Folwar 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.

    Ghana's Award Winning Humanist on Billboards, Bills and Backlash

  3. Aug 12 ·  Bonus

    Update from World Humanist Congress 2026

    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 as Resistance, adopted following the 2026 General Assembly. We will be back with a full episode next week. The Ottawa Declaration on Humanism as Resistance https://humanists.international/policy/the-ottawa-declaration-on-humanism-as-resistance/ Join the Amsterdam Circle https://humanists.international/amsterdam/ Humanists International events https://humanists.international/get-involved/events/Follow Humanist International Sign up for our free NewsletterSupport Humanists InternationalFollow our CampaignsAbout - Humanists International Freedom of Thought ReportThis podcast is produced by Humanise Live. Start your podcast today, visit: humanise.live 🎶Music: Horizon by Simon Folwar 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.

  4. Aug 5

    How Humanists International Makes Decisions At The Global Level - Guide to the General Assembly

    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 particular news cycle. This episode is designed for delegates heading to Ottawa and for anyone joining the movement who wants to understand how a humanist voice becomes global humanist policy. Slides for this episode are available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10LEduM7jK97FkabbJduNOiyYBX3Ano2a/view?usp=sharing In this episode we cover Who makes up the General AssemblyThe governance structureGA timelines and submission: resolutions, motions, and board nominationsEmergency motion processHow a resolution becomes global policySafety mechanism and: quorum rules, emergency assembliesFurther reading and references Humanists International General Assembly: https://humanists.international/about/our-members/general-assembly/HI Member Organisations: https://humanists.international/about/our-members/Follow Humanist International Sign up for our free NewsletterSupport Humanists InternationalFollow our CampaignsAbout - Humanists International Freedom of Thought ReportThis podcast is produced by Humanise Live. Start your podcast today, visit: humanise.live 🎶Music: Horizon by Simon Folwar 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.

    How Humanists International Makes Decisions At The Global Level - Guide to the General Assembly

  5. Jul 29

    What If Meaning Was A Public Service? Scaling Humanism with Urtė Žukauskaitė-Zabuke

    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 World Cup moment where the same video of Trump with the Spanish team was claimed as proof by completely opposite political camps. Urtė Žukauskaitė-Zabukė is co-founder and CEO of Humanist Ideas Ambassadors (HIA). She founded HIA in 2016 after her own wedding: unable to find a humanist ceremony in Lithuania, she looked to Poland and thought — why not here? HIA has since married more than 2,200 couples, built a network of 55 celebrants, and grows humanist ceremonies at 15% a year through a social enterprise model. HIA also ran an accelerator for humanist ceremony startups in four countries; Peru — one of the recipients — will present at the World Humanist Congress in Ottawa. In this episode we cover How Urtė's own wedding in 2016 launched Lithuania's humanist ceremony movementThe social enterprise model: why selling meaning gives humanist organisations resources to growLithuania's statistics paradox: 80% Catholic on paper, 30% church marriages, 50% choosing ethics over religion in schoolsHow Soviet forced atheism poisoned the word "atheist" in Lithuania — and why "humanist" fills the gapThe HIA ceremonies accelerator: mentoring humanist ceremony startups in four countries, with Peru at Ottawa Further reading and references Humanist Ideas Ambassadors (HIA): https://www.hia.lt/en/umanistischer Verband Deutschlands (HVD): https://humanismus.de/en/Human Rights and Democracy Network (HRDN): https://www.hrdn.eu/Humanists International joins HRDN (April 2026): https://humanists.international/2026/04/humanists-international-joins-human-rights-and-democracy-network/European Humanist Services Network (EHSN): https://humanistservices.eu/Follow Humanist International Sign up for our free NewsletterSupport Humanists InternationalFollow our CampaignsAbout - Humanists International Freedom of Thought ReportThis podcast is produced by Humanise Live. Start your podcast today, visit: humanise.live 🎶Music: Horizon by Simon Folwar 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.

    What If Meaning Was A Public Service? Scaling Humanism with Urtė Žukauskaitė-Zabuke

  6. Jul 22

    How the Humanist Association of Ireland Serves a Changing Country, with Niamh Clowry

    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's advocacy strategy ahead of Ottawa. Contact Humanists International This week's guest is Niamh Clowry,  Operations Manager of the Humanist Association of Ireland. Raised in the Catholic tradition, Niamh came to humanism after a profound personal turning point during the pandemic. Pregnant with twins, she and her partner learned their son had a life-limiting condition. He survived for 25 hours. Their daughter is healthy. That experience led Niamh to explore humanism and, eventually, to build her career around it. Niamh talks about Ireland's remarkable social transformation over the last two decades, what HAI does today, from legally solemnising marriages since 2012 to campaigns on secular education and assisted dying, and the recent relaunch of the Humanism Ireland Podcast. In this episode we cover How a devastating personal experience during the pandemic brought Niamh to humanismIreland's transformation: referendums, the census, and what the "no religion" numbers meanWhat HAI does: humanist marriages legal since 2012, nearly 60 celebrants, and growing funeralsExistential care and chaplaincy: HAI's next strategic frontierThe relaunch of the Humanism Ireland Podcast — and what it wants to beFurther reading and references Humanist Association of Ireland: https://www.humanism.ie/Humanism Ireland Podcast: https://www.humanism.ie/podcasts/Humanists International 1952-2002 (history book, free download): https://humanists.international/resource/humanists-international-1952-2002/Follow Humanist International Sign up for our free NewsletterSupport Humanists InternationalFollow our CampaignsAbout - Humanists International Freedom of Thought ReportThis podcast is produced by Humanise Live. Start your podcast today, visit: humanise.live 🎶Music: Horizon by Simon Folwar 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.

