Annual Brunch at Pacific Buffet & Grill

Join us at Pacific Buffet, 20 Ives Rd #301C, Wallingford for our end-of-year brunch. The restaurant's phone number is (203) 269-6888.

Dinner & Discussion:

Join us at the Wood ‘n’ Tap at 2100 Dixwell Avenue in Hamden. Please RSVP via meetup or programs@cthumanist.org.

Book Discussion Group: "The Soul of an Octopus" by Sy Montgomery

Our book for December is "The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness" by Sy Montgomery.

Copies are available in public libraries in Connecticut, and at local and online booksellers.

Potluck Dinner, Annual Business Meeting and Solstice Party

We will start with a potluck dinner at 7:00 PM. Please bring a dish to share. About 8:00 PM we will start our annual business meeting at which we will elect officers for 2020.

Following the business meeting we will hold our Winter Solstice Party.

We will also be collecting new socks for the New Haven Free Public Library's sock drive.

Humanist Explorations: Hobson's Choice

In this current era of depressing news, and the state of affairs in civilization, a good laugh and something uplifting is in order for the impending holiday season. This 1954 film from the director David Lean (Brief Encounter, Great Expectations, Doctor Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia) tells the tale of Henry Hobson, an overbearing, chauvinistic, and patriarchal owner of a boot shop in Victorian England, and his three daughters. While he rules with an iron hand over the two younger girls, he is less than successful over Maggie, the eldest, who has a will and mind of her own. Join us for this beautiful story and all the surprises it holds, appropriate in this time of ascendant feminism.

Dinner & Discussion: What Are the Real Differences Between Liberals and Conservatives?

One way to help bridge the political divide and reduce political polarization in the United States is for both sides to better understand one another. The alternative may be the catastrophic failure of our democracy within the next few decades.

View an 18-minute video featuring Psychologist Jonathan Haidt who has studied the five moral values that form the basis of our political choices, whether we're left, right, or center. In this eye-opening talk, he pinpoints the moral values that liberals and conservatives tend to honor most.

https://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_haidt_on_the_moral_mind

Jonathan Haidt studies how - and why - we evolved to be moral. When it comes to politics we may not be as rational as we may think. By understanding more about our moral roots, Haidt’s hope is that we can learn to be civil and open-minded.Join us at the Wood ‘n’ Tap at 2100 Dixwell Avenue in Hamden. Please RSVP via meetup or programs@cthumanist.org.

Board Meeting

All members are welcome to attend. This will be our last board meeting of the year.

Monthly Meeting: A Conversation with Openly Secular State Rep Joshua Elliott

Our next monthly meeting will be a joint meeting with the Hartford Area Humanists at the Unitarian Society of New Haven in Hamden, CT. Our guest speaker witll be State Representative Josh Elliott, one of the few openly secular legislators in the United States.

Since his election, Rep. Elliott has consistently been a strong advocate for progressive policies in our state. He has also supported the Secular Coaltion of Connecticut's legislative initiatives and priorities.

Refreshments will be served; you are welcome (but you are in no way required) to bring something to share.

We will start with 30 minutes of coffee and conversation at 7 PM, followed by Josh's talk at 7:30 PM.

Book Discussion Group: "Assassination Vacation" by Sarah Vowell

Our book for November is "Assassination Vacation" by Sarah Vowell.

Copies are available in public libraries in Connecticut, and at local and online booksellers.

Humanist Explorations: State of Surveillance

We will watch and discuss a short VICE on HBO documentary, 'State of Surveillance' with Edward Snowden and Shane Smith. In 2016, around the time a judge ordered Apple to help the FBI break into a terrorist's phone, VICE co-founder Shane Smith interviewed Edward Snowden about capabilities of government-sponsored surveillance around the world and whether any of us can truly protect our information.

Dinner & Discussion: Polarization

We will discuss this 17-minute video from the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative: https://mitsloan.mit.edu/sustainability/video/how-to-keep-conversation-alive-in-a-polarized-world-jason-jay-tedxbocaraton.

America seems to be growing more and more divided every day. How do we feel right and righteous and certain about our agenda, while compromising to work with others who may not agree with us? How do we all work together?

Facilitator and author Jason Jay from MIT Sloan explores what happens inside ourselves when conversations go off the rails and offers a tool to help people harness polarization as a source of creative energy.

