| Past Events Since 2004 |
|---|
| When | Topic | Location |
| Sun. Sept. 26, 2004 |
Brainstorming luncheon with Sarah Oelberg at which a group of members of Prairie Unitarian Universalist Society decided to form a humanist discussion group. |
Restaurant |
| Mon. Oct. 25, 2004 6:30 pm |
Organizational meeting. |
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Nov. 21, 2004
noon |
A discussion of the history of humanism in America, particularly the humanist heritage of Unitarian Universalism as reviewed in a series of 3 sermons by Scott Prinster posted, at that time, on the First Unitarian Society web site. |
Prairie Meeting House |
| Sun. Jan. 16, 2005 noon - 1:30 pm |
Lunch and discussion of Humanism and Its Aspirations, Humanist Manifesto III, available online here. |
Prairie Meeting House |
Wed. Feb. 23, 2005
7:30 - 8:30 pm |
The Conflict Between Darwinism and Religion - talk and discussion led by Galen Smith, following
Prairie's "Midweek Meal" potluck supper 6:30 - 7:30 pm. (Our February meeting, a bit belatedly, honors Darwin Day) |
Prairie Meeting House |
Sat. March 12, 2005
|
By email vote we settled on the name Humanist Union of Madison for our group. |
|
Sun. March 20, 2005
noon-1:30 pm |
Lunch and discussion of Dominionism in American Politics led by Doleta Chapru. See Theocracy Watch for information on this topic. |
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. April 3, 2005
noon-1:30 pm |
Lunch and discussion on Ethical Culture: An Overview led by Bridget and Thomas Doxtater, who were members of the Ethical Humanist Society of Greater Chicago before moving to Wisconsin. They have provided an outline of their presentation. |
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. May 8, 2005
noon-1:30 pm |
Lunch and discussion of skepticism led by Susan Hagstrom. Two magazines, Skeptic published on the west coast and Skeptical Inquirer published on the east coast, were referred to. Susan provided general
information on skepticism from the point of view of the West Coast skeptic methods, dealing with the 5 points of good skepticism brought up by Robert Todd Carroll, the author of the Skeptic's dictionary, handed out of a
list of her favorite fallacies in argumentative styles, and said a bit about the 6 or 7
national skeptics conventions she has attended.
We also voted to affiliate with the American Humanist Association. |
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. May 29, 2005
10:30 am |
HUM was invited to join the Ethical Humanist Society of Greater Chicago at their annual Memorial Day weekend at Lake Geneva. Six of us (5 adults and a 1½ year old) drove down on Sunday morning in time for their 10:30 am platform program and stayed for lunch and other activities until mid-afternoon. Read the invitation from Thomas Hoeppner. |
Conference Point Center, Williams Bay WI, on Lake Geneva |
Sun. July 17, 2005
noon |
Lunch with Rev. Sarah Oelberg (humanist UU minister who was instrumental in the founding of our group last fall) at a Madison restaurant. This followed the 10 am Sunday morning program at Prairie UU Society where she spoke on the topic "Spirituality Without God". |
Met at Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. July 31, 2005
during lunch |
We shared a picnic table [photo] on the grounds of Park Hall in Sauk City, home of the UU affiliated Free Congregation of Sauk County, during the potluck lunch following the 5-congregation annual summer gathering of area UU churches hosted by the Sauk City congregation. We had an open discussion and met some new humanists. |
Park Hall, 307 Polk St., Sauk City WI |
Sat. Sept. 17, 2005
4:30-5:30 pm |
What's up with the Unitarian Universalist Infidels? Bob Park lead this discussion which was attended by about a dozen Prairie people, including some who have not been involved in previous Humanist Union discussions. We talked about the Unitarian Universalist Infidels mission statement, their presentations at the last two UUA General Assemblies, and their effort to provide a voice for UU atheists, agnostics, skeptics, freethinkers and secular humanists who are feeling increasingly marginalized within UU congregations that have moved theologically to the right. |
Prairie UU Society annual retreat at Bethel Horizons |
Fri. Sept. 23, 2005
4 - 5 pm |
It was not a Humanist Union event, but several Humanist Union participants joined an overflow crowd of about 250 to hear a talk by Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author Edward Larson on From Scopes to Intelligent Design,
A Brief History of the Evolution/Creation Teaching Controversy. [poster]†
|
Rm 325-326 at the UW Pyle Center, 702 Langdon St. |
Sun. Oct. 9, 2005
noon-1:30 pm |
Lunch and discussion - Reviewing Our First Year. We shared highlights from the Humanist Union's first year of monthly discussions (listed above) and collected ideas for future meetings. |
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Nov. 6, 2005
noon-1:30 pm |
Lunch and discussion on Building an Ethical Society (or Whatever Happened to the Enlightenment) led by JoAnn and Thomas Hoeppner, leaders of the Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago. The free-ranging discussion was attended by 22 adults and 2 two-year olds. Several of those attending had been involved this year in monthly discussions in the Madison Ethical Discussion Group of the Eight Commitments of Ethical Culture. |
Prairie Meeting House |
Fri. Dec. 23, 2005
6-9:30 pm |
 HumanLight celebration, cosponsored with the Doubters Group of First Unitarian Soc., and including a potluck, singing, a mug exchange, and more. [Details] [Poster (PDF)] |
First Unitarian Society Lower Meeting House
900 University Bay Dr |
Sun. Jan. 29, 2006
noon - 1:30 pm |
Tom Paine's AGE OF REASON Today (on his birthday) led by Warren Hagstrom. (Age of Reason
is available online at http://www.ushistory.org/paine/reason/.) We shared a light lunch, with the presentation and discussion starting about 12:15 pm. |
Prairie Meeting House
|
Sun. Feb. 12, 2006
noon - 2 pm |
 Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design: A Historical Perspective, presented by UW Prof. Ronald Numbers, author of Darwinism Comes to America, Harvard University Press, 1998, starting with lunch at noon, presentation starting at 12:20 pm. Our Darwin Day (Darwin's birthday) program was attended by 23 of us. |
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. March 19, 2006
noon - 1:30 pm |
 Mark Twain on Religion was Marcia Johnson and Al Nettleton's topic. As usual we started with lunch at noon, with their presentation starting about 12:20 pm. They read selections from Letters From the Earth and other books. Marcia provided the dozen in attendance with printouts of Twain's quotes on religion from http://twainquotes.com/religion.html. |
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. April 16, 2006
7 - 9 pm |
 Benefit Concert & Painting Display -
Los Angeles artist and musician Joel Pelletier stopped in Madison to entertain us with his music and inform us with his mural-sized 8'x14' traveling painting titled American Fundamentalists (Christ's Entry into Washington in 2008) which can be seen at http://www.americanfundamentalists.com/. Joel says his work warns of the "dangers of loss of separation of church and state in American". Local musician Maggie "Catfish" Siegfried took the first set (guitar and vocals), Joel talked about his painting and "American Fundamentalism and the Threat to Democracy and Freedom of Faith", and Joel performed the closing set (guitar, vocals, piano). [press release] [poster] [more] |
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. April 30, 2006
noon - 1:30 pm |
 Barbara Park reported on Rabbi Michael Lerner's new book, The Left Hand of God, and on his April 22nd Keynote Address in Madison on Taking Our Country Back From the Religious Right. |
Prairie Meeting House |
May 21, 2006
noon - 1:30 pm |
 A potluck picnic at noon was followed by Bob Park leading a discussion on the International Humanist and Ethical Union with a presentation titled IHEU, Voice for Humanist Values at the UN and Around the World for 50 Years. This followed a 10 am Sunday morning Free Forum at the Free Congregation of Sauk County on Ethical Culture, presented by Bridget and Thomas Doxtater, leaders of the Ethical Circle of Sauk County. Bob used the book International Humanist and Ethical Union 1952-2002 - Past, present and future, which had just been made available online. Excerpts from the book and the IHEU Web site are available as a 19 page Word document. [photo] |
FCSC's Park Hall
307 Polk St
Sauk City |
June 25, 2006
5 - 7 pm | Beth Wortzel and Midge Miller provided a first hand report on the Spiritual Activism Conference which took place May 17-20 at All Souls Church, Unitarian, in Washington DC. (See Rabbi Lerner's report for his long May 22 email message about the conference.) The meeting was cosponsored by the Humanist Union, the Program Committee of Prairie UU Society, and the Madison Ethical Discussion Group (MEDG). The evening started with a Prairie UU Society/HUM/MEDG potluck with Midge and Beth at 5 pm, followed about 5:45 pm by Beth's conference report, Midge's broader comments, and open discussion. An audio tape recording* of this meeting is available, and it is also available here as a 66 MB MP3 file. |
Prairie Meeting House |
Fri. July 21, 2006
7 pm | A group of us went to see Al Gore's movie, An Inconvenient Truth. |
Westgate Cinemas, Westgate Mall on Whitney Way |
Sun. July 23, 2006
noon - 1:30 pm | Doleta Chapru led a discussion on Kevin Phillips' book American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century. (See http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0603/S00296.htm for Penguin Books press release on the book.) |
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Aug 27, 2006
noon - 1:30 pm | Following a potluck lunch Warren Hagstrom led a discussion on Public Attitudes Toward Atheists and Effective Responses, using research done at the University of Minnesota as published in the April 2006 issue of American Sociologial Review in an article entitled Atheists As "Other":
Moral Boundaries and Cultural Membership in American Society. |
Prairie Meeting House |
Sat. Sept 16, 2006
4:30 - 6 pm |  We viewed and discussed the 1 hour DVD The God Who Wasn't There at Prairie UU Society's annual retreat. See http://thegodmovie.com for more on the movie. |
Prairie UU Society annual retreat at Bethel Horizons |
Sun. Oct. 22, 2006
5 - 7 pm |  Prof. Denis Collins spoke to an evening potluck supper gathering on his new book, "Behaving Badly: Ethical Lessons from Enron." Prof. Collins is an award-winning author and teacher. He is Professor of
Business at Edgewood College in Madison, where he is responsible for Social Responsibility and Business Ethics--components in the school's Business Programs. The meeting was jointly sponsored by the Humanist Union and the Madison Ethical Discussion Group. |
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Nov. 19, 2006
noon-1:30 pm |  The Thought and Writing of Sam Harris, presented by Barbara Park and Randy Converse. Barbara talked about The End of Faith. We started off by listening to Holly Near's song I Ain't Afraid (which she sang at her Oct. 29 concert in Madison). Randy talked about Harris' contribution to Mindful Politics: A Buddhist Guide to Making the World a Better Place. Reference was also made to Harris' new book, Letter to A Christian Nation. Twenty people attended, and we had a lively discussion. An audio tape recording* of this meeting is available, and side 1 and side 2 of the tape are available here as MP3 files. [By and about Sam Harris - read or listen] |
Prairie Meeting House |
Dec. 4, 2006
7 - 8 pm | Discussion of Values and the Golden Rule on WORT's community radio Access Hour by a panel including Bob Park of the Humanist Union, Rev. Charles Wolfe of Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ,
Amir & Imam Salih Erschen of the Madison Muslim Dawa Circle, and (via phone hookup) Rabbi Shais Taub of Lubavitch of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and Rev. Prakash Shakti of the Integral Yoga Institute, Buckingham VA. An audio tape recording* of this program is available, or you can listen to it online here (52 MB MP3).†
|
WORT, 89.9 FM
Madison |
Sun. Dec. 17, 2006
12:30 - 2:30 pm | HumanLight celebration. We had a potluck luncheon, group singing of humanist-friendly songs, a poem reading and conversation for humanists in the greater Madison area and their families and friends. 21 attended. Here is the song book we used (PDF).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Jan. 28, 2007
noon-1:30 pm
| The Faith Healers, presented by Susan Hagstrom. As usual, we started with a potluck lunch at noon. Then starting about 12:20 pm, Susan described a number of the techniques used by faith healers, and how James Randi and his colleagues uncovered their frauds. [resources]
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sat. Feb 10, 2007
9 am - noon |
UW-Madison's Second Annual Darwin Day - talks by Janette Boughman (Zoology), Elliott Sober
(Philosophy), Bret Payseur (Genetics), and Michael Muehlenbein (Anthropology, UW Milwaukee). [details] [poster]†
|
UW Humanities Building, room 3650 |
Sun. Feb. 18, 2007
noon-1:30 pm
| We discussed Darwin and evolution with UU minister Ralph Tyksinski and wildlife biologist Kathy Converse. This followed the 10 am Sunday morning program at the Prairie Meeting House at which Rev. Ralph's topic was Honoring Darwin. Besides followup discussion on the morning presentation we heard a preview of the 3 Sunday programs on evolution Kathy is planning for Sunday mornings at Prairie in March to May.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Wed., March 14, 2007
7 - 8:15 pm
|  The Making of the Fittest : What the DNA Record Reveals About Evolution
by Genetics Professor Sean Carroll. Very recently, an important new aspect of DNA has been revealed: it contains a detailed record of evolution. That is, DNA is a chronicle of how the creatures that inhabit our planet have adapted to its many environments. Four of us from HUM attended this fascinating illustrated presentation and heard Prof. Carroll discuss this new DNA record and how it enables us to see how the fittest are made.† |
Rm 1360 Biotechnology Center,
425 Henry Mall,
UW-Madison |
Thurs., March 15, 2007
7 pm
|  The Humanist Union sponsored a viewing and discussion of the film Jesus Camp, using Prairie's projector and movie screen in the main meeting room. The event was free and open to the public, and attracted 8 students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison as well as a dozen previous HUM participants. We had a lively discussion following the film. (See http://www.jesuscampthemovie.com/ for information on the movie.)
