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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 12h

Richard Dadd painted fairies in feverish detail, then killed his father, believing him the devil. Rakesh Ramchurn on the RA retrospective of work made in Bedlam and Broadmoor, and whether an artist can be separated from their illness. newhumanist.org.uk/articles/awa...

newhumanist.org.uk

Away with the fairies

A Richard Dadd retrospective reveals the artist's prolific work inside the walls of Bedlam and Broadmoor

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Keeping far-right parties out of power doesn't make them disappear, but it does stop them doing their worst. Daniel Trilling on why that will take broad, uncomfortable coalitions – and why that's only the start. newhumanist.org.uk/articles/how...

newhumanist.org.uk

How to block the far right from power

We'll need to make broad and uncomfortable coalitions – and that's just the start

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Cuba voted through its Family Code in 2022 with a 67% majority, winning in every province. It covers same-sex marriage, adoption and new rights for women and carers, and was almost unreported in the west. Peter Tatchell on Angus Reid's documentary A Week in the Sun newhumanist.org.uk/articles/que...

newhumanist.org.uk

Queer revolution in Cuba?

Angus Reid's new documentary "A week in the Sun" shines light on Cuba's sweeping new rights for women and queer people

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

When an algal bloom turned the Wye green, regulators were testing only a few spots a few times a year. Locals started testing weekly. Nicola Cutcher on the rise of the river guardians. newhumanist.org.uk/articles/why...

newhumanist.org.uk

Why I became a river guardian

Across the UK, ordinary people are taking action to protect our rivers from pollution

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Lemmy and Ozzy recorded "I Ain't No Nice Guy" in 1992. Keith Kahn-Harris on how they left metal a much nicer place than they found it: charity fundraising, dry bars, vegan menus. And none of it is really that surprising. newhumanist.org.uk/articles/hea...

newhumanist.org.uk

Headbangers give the best hugs

As metalheads mourn their Prince of Darkness, has the “devil’s music” accidentally become a force for good?

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

JD Vance’s accidentally hilarious memoir. 'The vice president displays neither self-awareness nor an understanding of irony in this strange book'. Ralph Jones reviews: Communion – Finding My Way Back to Faith for New Humanist. Read the full review on our website. newhumanist.org.uk/articles/jd-...

The vice president displays neither self-awareness nor an understanding of irony When Vance laments the erosion of Christianity in public life over the last century, he writes, “If the Titanic is going down I’d rather be on board than hop on a lifeboat.” You only need to look at his life, however, to recognise that not only would he have leaped onto the first vessel available but that he would have elbowed elderly women out of the way in order to get the best seat.Ralph Jones, New Humanist Autumn 2026 edition

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

A Kent classroom where Farage selfies circulate like celebrity photos: teacher Paige Horsford on quietly challenging the politics children bring in from home, in a council now led by Reform. Read more on our website today: newhumanist.org.uk/articles/the...

newhumanist.org.uk

The view from a school in a Reform-led council

As a teacher, I encourage children to question the hate that some of them are taught at home

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

In the latest issue of New Humanist magazine, we go inside the fight against resurgent hate in the UK. The June race riots. The rise of Christian Nationalism, and how the UK Government gave the far right a veneer of respectability. newhumanist.org.uk/subscribe?ut...

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

A selfie with Farage gets treated like meeting a footballer in a Reform-led Kent constituency. Teacher Paige Horsford on classroom life, and quietly challenging the politics children bring in from home. newhumanist.org.uk/articles/the...

newhumanist.org.uk

The view from a school in a Reform-led council

As a teacher, I encourage children to question the hate that some of them are taught at home

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Do you have a question for our advice columnist? We are fortunate to have the wonderful Janet Ellis – former Blue Peter presenter, veteran agony aunt and president of Humanists UK – as our new advice columnist. Get your questions in: editor@newhumanist.org.uk 🧵 newhumanist.org.uk/articles/ask...

newhumanist.org.uk

Ask Janet: Should I keep confronting my brother about his racist politics?

Insights and guidance from New Humanist's advice columnist

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Pakistan and Afghanistan call it a fight against terrorism. Jamaima Afridi, writing from her border village, describes something closer to a war on civilians – schools destroyed, families displaced again and again, with no peace in sight. newhumanist.org.uk/articles/fle...

newhumanist.org.uk

Fleeing home again

The border war between Pakistan and Afghanistan is supposedly about terrorism, but it’s civilians like me who are suffering

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Keeping far-right parties out of power doesn't make them disappear, but it stops them doing their worst. Daniel Trilling on the uncomfortable coalitions needed to counter radical right nationalism. newhumanist.org.uk/articles/how...

newhumanist.org.uk

How to block the far right from power

We'll need to make broad and uncomfortable coalitions – and that's just the start

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Richard Dadd painted fairies with hallucinatory precision, killed his father believing him the devil, and kept working through Bedlam and Broadmoor. Rakesh Ramchurn on a Royal Academy retrospective that unsettles the art/madness cliché. newhumanist.org.uk/articles/awa...

newhumanist.org.uk

Away with the fairies

A Richard Dadd retrospective reveals the artist's prolific work inside the walls of Bedlam and Broadmoor