Board Meeting

Monthly Meeting: Death, Death, Death!

Please join us at 7:00 PM on October 21 at 700 Hartford Turnpike in Hamden when Mark Davis will be providing information about Final Exit Network’s efforts to provide immediate, painless and peaceful relief for screened, suffering members with intractable conditions seeking to end their lives. We will discuss the history of the movement and its future directions. And, if time permits, we will take a look at efforts to get the Connecticut legislature to pass a law providing doctor-assisted suicide for qualified individuals – what this law would and wouldn’t provide.

Mark was a businessman who, throughout his life, found the topics of death and dying to be difficult and uncomfortable. When his mother's health led her to request his assistance in ending her life, it was more than unsettling. His research led him to the book, "Final Exit: The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted Suicide for the Dying." After sharing the book’s then recommended method for self-deliverance with his mother, she changed her mind, as many do. Years later, as aging forced him to confront his own mortality, he resumed his research on issues related to aging, dying and death and decided to attend a series UU meetings called the Death Buffet (as opposed to Death Café). These experiences led him to become a hospice volunteer in the Danbury area and to join Final Exit Network. Later, Mark became a speaker for Final Exit and is currently being trained to be an Exit Guide. He combines his hospice experience, the principles of Final Exit, his personal experience and a copious amount of research into his presentations/discussions. He strives to be interesting, engaging and provocative.

Book Discussion Group: "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas

Our book for October is "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas.

Copies are available in public libraries in Connecticut, and at local and online booksellers.

Humanist Explorations: Color with Stephany Cousins

Join us for an introductory workshop on Albers color theory with our very own artist, Stephany Cousins.

A professional artist for over 4 decades, Stephany graduated from Mount Holyoke College and New York University and has continued to study art ever since. She draws and paints in all mediums. A professional color expert and educator, she has taught at Albertus Magnus College and privately. Stephany has shared this fun interactive color workshop with groups of all ages – even a group of 40 retirees at The Villages in Florida.

Please wear a shirt that is a solid color (or a very small pattern with one predominant color), and try to remember to bring a pair of scissors in case we don’t have enough for everybody.

Dinner & Discussion: If Not the Amazon, Where Does Our Oxygen Come From?

This month we will discuss the "Atlantic" article, "The Amazon Is Not Earth’s Lungs" at https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/08/amazon-fire-earth-has-plenty-oxygen/596923. How worrisome is the information buried in this article?

Join us at the Wood ‘n’ Tap at 2100 Dixwell Avenue in Hamden. Please RSVP via meetup or programs@cthumanist.org.

Board Meeting

All members are welcome to attend.

Book Discussion Group: “Educated, A Memoir”

Our book for September is "Educated, A Memoir" by Tara Westover.

Copies are available in public libraries in Connecticut, and at local and online booksellers.

Monthly Meeting: Humanism 101

Our speaker will be Dan Blinn, President of Hartford Area Humanists, graduate of the Humanist Institute, at-large member (and founding co-chair) of the Connecticut Coalition of Reason and a certified Humanist Celebrant. Dan is the recipient of the 2018 American Humanist Association’s President’s Award.

Dan will explore with us what it means to identify as a Humanist, and he will suggest different ways that we can find purpose and meaning by incorporating Humanism into our daily lives. We will discuss the history of Humanism as well as contemporary Humanism in America, and Dan will share his thoughts on how Humanism might continue to evolve.

Humanist Explorations: Koch Brothers Exposed

We will watch and discuss Brave New Films' "Koch Brothers Exposed". This 2014 film uncovers the Kochs’ corruption. The billionaire brothers bankroll a vast network of organizations that work to undermine the interests of the 99%.

"Koch Brothers Exposed" is a hard-hitting investigation of the 1% at its very worst. This 2014 full-length documentary film on Charles and David Koch—two of the world’s richest and most powerful men. The billionaire brothers bankroll a vast network of organizations that work to undermine the interests of the 99% on issues ranging from Social Security to the environment to civil rights. This film uncovers the Kochs’ corruption—and points the way to how Americans can reclaim their democracy.

