Peace, Love, and Mathiness: Considering Bertrand Russell’s Relevance
FEBRUARY 2020 MARKS the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Bertrand Russell—someone many readers of this magazine will know already for the essay adaptation of a lecture he gave in 1927 called “Why I Am... Read More
Populists and Progressives A Brief History of the Democratic Party
“Do you believe in a citizen’s right to gun ownership?” “I do.” “Do you believe that the life of an unborn child should be protected?” “I do.” “And do you believe that religious freedom should... Read More
Why I’m Not a Socialist A Humanist’s Search for a Political Ideology
A FEW YEARS AGO, I found myself digging into the history of the humanist movement. Humanists were edging away from the confrontational celebrities of post-9/11 atheism and claiming historical humanist figures in campaigns to make... Read More
Dreams of Dictatorship and the Nightmare of Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro
THE 2018 ELECTION of Far-Right politician Jair Bolsonaro to the presidency shook the Federative Republic of Brazil and rippled across the globe in a way similar to the shockwave caused by the US election of... Read More
John Muir’s Radical Religion of Beauty
“The mountains are fountains of humanity as well as of rivers, of glaciers, of fertile soil. The great poets, philosophers, prophets, able people whose thoughts and deeds have moved the world, have come down from... Read More
Things Are Looking Up: Uniting to Explore Our Universe
Dr. Pamela Gay is an astronomer, writer, and podcaster focused on using new media to engage people in science and technology. Her best-known project is Astronomy Cast, a podcast in its thirteenth year that she... Read More
Converting the Nones: Why an Aware Homo Secularis Is Paramount
Researcher Barry A. Kosmin is the founding director of the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture (ISSSC). He coined the term “nones” to describe those who, when asked their religion or... Read More