Forums

It’s the end of the world as we know It!

11 a.m., July 5, 2026

Join us this Sunday, either in person or online, as we discuss It’s the end of the world as we know It!.
Today we’ll watch and discuss two videos about the threat of societal collapse.
The first video is How to respond to societal collapse, in which Australian author, journalist and podcaster, Sarah Wilson, explores the upside of the terrifying prospect of losing all that we’ve been taking for granted.
Sarah Wilson is the author of 13 award-winning books and is an advisor to corporations and universities on media, mental health and existential risk.
You can watch this 18:30 minute video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7Ay73HHHrE
The second video (meant to have been shown on June 14) is How history teaches us to deal with societal collapse. In it Tarmo Jüristo likens what social media is doing to society today with the collapse of institutions 500 years ago caused by the printing press. The past we grew up in can’t be recovered, the future is unknown, but he believes a new and different order will emerge.
Tarmo Jüristo is an Estonian civil society activist and the founder of SALK, a significant liberal political organization in Estonia. He is known for his insights on liberalism and societal issues, often discussing the influence of historical events on contemporary politics.
You can watch this 18:30 minute video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNPjghax6uA

Attend in Person:
Join fellow Humanists in the Old Mill Clubhouse, 49 Showers Dr, Mountain View, CA 94040. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation.

Attend Online
Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smartphone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

Join the meeting by phone: +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
Find an international phone number to call:
here.

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Visit the Humanist Community web site:
https://www.humanists.org/blog/2026-07-05/

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https://www.meetup.com/humanistcommunity/events/314082415/

Watch videos of our past Forums: https://vimeo.com/user2798508

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Juneteenth

11 a.m., June 28, 2026

Join us this Sunday, either in person or online, as we discuss Juneteenth.
This Sunday we will discuss Juneteenth: The Long Road to Freedom, a documentary from Southern Illinois University (SIU) narrated by Professor Joseph A. Brown, director of African Studies at SIU, and Dr. Linda Flowers, President of the Illinois Branch of the NAACP, and student Aaliyah Pompee.
Juneteenth celebrates the announcement that all former enslaved in the USA are free, and is considered by many as important an event in our history as the Declaration of Independence. This documentary is a look at the history of Juneteenth, the current social climate, and the hope that comes from this holiday.
Professor Brown is a Catholic Priest and an accomplished author and poet, with notable works such as To Stand on the Rock: Meditations on Black Catholic Identity and Sweet, Sweet Spirit: Prayer Services in the Black Catholic Tradition.
Additionally, he founded the 1917 Centennial Commission & Cultural Initiative, Inc. to commemorate the East St. Louis Race Riots.
You can view this 29-minute video at https://www.pbs.org/video/juneteenth-the-long-road-to-freedom-cxvhok/

Attend in Person:
Join fellow Humanists in the Manzanita Room of the Los Altos Community Center, 97 Hillview Ave, Los Altos, CA 94022. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation.

Join the meeting by phone: +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
Find an international phone number to call:
here.

Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/humanistcommsv/

Visit the Humanist Community web site:
https://www.humanists.org/blog/2026-06-28/

RSVP on Meetup:
https://www.meetup.com/humanistcommunity/events/314082415/

Watch videos of our past Forums: https://vimeo.com/user2798508

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Two Views on America: at the End of WW II and the Present

11 a.m., June 21, 2026

Join us this Sunday, either in person or online, as we discuss Two Views on America: at the End of WW II and the Present.
Sunday, we will watch and discuss two videos on American politics. One on the cold war which shaped much of modern history, and a light commentary on today’s political climate.
In the first video, The Cold War Explained, Steve Hieimler explains the cold war from the signing of the Paris peace treaty on February 10, 1947 which officially ended WW II to the signing of the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty I (SALT I), signed on May 26, 1972, a pivotal agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union aimed at curbing the arms race during the Cold War.
Several years ago, Steve Heimler started creating videos for his Advanced Placement United States History students and uploading it to youtube. He found that he was serving students across the nation, so he decided to create more AP history videos. He has read thousands of AP History essays at the national AP exam scoring and has taught AP History for 10 years
You can watch this 13-minute video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jehgjpnOVw
The second video is Shut Up Donny: The Big Lebowski’s Guide to Politics. In it, Adam Schiff illustrates his tongue-in-cheek claim that everything you need to know about present-day politics, you can learn from the 1998 cult classic movie The Big Lebowski.
Adam Bennett Schiff is an American lawyer and Democratic politician serving as U.S. Senator from California since 2024. He gained national prominence as lead impeachment manager in Donald Trump’s first trial.
The Big Lebowski follows Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski, a laid-back bowler whose life is upended when he’s mistaken for a wealthy namesake. He ambles through misadventures with his bowling buddies. The movie is known for its offbeat humor, quirky characters, and quotable dialogue.
You can watch this 17-minute video at https://youtu.be/WMV2OB-sgLg

Join the meeting by phone: +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
Find an international phone number to call:
here.