Dinner & Discussion: Emotions

This month's topic is about an emotion introduced an episode of NPR's Invisibilia podcast at: https://www.npr.org/2017/06/01/530936928/emotions-part-two

(there's a link to the transcript on the left side of the page).

This discussion is just about the first story in the podcast, which introduces an emotion called liget that you and I are not familiar with. A recent Forbes article https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2017/09/09/here-are-the-27-different-human-emotions-according-to-a-study includes a link to the original study that concludes there are 27 emotions. Psychologist Robert Plutchik came up with 32 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Plutchik and arranged them on a wheel. Have you ever suspected that perhaps the official human emotional landscape is incomplete? Do emotions need a community to exist? Do they matter without a community? Bring your thoughts!

Join us at the Wood ‘n’ Tap at 2100 Dixwell Avenue in Hamden. Please RSVP via meetup or programs@cthumanist.org.

Board Meeting

All members are welcome to attend.

Monthly Meeting: Climate Change - How We Are All Part of the Solution

Our guest speaker for the evening is Steve Lewis from the Connecticut chapter of the Sierra Club. Steve will update us on: the urgency of the Climate Crisis, actions taken in 2019 by the CT General Assembly to address it, Sierra Club campaigns in progress, and what we can do to help change the trajectory of this problem.

Steve holds a BA in Political Science from Trinity College Hartford and an MBA in Healthcare and Technology Management from UConn. He was the Committee Administrator of the Public Health Committee in the CT General Assembly for 13 years and is Vice-president of Strategic Initiatives at UnitedHealthcare.

Steve is an avid environmentalist with two electric vehicles and solar on his house. In his spare time Steve is a Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Scoutmaster and is District Chairman of the CT Rivers Council for the Hockanum River District. Steve is also a CT Audubon Master Naturalist and a Leave No Trace - Outdoor Ethics Master Educator.

Steve was awarded a Hornaday Gold Badge for Conservation for his efforts teaching Monarch Butterfly Conservation by the BSA. The Hornaday Gold Medal for adults serving at least 20 years in conservation has only been awarded about 40 times since its establishment in 1975.

We will start with 30 minutes of coffee and conversation at 7 PM, followed by Steve's talk at 7:30 PM.

Book Discussion Group: “Before You Know It”

(Postponed from July 20.)

Our book for August is "Before You Know It: The Unconscious Reasons We Do What We Do" by Yale professor of psychology John Bargh.

Copies are available in public libraries in Connecticut, and at local and online booksellers.

Humanist Explorations: Broadway Musicals, a Jewish Legacy

(Postponed from July 6:) To celebrate the holiday, one of the most uplifting aspects of uniquely American culture is the subject of our upcoming meeting - "Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy." From Irving Berlin to Stephen Sondheim, and from Fanny Brice to Barbra Streisand, this documentary explores the phenomenon of how Jewish-American songwriters created a uniquely American art form. Narrated by Joel Grey, the film explores the unique role of Jewish composers and lyricists in the creation of the modern American musical. Featuring interviews and conversations with some of the greatest composers and writers of the Broadway stage, "Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy" showcases the work of some of the nation’s pre-eminent creators of musical theatre including Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, George and Ira Gershwin, Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Kurt Weill, Sheldon Harnick, Jerry Bock, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, Jule Styne and many others.

Dinner & Discussion: The Evolution of Religion

Our discussion will be on two interviews with Dr. Azim Shariff, who studies the evolution of religion. The first is a Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orF-R8eDhBU and the second is a Hidden Brain episode: https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=629616978

Join us at the Wood ‘n’ Tap at 2100 Dixwell Avenue in Hamden. Please RSVP via meetup or programs@cthumanist.org.

Board Meeting

This was held online due to the heat warning for this weekend

Book Discussion Group: “Before You Know It”

Our discussion of "Before You Know It: The Unconscious Reasons We Do What We Do" by Yale professor of psychology John Bargh was postponed to August as there was a heat warning for the day of the discussion.

Copies are available in public libraries in Connecticut, and at local and online booksellers.

Monthly Meeting: Why You Should Boycott ALEC and its Funders

Rescheduled from our winter solstice party in December, this talk will cover the American Legislative Exchange Council, a powerful anti-progressive group that supplies conservative legislators with "model legislation." Supported by an ever-dwindling group of America's largest businesses, we will highlight some of the remaining funders and make a case that you should stop doing business with them.