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun., April 1, 2007
noon-1:30 pm
|  Galen Smith led a discussion on Naturalism, a Science-based Alternative to Faith-based Religions. See the Tenets of Naturalism, especially paragraph 2. The program is available as a 77 MB MP3 file which you can download or listen to online (high speed connection recommended).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun., May 6, 2007
noon-1:30 pm
| Randy Converse led a discussion on ideas from a monograph by his brother Steven titled Free Enough: Doing What Comes Naturally. (There is a link to the full 90 page document on the middle of the page at http://naturalism.org/.) Potluck lunch at noon, presentation about 12:20 pm.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun., June 3, 2007
noon-1:30 pm
|  Andy Somers followed up on his series of Sunday morning programs on propaganda at Prairie UU Society by leading a discussion on RELIGIOUS PROPAGANDA: How to recognize and deal with it. Potluck lunch at noon, presentation 12:20 - 1:30 pm. The program is available as a 78 MB MP3 file which you can download or listen to online (high speed connection recommended).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun., July 29, 2007
noon - 1:30 pm
| Potluck lunch and discussion of Marilyn Westfall's June 9, 2007 presentation to the American Humanist Association's annual conference titled Humanism and UUism: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, led by Barbara Park, who attended two humanist events at the UUA General Assembly in Portland in June that had to turn people away because the rooms were filled to capacity. The presentation to the AHA is available online.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun., Aug. 19, 2007
11:45 am - 2 pm
|  Potluck lunch at 11:45, 12:30 viewing and discussion of first hour of BBC TV series "A Brief History of Disbelief", written and narrated by English author, director and commentator Jonathan Miller. An extended version of an interview of Miller in the current issue of The Humanist magazine is avialable online.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun., Sept. 2, 2007
3 pm
| Informal discussion of church/state issues.
|
Home of Ruth Calden, 4606 Waukesha St, Madison |
Sun., Sept. 9, 2007
noon - 1:30 pm | Potluck lunch at noon, 12:20 pm report on the Aug. 9-12 Skeptic's Toolbox 2007 workshop in Eugene, OR on Changing Minds, led by Susan Hagstrom.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Fri., Sept. 14, 2007
9 - 10:30 pm | Viewing and discussion of second hour of BBC TV series "A Brief History of Disbelief", written and narrated by English author, director and commentator Jonathan Miller.
|
Bethel Horizons Nature Center near Dodgeville |
Fri. Oct. 12, 2007
5 - 6:50 pm |  Dinner with Matthew LaClair, 17 year old speaker at the Freedom From Religion Foundation 2007 - 30th Annual Convention and recipient of their "Thomas Jefferson Student Activist" award. Matthew made New York Times headlines by exposing classroom proselytizing in his public school. (The New York Times article is available online.) The event was organized by the Humanist Union and Atheists, Humanists and Agnostics at UW-Madison. Seven of us joined Matthew and his father Paul for a very stimulating discussion over pizza. You can listen to this remarkable young man on a Free Thought Radio archive and hear one of his recordings of his teacher in class. [Event photos]
|
Ian's Pizza
115 State St |
Sun., Oct. 14, 2007
noon - 1:30 pm
|  Potluck lunch at noon, 12:30 pm presentation by Lori Lipman Brown, Director of the Secular Coalition for America - A Place at the Table: How the Nation's First Lobbyist for Non-theists is Enjoying the Feast. A September interview of Lori is available online. 28 of us attended the program. [more] The program was broadcast on WIDE-LP, 99.1, low power FM radio in Madison, at 10 am the following day, and is available as a 57 MB MP3 file which you can download or listen to online (high speed connection recommended). [Event photos]
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Mon., Oct. 15, 2007
10 am | Humanism Today, a series of programs from either the Humanist Union of Madison or Humanist Network News. This was our first broadcast of a Humanist Union program, our program with Lori Lipman Brown which had taken place the afternoon before. The program can be heard by listening to the MP3 file linked to from the Oct. 14, 2007 program listing above.
(WIDE-LP ended two weeks of test broadcasting on Oct. 20. Broadcasting will resume when needed hardware is obtained. Programs planned for the Wider Horizons hour, which will include Humanism Today, are posted at http://madisonwi.us/WIDE-LP/MP3s/.)
|
WIDE-LP 99.1 FM |
Sun., Nov. 4, 2007
noon - 1:30 pm
|  
Potluck lunch at noon, 12:30 pm presentation by Dan Barker of the Freedom From Religion Foundation on Losing Faith in Faith. The program is available as a 53 MB MP3 file which you can download or listen to online (high speed connection recommended).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun., Nov. 18, 2007
7 pm
| Viewing and discussion of third and final hour of BBC TV series "A Brief History of Disbelief", written and narrated by English author, director and commentator Jonathan Miller.
|
Home of Kathy and Randy Converse, 630 Pickford St. |
Sun., Dec. 9, 2007
noon - 1:30 pm
| Potluck lunch at noon, 12:20 pm presentation on Humanism's Contemporary Challengers: Who controls our public image?
Doleta Chapru reviewed contemporary groups and individuals who specifically define humanists as enemies to be loathed and feared, giving us a number of direct quotations. She also provided examples of writers whose recent books are supportive of humanism. The program is available here as a 60 MB MP3 file which you can download or listen to online (high speed connection recommended).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun., Jan. 6, 2008
noon - 1:30 pm
| Potluck lunch at noon followed by presentation on Protecting Freedom of Speech in an Electronic Age. Some 24 of us heard Al Nettleton describe some of the threats and identify the major organizations working to protect the free exchange of ideas.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun., Feb. 3, 2008
noon - 1:30 pm
|  Potluck lunch at noon, 12:20 pm presentation on The Dalits' Struggle for Human Rights by John Eligandi, who worked for People's Action for Rural Awakening in Andhra Pradesh, India, from 2003 to 2005. The program is available here as a 57 MB MP3 file which you can download or listen to online (high speed connection recommended). [background article]
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sat., Feb. 9, 2008
9 am - 4 pm
|  Several Humanist Union participants attended Darwin Day 2008 at the UW-Madison, with Neil Shubin and others. Two of the talks are available to listen to online: Neil Shubin: Discovering how Fish Evolved to Walk: The Story of Tiktaalik (54 MB MP3) and Don Waller: Reshaping the Tree of Life: Human impacts on the future of evolution (53 MB MP3).†
|
UW campus |
Sun., March 2, 2008
noon - 1:30 pm
| Potluck lunch at noon, discussion starting 12:30 pm led by Prof. Tom Givnish - More about evolution of life on islands, an informal discussion with Tom Givnish. The program is available here as a 54 MB MP3 file which you can download or listen to online (high speed connection recommended).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun., April 6, 2008
noon - 1:30 pm
| Potluck lunch at noon, 12:30 pm discussion on Richard Dawkins, the Man and his Message, following his March 11 talk on campus, led by Alfred Christiansen and Christina Klock. [Read about Dawkins]
|
Prairie Meeting House |
| April 17 - 18, 2008 | 7th Annual International Bioethics Forum: Evolution in the 21st Century, cost $75.†
|
BioPharmaceutical Technology Center |
Fri., April 18, 2008
6 pm
|  Eugenie Scott joined an informal panel of Humanist Union folks for a Q&A session which was recorded for broadcast on WIDE-LP. Dr. Scott was in Madison for the 7th Annual International Bioethics Forum. She is the Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education (NCSE). After a potluck supper we spent a fascinating hour and a half plus hearing about her role in organizing fellow faculty members at the University of Kentucky to testify (successfully) against a proposal before the Lexington school board to start teaching creationism in the public schools in 1980, about the subsequent formation of the NCSE and its role in the landmark Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District case in Pennsylvania in 2005, about the Peabody Award winning PBS NOVA documentary on that case, about the movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed and the deceptive description of the project given by the movie makers when they asked her, Richard Dawkins and others to be interviewed for it, about Science Debate 2008, and about Project Steve. Hear a brief audio clip of Dr. Scott on the NOVA web site. The first 1-1/2 hr. of the Q&A session is available here as an 83 MB MP3 file which you can download or listen to online (high speed connection recommended).
|
Barb & Bob Park's house |
Sun., May 11, 2008
noon - 1:30 pm
| Potluck lunch at noon, 12:30 pm Evolution in the 21st Century: Forum Report by Kathy Converse and Christina Klock, reporting on the 7th Annual International Bioethics Forum which they attended April 17-18. The program is available here as a 58 MB MP3 file which you can download or listen to online (high speed connection recommended).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun., June 1, 2008
noon - 1:30 pm
|  We had a potluck lunch at noon and a 12:30 pm presentation by Skip Evans on Americans United for Separation of Church and State, followed by discussion. Skip is the former president of the Atlanta Chapter of Americans United and interim president of the reactivated Wisconsin chapter. Humanist Union participants were joined by members of the AU-Wis. Chapter, bringing attendance to about 30.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun., July 13, 2008
10 am
| Religious Convictions: Reflections on Faith Healing, Children, and the Law was the Sunday morning program topic at Prairie Unitarian Universalist Society, presented by Shawn F. Peters. His talk is available here as a 24 MB MP3 file which you can download or listen to online.†
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun., July 13, 2008
noon - 1:30 pm
|  Potluck lunch at noon, 12:30 pm discussion led by Shawn F. Peters of UW-Madison on Faith Healing, Children, and the Law. The program is available here as a 57 MB MP3 file which you can download or listen to online (high speed connection recommended). [See his recent book] [Religion News Service interview]
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun., Aug. 3, 2008
noon - 1:30 pm
| Potluck lunch at noon, 12:30 pm discussion led by humanist UU minister Sarah Oelberg, who reported on the decline of the HUUmanists within the UUA, the New Humanism Conference hosted by the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard in April 2007, and the World Humanist Congress 2008 in Washington DC in June sponsored by the IHEU. The program is available here as a 51 MB MP3 file which you can download or listen to online (high speed connection recommended).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Sept. 14, 2008
noon - 1:30 pm
| Potluck lunch at noon, 12:30 pm panel on What it means to be a humanist. Bob Park, Doleta Chapru and Galen Smith gave their personal perspectives, followed by open discussion. 16 of us attended. The program is available here as a 59 MB MP3 file which you can download or listen to online (high speed connection recommended).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Oct. 5, 2008
noon - 1:30 pm
| Potluck lunch at noon. After 12:30 pm we heard from Ron Solomon, a vice president of the International Humanist and Ethical Union, about Humanist Thought and Action in the U.S. and abroad. We talked about what we might address in a study group on ethical humanism and ethical culture. Hear the program here (57 MB MP3 file, 61 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Nov. 2, 2008
11:45 am - 1:30 pm
| Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 pm discussion on Politics and Religion: In Reason We Trust led by Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation and co-host of Freethought Radio on Air America. Hear the program here (67 MB MP3 file, 73 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sat. Dec. 13, 2008
6 to 9 pm
|  For our December meeting, the Humanist Union hosted a HumanLight celebration again this year, with candles, music and food (potluck). Also, this year, participants brought favorite quotations from the books or speeches of Barack Obama to share.
