Humanize Me

How do we decide whether it's good or bad to intervene in global warming or growing inequality? Or how to treat our dog? Phil Zuckerman has written a new book giving a foundational framework for secular - nonreligious - morality. In this conversation Phil talks with Bart Campolo about the four reasons you can't get morality from God, and the ways to build a secular ethic that, he thinks, is a better one. They discuss the problems with a God-based morality, the Euthyphro Dilemma and the nature of morality itself. They get into a debate about how objective morality is, and talk about how to get an 'ought' from an 'is'. And, hopefully, they'll leave you with the idea that the basis for how unbelievers act in the world is not grounded on nothing.

In Episode 423 of this podcast, David Fleischer talked with Bart Campolo about changing minds with the methodology of 'deep canvassing.' In this episode, David returns! He and Bart talk about the next election, Trump as the opposite of loving and humanist, how to encourage people to vote without shaming them about not voting last time, how the lessons of deep canvassing relate to the conversations people are having about faith in God, and more.

Joshua Harris's well-known 1997 Christian book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, shaped the relationships and sexual ethics of many of the young people who read it. In recent years, Harris has apologized for the impact of his book, which he now regards as largely negative. Earlier this summer, it emerged that Harris has separated from his wife and no longer considers himself a Christian. Marty Sampson was a worship leader and singer-songwriter with Hillsong United, a band born at Hillsong church in Sydney that routinely topped the Christian charts worldwide. He recently wrote an Instagram post announcing the deconstruction of his faith. Bart and John discuss both.

Gayle Jordan is the Executive Director of the nonprofit organization Recovering from Religion, which connects people with support on their journeys out of religious faith. In this conversation with Bart Campolo, Gayle talks about her own deconversion story, the work of her organization, the helpline it operates, the common issues people face after losing or leaving faith, and encouraging people to get involved.

In this episode, Bart Campolo talks about the most meaningful or humanizing episodes of other podcasts. It's 20 minutes of thoughtful recommendations! Here are the individual episodes we recommend most highly. To hear why they're recommended, listen to the episode! Enjoy. Hidden Brain: Creating God and The Vegetable Lamb RadioLab: From Tree to Shining Tree WTF with Marc Maron: Irwin Winkler The Daily: The Legacy of Rachel Held Evans On Being: Rebecca Solnit and Alain de Botton The Moth: Leaping Forward Making Sense with Sam Harris: Conscious This American Life: Tell Me I'm Fat Song Exploder: St. Vincent - New York TED Radio Hour: How We Love Malcolm Gladwell: The Hug Heard Round the World

Not every family allows you to listen in on their personal conversations. But in this episode, Bart Campolo sits down with his son Roman where they talk about fathers and sons, Bart's relationship with his dad Tony, competitiveness, choosing diplomacy over conflict, Bart's self-identity as a guy who doesn't put his best effort into succeeding, and the question of whether changing situations is easier than changing your resilience to them. Part 2 of this conversation can be found on Patreon.com/HumanizeMe.

This classic conversation with The Friendly Atheist, Hemant Mehta, is one of the most shared episodes we've ever done. Hemant talks with Bart Campolo about squeezing more life out of our awareness of death, and making the most of the precious opportunity we have in our moments of consciousness.

David Fleischer, a key figure at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, specializes in reducing prejudice through deep canvassing. He shares his groundbreaking method for changing minds through simple, heartfelt conversations. David discusses how storytelling and building rapport can foster empathy, especially on LGBTQ+ issues. He reflects on his personal journey and the challenges faced in bridging divides over sensitive topics like marriage equality. Listening emerges as a crucial tool in creating understanding and reshaping perspectives.

On Episode 420, we answered a question from a listener about gaining confidence in social situations. Bart Campolo's advice centered around showing curiosity in others, and making the interactions about the other people. But what if you don't find other people interesting? What if you're not curious at all about the people in these social settings? How should one cultivate such curiosity? In this episode, Bart has lots of thoughts in a row.

Amber Scorah was raised as a Jehovah's Witness. She tells the story of her 'deconversion' in her book, 'Leaving the Witness: Exiting a Religion and Finding a Life'. In this conversation with Bart Campolo, Amber talks about what it was like to believe fully, what it's like to disbelieve now, how her relationships were affected, the death of her young son Karl on his first day in childcare, her views on life now, and much more.