    How the Humanist Association of Ireland Serves a Changing Country, with Niamh Clowry

  7. Jul 15

    A Strong Humanist Movement Needs Shared Futures and Practical Services - Lone Ree Milkær, EHSN

    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 week's guest is Lone Ree Milkær, a Danish cultural scholar, folklorist, and humanist movement leader with more than 20 years of experience. Lone served as president of the Danish Humanist Society from 2015 to 2023 and as vice president of the European Humanist Federation. She is the co-founder and network manager of the European Humanist Services Network (EHSN), coordinating 20 European humanist organisations on ceremonies, humanist existential care and chaplaincy, and youth work. In this episode we cover How attending a friend's humanist wedding first brought Lone into the movement — and why her own registry office wedding felt like "sign here and out the door"Lone's PhD research: how climate change activism creates livable futures through shared narrative — and what humanists can learn from itWhat the European Humanist Services Network is, how it works, and why it focuses on ceremonies, existential care, and youthThe challenge of scale: managing a network from the Norwegian Humanist Association (one of the world's largest) to small, newly formed Eastern European organisationsWhat's next for EHSN: accreditation of funerals, and existential care services; a new fundraising working group Further reading and references European Humanist Services Network (EHSN): https://humanistservices.eu/About EHSN: https://humanistservices.eu/about-ehsn/Danish Humanist Society (Humanistisk Samfund): https://www.humanistisksamfund.dk/European Humanist Federation: https://europe.humanists.international/Luxembourg Declaration on AI and Human Values: https://humanists.international/policy/luxembourg-declaration-on-artificial-intelligence-and-human-values/#ehsn #humanistservices Follow Humanist International Sign up for our free NewsletterSupport Humanists InternationalFollow our CampaignsAbout - Humanists International Freedom of Thought ReportThis podcast is produced by Humanise Live. Start your podcast today, visit: humanise.live 🎶Music: Horizon by Simon Folwar 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.

    A Strong Humanist Movement Needs Shared Futures and Practical Services - Lone Ree Milkær, EHSN

  8. Jul 8

    The Fight to Keep Religion Out of Government - Rachel Laser, Americans United for Separation of Church and State

    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. Rachel became president and CEO of AU in February 2018. She is the organization’s first non-Christian and female leader in its 78-year history. Rachel is a lawyer, advocate and strategist who has dedicated her career to making our country more inclusive. In her position at Americans United, Rachel oversees the organization’s work to protect freedom of conscience for all and ensure religion is not used to justify discrimination. In 2025, she was appointed to serve on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Rachel joins Freedom of Thought to explain what white Christian nationalism really is, how it differs from religious extremism (and why the terms are used interchangeably), and why AU fights it every day in the courts, in Congress, and in the public square.  She also addresses the anti-Christian bias task force's April 2026 report, Pete Hegseth's Pentagon prayer services, the billions flowing to discriminatory private schools through voucher programmes, and what the LGBTQ crackdown has to do with all of it. The episode closes with Rachel's sources of hope  and the annual Summit for Religious Freedom — and an open invitation to listeners to join AU at au.org. In this episode we cover What white Christian nationalism is and why it's the defining threat to church-state separation in America todaySchool vouchers: billions in public money flowing to religious schools that can legally discriminate against LGBTQ students, women, and disabled childrenMaddonna v. HHS: the case of a Catholic mother turned away from a taxpayer-funded foster care agency for being the wrong type of ChristianThe anti-Christian bias task force, Pete Hegseth's Pentagon prayer services, and the LGBTQ crackdownWhat gives Rachel hope — and how to join Americans United at au.org Further reading and references Americans United for Separation of Church and State: https://www.au.org/Rachel Laser — AU profile: https://www.au.org/about-au/people/rachel-laser/Case: Maddonna v. HHS: https://www.au.org/how-we-protect-religious-freedom/legal-cases/cases/maddonna-v-department-of-health-and-human-services/Case: Clergy challenging Missouri abortion ban (Rev. Blackmon v. Missouri): https://www.au.org/how-we-protect-religious-freedom/legal-cases/cases/rev-blackmon-v-missouri/PRRI Christian nationalism research: https://www.prri.org/research/a-christian-nation-understanding-the-threat-of-christian-nationalism-to-american-democracy-and-culture/USCIRF — Rachel Laser commissioner page: https://www.uscirf.gov/about-uscirf/commissioners/rachel-laserSummit for Religious Freedom: https://thesrf.org/ Follow Humanist International Sign up for our free NewsletterSupport Humanists InternationalFollow our CampaignsAbout - Humanists International Freedom of Thought ReportThis podcast is produced by Humanise Live. Start your podcast today, visit: humanise.live 🎶Music: Horizon by Simon Folwar 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.

    The Fight to Keep Religion Out of Government - Rachel Laser, Americans United for Separation of Church and State
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About

Freedom of Thought from Humanists International is a global news and interview podcast examining the state of freedom of belief, expression, and human rights worldwide. Hosted by Gary McLelland and Leon Langdon, the podcast draws on Humanists International’s flagship Freedom of Thought Report to bring together researchers, human rights defenders, activists, and policy experts to unpack the realities facing humanists, atheists, and non-religious people in different countries and regions. Each episode explores key findings from the report alongside wider developments in international law, politics, and civil society. Through in-depth conversations, case studies, and timely analysis, the show highlights where freedoms are under threat, where progress is being made, and what solidarity and advocacy can achieve. Produced by Humanise Live, Freedom of Thought offers clear, accessible insight into global freedom of thought issues for anyone interested in human rights, secularism, democracy, and evidence-based policy.

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