About 200 of his speeches, from 2002 to 2008, are available online at http://www.barackobama.com/speeches/index.php. Of particular interest to humanists, at http://www.barackobama.com/issues/faith/ there is a link to a June 2006 speech by Obama which the Washington Post says "may be the most important pronouncement by a Democrat on faith and politics since John F. Kennedy's Houston speech in 1960 declaring his independence from the Vatican". |
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Jan. 18, 2009
2 pm | 
Outing to Bartell's Drury Theatre to see a matinée performance of Blasphemy: An Unholy Trinity of Musicals by Catherine Capellaro. (See www.walmartopia.com/blasphemy). They were wonderful performances. |
Bartell's Drury Theatre
113 E. Mifflin Street |
Sun. Feb. 1, 2009
10 am
| In honor of the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth, a presentation by Dr. Jane Shoup on Darwin and His Dangerous Idea. (You can hear the talk here (40 MB MP3 file, 44 min. long), and a transcript is also available.)†
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Feb. 1, 2009
noon - 1:30 pm
|  Potluck lunch at noon, 12:30-1:30 pm Darwin Day Discussion led by Dr. Jane Shoup, who briefly traced the more noteworthy court cases surrounding evolution and creationism (Scopes Trial through Kitzmiller v. Dover). The 23 of us present had a lively discussion on population growth and our planet's limited resources. Hear the program here (63 MB MP3 file, 69 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sat. Feb. 7, 2009
9 am - 4:30 pm | Darwin Day 2009, celebrating the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth, featured talks by Sean Carroll, Patricia McConnell and Jeremy Jackson; a panel presentation by James Crow, Jeremy Jackson and Molly Jahn; and other events on the UW campus as listed on the schedule. Recordings of several of the talks are available online.†
|
UW Microbial Sciences Building [directions] |
Sun. Feb. 8, 2009
12:45 pm | First monthly meeting of study group on Ethical Humanism as a Religious Approach, led by Ron Solomon, had 15 participants. See the outline of proposed topics. The discussion started at 12:45, but most of us started with a potluck lunch at noon.†
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Feb. 8, 2009
3 - 5 pm
| Madison Skeptics heard about and discussed the Kitzmiller v. Dover case. (See http://skeptics.madisonwi.us/ and http://www.meetup.com/madisonskeptics/.)†
|
Claddagh Irish Pub, Middleton
|
Sun. March 1, 2009
12:45 pm | Second monthly meeting of study group on Ethical Humanism as a Religious Approach, led by Ron Solomon. See the outline of proposed topics. At our first meeting Ron handed out these 3 pages on Deed Before Creed: P1, P2, P3; and these 4 pages on Religion the Humanist Way: P4, P5, P6, P7 (small PDF files). Discussion starts at 12:45, potluck lunch at noon. (No Humanist Union meeting this month. Many of us are participating in this study group.)†
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. April 5, 2009
12:45 pm | Third monthly meeting of study group on Ethical Humanism as a Religious Approach, led by Ron Solomon. See the study materials online. The discussion started at 12:45, with a noon potluck lunch. (No Humanist Union meeting this month. Many of participated in this study group meeting.)†
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. May 3, 2009
3 pm |  Madison Skeptics and the Humanist Union had a joint meeting to hear a presentation by Prof. Ronald Numbers on Anti-Evolutionism in America: From Creation Science to Intelligent Design. About 35 attended. Hear the program here (83 MB MP3 file, 1 hr. 31 min. long). |
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. May 17, 2009
12:45 pm | Fourth monthly meeting of study group on Ethical Humanism as a Religious Approach, led by Ron Solomon. See the study materials online. Discussion at 12:45, potluck lunch at noon. (The study group will not meet in June.)†
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. May 24, 2009
depart Prairie 9 am | Humanist Union trip to Sauk City to hear Speaker Andrew Kerr of the Free Congregation of Sauk County address Exploring Secular Humanism: Is It A Religion?. Rides to and from Sauk City were provided. |
Park Hall, 307 Polk Street, Sauk City |
Sun. May 31, 2009
fair weather start time: noon |  "Nonbelievers of Greater Madison Spring Family Picnic" sponsored by the Humanist Union, the Madison Brights and Madison Skeptics at Marlborough Park. See http://nonbelievers.madisonwi.us/ for event photos.
|
Marlborough Park
|
Fri. June 19, 2009
5:30 - 7:30 pm |  Potluck supper at 5:30, speaker and discussion 6:15 - 7:30 pm on The Atheist Alliance International (AAI). Our speaker was August Berkshire, VP of AAI, making his final stop on the multi-state tour outlined here. This was a joint meeting with the Madison Brights. Listen to the program here (63 MB MP3 file, 69 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. July 5, 2009
11:45 am - 1:30 pm |  Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 pm discussion led by humanist UU minister Jane Esbensen, who is also a graduate of the Humanist Leadership Studies Program of The Humanist Institute in New York. Listen to the program here (54 MB MP3 file, 59 min. long). |
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Aug. 2, 2009
11:30 am - 1:30 pm | Our program, on Growth strategies for free thinking groups: what works and doesn't work?, started a little after 12:30 pm. A panel of representatives from the local Madison Brights, Madison Skeptics and Firist Unitarian Society Doubters Group and the national American Ethical Union and International Humanist and Ethical Union shared their experiences to start things off. An open discussion followed which ran beyond 1:30 pm. (Our potluck lunch from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm was incorporated into a larger all-Prairie UU Society potluck.) Listen to the program here (70 MB MP3 file, 77 min. long). |
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Sept. 6, 2009
noon - 4 pm |  Potluck late summer family picnic in Marlborough Park. The Humanist Union, the Madison Skeptics, and the Madison Brights cosponsored a picnic for all greater Madison area free thinkers, humanists, skeptics, nonbelievers, agnostics, atheists, and their friends and families. Some newcomers came after seeing a short article in the Sunday Wisconsin State Journal with the headline "No God? No problem!" The article concluded "If an all-knowing, all-seeing, nonexistent deity rends the skies in anger and causes Biblical - in the historical and cultural sense only - amounts of rain to fall, the picnic will take place at the Prairie Meeting House, 2120 Whenona Drive." The weather was lovely. |
Marlborough Park |
Sat. Sept. 12, 2009
6 pm | 
The Humanist Union, Madison Skeptics, and Madison Brights met to socialize over wine, cheese, cookies and other snacks with Sean Faircloth, the new
Executive Director of the
Secular Coalition for America. The evening's schedule was:
| 6:00 pm | Reception |
| 6:30 pm | Presentation |
| 7:15 pm | Questions and Answers |
| 7:45 pm | More socializing |
Sean's presentation was on One Nation Under the Constitution. Listen to the program here (69 MB MP3 file, 76 min. long) and see photos here. For more about Sean see http://www.secular.org/bios/Sean_Faircloth.html.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Sept. 20, 2009
2 - 3:30 pm |
The Madison Skeptics hosted Dr. James Conway, Assoc. Prof. - Pediatric Infectious Disease, School of Medicine and Public Health at the UW-Madison. Dr. Conway talked about vaccination issues. Listen to the program here (96 MB MP3 file, 1 hr 45 min. long). Following the meeting, the Skeptics adjourned to the Hubbard Avenue Diner (just across the parking lot) for continued conversation and refreshment.
|
Middleton Public Library
7425 Hubbard Ave |
Sun. Oct. 4, 2009
11:45 am - 1:30 pm |
Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 pm presentation by Ron Solomon on the American Ethical Union's decision to join the Secular Coalition for American and how he came to be named treasurer of the latter organization.
|
Prairie Meeting House
|
Sat. Oct. 24, 2009
1 pm | 
Discussion led by Ron Solomon on the Secular Coalition for American and issues they are engaged with this year in their lobbying in Washington DC, at the Prairie UU Society fall retreat. Listen to the program here (45 MB MP3 file, 49 min. long).
|
Pine Lake United Methodist Camp, Westfield WI |
Sun. Nov. 1, 2009
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | 
Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, discussion 12:30 - 1:30 pm on issues raised by the insertion of religion into the health care debate in Washington, led by Julie Merrill-Quinn.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Wed. Nov. 4, 2009
7 pm | 
The Making of the Fittest: Natural Selection and the DNA Record of Evolution by Sean Carroll. This is lecture 3 in the 150th anniversary "On the Origin of Species" lecture series organized by the Darwin 150 Project. A number of Humanist Union participants attended. [flyer]
|
UW Microbial Sciences Bldg 1220 |
Sun. Dec. 6, 2009
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | 
Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 pm presentation and discussion on How We Decide: from Logic to Faith led by Richard Russell. Richard provided copies of the following four handouts: blue, orange, pink, and green. Listen to the program here (63 MB MP3 file, 69 min. long), and read Richard's related Capital Times opinion piece here.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Dec. 6, 2009
1:30 - 2 pm | Humanist Union of Madison open house for Interfaith Awareness Week. Anyone planning to come just for the open house was encouraged to call the Meeting House between 11:30 and 12:30 Sunday at 271-8218.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Dec. 13, 2009
2 pm | The Why Files: Science Magazine meets Mad Magazine. Madison writer David Tenenbaum spoke to the Madison Skeptics about his involvement with the WhyFiles and science writing. Listen to the program here (71 min.).†
|
Middleton Public Library, 7425 Hubbard Ave |
Wed. Dec. 23, 2009
5:30 - 9 pm | 
Annual HumanLight celebration. See local event website for details. [flyer]
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Jan. 3, 2010
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | 
Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 pm group discussion on Humanist review of 2009 news stories/program ideas for 2010. Listen to the program here (60 MB MP3 file, 66 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Mon. Jan. 25, 2010
5 pm | 
Charles Darwin Versus Himself: The Secret Life of a Reluctant Revolutionary by David Quammen. [flyer] (See "Darwin's First Clues" by Quammen in the Feb. 2009 National Geographic.)†
|
UW Microbial Sci., Ebling Symposium Center |
Tue. Feb. 2, 2010
7:30 pm |  Ayaan Hirsi Ali: An Evening Lecture by the outspoken author of "Infidel". Due to security screening of those entering the theater, the lecture did not actually start until 8:30 pm. The line of those with tickets waiting to enter stretched the length of the Memorial Union and down the stairs adjacent to the parking lot. [photos]
[Event page on Facebook] Listen here to the lecture (49 MB MP3 file, 53 min. long) and most of the Q&A period (33 MB MP3 file, 36½ min. long) (back of the balcony recordings).†
|
Wis. Union Theater |
Sun. Feb. 7, 2010
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | 
Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 pm illustrated presentation for Darwin Day on Ardipithecus and human origins by Prof. John Hawks. (Click here for a National Geographic article on this 4.4 million year old human ancestor. For much more, see the series of articles available from Science magazine.) Listen to the program here (61 MB MP3 file, 67 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Mon. March 1, 2010
7:30 pm | 
Why People Believe Weird Things by Michael Shermer - part of the UW Distinguished Lecture Series. [more] You can watch the lecture here.†
|
UW Memorial Union Theater |
Sun. March 7, 2010
11:45 am - 1:30 pm |
Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 pm presentation on Gay-Affirming Religious Groups: Good News for Human Rights by Doleta Chapru. Listen to the program here (44 MB MP3 file, 48 ½ min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. April 18, 2010
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | 
Potluck lunch 11:45 am, discussion on The Human Heart of Humanism 12:30-1:30 pm led by Jane Esbensen, who shared the way she thinks about humanism and how it plays into her UU ministry. We also talked about how Sweden's experience in eliminating poverty might provide lessons that would be useful here. Listen to the program here (119 MB MP3 file, 87 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House downstairs |
Sun. May 2, 2010
noon - 1:30 pm | 
Potluck lunch at noon, presentation at 12:30 pm on Secular Humanism: Is It a Religion? by Andrew Kerr, Speaker of the Free Congregation of Sauk County, followed by discussion until 1:30 pm. Listen to the program here (84 MB MP3 file, 61 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. June 6, 2010
11:30 am - 1:30 pm | 
An all-Prairie potluck lunch at 11:30 am was followed about 12:40 pm by a photography slide show on The Capitol and the Moon, a Modern Stonehenge by John Rummel. We were impressed with the planning and photographic efforts over a period of more than 5 years that led to the photo of the moon and the capitol building, taken from 4 miles away across the lake, that is featured on the cover of the state's current Blue Book.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. June 20, 2010
noon - 3 pm |
Atheists and Agnostics of Wisconsin Summer Solstice Picnic potluck to which all Madison area freethinkers were invited. [more]† |
Henry Vilas Park, 702 S Randall Ave |
Mon. June 21, 2010
6 pm | 
Potluck supper and video for World Humanist Day. This was an informal gathering for our first celebration of this annual event. After supper we watched a film considered controversial by some on the religious right, Heart of the Beholder.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. July 11, 2010
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | 
Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 pm discussion of Good without God: Greg Epstein and the new humanism. Greg Epstein is the Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University. Our discussion was led by Barbara Park, Doleta Chapru, and Bob Park, based on Epstein's 6/24/10 talk at the UUA General Assembly in Minneapolis and on his book Good without God. Listen to the program here (94 MB MP3 file, 68½ min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Aug. 1, 2010
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | 
Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 - 1:30 pm presentation: Documenting The Amaz!ng Meeting 2010: A photographic report by Ingrid Laas, who took photos at "The Amazing Meeting 8", held in Las Vegas July 8-11, 2010, with James Randi, Richard Dawkins, Paul Kurtz, Michael Shermer, D.J. Grothe, Sean Faircloth, and many others. These meetings are "a celebration of critical thinking and skepticism" sponsored by the James Randi Educational Foundation, with thinking people gathering annually "to share learning, laughs and life with fellow skeptics and distinguished guest speakers."
