Humanism Now | Secular Ethics, Curiosity and Compassionate Change

"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 means? This episode explores storytelling as an act of resistance: why humans need fiction, why representation matters, and how meeting difference with curiosity rather than judgement can ease the loneliness of modern life.
Our guest is Kestral Gaian, an award-winning writer of fiction, theatre and poetry, whose debut young adult novel "The Boy From Elsewhere" is out now.
In this conversation we cover:
The origins of "The Boy From Elsewhere", born from a 26-hour charity writing livestream, and what tiredness taught Kestral about creativity and craft
Why storytelling is fundamental to being human, and how representation shapes what young readers believe is possible
Whether all art is political, the recent publishing pushback against LGBTQ+ fiction, and meeting strangeness with kindness
Links:
The Boy From Elsewhere: https://reconnectingrainbows.co.uk/book/tbfe/
Kestral Gaian's website: https://kestr.al
Support Humanism Now: https://ko-fi.com/humanismnowpod

Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
Support Humanism Now & Join Our Community!
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 starting 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.

"Many in society saw the news and understood there's no hope for peace. But I understood there's no hope but peace." — Yaniv Aknin
What does humanism actually ask of us when we confront the Israel-Palestine conflict? In this episode we preview a special Festival of Humanism session, exploring how secular, rational and compassionate values can cut through motivated reasoning and moral blind spots to rebuild shared ground between Palestinians and Israelis.
Our guests are Dr Jasr Kawkby, a British-Palestinian paediatrician raised in Gaza, and Yaniv Aknin, a British-Israeli software engineer and former soldier, who work together on peacebuilding, dialogue and nonviolent advocacy.
In this conversation we cover:
Their personal journeys from a Gaza refugee camp and a secular Zionist household in Tel Aviv to a shared humanist platform
How humanist values (curiosity, rationality, secularism and the dignity of every life) can reframe history, accountability and the path forward
Why both believe nonviolence and sustained dialogue, not force, are the only routes to peace, justice and equality
Jasr and Yaniv host "No Hope But Peace: A Dialogue Between an Israeli and a Palestinian" at the Festival of Humanism in Bournemouth on 13–14 June.
Links:
Festival of Humanism 2026: https://humanists.uk/events/festival2026/
Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
Support Humanism Now & Join Our Community!
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 starting 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.

"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 building ethical, community-led volunteer service programmes across more than 25 countries. With a background spanning international business, nonprofit leadership, and global partnership building, Kimberly has spent years thinking deeply about how service, cultural exchange, and shared work can bring people together with dignity, curiosity, and compassion.
Topics we cover
✔︎ What ethical volunteering actually looks like — and why locally led, community-designed programmes are so different from voluntourism 
✔︎ How shared work breaks down assumptions faster than almost anything else — and what that means for building genuine cross-cultural empathy 
✔︎ How GlobeAware's programmes are responding to sweeping foreign aid cuts and what resilience looks like on the ground in 2026
Connect with Kimberly and Globe Aware
Website www.globeaware.org
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/globeaware
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlyglobeaware/
Podcasts https://open.spotify.com/show/6n9cfb4QIVb2aqUD6XSttE
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/globeaware/
Youtube: https://youtube.com/@globeaware
X Twitter: https://twitter.com/GlobeAware
Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/globe-aware/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@globe_aware
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globe_Aware
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/globeaware.bksy.social
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/globeaware/
Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
Support Humanism Now & Join Our Community!
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 starting 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.

Support Humanism Now and Join Our Community! 
"Dogmatism is the enemy of reason, after all."
Dr Anjan Chakravartty is the Apignani Foundation Chair for the Study of Atheism, Humanism, and Secular Ethics at the University of Miami and a philosopher of science whose work explores the nature of knowledge and what science tells us about the world. His latest edited volume, Science and Humanism: Knowledge, Values, and the Common Good, brings together leading philosophers to examine the relationship between science and humanist values — historically deep and increasingly urgent.
Topics we cover
✔︎ Why science is not a value-neutral tool — and why humanists need to think more carefully about what science is actually for 
✔︎ How disinformation campaigns exploit the language of science to manufacture doubt on climate, health, and more 
✔︎ What a genuinely humanistic science looks like in practice — from diversifying research communities to confronting scientism
Connect with Dr Chakravartty and find out more
University of Miami profile: https://people.miami.edu/profile/axc1256@miami.edu
Science and Humanism: Knowledge, Values, and the Common Good: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/science-and-humanism/
Personal Website: https://anjanchakravartty.com/
Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
Support Humanism Now & Join Our Community!
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 starting 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.

Support Humanism Now and Join Our Community!
"Culture is a representation of what our habits are on a daily basis. If we drop the habit, we are not building the culture we're wanting to see."
Dr AJ Lauer is a leadership and diversity educator, executive coach, and founder of Thriving IBIS Leadership Solutions. With two decades of experience across higher education, non-profit research, and STEM, she specialises in imposter syndrome, psychological safety, and helping organisations make more human-centred decisions. She is also the author of My Monster Mungo, an illustrated book for adults about the imposter phenomenon.
Topics we cover
✔︎ What the imposter phenomenon actually is — and why 82% of people experience it 
✔︎ How to build psychologically safe, inclusive teams where dissent and creativity are welcomed 
✔︎ Why burnout and perfectionism are connected — and how leaders can interrupt the cycle
Connect with Dr AJ Lauer
Thriving IBIS Leadership Solutions: https://www.thrivingibis.com
My Monster Mungo — illustrated book: https://www.thrivingibis.com/my-monster-mungo
Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
Support Humanism Now & Join Our Community!
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 starting 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.