Episodes

  • 909: It's time to say goodbye, for now
    Sep 13 2024

    Dear Friends,

    Almost 10 years ago, I recorded the first episode of The Wonder-full Podcast, which turned into Humanize Me the following year. Over the course of the roughly 230 episodes that followed, you and I have enjoyed talking to scientists, artists, community builders, influencers, authors, and each other about how to make the most of this life by building loving relationships, cultivating our senses of wonder and gratitude, and making meaning by making things better for other people. Frankly, engineering that shared journey with my dear friend John Wright has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. So then, I think it is quite fitting that in this final episode, John helps me explain why that journey must come to an end.

    What is impossible to explain, I’m afraid, is the deep gratitude I am feeling for each and every one of you listeners, and especially to those who have actively supported the podcast with your encouragement, ideas, and financial support. As you’ll hear, both John and I hope this isn’t the last time we dust off our mics and fire up that Humanize Me theme song, but in the meantime we want you to know that the podcast feed with all its episodes, along with the website, social media accounts and Facebook Group will all stay live, so that old friends can come back for a visit and folks like us can stumble onto our kind of hope. To that end, we've pulled together a short list of all-time favorites at HumanizeMePodcast.com.

    Please feel free to reach out to me at BartCampolo.org if you’ve got a question or a story, or just want to share what the podcast has meant to you. Rest assured, I’ll be thrilled to hear from you. After all, my ankles are creakier, my public profile is lower, and my wee bit of hair is seriously gray, but my commitment to building and maintaining humanizing connections hasn’t waned a bit. Thank you so much for listening to John and me over these years. One way or another, I have a hunch we’ll see you again… on Humanize Me.

    Much love,

    Bart

    Show more Show less
    56 mins
  • 908: Life After Doom, with Brian McLaren
    Jul 15 2024

    Brian McLaren's new book defines 'doom' as, "The psychological sense that we know our problems are bigger than our solutions." In this episode, he and Bart talk about their fears for the future, a potential collapse in our way of life, how they think about 'hope', and what kinds of things are likely to help people in the worst-case scenarios.

    As Brian warns in his book, this is not a conversation for those who aren't already in a fairly secure place emotionally or psychologically.

    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 26 mins
  • 907: What are the limits of our commitments to others?
    Jun 28 2024

    "Bart, in your episode with Devin Moss you mentioned envying his role as a humanist chaplain for someone on death row, because he could throw himself into totally being there for that man, knowing it was only for a limited amount of time. That sounded easier to you than committing to love a needy person with lots of life ahead of them. That one strange comment has raised a lot of questions for me: Do we really have to be there for someone throughout every stupid thing they do? Why can't we just be there for an episode or two and then move on? Why can't somebody else step up once in a while? ... Obviously, we all have limited amounts of time, energy and emotional capacity. Essentially, I guess I'm asking: what do you think are the limits of our responsibilities to others?"

    Bart and John discuss.

    Show more Show less
    58 mins
  • 906: The 'Nothing in Particulars', with Pew's Alan Cooperman
    Jun 10 2024

    Those whose answer to their religion is 'Nothing in particular' make up an increasing number of the population of the United States. They're part of a larger group of 'nones' who differ in many ways, even among each other. In this episode, Bart dives into the most recent data with Alan Cooperman from the Pew Research Center, who talks about religious trends in America, behavior of religious groups, levels of engagement with group organization of various kinds, and how an increase in isolation may play a part. If you're most interested in the data itself, we start to get into the nitty gritty around 15 mins into this episode.

    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 17 mins
  • 905: A humanist chaplain and a death row inmate, with Devin Moss
    May 23 2024

    Devin Moss is a media producer who became a humanist chaplain during the pandemic and surprisingly quickly found himself ministering to a death row inmate called Phillip Hancock. He was there in Hancock's final moments, a story he tells in this New York Times Magazine article, plunging him into the question of what it really means to face death without God.

    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 22 mins
  • 904: Cosmogenesis, with Brian Swimme
    Apr 20 2024

    Brian Swimme is an evolutionary cosmologist whose latest book, Cosmogenesis, is autobiographical, but is also an attempt to tell the story of the universe as science knows it, placing human beings inside the story. Brian believes that, properly told, the story is awe-inspiring, beautiful and unifying, and potentially a foundation for a better world. In this episode, Bart tries to understand Brian's work, and how he seeks to 'turn others on' to what inspires him about our universe.

    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 4 mins
  • 903: Getting to know a listener from scratch
    Apr 8 2024

    In the last of three episodes on 'high disclosure relationships', Bart gets to know someone in depth from scratch - a Humanize Me listener called Patti, who turns out to be as wonderful as we could have hoped - and in the process, provides an example of such conversations to inspire you to do the same.

    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 9 mins
  • 902: A tool for connecting with someone
    Mar 6 2024

    Bart shares a tool he's used often to connect with people in the manner discussed in episode 901 with Rich Slatcher.

    Show more Show less
    43 mins