Listen to the program here (89 MB MP3 file, 65 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sat. Sept. 18, 2010
1 - 2 pm |
"An Ancestor's Tale" presented by Al Nettleton at Prairie UU Society's annual fall retreat near Westfield WI. Al talked about some of the religious perspectives he gained from his atheist-Unitarian grandfather, passed around an old Bible with his grandfather's critical comments written in the margins, and talked a bit about his other grandparents. Then everyone else had a chance to talk about the religion(s) of their grandparents.
|
Pine Lake Camp |
Sun. Oct. 3, 2010
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | 
Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 - 1:30 pm presentation on Justice and the Common Good by Richard Russell. We discussed issues raised by Michael Sandel in Chapter 10 of his 2009 book Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?, including attitudes toward separation of church and state by presidents Kennedy and Obama. About 20 of us attended. Listen to the program here (76 MB MP3 file, 55 min. long) and view the test results here.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Thur. Oct. 14, 2010
7 pm |  
"Is God the Problem? - Christianity vs Atheism", a debate between Dan Barker and Dinesh D'Souza. See the Facebook page and poster for the event.†
|
Wis. Union Theatre |
Sun. Nov. 7, 2010
11:45 am - 1:30 pm |
Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 - 1:30 pm presentation on "Humanism and the Federal Government: Pro's and Cons" by Susan Hagstrom. Listen to the program here (98 MB MP3 file, 71 min. long). |
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Dec. 5, 2010
11:45 am - 1:30 pm |
Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 pm presentation on "Religious aspects of population growth" by Galen Smith. Listen to the program here (68 MB MP3 file, 50 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sept. 9 to Dec. 9,
2010, Thur. noon | 
Evolution Seminar Series at the UW for the fall semester. These scholarly lectures, presented by the JF Crow Institute for the Study of Evolution, are open to the public.†
|
1360 Genetics/Biotech
UW-Madison |
Thur. Dec. 23, 2010
5:30 to 10 pm |
Our annual HumanLight celebration. Photos. [flyer]
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Jan. 2, 2011
11:45 am - 1:30 pm |
Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 pm presentation on "Bioethics beyond Terry Schiavo" by Mary Frantz. Listen to the program here (91 MB MP3 file, 66 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Feb. 6, 2011
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | 
Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 pm discussion of the recent Christopher Hitchens v Tony Blair debate in Toronto on "Be it resolved, religion is a force for good in the world". Discussion leaders were Ken Haydock, Doleta Chapru and Frank Power. A transcript of all but the concluding remarks in the debate is available online and videos of the debate can be seen on YouTube. Also available is this BBC online news story. Listen to the HUM discussion here (78 MB MP3 file, 56½ min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Thur. Feb. 10, 2011
7 pm |  The movie Creation, about the life of Charles Darwin, was shown and followed by a discussion of the film with UW History of Science professors Ron Numbers and Lynn Nyhart, and the University of Minnesota's Alan Love.†
|
UW Memorial Union
Play Circle |
| Thur. - Sat. Feb. 10 - 12, 2011 | 
Darwin Day events on the University of Wisconsin campus. [more]†
|
Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, UW campus |
Sun. Feb. 13, 2011
2 pm | Madison Skeptics met upstairs in the loft for food and drink, rational conversation, and good fellowship. No speaker was scheduled, just informal conversation, and we had lots of it.†
|
Barriques Coffee Trader,
127 W. Washington |
Sun. Feb. 27, 2011
2 - 4 pm | Science Pub talk and discussion with Dr. Anders Carlson, professor of geology in the area of paleoclimatology. See related WSJ article.
|
Brocach Irish Pub
7 W Main St |
Fri. March 4, 2011
7:30 - 10 pm | 
We watched the Bill Maher film "Religulous" (101 min. long) in preparation for Sunday's discussion.
|
Barb & Bob's home, 5610 Hammersley Rd |
Sun. March 6, 2011
11:45 am - 1:30 pm |
Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, video and discussion 12:30-1:30 pm. We viewed the 20 minutes of monologues by Bill Maher filmed at locations around the world and included on the DVD of his movie "Religulous". Then we discussed the film and the issues it raised. Listen to the HUM discussion here (63 MB MP3 file, 46 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. March 6, 2011
8:30 pm | Science Pub special meeting to preview a DVD of the TV show based on Olivia Judson's book, Dr Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation. We'll meet in the dining area next to the bar at about 8:30 pm and then pop in the DVD about 9:00 to 9:15 when the crowd starts clearing out. [more]
|
Avenue Bar
1128 E Washington Ave.
|
Sun. March 27, 2011
2 - 4 pm | Science Pub talk and discussion with Dr. Ronald Numbers, Hilldale Professor of the History of Science and Medicine.
|
Brocach Irish Pub
7 W Main St |
Sat. April 2, 2011
2 - 5 pm |  United Coalition of Reason National Director, Fred Edwords, conducted a three-hour PR and media training seminar for members of all area groups in the "community of reason", whether the groups had committed to participate in a Madison area CoR or not. The seminar was free. It was in Rm B130 Van Vleck Hall, UW-Madison. ("Community of reason" is a generic term that includes all self-identified nontheistic organizations, whether they call themselves atheist, agnostic, bright, Ethical Culture, freethought, humanist, Pastafarian, rationalist, realist, skeptic, secularist, Unitarian Universalist, or whatever else.) [more]
|
Rm B130
Van Vleck Hall
UW-Madison |
Sun. April 3, 2011
10 - 11:15 am |
Sunday morning service speaker at Prairie Unitarian Universalist Society was Fred Edwords presenting "A Humanist Look at Myth, Symbol, and Art". [more]†
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. April 3, 2011
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 pm PowerPoint presentation on the history of the United Coalition of Reason billboard and bus ad campaigns by Fred Edwords, their National Director. Listen to the HUM program here (87 MB MP3 file, 63 min. long).
(An older version of Fred's talk and slide show is available online at http://www.blip.tv/file/3059356.) |
Prairie Meeting House |
Jan. 27 - May 5, 2011
noon Thursdays | 
Evolution Seminar Series at the UW for the spring semester. These scholarly lectures, presented by the JF Crow Institute for the Study of Evolution, are open to the public.†
|
1360 Genetics/Biotech
UW-Madison |
Sun. May 1, 2011
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | 
Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 pm report and discussion on the American Humanist Association 70th Anniversary Conference by Susan Hagstrom, Bob Park and Barb Park, who attended the conference April 7-10 in Cambridge MA. You can see the full schedule of events, with links to audio recordings, here. Read about the conference awardees here and read an article about the conference here. Finally, see the short list of speaker links. On 5/1 we talked about some of these speakers and their topics and answered questions about others. Listen to the program here (83 MB MP3 file, 60 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Fri. May 13, 2011
7 pm | 
BC the black cat hosted his first Friday the 13th party at Bob and Barb Park's house. The humans brought food to share.
|
5610 Hammersley Rd |
Sun. May 29, 2011
2 - 4 pm | Science Pub Nanotechnology Workshop by Angela Jones. Registration in advance is needed. You can register via the Science Pub website.
|
Brocach Irish Pub
7 W Main St |
Sun. June 5, 2011
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | 
Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 pm report on the April 10 keynote talk at the American Humanist Association Annual Conference by Jeff Sharlet and discussion of his book The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power and his more recent book, C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy. Presenters were Doleta Chapru and Susan Hagstrom. Twenty five of us attended. (See also the 1-1/2 min. video and synopsis and review of C Street:.) Listen to the program here (88 MB MP3 file, 64 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Fri. June 24, 2011
7 - 10:45 pm | Eight of us enjoyed film night at Rose & Galen's house. We watched Julia Sweeney's Letting Go of God and shared conversation and snacks.
|
218 Durose Terr. |
Sun. June 26, 2011
2 pm |  June Science Pub featured Dr. Judith Kimble. Dr. Kimble's lab works on molecular controls of stem cells in a small model organism called C. elegans. She talked about that research and how it fits into the broader scheme of stem cell controls and current progress in stem cell research in general. The discussion was upstairs at Brocach as usual.
|
Brocach Irish Pub on the Square |
Sun. July 10, 2011
11:45 am - 1:30 pm |
Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 pm open forum program, Compassionate engagement: personal examples of what we humanists are doing to make a better world. We took turns talking about what each of us has devoted time to, either individually or through participation in a group, to improve the lives of others at the local, state, national or international level. Listen to the program here (83 MB MP3 file, 61 min. long). |
Prairie Meeting House |
Tue. July 12, 2011
7 pm | Art Schmaltz presented a talk on "The Lunar Cycles and Human Evolution" at the UW Space Place Forum.† |
UW Space Place, 2300 South Park St. |
Sun. July 24, 2011
10 am | Multi-congregation program at the historic meeting hall of the Free Congregation of Sauk County on the theme of Humanism. A representative of each participating congregation presented a humanist reading.† |
Park Hall
307 Polk St.
Sauk City WI |
Sun. Aug. 7, 2011
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | 
Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 pm program and discussion on Robert Green Ingersoll (1833 - 1899). We shared quotes from Ingersoll's writing and quotes from others writing about him. (For a collection of Ingersoll quotes, see quotes.) Listen to the program here (72 MB MP3 file, 53 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Wed.-Sun.