Humanist Explorations: Broadway Musicals, a Jewish Legacy

Our discussion of this award-winning documentary was postponed to August 3 due to renovation work at USNH that could have resulted in the building being closed on July 6.

Dinner & Discussion: Zoned Out

Towns around the country are using zoning regulations to keep poor people from moving in. This is especially prevalent in Connecticut. https://www.propublica.org/article/how-some-of-americas-richest-towns-fight-affordable-housing Have you seen it in your town? Do you think this is a good idea? Should we be fighting it? Any idea how we could?

Join us at the Wood ‘n’ Tap at 2100 Dixwell Avenue in Hamden. Please RSVP via meetup or programs@cthumanist.org.

Board Meeting

All members are welcome to attend.

Annual Picnic at Gayle & Gordon's

Gayle Walter and Gordon Daniell have once again kindly volunteered to hold our annual picnic at their home in New Haven. Gayle & Gordon will provide hot dogs and veggie burgers. Please bring a dish or dessert to share.

In the event of rain, the picnic will be moved inside

Gayle asked us not to list her address on Meetup. However, it will be in the June HAC newsletter, which will be on the HAC web site. (It's the same address as last year, so the directions in last year's June HAC newsletter are still valid.)

Book Discussion Group: “Origin”

(Please note time change to 2:30 pm for Book Discussions. We will meet at the new time through the October discussion.)

Our book for June is "Origin" the latest in the author Dan Brown's Robert Langdon series (e.g. "The Da Vinci Code").

Copies are available in public libraries in Connecticut, and at local and online booksellers.

Humanist Explorations: Forgotten Ellis Island

This month we will watch and discuss a PBS documentary on the Ellis Island Hospital: "Opened in 1902, this was the first public health hospital in The United States, and functioned until 1930. As part of the immigration complex in New York Harbor, the challenges of dealing with contagious diseases in the days before antibiotics and modern medicines were available, were massive. In light of the present anti-vaccine crisis, while hard to grasp in the day of advanced medical science, this documentary provides an insight into our current challenges."

Dinner & Discussion: Man Up

It's commonplace to talk about how gender stereotypes restrict women, but how often do we talk about how gender stereotypes restrict men? NPR's "Hidden Brain" podcast casts some unsettling light on this issue: https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=653339162. Here's a gem from a very talented knitter: https://the-panopticon.blogspot.com/2009/03/strangers-on-train.html. Can you think of any experiences you've had or witnessed?

Board Meeting

30th Anniversary Meeting

Join us as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of HAC's founding in 1989.

We will start with half an hour of coffee and conversation at 2:00 PM followed by the main presentation at 2:30 PM. Please feel free to bring a dessert or snack to share.

Book Discussion Group: “How Democracies Die”

(Please note time change to 2:30 pm for Book Discussions. We will meet at the new time through the October discussion.)

Our book for May is “How Democracies Die” by Steven Levitsky & Daniel Ziblatt.

Copies are available in public libraries in Connecticut, and at local and online booksellers.

Connecticut Food Bank Walk Against Hunger

The Walk Against Hunger is HAC's biggest charitable event of the year. We have participated since 2009. Last year HAC was the fifth largest fund raiser at the walk.

This year the walk has a new time and new location, Savin Rock Park in West Haven. Registration starts at 8:30 AM and the walk itself at 10 AM.

You can make a donation or register as a walker (or virtual walker) at https://cthumanist.org/walk

Humanist Explorations: Welcome to Leith

This month we will watch and discuss an American documentary film characterizes activities of white nationalist and supremacist groups in a small North Dakota town.

In 2012, white supremacist Craig Cobb attempted to turn Leith into a community for white nationalists and neo Nazis. The story is chilling and a cautionary tale for our increasingly troubled times.