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

The far-right riots in Northern Ireland in June ran on old rails, not new ones. Emma DeSouza on how online networks now supercharge patterns of scapegoating and violence that predate the internet by generations. newhumanist.org.uk/articles/in-...

newhumanist.org.uk

In Northern Ireland, we’re seeing old patterns of violence repeated

The medium might be new, but the online far right is exploiting the same structures that have sustained violence for generations

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Social activist, feminist icon, and humanist Gloria Steinem has died this week at the age of 92. In 2016, Sally Feldman reviewed Steinem's autobiography for New Humanist, writing about her fight to keep feminism grounded in real, lived experience rather than academic jargon. As Gloria puts it:

Gloria Steinem: academia didn't create feminism – women's lives did

‘As feminism has changed academia by enlarging what is taught, academia has sometimes changed feminism. Scholarly language may be so theoretical that it obscures the source of feminism in women’s lived experience... One of the saddest things I hear as I travel is “I don’t know enough to be a feminist,” or even “I’m not smart enough to be a feminist.” It breaks my heart.

Sally Feldman reviews Gloria Steinem’s autobiography,
My Life on the Road, New Humanist 2016

New Humanist

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Bigger families, closed borders, 'Judeo-Christian values', and Boris Johnson on the bill. Peter Geoghegan on how the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship became Christian nationalism's networking hub in London. Read more about the 'anti-woke Davos' now ⬇️ newhumanist.org.uk/articles/thi...

newhumanist.org.uk

The money behind the ‘anti-woke Davos’

The Alliance for Responsible Citizenship has become a forum for Christian nationalism in London

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

A generation ago, stirring up a riot took pamphlets, meetings, and time. Read Emma DeSouza on how far-right networks organised two days of violence in Northern Ireland this June, and who profits. newhumanist.org.uk/articles/in-...

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Stewart Lee: "Good comedy is innately humanist. It asks us to empathise on some level. I don’t know how much of a force for good it can be, but I do know that it can make people who are very distressed and upset about the state of the world feel a little bit less alone"

newhumanist.org.uk

Stewart Lee: Why we need humour to beat the populist right

Voters are looking for entertainers. Can Binface give them what they want?

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Humanists UK @humanists.uk · 25/08/2026

We’re deeply saddened to learn that the legendary Dolly Parton has died. @newhumanist.bsky.social had the honour of interviewing Dolly back in January 2024. It’s an incredible read – she was a force of nature. newhumanist.org.uk/articles/the...

newhumanist.org.uk

The Queen of Country on her personal philosophy

Dolly Parton talks to New Humanist about her latest album, her remarkable career and her liberal approach to faith

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Andrew Copson @andrewcopson.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

“I wouldn’t even say I’m religious, though I grew up with that background. But I have a lot of faith in myself.” Timely to re-read the wonderful interview with Dolly Parton in @newhumanist.bsky.social - a joyful inspired person with a broad and creative worldview newhumanist.org.uk/articles/the...

newhumanist.org.uk

The Queen of Country on her personal philosophy

Dolly Parton talks to New Humanist about her latest album, her remarkable career and her liberal approach to faith

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

"Nolan surely didn’t make a $250 million movie just to bait US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, but it certainly works on that level" #TheOdyssey

newhumanist.org.uk

The Odyssey we deserve

Christopher Nolan delivers a frighteningly relevant epic on a civilisation ripping itself apart

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Bethany Elliott @bethanyaelliott.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Go buy your copies of @newhumanist.bsky.social Autumn 2026, where I’m looking at the moral and societal implications of people publishing private correspondence.

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Alom Shaha @alomshaha.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

My issue of the latest @newhumanist.bsky.social magazine (themed around “how to fight hate”) arrived yesterday and I’m looking forward to reading this article in particular

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

"The world is so ruined right now, comedy can serve as a catharsis. Trump can’t be removed ... but we can imagine him being sodomised by a werewolf with a micropenis." Yep, you read that right:

newhumanist.org.uk

Stewart Lee: Why we need humour to beat the populist right

Voters are looking for entertainers. Can Binface give them what they want?

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

With "The Odyssey", Christopher Nolan has delivered a frighteningly relevant epic on a civilisation ripping itself apart. "He has extracted from the poem an urgent allegory of crimes and consequences that speaks to our own fears of wilful civilisational collapse," writes Dorian Lynskey

newhumanist.org.uk

The Odyssey we deserve

Christopher Nolan delivers a frighteningly relevant epic on a civilisation ripping itself apart

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

newhumanist.org.uk

Stewart Lee: Why we need humour to beat the populist right

Voters are looking for entertainers. Can Binface give them what they want?

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

"The key element of all clowning is man’s desire to remain upright, and retain their dignity. When they fail, that is what we find funny. On the positive side, there’s also a part of humour that is about redressing balance, destabilising powerful figures". Stewart Lee on comedy and cruelty:

newhumanist.org.uk

Stewart Lee: Why we need humour to beat the populist right

Voters are looking for entertainers. Can Binface give them what they want?