Aug. 24-28, 2011 |  The Democracy Convention in Madison.
Audio recordings of some of the sessions can be listened to online at Wisconsin Democracy Report.
|
Madison Concourse Hotel, 1 W Dayton St, & MATC downtown |
Sun. Aug. 28, 2011
2 pm | August Science Pub will feature Dr. Emily Stanley. She researches aquatic biogeochemistry and how it is affected by restoration and management activities and river-wetland connections.
|
Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W Main Street, Madison |
Sun. Sept. 11, 2011
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 - 1:30 pm program: Looking Back, Looking Forward. September marks 7 years since a group of Prairie Unitarian Universalist Society members decided to form the humanist discussion group which subsequently became the American Humanist Association affiliated Humanist Union of Madison. We talked about our favorite programs over the last seven years, ideas for future programs, and how to best take advantage of the publicity generated for our group by the Madison Area Coalition of Reason coming publicity campaign. Listen to the program here (74 MB MP3 file, 54 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Fri. Sept. 23, 2011
7 - 10 pm | 
Film night at Kathy & Randy's house. We shared snacks and conversation and enjoyed watching The Spitfire Grill.
|
630 Pickford St |
Sun. Sept. 25, 2011
11 am - 2 pm |  Madison Area Coalition of Reason picnic at Brittingham Park on Monona Bay. We reserved the picnic shelter, which kept us out of the rain that sprinkled briefly. [flyer]
|
Brittingham Park, 401 South Brittingham Place |
Sun. Sept. 25, 2011
2 pm |  Madison Science Pub speaker for September is Dr. Elliott Sober from the UW-Madison Department of Philosophy. He discussed intelligent design and creationism and answered questions in a lively discussion.
|
Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W Main Street, Madison |
Sun. Oct. 2, 2011
11:45 am - 1:30 pm |  Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 - 1:30 pm a report from the Wisconsin blogosphere, from Blue Cheddar in person. See her blog stories, Facebook and Twitter posts and YouTube videos. Listen to the program here (88 MB MP3 file, 64 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Oct. 30, 2011
2 pm |  Madison Science Pub. What could be more appropriate for Science Pub than an exploration of lager yeast? Dr. Chris Todd Hittinger, Assistant Professor of Genetics at UW Madison, describes a detective story that goes from 15th century Bavaria to Andean forests of Patagonia.
|
Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W Main Street, Madison |
Sun. Nov. 6, 2011
11:45 am - 1:30 pm |  Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 - 1:30 pm a discussion of Richard Dawkins' new book, The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True, led by John Rummel. Listen to the program here (89 MB MP3 file, 63½ min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Dec. 4, 2011
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 - 1:30 pm informal planning session for this month's big event, the HumanLight party on Dec. 23.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Through Dec. 15, 2011
noon Thursdays
| 
Evolution Seminar Series at the UW for the fall semester. These scholarly lectures, presented by the JF Crow Institute for the Study of Evolution, are open to the public. (Some past talks can be listened to online at http://madisonwi.us/WIDE-LP/MP3s/index.htm#tue or http://madisonwi.us/WIDE-LP/Citywide/wh/index.htm#fri.)† |
1360 Genetics/Biotech
UW campus |
Fri. Dec. 23, 2011
5:30 - 8:30 pm |
Annual HumanLight party, now sponsored by MadCoR. We gathered in the Hearth Room of the Landmark Meeting House at 900 University Bay Drive. Music was provided by Ken Lonnquist and we had an environmental presentation by Dr. Shahla Werner of the Sierra Club. [details]
|
900 University Bay Dr |
Sun. Jan. 15, 2012
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 pm presentation on "James Dobson: why his group Focus on the Family endangers America" by Susan Hagstrom. Listen to the program here (82 MB MP3 file, 60 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Jan. 29, 2012
2 pm |  Madison Science Pub featured Mark Krasberg of UW Madison's Ice Cube project. Mark discussed the research project and showed us some amazing photographs of whales and other wildlife from Antarctica.
|
Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W Main Street, Madison |
| Thur. - Sat. Feb. 9 - 11, 2012 | 
Darwin Day 2012 - Unnatural history: What bizarre biology can tell us about evolution with speakers from the Field Museum, the Univ. of Virginia and Harvard. [schedule] [poster]†
|
WID & Union South, UW |
Sun. Feb. 26, 2012
11:45 am - 1:30 pm |  Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 pm discussion with Howard Katz, president of the Humanist Society, on Inside Humanism Today - Q&A. Howard is also on the Board of the American Humanist Association. We had a lively free ranging discussion touching on numerous topics. Listen to the program here (128 MB MP3 file, 70 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Feb. 26, 2012
2 pm |  Madison Science Pub featured David Perlman, a grad student working with Richie Davidson doing brain imaging research on meditation. He talked about the implications of neuroscience for religion, spirituality, and society, and vice versa. His background is in physics.
|
Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W Main Street, Madison |
| Thur. March 22, 2012 noon | How Eyes Evolved, Ivan Schwab, MD, UC-Davis.
[poster]† |
1111 Genetics/Biotech
UW-Madison |
| Fri. March 23, 2012 7 pm |  |
218 Durose Terr. |
Sun. March 25, 2012
2 pm | 
Madison Science Pub features Dr. Clark Johnson, Principle Investigator at the Wisconsin Astrobiology Research Consortium. He will discuss the origin of life, and the evolution of life on earth.
|
Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W Main Street, Madison |
Sun. April 1, 2012
noon - 1:30 pm |  Potluck lunch at noon, 12:30 pm report on the Secular Coalition's Lobby Day for Reason on March 23 by Ron Solomon and photos and commentary on the Reason Rally held in Washington DC on March 24th by Ingrid Laas and Ron. Listen to the program here (81 MB MP3 file, 70 ½ min. long). (One of the most popular speakers at the rally was Adam Savage of Mythbusters TV. Listen to the concluding 3½ min. of his talk here.)
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Fri. April 13
7:30 pm | | BC the black cat hosted his 2nd Friday the 13th party at Bob and Barb Park's house. Humans brought snacks to share (with each other).
|
|
5610 Hammersley Rd |
| Sat. April 21, 2012 2 pm | Tim Farley: What's the Harm?, talk to Madison Skeptics. Listen to the program here (128 MB MP3 file, 94 min. long).† |
Middleton Public Library |
Fri. - Sun.
April 27 - 29 | Freethought Festival 2012 with Sean Faircloth, PZ Myers, DJ Grothe, Kevin Padian and 17 other speakers. This is the official launch event for the Madison Area Coalition of Reason, free and open to the public. [more]
|
Rm 3650, Mosse Humanities Bldg |
Sun. April 29
2 pm | Madison Science Pub featured a panel of three UW-Madison grad students discussing the pros and cons, safety and risks of nuclear power. |
Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W Main Street, Madison |
present - May 10
noon Thursdays | 
Evolution Seminar Series at the UW for the spring semester. These scholarly lectures, presented by the JF Crow Institute for the Study of Evolution, are open to the public.†
|
1360 Genetics/Biotech
UW-Madison |
Sun. May 13
12:30 - 1:30 pm | Highlights from and discussion of the Freethought Festival 2012, led by 3 who were there: Bob Park, Ken Haydock and Leslie Starczewski. The festival was held in Madison April 27-29. Listen to the program here (71 MB MP3 file, 52 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. May 27, 2012
2 pm | Madison Science Pub featured UW-Madison geologist Dr. Shanan Peters discussing research just published in Nature magazine. Dr. Peters and co-author Dr. Robert Gaines propose a model for the formation of hard body parts during the Cambrian period over 500 million years ago that involves the mineralization of the oceans during a period of erosion. Listen to the program here (113 MB MP3 file, 1 hr. 22½ min. long).
|
Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W Main Street, Madison |
Sun. June 10
12:30 - 1:30 pm | Susan Hagstrom led a program on Numbers, superstition and philosophy. Participants were asked to bring their favorite superstition/tale on 0, 13, or infinity to discuss. Listen to the program here (54 MB MP3 file, 40 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. June 24, 2012
2 pm | Madison Science Pub features Emily Miller, a teacher in the Madison Metropolitan School District for 13 years, and a member of the district's science leadership team. She has facilitated staff development with Inquiry for the 21st Century, a partnership with area school districts and the University of Wisconsin.
Miller will discuss the collaborative effort to develop the Next Generation Science Standards, in which she participates on the writing committee. The standards aim to be rich in content and practice across disciplines and grades to provide all students an internationally benchmarked science education. Partners in this effort include the National Science Teachers Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
|
Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W Main Street, Madison |
Sun. July 1, 2012
11:30 am - 1 pm | Noon - 1:00 pm an informal Q&A session with Peter Anderson on the topic of his morning presentation to Prairie UU Society on "Jefferson Is In My Mirror". Bring your thoughts on whether the material advantages Jefferson enjoyed as a slaveholder have a connection to materialism in America today. Our potluck was earlier than usual, starting at 11:30 am. Listen to the program here (79 MB MP3 file, 57 min. long). |
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Aug. 5, 2012
noon - 1:30 pm | Potluck lunch at noon, 12:30 - 1:30 pm program on Out of the Flames by Lawrence & Nancy Goldstone, presented by Barbara Park and Rose Smith. Barbara covered the part of the book dealing with the life of Michael Servetus and Rose covered the part the dealing with the few surviving copies of his book rejecting the trinity after John Calvin had him burned at the stake. Listen to the program here (96 MB MP3 file, 70 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Sept. 2, 2012
noon - 1:30 pm | Potluck lunch at noon, 12:30 - 1:30 pm program on Today's Deportee presented by Mary Somers on her experiences as a volunteer nurse with No More Deaths in the Tucson AZ area and giving medical aid on the Mexican side of the border to people who have been recently deported. Listen to the program here (42 MB MP3 file, 71 min. long) |
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Sept. 9, 2012
2 pm | Madison Science Pub speaker was Paul Radspinner, president of FluGen. The theme of his talk, in Paul's own words: "Mixing Species and the Universal Influenza Vaccine" or "What the hell are they doing with their pigs at the Indiana State Fair????" A former Hoosier waxes eloquent on the dangers of getting too close to Wilbur, the possible solutions and the impact on Charlotte's (and everyone else's) web. Listen to the program here (130 MB MP3 file, 95 min. long).
|
Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W Main Street, Madison |
Sat. Sept. 22, 2012
11 am - 2 pm | 
Madison Area Coalition of Reason fall picnic at James Madison Park on Lake Mendota. [flyer]
|
614 East Gorham St, Madison |
Sun. Oct. 7, 2012
noon - 1:30 pm | Potluck lunch at noon, program 12:30 to 1:30 pm, "Feminists Snatch Defeat from the Jaws of Victory," on the issues raised in the current issue of the Humanist magazine by Gloria Steinem, Susan Jacoby, Sikivu Hutchinson and others, presented by Kathy Converse and Penny Eiler. You can read the Humanist articles online at http://thehumanist.org/september-october-2012/. Listen to the program here (89 MB MP3 file, 65 min. long).
|
Sun. Oct. 14, 2012
4 pm |  Madison Science Pub speaker was Harold Tobin. Does it seem like destructive tsunamis and earthquakes are somehow more common in recent years? You're not imagining things; the Earth has been especially tectonically active since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Harold Tobin, professor of Geoscience at UW-Madison, studies the fault zones deep beneath the ocean floor that cause these earthquakes, with the goal of trying to understand how they work, why some cause tsunamis and others do not, and more. He discussed his research and the challenges and rewards of research at sea.
