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Glass City Humanist: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Douglas Berger - Humanist Advocate
Explaining Humanist values, how we can live our values to support social justice issues, and responding to science denying Christian Nationalists bent on smashing the wall between church and state. Human problems require human solutions. There will be interviews, from time to time, with Humanists and other secular people in Northwest Ohio and beyond.
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- 5 days ago37 min
An Election Brings Hope To Humanism
We start with some updates about the Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie and our upcoming events. Then we discuss the recent midterm election and its potential effects on issues important to humanists, including church-state separation and civil rights. We cover changes in the Ohio legislature, possible barriers to legislation supported by Christian nationalists, and the role of organizing and continued pressure on elected officials.Finally we examine the Elmwood Local Schools district in Wood County, where LifeWise Academy holds Bible classes in a school-owned community center during the school day. We discuss the district’s use of the space, the relevant Supreme Court decisions and Ohio law, and efforts to explore ways to address the violation.Full Show Notes & Links UsedSubscribe to our free newsletterCheck out our Merch
- Sep 23, 20261h 6m
Fighting Christian Nationalism Tour with Fish Stark
The Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie hosted a speech by Fish Stark, executive director of the American Humanist Association on September 13, 2026 in Toledo. This episode includes his remarks as recorded on that day.Stark discusses what humanism means as a positive identity rooted in science, compassion, human potential, and human responsibility. He describes humanists as people committed to civil liberties, human dignity, and the idea that public institutions should serve everyone equally. He then explains Christian nationalism as an extreme right-wing movement that seeks to use government to impose a conservative religious framework. Stark describes legal and legislative efforts by the AHA and its allies to oppose these trends. Next are a couple of clips from the AHA's National Conference held online on September 19th. Jordan Klepper's acceptance speech for Humanist of the Year reflects on uncertainty, certainty in politics, and the role of kindness. He talks about humanism as a commitment to reason and intentional compassion rather than automatic tradition.Rachel Deitch outlines the policy work of the Center for Free Thought Equality, including opposition to voucher expansion, chaplain replacement bills in public schools, and release-time religious instruction. She also describes support for a student bill of rights for secular public education and plans to expand state-level advocacy.Full Show Notes & Links UsedSubscribe to our free newsletterCheck out our merch
- Sep 9, 202653 min
Honoring Three Women Devoted to Justice and Equality
Three women whose lives were tied to humanist and feminist values: Dolly Parton, Robin Morgan, and Gloria Steinem died recently. We talk about their work, the ways they supported other people, and the public roles they played.We talk about a Zoom conversation Gloria Steinem held with our local group, which was a highlight for our host. She encouraged people to identify potential activists and get them involved in public life and we mention her later repudiation of earlier anti-trans views and her efforts to make the feminist movement be more inclusive.The American Humanist Association has gone through a rebrand, including an updated logo, website, and tagline. We explain the reasons for the changes, the response from members, and the effort to reach younger people through social media and creators.Finally, we talk about the city of Toledo’s effort to landmark two closed Catholic church buildings before a demolition moratorium expires. We explain the legal and practical issues around preserving old church buildings, and we compare that situation to other reused buildings and local preservation debates.Full Show Notes and Links UsedSubscribe to our free newsletterCheck out our merch
- Aug 19, 20261h 8m
LifeWise: Art Of The Grift
In an update to previous episodes talking about Released Time Religious Education in Ohio and LifeWise Academy in particular, our guest Keith Comer, founder of Respect our Schools discusses what has been happening since LifeWise lobbied the state to force it's brand of child recruitment into the middle of the school day.Elementary students are most affected because their schedules are controlled by the school, making mid-day departures disruptive. He says LifeWise prefers to take students during specials because attendance is higher than during lunch, or recess, and the ultimate goal is recruitment and proselytizing rather than character education.Another focus is money and organization. Comer says LifeWise operates like a franchise, collecting fees from local groups and sending money to headquarters in Hilliard, Ohio. He says local programs often pay substantial portions of their fundraising to the central organization, which also provides curriculum, insurance, and training.We end with concerns about safety and school resources. Comer says parents should ask how background checks, transportation, and monitoring are handled. He also describes cases where schools, city property, or public facilities were illegally used for LifeWise-related activities, and says legal challenges may be necessary to stop such programs.Full Show Notes & Links UsedSubscribe to our free email listCheck out or merch
