Video+discussion

The Israel-Hamas War

A video of a talk by Ian Bremmer

11 a.m., October 15, 2023

You can join the Humanist Forum on Zoom, but come to our in-person location at the Mountain View Senior Center to discuss this topic further with fellow humanists.

This past week Hamas launched a stunning and brutal attack on Israel. Helen Walters interviews Ian Bremmer, who shares his in-depth knowledge about this war, its causes, events leading up to it, and the uncertain future for the middle east and the world.

This is an in-depth TED talk that bears watching more than once. You can preview it at https://www.ted.com/talks/ian_bremmer_the_israel_hamas_war_and_what_it_means_for_the_world.

Early in her career, Helen Walters has written about everything from high technology to low culture. She has worked with TED since 2008 and joined full-time in 2013. She is presently head of curation, bringing the sharpest minds and ideas to TED.

Ian Bremmer is the president and founder of the political risk research and consulting firm, Eurasia Group, and GZERO Media which provides coverage of international affairs. He teaches at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and is the author of eleven books.

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The American Humanist Association Looks at the Supreme Court

A video of a talk by Monica Miller

11 a.m., October 8, 2023

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This Sunday we’ll watch and discuss a video from the American Humanist Association’s 2020 national conference covering the work the AHA has been doing to preserve Humanist values and the separation of church and state.

The speaker, Monica Miller, is the Legal Director and Senior Counsel of the Appignani Humanist Legal Center. She’ll review some of the separation-of-church-and-state cases before the US Supreme Court in 2022, covering reproductive healthcare, abortion rights, and religion in public schools. She’ll also provide a look at her arguments in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals defending against a government-sponsored prayer vigil.

You can preview this 34-minute video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVDaI1tuYpA&list=PL5Gb8MNhOZ4myuyHAA7uDjyPRnnAUtOse&index=13.

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The Power of Our Words

Videos of talks by Sally Kohn, Robb Willer, and Mark Forsyth

11 a.m., October 1, 2023

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This Sunday’s topic is the Power of Our Words. We will watch and discuss three videos on this topic.

In Let’s Try Emotional Correctness (5 minutes, https://www.ted.com/talks/sally_kohn_let_s_try_emotional_correctness), Sally Kohn tells what she learned as a progressive lesbian talking head on Fox News.

In How to Have Better Political Conversations (12 minutes, https://www.ted.com/talks/robb_willer_how_to_have_better_political_conversations), Robb Willer, a social psychologist who researches moral values, shows how to communicate with the other side of the political divide.

Finally, in What is a Snollygoster? A Short Lesson in Political Speak (6 minutes, https://www.ted.com/talks/mark_forsyth_what_s_a_snollygoster_a_short_lesson_in_political_speak), Mark Forsyth gives an example of how the significance of a word can change with time and circumstances.

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Climate Change: Why Facts Don’t Matter

A video by WISECRACK about Climate Change

11 a.m., September 10, 2023

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This Sunday we will discuss a “Climate Change: Why Facts Don’t Matter,” a video that examines why climate change denialism survives in the face of overwhelming evidence. It covers many of the attempts to falsify data about the greenhouse effect and global warming, and create the illusion that there is doubt among those who have studied it.
This video is produced by WISECRACK, sponsored by Curiosity Stream, and hosted by Helen Floersh .
WISECRACK is a collective of academics, filmmakers, artists and pop-culture junkies who are curious about the world and explore big ideas like philosophy and critical thinking.
Curiosity Stream is an American media company and subscription video streaming service that offers documentary programming including films, series, and TV shows.

You can preview this 22-minute video at https://youtu.be/MMCL_ooDWJ0?si=XRD6Q0GO2aJn44hU

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Hot or Not: Steven Koonin Questions Conventional Climate Science and Methodology

A video about Hot or Not: Steven Koonin Questions Conventional Climate Science and Methodology

11 a.m., September 3, 2023

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This Sunday we will watch and discuss a video from Uncommon Knowledge from the Hoover Institution about “Hot or Not: Steven Koonin Questions Conventional Climate Science and Methodology.”

“In this wide-ranging discussion, based in part on his 2021 book,Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn’t, and Why It Matters, Koonin gives a more refined look at the science behind the climate issue than the media typically offers, guiding us through the evidence and its implications. As Koonin explains in this interview, he was “shaken by the realization that climate science was far less mature than I had supposed” and that the “overwhelming evidence” of catastrophic implications of anthropogenic global warming wasn’t so overwhelming after all.”

You can preview this 55-minute video at https://www.hoover.org/research/hot-or-not-steven-koonin-questions-conventional-climate-science-and-methodology

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