Humanize Me

Josh Kaufman won NBC’s The Voice in 2014 after wowing the talent show’s judges and audience with his soulful vocals and charisma. After getting an email from him recently, Bart invited Josh on the podcast to ask about his story of deconversion from Christianity in college and subsequent re-conversion in recent years, and wonders what it’s like to step back into a worldview he had rejected.

Bart answers a question from a listener who is nervous going into a fraught holiday gathering. In the process we talk about some tools that may be prepared for use beforehand.

After a recent rise in talk of antisemitism, we couldn't help but think about this classic episode of Humanize Me featuring the hosts of the Unorthodox podcast, Mark Oppenheimer, Stephanie Butnick and Liel Leibovitz. They're some of our favorite people, and it's a fun conversation about Jewishness in America, Jewish culture, and how to be a good gentile. Featuring a new intro by Bart.

Our bodies are tied up with so much - beauty standards, phobias, obsessions and stigmas - and we think there are more and less humanizing ways to talk and think about them. Molly Robbins was the perfect guest to help us; she's the host of the My Big Fat Recovery podcast, and has lots of helpful things to say about the experience of having a big body in a diet-obsessed culture. Bart asks Molly about the principles of 'intuitive eating' and other topics.

Bart answers a question from a listener whose habits while living alone make her feel bad about herself. Bart thinks he may have some solid humanist advice as a first step.

Cian is a listener of Humanize Me. He and his wife Krista got in touch to talk about the very tangible and personal way the U.S. Supreme Court’s strike-down of Roe v Wade hit them after they ended a pregnancy due to fetal abnormality. Bart decided to invite them to tell their story on the podcast and in the process, Krista and Cian relate in a warm, compelling way the complex reality of the issue in a real couple's lives.

What’s wrong with Rotary? Does religion comfort people in hard times? Is it wrong to want my wife to stop pleasuring herself? How do you find a good media diet? Should I support my friend as she explores religion? Bart and John take not 1 but 5 listener questions, and share thoughts on each.

Bart welcomes back Dave Warnock, who had a memorable first appearance in 2019 (Episode 419). They talk about his recently released memoir, his deconversion from Christianity and later diagnosis of ALS, relationships with family after deconverting, navigating the end of life, and avoiding the word 'just'.

Bart enjoys a wide-ranging conversation with Bill Deresiewicz that touches on solitude, moral goodness, the value of the arts, the interplay of power, rituals and practices, fundamentalisms and friendship. Bill is a world-class literary critic and a former professor of English at Yale University whose latest book of essays - The End of Solitude - is available now.

Fine, a listener says, you've sold me on the concept that life can be meaningful even if there isn't a grand design involved. But how do we actually do it? Bart and John discuss.