Like us on Facebook:
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Visit the Humanist Community web site:
https://www.humanists.org/blog/2026-06-21/

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https://www.meetup.com/humanistcommunity/events/314082415/

Watch videos of our past Forums: https://vimeo.com/user2798508

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Trends in Modern Culture

11 a.m., June 14, 2026

Join us this Sunday, either in person or online, as we watch and discuss two videos on our concerns about trends in modern culture.

In the first 15:30 minute video, How governments turn against us without breaking the law, Cyanne Loyle describes how governments stop using the law to protect their citizens, and start using it to punish them instead? This practice, known as Lawfare, can be hard to spot. Understanding that laws are not inherently neutral, but rather made to benefit their makers, is the first step to recognizing and fighting against lawfare in your own country.

Cyanne E. Loyle is the Board of Visitors Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at the Pennsylvania State University and a Research Professor at the Peace Research Institute Oslo. Her book, Escaping Justice: Impunity of State Crimes in the Age of Accountability, is about how powerful nations violate human rights yet often escape punishment for those crimes. She has been invited to present her work to the U.S. State Department, U.S. Department of Defense, the United Nations, and the World Bank. She co-hosts the Democracy Works podcast.

Preview her talk at https://youtu.be/uTHzHSEZNWU.

In the second video, Tarmo Jüristo likens what social media is doing to society today with the collapse of
institutions 500 years ago caused by the printing press. Drawing on ideas from philosophy and social analysis, he invites viewers to consider how ruins are not just remnants of decay but mirrors of collective memory, identity, and the stories we tell about what endures and what is lost.

Tarmo Jüristo is an Estonian civil society activist and the founder of SALK, a significant liberal political organization in Estonia. He is known for his insights on liberalism and societal issues, often discussing the influence of historical events on contemporary politics.

How history teaches us to deal with societal collapse | Tarmo Jüristo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNPjghax6uA 18:30 minutes

Attend in Person:
Join fellow Humanists in the Manzanita Room of the Los Altos Community Center, 97 Hillview Ave, Los Altos, CA 94022.

Join the meeting by phone: +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
Find an international phone number to call:
here.

Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/humanistcommsv/

Visit the Humanist Community web site:
https://www.humanists.org/blog/2026-06-14/

RSVP on Meetup:
https://www.meetup.com/humanistcommunity/events/314082415/

Watch videos of our past Forums: https://vimeo.com/user2798508

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How the Supreme Court of the United States Works

11 a.m., June 7, 2026

Join us this Sunday, either in person or online, as we discuss How the Supreme Court of the United States Works.
This Sunday we will watch two videos on the Supreme Court.
The first video, How the Supreme Court is fast-tracking Trump’s cases on its ‘shadow docket’, describes the emergency docket, and why it’s used and what are the concerns it raises.
The second video is What Really Won the Trillion-Dollar Supreme Court Case. In November 2025, Neal Kumar Katyal was asked to do what no litigant had done before: convince the justices of the Supreme Court to strike down a sitting president’s signature initiative. The initiative that imposed tariffs justified by an economic emergency. SCOTUS had not previously questioned what is and is not an emergency. Neal Katyal describes his trepidation and the help he got to prepare himself and his team to face the court.
You can watch the 7-minute video on the shadow docket at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE67nk0w6ZU and the 18-minute video on the Katyal’s trial preparations at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3M3WaixeOw .

Join the meeting by phone: +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
Find an international phone number to call:
here.

Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/humanistcommsv/

Visit the Humanist Community web site:
https://www.humanists.org/blog/2026-06-07/

RSVP on Meetup:
https://www.meetup.com/humanistcommunity/events/314082415/

Watch videos of our past Forums: https://vimeo.com/user2798508

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