Epstein

The Epstein Files Phase 1, Part C: Contact Book Redacted, page 95, released 2025-02-27 by the United States Department of Justice.

11 a.m., March 1, 2026

Join us this Sunday, either in person or online, as we discuss the case of Jeffery Epstein. This is the most disturbing and wide-reaching scandal in recent history.

The first, 15-minute video from 2021 covers his early life, education and rise to financial dominance, his exploitation of underaged girls, the ineffectual legal efforts to stop this sexual abuse, and his eventual arrest and death in prison in 2019. The video raises serious concerns about the ability of money and political connections to thwart justice.

The 5-minute video following discusses the heavily-redacted release of the Epstein files by the Department of Justice.

The last, 2-minute video shows the international fallout from the recent release of the department of justice of the Epstein files

You can see these videos here:

How They Were Caught: Jeffrey Epstein
https://youtu.be/rMIHNjDvMp4

Lawyer for Epstein survivors reacts to Ghislaine Maxwell pleading the Fifth before lawmakers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvc9AjmbaX0

Far-reaching international fallout from latest Epstein files
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sIBYjgsy4c

Here is one of the files, a contact book, with the majority of its content redacted: https://www.justice.gov/ag/media/1391321/dl?inline.

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 request a $10 donation.

Attend Online
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The riddle of experience vs. memory

Creative Commons License
Daniel Kahneman at the Digital Life Design conference on January 27, 2009 in Munich, Germany.

11 a.m., February 22, 2026

Join us this Sunday, either in person or online, as we watch a video from February 2010, in which Daniel Kahneman explores the link between happiness and our selective memory.

Using examples from vacations to colonoscopies, Nobel laureate and founder of behavioral economics Daniel Kahneman reveals how our “experiencing selves” and our “remembering selves” perceive happiness differently. This new insight has profound implications for economics, public policy — and our own self-awareness.

Widely regarded as the world’s most influential living psychologist, Kahneman won the Nobel in Economics for his pioneering work in behavioral economics — exploring the irrational ways we make decisions about risk.

Daniel Kahneman (March 5, 1934 – March 27, 2024) was an Israeli-American psychologist best known for his work on the psychology of judgement and decision-making well as behavioral economics, for which he was awarded the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economical together with Vernon L. Smith. Kahneman’s published empirical findings challenge the assumption of human rationality prevailing in modern economic theory. Kahneman became known as the “grandfather of behavioral economics.”

You can watch this 20-minute video at https://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_kahneman_the_riddle_of_experience_vs_memory.

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 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
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Join the meeting by phone: +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
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The Darwin Day Lecture 2019, with Richard Dawkins

Richard Dawkins

11 a.m., February 15, 2026

Join us this Sunday, either in person or online, as we watch and discuss the Richard Dawkins lecture at the 2019 Darwin Day in London.

In 1859 Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species, a book that is considered the foundation of evolutionary biology. The first official Darwin Day was launched in1995 by Robert J. Stevens, PhD, an active member of our own Humanist Community. Through Robert’s work and dedication, Darwin Day has become a world-wide event honoring the understanding of our place celebrated on February 12, Darwin’s birthday.

In 1995, Donald Johanson, the discoverer of “Lucy,” presented the first Darwin Day talk for us at Stanford University. The following year, 1996, Richard Dawkins was our Darwin Day speaker. He joined us at a restaurant afterward.

Richard Dawkins is one of the best-known scientists in the world. He is author of the Selfish Gene, which clarified our understanding of natural selection. He is also author of The God Delusion, which caused a global sensation upon publication in 2006. He has chaired almost every event in the Darwin Day Lecture series in the UK since 2003. Humanists UK president Professor Alice Roberts takes over the chair of the lecture at this event, and introduces Richard Dawkins as he delivers the Darwin Day Lecture.

You can pre-watch this 48-minute video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSNE02hwwSM

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:
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Join the meeting by phone: +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
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What Is ICE Doing on America’s Streets?

Federal agents after Jonathan Ross, ICE, killed Renée Good

11 a.m., February 8, 2026

Join us this Sunday, only online, as we watch and discuss three videos about the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and what’s happening in the U.S. now.

The first is a 5-minute opening skit from Saturday Night Live on January 1. This comedy skit conveys the wide-spread perception of ICE. You can it at https://www.socialnews.xyz/2026/02/01/ice-meeting-cold-open-snl-hd-video.

The second video is a 10-minute BBC production, What is ICE doing on America’s streets? | Global News Podcast. It covers what is happening, the administration’s rational, and how the American people are reacting. You can see it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hyNfGPD2zM.

The third is a 6-minute animated video from the ACLU, WE HAVE RIGHTS: Inside Our Homes. Showing what to expect and how to react if ICE agents knock on your door. You can see it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_tLoRdoECM.

Attend Online
While we were not able to secure a meeting room, we 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)
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Boredom, Loneliness, and Addiction

Portrait of Manoush Zomorodi by Zovi Ong

11 a.m., February 1, 2026

Join us this Sunday, either in person or online, as we watch and discuss two videos; one that examine the beneficial effects of boredom and the downside of avoiding it, and another video looks at compulsions and how stress and loneliness feed addiction.

In the first video, How boredom can lead to your most brilliant ideas, Manoush Zomorodi contrasts what she felt was the mind-numbing monotony she felt when all her time was spent caring for her infant with the lack of inspiration when she was finally able to work podcasting a public radio show.

She concludes that when your body goes on autopilot, your brain gets busy forming new neural connections that connect ideas and solve problems. Learn to love being bored as Manoush Zomorodi explains the connection between spacing out and creativity.

Manoush Zomorodi is a journalist, podcast host and author. She was the host of theWNYC podcast Note to Self, which explores humans’ relationship with technology through conversations with listeners and experts. In 2018, Zomorodi quit WNYC to start a media company, Stable Genius Productions, with her colleague Jen Poyant. The process of starting their company is documented in the podcast ZigZag, which is also their first production. As of March 2020, she is the host of NPR’s TED Radio Hour.

You can view this 16-minute, 2017 video at https://www.ted.com/dubbing/manoush_zomorodi_how_boredom_can_lead_to_your_most_brilliant_ideas.

The second video, is How isolation fuels opioid addiction. In it, Rachel Wurzmah discusses the nature of compulsion, including normal habits we all have, and addiction as a reaction to stress and loneliness.

Wurzman shows how social isolation contributes to relapse and overdose rates and reveals how meaningful human connection could offer a potentially powerful source of recovery.

Rachel Wurzman is a neuroscientist and neuroethicist who joined the Dana Foundation in 2022 as a Neuroscience & Society Fellow. She also holds appointments as a senior fellow with the Institute for Biodefense Research and as affiliate faculty with the Neuroethics Studies Program of the Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics at Georgetown University. Over the past decade, she has served as a subject matter expert and neuroethics advisor to the military, as well as multiple public and industry neuroscience initiatives, programs, projects, and working groups. She was also a co-founder and director of science for SeekHealing, a nonprofit focused on improving relational social health in communities to address the root causes of addiction, suicide, and radicalization. She is also the author of over 30 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and white papers.

You can view this 19-minute, 2017 video at https://www.ted.com/talks/rachel_wurzman_how_isolation_fuels_opioid_addiction.

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 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.

Subscribe to our events in your Apple Calendar:
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Click the Interested button or share on Patch:
https://patch.com/california/paloalto/calendar/event/20260201/84e3ad92-4179-4095-a804-f68d8fb6cb58/boredom-loneliness-and-addiction

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