Category: Video+discussion

Language

11 a.m., May 17, 2026

Join us this Sunday, either in person or online, as we discuss Language.
Language is a distinctly human ability that allows us to communicate with more precision than any other animal.
This Sunday we will watch two TED talks on this wonderful talent.
In the first video, The Origin and Evolution of Language, Michael Corballis discusses the evolution of speech centers of our brains from the grasping centers of monkeys and the probable development of language.
Michael Corballis was an Emeritus Professor of cognitive neuroscience and psychology at the University of Auckland. His research spanned brain asymmetry, handedness, mental imagery, memory, and the evolution of language. He is the author of over 400 papers and 14 books.
You can watch this video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd5cklw6d6Q

In the second video, Both Not Half: How language shapes identity, Jassa Ahluwalia describes growing up torn by two identities. His mother was British and his father Punjabi and he grew up immersed in both languages.
Jassa Singh Ahluwalia is a British actor, writer, filmmaker, and radio presenter known for roles in BBC Three’s Some Girls, ITV’s Unforgotten, Ripper Street, and Peaky Blinders. Of British-Indian heritage and fluent in Punjabi, he created the #BothNotHalf campaign on mixed identity, delivered a TEDx talk, and fronted the award-winning BBC One documentary Am I English?.
You can watch this video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP0bAQ8J6C0

Attend in Person
Join fellow Humanists in the Neutra House Conference Center, 181 Hillview Ave, Los Altos, CA 94022-3742. Lunch will be served after the forum. We suggest 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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Watch videos of our past Forums: https://vimeo.com/user2798508

Motherhood

Julia Ward Howe

11 a.m., May 10, 2026

Join us, either in person or online, as we watch and discuss three short videos on Mother’s Day.

On this Mother’s Day, it’s not enough to superficially celebrate motherhood. Let’s examine a couple of different aspects.

We could start by thinking of a couple of the Humanist commitments.

“Altruism is the unselfish concern for the welfare of others without expectation of reward, recognition, or return.” Sounds pretty much like what we expect of mothers 24/7.
And
“We human beings are capable of empathy, the ability to understand and enter imaginatively into another living being’s feelings….” Yes, and moms again are supposed to do this 24/7.

We probably think of Humanist commitments as aspirational because we aren’t perfect. But we have higher expectations of mothers.

A whole Mythology around motherhood pervades our thinking. Some believe “natural” maternal instincts and emotions are present in all females simply from their hormones. We likely blame and shame the individual woman who doesn’t live up to this stereotype.

Before the concept of the nuclear family, a large family, even community, would share the raising of children. The burden wasn’t likely to fall entirely on the mother. We often fail to recognize the toll on her health that giving birth takes. At her weakest, still recovering from the physical cost her body has undergone, she is expected to be on duty 24/7 to respond to the needy newborn waking every few hours.

I was shocked at the statistic that in the United States in 2024, 32.4% of live births were Cesarean deliveries. So 1/3 of new mothers were recovering not just from birth but major surgery. At the least this should bring home the idea that becoming a mother is a serious health issue.

However, expectations that she can do it alone do seem to be changing. There is much more understanding that parenthood is a shared responsibility. We now see plenty of fathers out pushing baby carriages.

Also this Mother’s Day, reproductive rights are important. . For how many mothers is motherhood not a free choice? No matter how much a mother may love her child, It needs to be her choice as to when she bears this child, financially and emotionally. Not all mothers are equally prepared. Factors such as her youth, health and marital status need to be hers to consider. Even the timing can cause her to sacrifice career goals or other ambitions, and relationships.

Others have no right to blame her for not being willing to bear a child at a time other than of her choosing or of not always putting her child first.

You may be aware of the hypothesis that a couple of decades after the rights to abortions are interfered with, the incarceration rates increase. Whether a woman wants to bear a child affects all of society.

We will view three videos: the first is one about the origins of Mother’s Day and its relationship to peace. Second is a video about how we deny compensations to mothers such as paid leave, or any leave, after childbirth. The third video is about the most recent court ruling to curtail the sending of abortion medication through the mail.

You can watch the 5-minute reading of Julia Ward Howe, the author of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic”, at: https://www.democracynow.org/2009/5/8/mothers_day_for_peace_a_dramatic

Leave for mothers after childbirth, 12 minutes: https://egbertowillies.com/2015/05/11/john-oliver-shows-family-values-proponents-dont-value-mothers-or-families-video/

An 8-minute follow up to what’s happening today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7OR2JApagw.