- Aug 3, 202636 min
Christian Nationalism vs. Dr. Anthony Fauci
There is an anti-science agenda of Christian nationalism. We saw it in the recent Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing with Dr. Anthony Fauci. The claims made against Fauci, causing him to invoke the Fifth Amendment, is a political effort to unfairly blame him for the pandemic.Science has been politicized, including attacks on gender-affirming care, abortion, vaccines, and public health guidance. The scientific method and with the role of experts during the COVID-19 pandemic, while also noting past public health crises such as the AIDS epidemic, show why science policy can't be about politics.There was an offensive billboard in Lima, Ohio, which said that no child has two dads or two moms. We explain why we see the message as harmful to LGBTQ+ families, describe the organization behind it, and note the community response, including a positive counter-campaign and public pushback.An interfaith group sued the federal government over Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission. The suit was dismissed by a federal judge claiming an unique reason.Full Show Notes & Links UsedSubscribe To Our Free NewsletterCheck Out Our MerchDonate to the Show
- Jul 11, 202632 min
The Platner Test: Trauma vs. Accountability
In this episode, we focus on how we judge political candidates using evidence rather than instinct. We look at the Graham Platner controversy in Maine, and how prior trauma, PTSD, alcoholism, and harmful behavior can shape a person’s life while still not removing the need for accountability.There are limits of certainty in politics. We say that we are not clairvoyant, that we should give people the benefit of the doubt until credible information changes our view, and that our own life experiences can affect how we interpret allegations. Recent political history and campaign reporting explains why corroborated evidence matters.The other big story is local. We discuss Ohio House Bill 347 and the continuing effort by Christian nationalist groups to restrict abortion despite our state’s reproductive rights amendment. Following a public records requests, we show who was involved in shaping the bill, and how the documentation revealed coordination behind the proposal between a state anti-abortion lawyer and the two representatives that introduced his copy and pasted bill.Full Show Notes & Links UsedSubscribe to Our Free NewsletterCheck out our merch
- Jun 25, 202635 min
Why Our Best Defense Is a Bold, Joyful Positive Humanism
Even with all the struggles in protecting our religious liberty, we need to remind ourselves how progressive and positive Humanism is. We do have to focus on negative aspects of the world in order to highlight how Humanism is a better, bold, and joyful way.We highlight a book by Roy Speckhardt and and essay by Fred Edwards to define humanism as a philosophy grounded in reason, science, empathy, compassion, fairness, civil liberties, and human rights. We also note that humanism is open-ended, forward-looking, and focused on life in the present rather than supernatural authority.We then look at three current religious liberty issues. One is the end of the biased Trump Religious Liberty Commission and a lawsuit filed by progressive groups. We talk about Pete Hegseth removing many religions off the official Department of Defense list and Douglas points out how an agency of the Federal government shouldn't be passing judgement on what is and what isn't an approved religion.Finally, we mention a Supreme Court decision the pushed aside a lawsuit involving a Rastafarian prisoner and the violation of his religious liberty. Religious liberty seems to only apply to Christian NationalistsFull Show Notes & Links UsedSubscribe to our free newsletterCheck out our merch
- Jun 12, 202640 min
We Were There When the Shots Rang Out: More Guns, Same Excuses
We start off talking about an informational booth we staffed at the Old West End Festival in Toledo and how the event was affected by gun violence. The festival is an important outreach opportunity for our small humanist group. All our volunteers were safe, and we were glad with the festival's decision to cancel the Sunday schedule. We discuss our concerns about desperation of young people in the city, the limits of police response, and the broader problem of easy access to guns.Next we reflect on changing cultural norms by looking back at older films and music we enjoyed in our youth. We discuss how some works now feel dated or offensive, including films Airport 75, Valley Girl, Gone with the Wind, Birth of a Nation, and some early Eddie Murphy comedy material. Culture does change over time and people should be treated with basic worth and dignity.Full Show Notes & LinksSubscribe to our free newsletterCheck out our merch
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About Glass City Humanist
Explaining Humanist values, how we can live our values to support social justice issues, and responding to science denying Christian Nationalists bent on smashing the wall between church and state. Human problems require human solutions. There will be interviews, from time to time, with Humanists and other secular people in Northwest Ohio and beyond.
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