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

"If we’re looking for what animates Christian nationalism, I think it’s in part the very simple search for someone to blame." Read Rowan Williams on Christian nationalism, Nigel Farage, Tommy Robinson, and more in the new issue of New Humanist, out today: buff.ly/Nu5CHg5

Promotional graphic for New Humanist showing portraits of former Archbishop Rowan Williams (left) and Humanists UK chief executive Andrew Copson (right) promoting a discussion titled "Is Christian nationalism a threat to the UK?" with a cross and St George flags in the background.

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

🚨Our Autumn 2026 issue is out today! We examine the threat Christian nationalism poses to the UK, and hear from people on the front lines of the fight against hate across the UK. Let's take a look inside...🧵 newhumanist.org.uk/2026/08/20/h...

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

How To Fight Hate. Our new issue is out now! Featuring: 🎤 Stewart Lee on comedy and cruelty ⛪️ Former archbishop Rowan Williams on Christian nationalism 🌱 Caroline Lucas on a new vision for England Subscribe now for just £1.60 a month: newhumanist.org.uk/subscribe/

newhumanist.org.uk

A quarterly magazine of ideas, science and culture from Humanists UK

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

"My showbiz friend @mchshe.bsky.social noted that the American comedians he knew only talked about *if* ideas were funny, whereas British, Irish and Antipodean comics worry more about *why* things are funny and *should* things be funny." Stewart Lee on comedy and cruelty:

newhumanist.org.uk

Stewart Lee: Why we need humour to beat the populist right

Voters are looking for entertainers. Can Binface give them what they want?

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

"Nolan surely didn’t make a $250 million movie just to bait US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, but it certainly works on that level" #TheOdyssey

newhumanist.org.uk

The Odyssey we deserve

Christopher Nolan delivers a frighteningly relevant epic on a civilisation ripping itself apart

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

"The world is so ruined right now, comedy can serve as a catharsis. Trump can’t be removed ... but we can imagine him being sodomised by a werewolf with a micropenis." Yes, you read that right. It's from our interview with Stewart Lee on politics and absurdity:

newhumanist.org.uk

Stewart Lee: Why we need humour to beat the populist right

Voters are looking for entertainers. Can Binface give them what they want?

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

"Nolan is not famed for his female characters. But Penelope, Helen of Troy and the sorceress Circe all get to voice their rage at men and their monstrous appetites." Read our take on the film everyone's talking about #TheOdyssey

newhumanist.org.uk

The Odyssey we deserve

Christopher Nolan delivers a frighteningly relevant epic on a civilisation ripping itself apart

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

How To Fight Hate. Our new issue is out this week! Featuring: 🎤 Stewart Lee on comedy and cruelty ⛪️ Former archbishop Rowan Williams on Christian nationalism 🌱 Caroline Lucas on a new vision for England And much more. Subscribe now to get it as soon as it lands: newhumanist.org.uk/subscribe/

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

"The discourse around The Odyssey has been gruelling ... The movie-star casting, vernacular dialogue and American accents have all wound up somebody or other, as if English actors speaking archaically in RP would have been more authentic." Check out our review of Christopher Nolan's epic:

newhumanist.org.uk

The Odyssey we deserve

Christopher Nolan delivers a frighteningly relevant epic on a civilisation ripping itself apart

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

newhumanist.org.uk

The Odyssey we deserve

Christopher Nolan delivers a frighteningly relevant epic on a civilisation ripping itself apart

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

"Nolan has extracted from the poem an urgent allegory of crimes and consequences that speaks to our own fears of wilful civilisational collapse" @dorianlynskey.bsky.social on an epic for our times

newhumanist.org.uk

The Odyssey we deserve

Christopher Nolan delivers a frighteningly relevant epic on a civilisation ripping itself apart

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

‘The world is so ruined right now, it [comedy] serves as a catharsis. Trump can’t be removed, it seems, and the damage he is doing is unrelenting, but we can imagine him being sodomised by a werewolf with a micropenis.’ Read the full interview on our website. newhumanist.org.uk/articles/ste...

newhumanist.org.uk

Stewart Lee: Why we need humour to beat the populist right

Voters are looking for entertainers. Can Binface give them what they want?

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Coming soon 👀 New Humanist's Autumn issue, out next week. Subscribe to our free newsletter to hear when it lands newhumanist.org.uk/newsletter/

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

In our Autumn issue – out 20 August – we talk to comedian Stewart Lee about why we need humour to beat the populist right. Stewart, who spends his new tour as a right-wing shock jock werewolf, argues progressives are losing because they play by the rules, while populists win by embracing absurdity.

Headline:
Count Binface vs Nigel Farage and the need for political absurdity

Body text:
Populist and far-right figures are ridiculous, but I think that means people see them as a fun alternative to straight politicians which then pushes borderline politicians like Boris into creating mad personas to compete with them, pushing politics into a death spiral. The progressives' problem is they tend to obey the rules about not lying, and therefore can't be as amusingly outrageous as populists. Maybe Count Binface will change this, but we can't underestimate the heavy guns that will be lined up against him.

Attribution:
Stewart Lee, New Humanist Autumn 2026 issue

Publication:
New Humanist

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New Humanist @newhumanist.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

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