Humanize Me

Latest Episodes:

809: Morality for the rest of us, with Todd May May 01, 2023

Show notes

You’re probably never going to be a saint. Even so, let’s face it: you could be a better person. We all could. Todd May is a philosopher whose work brings high-minded philosophical concepts - like how to live a decent life - down to earth in attainable, realistic ways. In this conversation with Bart Campolo, Todd talks about aspiring to be decent, moral gracefulness, reasons for morality, intentions, honesty and truthfulness, happiness versus flourishing, altruism, the concept of evil, 'normal' selfishness, stoicism and Todd's work on The Good Place.

808: Consciousness and liberal Christian friends Apr 17, 2023

Show notes

Two questions are posed to Bart, the first of which he declines to answer! Iain McGilchrist is one of several prominent thinkers who seem to suggest that consciousness is a fundamental of the universe, and that reality may not be entirely physical in nature. What does Bart think of these ideas? The second involves a listener whose liberal Christian friend can't understand her atheism. How can she articulate her disinterest to her friend?

807: Strange Customs, with Sasha Sagan Apr 04, 2023

Show notes

Sasha Sagan is an author and now a podcaster who is intensely curious about the rituals, traditions, norms and practices which help define communities of people. When we had her on the podcast in 2020, it was because Sasha had released a book on the subject, For Small Creatures Such As We. The recent launch of her podcast, Strange Customs, inspired us to reach back out and ask her how rituals might find their place in today's world.

806: How surprised would you be by an afterlife? Mar 23, 2023

Show notes

After Bart's deconversion from Christianity, he has been a 'naturalist', lacking belief in any of the proposed deities and supernatural ideas. But how satisfied is he that he's right about this? How surprised would he be to suddenly emerge into an afterlife of some kind? Bart and producer John discuss.

805: How God becomes real, with TM Luhrmann Mar 15, 2023

Show notes

We've recently been wondering about the movement in Kentucky that has become known as the 'Asbury revival', and the mass religious experiences that have been reported there in the last couple of months. We could think of nobody better to help us think about it than TM Luhrmann, a highly esteemed psychological anthropologist currently based at Stanford University. Tanya is known partly for her study of religious groups, including evangelical and charismatic Christians. In this conversation with Bart Campolo, she talks about the 'inner sense' of believers that their beliefs are true, how religions allow these experiences to form the heart of their narratives, religious shame, authority, imagination and self-reinforcement, and more.

804: How to think about Effective Altruism Feb 20, 2023

Show notes

“Hey Bart, I came across an article on Vox talking about the movement known as Effective Altruism, and the fall of one of its star advocates, cryptocurrency exchange owner Sam Bankman-Fried. The guy had lost at least a billion dollars of his clients’ money after he secretly transferred it to a hedge fund he owned, he’s now been arrested for it. But what’s confusing is that his stated goal in life was to do good: he said wanted to make a lot of money in finance so he could give most of it away to good causes, specifically causes identified using Effective Altruism. Paraphrasing from the Vox article: 'Effective altruism is a social movement that’s all about using reason and evidence to do the most good for the most people. … Yet it looks like Bankman-Fried has done a lot of BAD to a lot of people.' On top of this, Bart, I know there have been other criticisms of Effective Altruism, and I was just wondering if you have any thoughts on whether a good humanist - and maybe especially a Humanize Me listener - should be involved in Effective Altruism or whether it’s a dubious proposition these days. Thanks!”

803: How the Bible shapes society, with Bart Ehrman Feb 06, 2023

Show notes

We're joined by leading bible scholar Bart Ehrman, who has written many New York Times best-selling books on the Bible and related topics. This conversation is, in Ehrman's own summation, a blend of the intellect and the heart, touching on many things including belief and disbelief, the way people misinterpret Scripture, the message of Jesus compared to that of Paul or the book of Revelation, how to relate to people who throw bible verses around, and many other things. Stay tuned at the end for a piece of the conversation that almost ended up on the cutting room floor.

802: Bart is sick, but here's a hopeful thought Jan 19, 2023

Show notes

In lieu of a full episode this time, here's a short, hopeful thought from a sick-sounding Bart Campolo.

801: The ingredients of a good media diet, with Vanessa Otero Jan 02, 2023

Show notes

Awash in a sea of information and misinformation, most of us don't know how to navigate today's media landscape, especially when it comes to news. How do we know what sources we can trust? And as we enter a new year, if we approached it like a diet, what are the best and healthiest ingredients and recipes?

Our guest Vanessa Otero has thought about this more than most people. A former lawyer, she invented the Ad Fontes Media Chart, which places just about every news outlet you know (and many you don't) on an axis of political bias and reliability. In this conversation with Bart Campolo, she talks about the problems people face when trying to get reliable news and gives optimistic, practical advice on how to solve them. In the process she recommends the 1440 newsletter and other resources.

720: I wasn't with my grandfather at the end Dec 16, 2022

Show notes

Bart and John respond to a question from a listener who, despite knowing her grandfather was going to die, missed his final moments and feels deep regret about it. Bart suggests she look at it as a gift from her grandfather which could serve her well for a lifetime: and a valuable reminder to all of us about the virtue of being present.

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