Dining Out for Life at Caffe Bravo

The Humanist Association of Connecticut will again be hosting a table (or two!) at Caffe Bravo, 794 Orange Street, New Haven, to benefit AIDS Project New Haven during their annual Dining Out For Life event. 25% of all food purchases will be donated to APNH by the restaurant. We will each get separate checks. We had a great time last year! Please RSVP so we have a count for the restaurant. https://www.caffebravo.com/ (If you can't join us here for dinner, there is a list of all the restaurants participating on April 25th for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner. Check them out at https://www.diningoutforlife.com/city/ct/)

Dinner & Discussion: Domestic Terrorism

What is terrorism? Chapter 18 section 2331 (https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2331) has the definitions as used in Chapter 113B of Title 18 of the U.S. Code (https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/part-I/chapter-113B). The Intercept charges that the United States charges similar crimes differently based on the target of the criminal. (https://theintercept.com/2019/03/23/domestic-terrorism-fbi-prosecutions/) and (https://theintercept.com/2019/03/23/domestic-terrorism-material-support-law/) Do you think the difference in how we prosecute these crimes has a material affect on the number of the types of crimes committed? (https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2017/aug/16/look-data-domestic-terrorism-and-whos-behind-it/)

Join us at the Wood ‘n’ Tap at 2100 Dixwell Avenue in Hamden. Please RSVP via meetup or programs@cthumanist.org.

Board Meeting

Book Discussion Group: “Barabbas”

Our book for April is the novel “Barabbas” by Pär Lagerkvist.

Copies are available in public libraries in Connecticut, and at local and online booksellers.

Monthly Meeting: Building Community within a Secular Life

Our April monthly meeting features Anita Peters with a presentation previously scheduled for January.

Humanist Celebrant Anita Peters invites us to consider what we do and do not celebrate and why. In a lively interactive presentation involving live audience polls, she will engage us in a discussion of our participation in various celebrations, religious holidays as secular events and universal life cycle events. Which occasions do secular humanists choose to celebrate throughout the year? In fact, she argues, we need our own humanist calendar of celebratory events. “When we celebrate together our values and philosophy of life, we create a community and affirm our community at the same time,” says Anita, “an important development in building an understanding of secular humanism and what it means to be good without God.” This year she is talking to as many humanists as she can in Connecticut and around the country. We are stop two on her journey to create a secular humanist calendar that encompasses humanism, voices our aspirations, recounts our history and expresses our values. She has submitted an application to be a presenter at the 2019 AHA Convention.

Anita Peters has been a Humanist Celebrant since 2014 and is a member of The Humanists and Freethinkers of Fairfield County (HFFC). She is on their Steering Committee, ran their non-fictional book club for five years and has chaired the Programming Committee since 2014. Under her leadership, HFFC introduced highly successful community celebrations for the Winter and Summer solstices. In 2018, the Winter Solstice welcomed a record 60 guests. Celebrations for the past three years have averaged 45 guests. Anita initiated and organized participation in the international Death Café movement with two other Connecticut Humanist Celebrants in 2016. Six Death Cafés in three different cities were held for the secular humanist community in Connecticut.

We will start with half an hour of coffee and conversation at 7:00 PM followed by the main presentation at 7:30 PM.

Humanist Explorations: Dreamland

Before there was “Tom Sawyer” and “Huckleberry Finn” Mark Twain was a newspaperman. In 1867 he traveled to Europe and the Holy Land, writing of his experiences and thoughts on human nature, and the underlying foibles and hypocrisy of his fellow travelers. The book that he wrote documenting his experiences, “The Innocents Abroad” was a first, and remains one of the best selling travel books ever written. Join us to explore this wonderful story, laced with Twain’s humor and his deep insight into human nature.

Dinner & Discussion: Victimization by Both Genders?

Many powerful men have recently been taken to task for sexual victimization. In October, Scientific American reported that sexual victimization by women is more common than previously known (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sexual-victimization-by-women-is-more-common-than-previously-known/). Is it possible for society to tackle sexual victimization by both genders? Would an attempt to do so distract from recent successes? What would be gained or lost by such a change in focus? Do you think it would be a good idea? Why or why not?

Board Meeting

Monthly Meeting: The Road Less Traveled

At our March monthly meeting, Steve and Susan Boshi will present a guide to some less well-known travel destinations in Italy and France. Steve says “While European cities like Paris, London, and Rome are well known travel destinations, there are numerous more intimate locations with much to offer in terms of art, history, and natural beauty. Three of these places in Italy and one in France fit this description perfectly. Join us for an armchair travelogue to Ravenna, Bolzano, and Lago Maggiore in Northern Italy, and Nancy, in the Lorraine District of France, for a unique perspective of the continent.”