|
Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W Main Street, Madison |
Sun. Nov. 4, 2012
noon - 1:30 pm | Potluck lunch at noon, program 12:30 to 1:30 pm on positive and negative aspects of the Latter Day Saint movement, presented by Jennifer Bunner, a former Mormon. Listen to the program here (93 MB MP3 file, 67 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Nov. 11, 2012
2 pm | 
Madison Science Pub speaker was UW Zoology grad student Joshua Pultorak, who is studying testosterone and pair-bonding effects on ultrasonic courtship vocalizations in a monogamous mouse.
|
Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W Main Street, Madison |
Sun. Dec. 2, 2012
noon - 1:30 pm | Potluck lunch at noon. Our 12:30 to 1:30 pm program titled Holiday Wish List was an open discussion of things each of us would like to change about the holiday celebrations that affect us.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
present - Dec. 13, 2012
noon Thursdays | 
Evolution Seminar Series at the UW for the fall semester. These scholarly lectures, presented by the JF Crow Institute for the Study of Evolution, are free and open to the public.†
|
1360 Genetics/Biotech
UW-Madison |
Mondays, 10 am
and 5 pm |  Humanism Today, a series of programs from the Humanist Union of Madison, the Humanist Hour of the American Humanist Assoc., or elsewhere, on west Madison's low power FM station, WIDE-LP. See the Monday program schedule. |
WIDE-LP
99.1 FM
SW Madison |
Sun. Dec. 23, 2012
5 - 8 pm |  Our annual HumanLight celebration was at Prairie this year. We started with a potluck supper followed by music and dancing. Our singing was accompanied by Ron on guitar and Mary on piano. Then Chris on sax and Ron on guitar entertained us with some duets. See the event website and our flyer.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Jan. 6, 2013
~noon - 1:30 pm | Potluck lunch at 11:45, 12:20 to 1:20 pm program led by Al Nettleton on Searching for a Humanist meme in the ether. Al reported on his recent review of the treatment of humanism on the Internet. Listen to the program here (62 MB MP3 file, 45 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Jan. 13, 2013
2 pm | At Madison Science Pub our speaker is Natalie Hagen, PT, DPT, who is a physical therapist at University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics. She has been in practice for 27 years, primarily in the acute and critical care areas. Special interests include working with patients who have sustained neurologic injury - particularly spinal cord injury and stroke, and those who have undergone solid organ transplant. She just completed a clinical doctorate where she looked at optimizing physical activity during hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) and she'll discuss physical therapy management of patients undergoing HSCT for cancer.
|
Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W Main Street, Madison |
Sun. Feb. 10, 2013
noon - 1:30 pm |  Potluck lunch at noon. The 12:30 to 1:30 pm program was an informal discussion with Shawn Francis Peters about his new book "The Catonsville Nine: A Story of Faith and Resistance in the Vietnam Era." [Video of the burning of draft files] Listen to the program here (106 MB MP3 file, 77 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House
downstairs |
Sun. Feb. 10, 2013
2 pm | 
Madison Science Pub features Dr. Riccardo Bonazza in the College of Engineering at UW-Madison discussing shockwaves.
|
Brocach Irish Pub, 7 W Main Street, Madison |
Thur - Sat.
Feb. 14 - 16, 2013 | Darwin Day 2013 - The Mating Game - Reproductive Evolution in the Natural World
Life only exists because it can reproduce - and living organisms have sure found some odd ways to do it! Coinciding with Valentine's Day, this year the Crow Institute celebrates Darwin's birthday with a guided tour of some of nature's odder sexual strategies. Join us for the wild ride of evolution!
Schedule:
Thursday February 14
8am - 4pm: Teacher Workshop, led by Kristin Jenkins and UW-Madison faculty. Faculty presentations and demonstrations of hands-on activities. The cost for substitute teachers will be covered for participants. Lunch will be provided and participants will receive materials to take back to the classroom. Registration required.
7pm: Movie Night: Evolution Shorts: Love and Sex in the Natural World. Union South Marquee.
Friday February 15
7 pm: Keynote lecture by Kim Bostwick (Cornell University). Evolution Revealed: How to Evolve a Seductive Musical Instrument from Feathers. Location: H.F. DeLuca Forum
Saturday February 16
10am - 2pm: Tree of Life exploration stations and scavenger hunt. This activity is appropriate for all ages. Kids win prizes for completing the scavenger hunt. Location: Town Center at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery
10:30 am: Lecture by Chris Smith (Willamette University): The most repulsive tree. The most remarkable fertilization system. H.F. DeLuca Forum
12:00 pm: Lecture by Matthew Dean (University of Southern California): Dolphin pelvic bones evolve in response to sexual selection. Location: H.F. DeLuca Forum
[more]
|
Town Center and H.F. DeLuca Forum at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery; movie at Union South
UW-Madison |
Sun. March 3, 2013
noon - 1:30 pm | Potluck lunch at noon, 12:30 to 1:30 pm program by Ken Haydock: The Secular Roots of Taoism - Q&A. Listen to the program here (82 MB MP3 file, 60 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Thur. March 7, 2013
7 pm | An informal evening of music with 2 members of the Freethought Band of Minnesota. Click below to listen:
|
5610 Hammersley Rd |
| Fri. - Sun. March 8-10, 2013 | Freethought Festival 2013 on the UW-Madison campus with Eugenie Scott, Greta Christina, Dale McGowan, Dan Barker and 11 other speakers. Talk titles linking to audio recordings of all 15 talks are posted on the WIDE-LP Freethinkers Hour page.†
|
Lowell Center
610 Langdon St. |
Sun. April 7, 2013
noon - 1:30 pm |  Potluck lunch at noon, 12:30 to 1:30 pm program by Susan Hagstrom on Child Evangelism in our Public Schools: a report on the investigation by author Katherine Stewart. For background, listen to Katherine Stewart's 3/10/13 Madison talk: The Fundamentalist Assault on Public Education (48 min.), watch the 37 min. YouTube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aISnyA6k5Io to which she contributed, or read her speech at FFRF's national convention in October in Portland, Ore., Christians mount public school stealth attack. Listen to the program here (91 MB MP3 file, 66 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sat. May 4, 2013
4 - 5 pm | Our May meeting was held as part of the annual spring retreat of Prairie Unitarian Universalist Society at a nature center near Dodgeville. Our topic was "Fundamentalist Mormons: When does civil liberty cross the line to criminal action?" based primarily on two books: Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer and Prophet's Prey by Sam Brower, led by Mary Frantz. Listen to the program here (79 MB MP3 file, 57 min. long).
|
Bethel Horizons main building room 15 |
Sun. June 2, 2013
noon - 1:30 pm | Potluck lunch at noon, 12:30 to 1:30 pm program on The Secular Roots of Buddhism, Q&A - led by Ken Haydock. (No recording.)
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. July 7, 2013
noon - 1:30 pm | Potluck lunch starting by noon, 12:20-1:30 open discussion on Building the Humanist Community in Madison - led by Ron Solomon & Bob Park. Listen to the program here (85 MB MP3 file, 62 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Saturday
August 3, 2013
6:30 pm | At our August meeting we viewed "Departures," a Japanese movie highly recommended by Jane Esbensen. No potluck this month, but there was snack food to share. We gathered and socialized starting at 6:30, and got the movie underway around 7:00.
Movie summary: Daigo Kobayashi is a devoted cellist in an orchestra that has just been dissolved and finds himself without a job. He decides to move back to his old hometown with his wife to look for work and start over. He answers a classified ad entitled 'Departures' thinking it is an advertisement for a travel agency. He discovers that the job is actually for a 'Nokanshi' or 'encoffineer,' a funeral professional who prepares deceased bodies for burial and entry into the next life. While his wife and others despise the job, Daigo takes a certain pride in his work and begins to perfect the art, acting as a gentle gatekeeper between life and death, between the departed and the family of the departed.
We concluded with a discussion of the life transition issues raised by the movie from the perspective of people who do not believe in an afterlife.
|
Barb & Bob's home, 5610 Hammersley Rd |
Sunday Sept. 1, 2013
noon - 1:30 pm | Potluck lunch starting by noon, program 12:30 - 1:30 pm led by Susan Hagstrom on Favoring religion in the workplace: current actions in Wisconsin and abroad. Program description:
From Wisconsin's new 'religious liberty' proposed constitutional amendment, the Federal contraceptive coverage, IRS coverage attacks, and all around the world, the religiously minded are arguing that they should have the freedom to deny workers benefits, etc. based on their religion.
For background attendees were encouraged to read:
1) http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2013/related/proposals/sjr38.pdf
2) http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/02/23/147299323/law-student-makes-case-for-contraceptive-coverage
3) https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/human-rights-victory-new-mexico-court-says-religious-liberty-doesn't-justify
4) http://www.unionleader.com/article/20130617/NEWS06/130619302
5) http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/oops-five-conservative-irs-conspiracy-theories-fall-apart
6) Charity issues: http://ffrf.org/news/news-releases/item/2500-fwvictory
https://www.au.org/church-state/julyaugust-2013-church-state/au-bulletin/around-the-world-Czech-republic-to-give
Listen to the program here (84 MB MP3 file, 61 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Saturday Sept. 28, 2013
3:30 - 5 pm | Booting Up Humanity with Professor John Hawks. The origin of our species was surprisingly complex. We have within us the genes of ancient Africans, Neandertals and a mysterious population known as the Denisovans. Only a relative handful of genetic changes mark humans today as different from these ancient people. So how did the characteristics of modern humans, including complex social systems, symbolic thought and language, evolve? New discoveries point in a surprising direction: Modern humans used a diversity of genes in a common social environment to bootstrap themselves to humanity. With the origin of modern human behavior, cultural evolution began to direct our genetic evolution, with rapid and unprecedented results.
|
Union South
1308 W Dayton St |
Sunday Sept. 29, 2013
noon - 2 pm | Brave Genius: A Scientist's Journey from the French Resistance to the Nobel Prize. Sean Carroll will chronicle the adventures of Jacques Monod, a co-founder of molecular biology, from the dark years of the German occupation of Paris to the heights of the Nobel Prize, his friendship with the great writer Albert Camus and his emergence as a public figure and leading voice of science. [more]
|
Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery
330 N Orchard St |
Sunday Oct. 6, 2013
noon - 1:30 pm | Potluck lunch starting by noon, program 12:30 - 1:30 pm led by Stephanie Isaak on "FoodShare Outreach to Older Adults," a project she coordinates at the Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin. Listen to the program here (76 MB MP3 file, 55 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sunday Nov. 3, 2013
noon - 1:30 pm | Potluck lunch starting by noon, program 12:30 - 1:30 pm - "Notes and Reflections on the Freedom From Religion Foundation 2013 Annual Convention" held Sept. 27-28 in Madison, presented by Susan Hagstrom and Henry Steinberger. Listen to the program here (58 MB MP3 file, 42 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sept. 12 - Dec. 12, 2013
noon Thursdays | Evolution Seminar Series at the UW for the fall semester. These scholarly lectures, presented by the JF Crow Institute for the Study of Evolution, are free and open to the public.
|
1360 Genetics/Biotech
UW-Madison |
Saturday Dec. 21, 2013
5 - 8 pm | HumanLight annual holiday party. We started gathering at the Prairie Meeting House at 5 pm for refreshments and conversation, with a potluck dinner from 5:30 to 6:30. Music by the Continental Drifters had been CANCELLED due to worries over an approaching snow storm.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sunday Jan. 5, 2014
11:40 am - 1:30 pm | After our usual potluck lunch, the program, presented by Ken Haydock, was from about 12:10 to 1:30 pm and was titled "Dr. Tyson Identifies Himself: A Consideration of Labels." The discussion starting point was a four-minute YouTube clip in which Neil deGrasse Tyson states his case at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzSMC5rWvos. Listen to the program here (114 MB MP3 file, 83 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sunday Feb. 2, 2014
noon - 1 pm | Potluck lunch starting by noon followed by open discussion of program ideas for 2014. Ideas so far (with links) are available here.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sunday March 2, 2014
noon - 1:30 pm | After our usual noon potluck lunch we heard 12:30 to 1:30 pm from Prairie member John Richards (back from Antarctica Feb. 15) about "The IceCube Project - Particle Astrophysics at the South Pole." The UW is playing a central role at this neutrino observatory. Listen to the program here (88 MB MP3 file, 64 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sunday April 6, 2014
noon - 1:30 pm |  Our program from 12:30 to 1:30 pm by Nick Schweitzer of the UW Law School was on Evolution in the Courts. Nick reviewed the history of challenges in state and federal courts to the teaching of evolution, and the adaptation of those challenges to a changing environment over time, from Biblical Creationism to Intelligent Design and beyond. Listen to the program here (77 MB MP3 file, 56 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
| Fri.-Sat. April 11 - 12, 2014 | Freethought Festival 3, sponsored again this year by Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics (AHA!) at the UW-Madison.
|
UW campus |
Sunday May 4, 2014
noon - 1:30 pm | After our usual potluck lunch starting by noon, our program from 12:30 to 1:30 pm was led by Susan Hagstrom on "The younger generations and their Humanist activities - what's up." She reviewed what teenagers and college students who have been working on Humanist issues in the public area within the last couple of years have been doing. Listen to the program here (94 MB MP3 file, 68½ min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House* |
present - May 8, 2014
noon Thursdays | Evolution Seminar Series at the UW for the spring semester. These scholarly lectures, presented by the JF Crow Institute for the Study of Evolution, are free and open to the public.
|
1360 Genetics/Biotech
UW-Madison |
Sunday June 1, 2014
noon - 2 pm | Potluck picnic at the Prairie UU Society Meeting House/Marlborough Park.