Attend in Person
Join fellow Humanists in the Grant Park Community Center, Classroom 2, 1575 Holt Ave Los Altos, CA 94024-6921.. 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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Ideological Conflicts in Science Acceptance

Andrea Love, PhD

11 a.m., April 26, 2026

Join us, either in person or online, as we watch and discuss a video about misinformation and science.

The world is increasingly polarized by ideologies, and acceptance of scientific evidence has become a battleground influencing public and individual perceptions of scientific facts.

By shedding light on the challenges of effectively communicating science in a polarized society, Biomedical Scientist, Andrea Love proposes strategies to bridge the ideological divides. She emphasizes the importance of fostering productive discussions on topics frequently targeted by misinformation campaigns in order to minimize harms to public health and science literacy.

Andrea Love is a Biomedical Scientist who answers questions about pseudoscience on YouTube.

This talk was part of the lineup for CSICon 2024 in Las Vegas. CSICon is the premiere conference for science and skepticism.

You can watch this 34-minute video at: https://youtu.be/FtoSjKGyo-I.

Attend in Person
Join fellow Humanists in the Grant Park Community Center, Classroom 2, 1575 Holt Ave Los Altos, CA 94024-6921.. 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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Click the Interested button or share on Patch:
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From Psychic to Skeptic

Fleureo

11 a.m., April 19, 2026

Join us, either in person or online, as we watch Rob Palmer interview former psychic Fleureo.

Fleureo was raised by her mother to be a psychic and was a long-time true-believer and practicing psychic, but she then came to realize what she perceived as psychic powers were just fabrications of her own mind.

To her credit, Fleureo did not bury her realization and go on with life—as if nothing had changed—and knowingly pretend to be psychic. Instead, Fleureo created a YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/@fleureo_) to shine the light of reason on the psychic and mediumship business, exposing the tricks and manipulation tactics used by those in this line of work. Her channel boasts over 24,000 subscribers, so hopefully she is changing many minds.

Rob Palmer has had a diverse career in engineering, having worked as a spacecraft designer, an aerospace project engineer, a computer programmer, and a software systems engineer. Rob became a skeptical activist when he joined the Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia team in 2016, and began writing for Skeptical Inquirer Magazine in 2018. Rob can be contacted at [TheWellKnownSkeptic@gmail.com](mailto:TheWellKnownSkeptic@gmail.com) Like Rob’s Facebook page to get notified when his articles are published.

You can watch this 48-minute video at https://youtu.be/ckl3eQR0YaM. It was recorded March, 2026.

Attend in Person:
Join fellow Humanists in the Sequoia 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.

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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Click the Interested button or share on Patch:
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Sameerah Munshi on Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission

Sameerah Munshi

11 a.m., April 12, 2026

Join us, either in person or online, as we watch and discuss a video from CAIR on Air Episode 2, Edward Ahmed Mitchell, a journalist who currently serves as the National Deputy Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), interviews Sameerah Munshi, an advisor to President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission and a policy advocate who focuses on protecting religious freedom and ensuring that minority voices are represented in government.

Sameerah discusses the Religious Liberty Commission, how it works, and what it’s like to represent Muslim perspectives in high-level government discussions on faith and freedom.

The video dives into Sameerah’s background in interfaith advocacy and the activism that first brought her national attention. She also shares what happened behind the scenes during commission hearings, including the reactions her testimony about Gaza and Palestine received from commissioners and attendees.

They discuss the controversy surrounding a hearing on antisemitism, rejected witnesses, and the debate over whether criticism of Israel is being wrongly labeled as antisemitism. And also cover the rise of Islamophobia in politics, how narratives about religion influence public opinion, and the importance of minority communities speaking up.

You can watch this 35-minute video at https://youtu.be/x3M0KivGBU4

Attend in Person
Join fellow Humanists in the Orchard Room of the Los Altos Library, 13 S. San Antonio Road, Los Altos, CA 94022. We often choose a local inexpensive eatery for lunch afterward.

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.

Subscribe to our events in your Apple Calendar:
webcal://p162-caldav.icloud.com/published/2/Mjk3Nzk1MTgyMjk3Nzk1MRBa7aU6zKSIJMfDjhqBP8r3muvKK3GLLCRnZoCneHpXv08CyGJAJRVI5yyh-SVWxGJE9xHfdUs72pmiBNlOBpY

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Visit the Humanist Community web site:
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RSVP on Meetup:
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Click the Interested button or share on Patch:
https://patch.com/california/paloalto/calendar/event/20260412/48f10a44-d2e8-4311-948b-dfe0e80be65d/sameerah-munshi-on-trump-s-religious-liberty-commission

Retweet our announcement on the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter:
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Watch videos of our past Forums: https://vimeo.com/user2798508