Book Discussion Group: “When God Talks Back”

Our book for March is “When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship with God” by anthropologist T.M. Luhrmann.

Copies are available in public libraries in Connecticut, and at local and online booksellers.

Humanist Explorations: Let There Be Light

In the days of high technology and the internet, it is easy to forget the concept of artistic creation by the human mind and hand. This video essay about the artist Rowan LeCompte, and his work designing many of the stained glass windows in The Washington National Cathedral, will pique your interest in the art and craft of a time long gone by.

Dinner & Discussion: Black History Month?

Now that we have two independent Darwin Day events in the state, should our local groups be putting more emphasis on Black History Month? Do you think it would help us attract a more diverse membership or encourage a chapter or two of the Black Freethinkers? Is there another commemorative month we should be giving attention to? See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_month-long_observances for a list.

Board Meeting

All members are welcome to attend.

Monthly Meeting: Darwin's Apostles

We have a very special speaker for Darwin Day. Dr. Abby Hafer will present “Darwin’s Apostles.”

When the discovery of evolution by natural selection was announced to the world, neither of the scientists who discovered it were present at the announcement! When evolution was debated and insults traded at the notorious 1860 meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, the co-discoverers of evolution weren’t there, either! Who did the hatchet work on behalf of evolution? Why, Darwin’s apostles, of course! Charles Darwin was famously a recluse in later life. He wrote earth-shattering books but preferred to have others defend them. Fortunately, scientists like Thomas Huxley, Joseph Hooker, Asa Gray, John Draper, and evolution’s co-discoverer Alfred Russel Wallace were all willing to go to bat on evolution’s behalf. They were colorful, distinguished, and tenacious. Come find out more about them!

Dr. Abby Hafer is the author of “The Not-So-Intelligent Designer: Why Evolution Explains the Human Body and Intelligent Design Does Not.” She has a doctorate in zoology from Oxford University and teaches human anatomy and physiology at Curry College.

We will start with half an hour of coffee and conversation at 3:30 PM followed by the main presentation at 4:00 PM.

Book Discussion Group: “The Denial of Death”

Our book for February is the Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Denial of Death” by Ernest Becker.

Copies are widely available in public libraries in Connecticut, and at local and online booksellers.

Humanist Explorations: Left Behind America

This month's discussion is based on a recent edition of Frontline: In much of the country, outside of some major urban areas, local economies are in decline, populations are dwindling, and the opioid epidemic is spreading. While not a new story in post industrial America, the implications are becoming increasingly severe, with few satisfactory solutions. This is the story of Dayton, Ohio, a once thriving city, only some fifty years ago. What happened, and what does the future hold for this place and many others like it?

Dinner & Discussion: The Good Life

The March, 1994, proceedings of the fifteenth congress of the World Federation of Humanists was entitled, “Humanism and the Good Life.” “The Good Life” appears seven times in the eighth edition of Corliss Lamont’s classic text, “The Philosophy of Humanism,” Bertrand Russell is famous for his quote, “The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.” Of course, this is a classical concept. Aristotle talks about it in his Treatise on Government.

What are your thoughts on the good life?

Join us at the Wood ‘n’ Tap at 2100 Dixwell Avenue in Hamden. Please RSVP via meetup or programs@cthumanist.org.

Board Meeting

All members are welcome to attend.

***POSTPONED***

Monthly Meeting: Postponed

We were due to enjoy a presentation by Humanist Celebrant Anita Peters, but since extremely cold weather was forecast for Monday, January 21, we decided to postpone Anita's presentation and cancel the monthly meeting.

Book Discussion Group: “A More Beautiful and Terrible History”

Our book for January is “A More Beautiful and Terrible History: The Uses and Misuses of Civil Rights History” by Jeanne Theoharis.

Copies are widely available in public libraries in Connecticut, and at local and online booksellers.

Humanist Explorations: The Genius Behind the Bomb

This month's discussion is based on a documentary from 1992. Leo Szilard, the Jewish Hungarian scientist first conceived of the nuclear chain reaction in 1933 when such a concept was widely considered “moonshine” by mainstream science. While Szilard understood the initial preeminence of a nuclear weapon, he spent the rest of his life arguing against its use. This challenging story is the subject of this months meeting.