Because of a 50% chance of rain in Madison on the morning of the picnic, we decided to meet at the Prairie Meeting House rather than at the picnic shelter at Marlborough Park in southwest Madison. However, about an equal number of picnic goers did not hear of the change, and went to the picnic shelter. We learned of this mid-way through the picnic by cell phone, by which time the sun had come out, and a number of us joined the picnic shelter group at the conclusion of the event.
|
Prairie Meeting House
or
Marlborough Park |
Friday June 6, 2014
8 - 9 pm | At the Prairie UU Society annual retreat the Humanist Union presented a showing of the documentary The Lord Is Not On Trial Here Today about the McCollum case that went to the Supreme Court and brought separation of church and state to our public schools.
|
Bethel Horizons, near Dodgeville |
Sunday July 6, 2014
noon - 1:30 pm | We started with a potluck lunch at noon. Then from 12:30 to 1:30 pm Bob Park led an informal discussion on What can low power FM (LPFM) radio do for humanists and freethinkers? Recommended reading: The Case for Radio on the FUS website. Listen to the program here (67 MB MP3 file, 49 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sunday Aug. 3, 2014
11:45 - 12:30 pm | We had an Introduction to Sunday Assembly by Naomi Kroth, lead organizer of Sunday Assembly Madison, instead of eating first. (Presentation and discussion were not recorded.) Then we joined the Sunday Assembly Madison potluck picnic at Marlborough Park.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sunday Sept. 7, 2014
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | We heard Ingrid Laas and Amy Nowak Report on the first annual Humanism at Work Conference held in Chicago July 18-20 by the Foundation Beyond Belief. We started at 11:45 am with our usual potluck lunch, program 12:30 to 1:30 pm. Listen to the program here (65.5 MB MP3 file, 48 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sunday Sept. 28, 2014
12:30 - 2 pm | This was the kickoff event for Sunday Assembly Madison. Our speaker was local secular celebrant Scott McAndrew. See also the Facebook event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/1438728566394760/ and the program for 9/28 here. If you are not familiar with the global Sunday Assembly movement, you can read about it at http://sundayassembly.com/. You can read about the Madison chapter in the Wis. State Journal front page story here. Listen to the program here (46 min. long MP3 file).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sunday Oct. 5, 2014
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | 11:45 am potluck lunch, program 12:30 to 1:30 pm. "The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values," a book by Sam Harris, was reviewed by Susan Hagstrom, followed by discussion on the topic of the book, i.e., moral relativism - pros/cons, actuality/false, etc. Listen to the program here (80 MB MP3 file, 59 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Friday Oct. 17, 2014
6:30 pm | Sunday Assembly Madison potluck supper at the Park's home.
|
5610 Hammersley Rd |
Sunday Oct. 26, 2014
3 - 4 pm | At the Sunday Assembly Madison 2nd service the speaker was astrophotographer John Rummel talking and showing photos on "Amazing Universe: the Terrestrial to the Celestial." Listen to the program here (76 MB MP3 file, 56 min. long).
|
James Reeb UU building
2146 E Johnson St |
Sunday Nov. 2, 2014
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | Our program, from 12:30 to 1:30 pm, was What is Evolution? All of Its Intricacies, presented by Mara McDonald from the J.F. Crow Institute for the Study of Evolution at the UW-Madison. We started at about noon with our usual potluck lunch. Listen to the program here (79 MB MP3 file, 57 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Friday Nov. 14, 2014
6:30 pm | Sunday Assembly Madison potluck dinner at the Snyder's home.
|
107 Cobham Lane
Sun Prairie |
Sunday Nov. 23, 2014
3 - 4 pm | At the Sunday Assembly Madison 3rd service the speaker was Matt Hirshberg from the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the UW-Madison. His presentation was on "The Power of the Mind." Listen to the program here (65 MB MP3 file, 47½ min. long).
|
James Reeb UU building
2146 E Johnson St |
Sunday Dec. 7, 2014
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | Our program was Quakers in the 21st Century, presented by Ken Haydock, 12:30 to 1:30 pm. We started at 11:45 am with our usual potluck lunch. Listen to the program here (91 MB MP3 file, 66 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sept. 11 - Dec. 11, 2014
noon Thursdays | Evolution Seminar Series at the UW for the fall semester. These scholarly lectures, presented by the JF Crow Institute for the Study of Evolution, are free and open to the public.
|
1360 Genetics/Biotech
UW-Madison |
Sunday Dec. 21, 2014
3 pm |
Joint HumanLight Celebration with Sunday Assembly Madison and
Madison Skeptics. Click here to see the full program.
|
James Reeb UU building
2146 E Johnson St |
Sunday Jan. 4, 2015
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | Program 12:30 - 1:30 presented by Dan Barker of the Freedom From Religion Foundation: Frontline Report from the Battle of Church and State. We started at 11:45 am with our usual potluck lunch. Listen to the program here (92 MB MP3 file, 67 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sunday Jan. 25, 2015
3 - 4 pm | The theme of the Sunday Assembly Madison January service was Self-Empowerment, Self Improvement. The speaker was Clinical Psychologist and Addiction Specialist Dr. Henry Steinberger discussing the SMART Recovery program. Listen to the program here (70 MB MP3 file, 51 min. long).
|
James Reeb UU building
2146 E Johnson St |
Sunday Feb. 22, 2015
3 - 4 pm | The Sunday Assembly Madison February speaker was Matt Rothschild on "Money ≠ Free Speech." He discussed the current state of political financing in the U.S. Listen to the program here (48 MB MP3 file, 35 min. long). [poster]
|
James Reeb UU building
2146 E Johnson St |
Sunday March 1, 2015
11:45 am - 1:30 pm |  Our program 12:30 - 1:30 pm was a Q&A session on addiction, including information on SMART Recovery, a secular addiction recovery program, with clinical psychologist Dr. Henry Steinberger. We started at 11:45 am with our usual potluck lunch. Listen to the program here (102 MB MP3 file, 74 min. long).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
| March 13-15, 2015 | Freethought Festival 2015, 6-10 pm Friday March 13; 10 am - 10 pm Saturday March 14th; 11 am - noon Sunday March 15. Sunday Assembly Madison was in charge of the Sunday program and arranged for Kristin Shutts to speak on "Altruism in Human Evolution." [poster] |
DeLuca Forum, WI Institutes for Discovery; Union South Varsity Hall I. |
| Sunday April 5, 2015 | Our 12:30 - 1:30 pm program topic was Highlights of Freethought Festival 4, led by Susan Hagstrom and Peter Warshaw. We preceded the program with our usual potluck lunch.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sunday April 26, 2015
3 - 4 pm | The Sunday Assembly Madison April speaker was Dan Barker of FFRF. Dan talked about his book, Life Driven Purpose: How an Atheist Finds Meaning. Listen here.
|
James Reeb UU building
2146 E Johnson St |
Sunday May 24, 2015
3 - 4 pm | The Sunday Assembly Madison's May speaker Sharon Yildiz discussed and demonstrated effective dog (and people) training techniques. She was ably assisted by her dogs Savvy, a 13 year old Border Collie, and Dash, a 9 lb. Papillon.
|
James Reeb UU building
2146 E Johnson St |
Sunday June 7, 2015
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | From 12:30 to 1:30 pm we viewed and discussed a TED talk video by Daniel Dennett titled Let's teach religion - all religion - in schools (24:45 min. long). We started with our usual potluck lunch at 11:45 am.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sunday June 28, 2015
3 - 4:30 pm | The Sunday Assembly Madison June speaker was Jeremy Hemberger, a graduate student in entomology studying wild bees, specifically bumblebees. He talked about wild pollinators. Listen here.
|
James Reeb UU
2146 E Johnson St |
Sunday July 19, 2015
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | Program from 12:30 to 1:30 pm presented by Andy Somers: "A terrible beauty is born," about changes in "traditionally conservative" Ireland that led to their country becoming the first to legalize same-sex marriage by national referendum. Andy provided this brief description of what he had in store for us. "Ireland, a land of mystery, myth and rebellion. What happened to the land of St. Patrick? A brief review of a country which grew up." We started with our usual potluck lunch at 11:45 am, but at a new location, the house next door to the Meeting House. Listen to the program here (83 MB MP3 file, 60 min. long).
|
Prairie Annex |
Sunday July 26, 2015
3 - 4:30 pm | The Sunday Assembly Madison July speaker was Alder Anita Weier. Her topic was "Updating Madison's Equal Opportunity Ordinance." Listen here.
|
James Reeb UU
2146 E Johnson St |
Sunday August 2, 2015
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | At the Humanist Union's monthly meeting for August Marcia Johnson led a discussion on the book Sapiens-A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. We started with our usual potluck lunch. Listen to the program here (84 MB MP3 file, 61 min. long).
|
Prairie Annex |
Sunday August 23, 2015
3 - 4:30 pm | The Sunday Assembly Madison August speaker was Michelle Wildgen of Tin House Magazine and the Madison Writers' Studio. The title of her presentation was "Storytelling — why we do it, why we need it." Listen here.
|
James Reeb UU
2146 E Johnson St |
| Sunday Sept. 6, 2015 10 - 11:15 am | The speaker for the morning service at Prairie UU Society was Rob Brink on "Overcoming Confirmation Bias: advice from an ex-pastor."
|
Prairie Meeting House |
| Sunday Sept. 6, 2015 11:45 am - 1:15 pm | Our speaker was Rob Brink who provided us with an opportunity for "Q & A with an Ex-Pastor." Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, program 12:15 to 1:15 pm. Listen here (51 min.).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
| Sunday Oct. 4, 2015 11:45 am - 1:15 pm | Our speaker was Eric Snyder, who talked about "1000 Lashes," the story of Raif Badawi, the blogger jailed in Saudi Arabia for criticizing Islam. Badawi's book, 1000 Lashes: Because I Say What I Think, was published in English in August. Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, program 12:15 to 1:15 pm. Listen here (41 min.).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
| Sunday Dec. 6, 2015 11:45 am - 1:15 pm | Susan Hagstrom reported on the Oct. 9-11 38th Annual National Convention of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, illustrated with photos by Ingrid Laas, the convention photographer. We also took time to discuss what we like and don't like about the Christmas holiday as we find it happening around us. Our program title was FFRF Convention Review/Holiday Discussion. Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, program 12:15 to 1:15 pm. Listen here (57 min.).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sept. 3 - Dec. 10, 2015
noon Thursdays | Evolution Seminar Series at the UW for the fall semester. These scholarly lectures, presented by the JF Crow Institute for the Study of Evolution, are free and open to the public.
|
1360 Genetics/Biotech
UW-Madison |
Tuesday Dec. 22, 2015
4 pm | Instead of having a HumanLight celebration at the Prairie Meeting House this year the Humanist Union joined the solstice bonfire described here. We gathered at Olbrich Park around 4 pm. After enjoying the bonfire we headed over to the Daisy Cafe & Cupcakery, 2827 Atwood Ave., for a 5:30 pm dinner.
|
Olbrich Park, 3527 Atwood Ave. |
Sunday January 24, 2016
3 - 4:30 pm | The Sunday Assembly Madison January speaker was John Wunderlin of the Iowa County Astronomers. His presentation on Our Place in the Cosmos was illustrated with photos he took through the telescope he had when he lived in Mineral Point which can be seen here (when you scroll past the middle).
|
James Reeb UU
2146 E Johnson St |
Sunday Feb. 7, 2016
11:45 am - 1:15 pm |  Evolution and feeling God's presence. We discussed ideas presented in John C. Wathey's new book, The Illusion of God's Presence: The Biological Origins of Spiritual Longing. In the brief interview at The Science Behind Prayer and 'The Illusion of God's Presence' the author says "I think evolution is the window by which we should understand religion." See this brief review and the New York Journal of Books review or listen to interviews of the author on Point of Inquiry and The Drew Marshall Show. Our program from 12:15 to 1:15 pm was led by a panel of readers. We started with our usual potluck lunch at 11:45 am.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Friday March 18
6 - 9 pm | Potluck supper followed, at 7 pm, by viewing of the first episode of Neil Shubin's 3 part PBS series, Your Inner Fish, with friends from Sunday Assembly Madison and the Madison Skeptics. Shubin gave a great talk on the UW campus for Darwin Day 2008, Discovering how Fish Evolved to Walk: The Story of Tiktaalik, which you can listen to online here.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sunday April 3
11:45 am - 1:15 pm | Discussion on the State of Humanism in Fiction led by Susan Hagstrom. We started with our usual potluck lunch a little after 11:45 am followed by our program from 12:25 to 1:25 pm. FFRF recently held a contest in which it suggested that Humanists, atheists and the like are not shown very favorably in current fiction. Susan says "While for the most part I concur, there are offerings in literature, etc. that not only bring up the topic, but in a nicer light. Bring in your favorite example of Humanists in literature, and discuss the state of Humanism in fiction." One source to which Susan refered is Salmon Rushdie's new book, Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights: A Novel. See Humanism in Literature: Ten Authors to Read from the AHA. Listen here (60 min.).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Thur. April 7, 2016
6:30 pm | Documentary -- "Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial" The Madison Skeptics viewed and discussed this 112 min. Nova documentary featuring Eugenie Scott and others. The video started at 7 pm in the upstairs event room.
|
Fresh Madison Market Event Room, 703 University Ave. |
Fri. - Sat.
April 8 - 9, 2016
| Freethought Festival on the UW campus, with James Randi, Eugenie Scott and others. Audio recordings are available here.
|
Symphony Room, Gordon Dining Hall and Events Center, 770 W Dayton St. |
Sun. April 24, 2016
3 - 4:30 pm | The Sunday Assembly Madison April speaker was Shahla Werner. Her talk was on the Monarch Butterfly.
|
James Reeb UU
2146 E Johnson St |
Sun. May 1, 2016
noon - 1:30 pm | We started with a potluck lunch at noon, and then had a discussion, 12:30 to 1:30 pm, on the topic "How might the Humanist Union help create a community attractive to atheists?" led by a panel of folks with ideas on the subject. (Panel members: Susan Hagstrom, Matt Kenyon, Naomi Kroth, Bob Park.) Listen here (74 min.).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Jan. 28 - May 5, 2016
noon Thursdays | Evolution Seminar Series at the UW for the spring semester. These scholarly lectures, presented by the JF Crow Institute for the Study of Evolution, are free and open to the public. |
1360 Genetics/Biotech
UW-Madison |
Sat. May 7, 2016
3 pm | At Prairie's family retreat the Prairie Book Club discussed Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, 353 pages. The author tells her life story, from her traditional Muslim childhood in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, and Kenya, to her intellectual awakening and activism in the Netherlands, and her current life under armed guard in the West. The discussion will be in the Main Building, bedroom #2. |
Bethel Horizons, 4651 County Road ZZ, Dodgeville, WI |
Sun. May 15, 2016
5:30 - 6:30 pm | Pre-concert potluck for those planning to hear Roy Zimmerman. Please RSVP to humanistunion@gmail.com if you plan to come, as space in the Annex is limited.
|
Prairie Annex |
Sun. May 15, 2016
7 pm | Roy Zimmerman concert at the Prairie UU Meeting House, 7 pm. Admission $18 at the door. Roy's song of the week: "Religious Freedom (to Burn Our Own Witches)" by Roy Zimmerman [details] |
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. May 22, 2016
3 pm | The Sunday Assembly Madison May speaker cancelled. |
James Reeb UU
2146 E Johnson St |
Sun. June 5, 2016
10 - 11:15 am | "Urban Canid Project" (public outreach and engagement) presented by Prof. David Drake.
Prof. Drake heads the UW's Urban Canid Project, studying the behavior of the coyotes and foxes now living within Madison. |
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. June 5, 2016
noon - 1:30 pm | At our June meeting David Drake told us about the UW-Madison's Urban Canid Project methodology and preliminary findings. He provides this brief description:
The UW urban canid project involves live-trapping and radio-collaring coyotes and red fox in the city of Madison to understand how they use the urban landscape as well as interact with each other. This presentation will briefly describe coyote and red fox ecology, then delve into the methods used. Preliminary results will be shared, as well as future research directions.
Potluck lunch at noon, program 12:30 to 1:30.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. July 10, 2016
noon - 1:30 pm | "A Weekly Gathering Place for Nonbelievers?" This was an open discussion of a proposal to significantly expand the programming offered by the Humanist Union of Madison, with small group events (up to 20 people) in the Annex in addition to our monthly potluck and speaker. Also, Ingrid Laas showed us photos she took at this spring's Reason Rally in Washington D.C.
Potluck lunch at noon, program 12:30 to 1:30.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Aug. 7, 2016
noon - 1:30 pm |  The program, 12:30 to 1:30 pm, was a discussion of "Writers Humanists Should Know." What writers would you recommend to fellow humanists? They could be authors of fiction or nonfiction books that support humanist principles, the authors of magazine articles, bloggers or screen writers. They could be writers of today or from the past. As usual we will start with a potluck lunch at noon. This month we met in the Annex again, holding our discussion in the Annex library, also known as the Chapru Room. (Doleta Chapru was one of the founders of the Humanist Union.) We will look over an atheist book collection that has recently been donated to us as well as Humanist Union books already on the shelves on the garage side of the room. Come with your ideas for Humanist Union programs for the coming year. Should we have regular book discussion and film viewing events?
|
Prairie Annex |
Sun. Aug. 28, 2016
3 pm | The Sunday Assembly Madison August topic is "Manhood and the Media." Mass shootings and the vast majority of homicides, domestic violence, sexual assault, and assault cases are perpetrated by men. Are men inherently more violent, or have cultural forces shaped how some boys and men understand their roles in society, making them dangerous? Are the media and pop culture partly culpable? How might we be able to change this trend? |
James Reeb UU
2146 E Johnson St |
Sun. Sept. 4, 2016
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | The program, 12:30 to 1:30 pm, was a discussion led by Barb Park and Randy Converse on "School Kids and the Politics of Hate," looking at the impact of the current presidential campaign on our children. See Hate in the Race on the Southern Povery Law Center's website for background. We discussed the findings in The Trump Effect: The Impact of the Presidential Campaign on Our Nation's Schools. We started with our usual potluck lunch at 11:45 am.
|
Prairie Annex |
Fri. Sept. 23, 2016
6:30 - 10 pm |  Gathering for snacks and socializing at 6:30 pm. Then after 7 pm we viewed the second episode of Neil Shubin's 3 part PBS series, Your Inner Fish. (Shubin gave a great talk on the UW campus for Darwin Day 2008, Discovering how Fish Evolved to Walk: The Story of Tiktaalik, which you can listen to online here.) Bob and Barb Park also showed some personal slides and talked a bit about Wasson Bluff on the Bay of Fundy, show at the begining of the film.
|
Prairie Annex |
Sun. Oct. 2, 2016
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | We had An inside look at local politics with Dorothy Krause. Dorothy is on the Dane County Board of Supervisors and the Fitchburg Common Council. Potluck lunch at 11:45, program from 12:30 to 1:30.
|
Prairie Annex* |
Thur. Oct. 20, 2016
6 - 7 pm |
The Cap Times hosted a panel discussion on How Is Religion Shaping the Election? at the High Noon Saloon. Admission was free. Meet & greet at 5:30, discussion at 6:00. The panelists were five spiritual leaders (three Christian, one Muslim, one Jewish), an atheist and a UW journalism professor who has won an award from the National Science Foundation. [details] [flyer]
|
High Noon Saloon, 701 E. Washington Ave. |
Sun. Oct. 23, 2016
10:10 am |
Rob Brink: The Baton and the Towel: facing finality fearlessly.
|
Free Congregation of Sauk County, Sauk City |
Sun. Nov. 6, 2016
10 am | Mike McCabe addressed "What Ails Our Democracy" at Prairie UU Society's morning service.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Nov. 6, 2016
11:45 am - 2 pm | Mike McCabe joined us to talk about "The Coming Makeover of American Politics" (to be broadcast on election eve day, 11/7/16). Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, program 12:30 to 2 pm. Listen here (1 hr. 29 min.).
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Tue. Nov. 8
8 - 11 pm | Election watching party with shared snacks. (Seating for the first 25 folks who come. If you come via Whitney Way south from the Beltline, it is best to take your first left on to Gilbert Rd, then turn right on to Hammersley Rd at the stop sign. We will be the last driveway on the right before you reach Whitney Way.)
|
5610 Hammersley Rd |
Thur. Nov. 10
6:30 pm - 9 pm | We gathered for snacks and socializing at 6:30 pm. Then at 7 pm we watched the third episode of Neil Shubin's 3 part PBS series, Your Inner Fish. This 55 min. episode is titled "Your Inner Monkey," and can be viewed online at http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/episode-3-your-inner-monkey.
|
Prairie Annex |
Sun. Dec. 4, 2016
11:45 am - 1:30 pm |  Our speaker was Norman Stockwell, publisher of The Progressive magazine, talking about "The role of progressives (and The Progressive) in Trumpland." Potluck lunch at 11:45, program from 12:30 to 1:30. Listen here (54 min.).
|
Prairie Annex |
Fri. Dec. 23, 2016
6 - 9 pm | We marked HumanLight with a small candlelit potluck supper.
|
Prairie Annex |
Sun. Jan. 8, 2017
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | The Great American Eclipse: August 2017 by John Rummel of the Madison Astronomical Society. August 21, 2017, the shadow path of the moon will span the United States from coast to coast, but the eclipse won't come to you. You'll have to do some work to see totality that day. Find out what you'll need to do and where you'll need to be. (John was a presenter of Humanist Union programs in 2010 and 2011.) Listen here (71½ min.).
|
Prairie Annex |
Sun. Feb. 5, 2017
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | Based on her reading of Battling the Gods: Atheism in the Ancient World by Tim Whitmarsh and Atheism for Dummies by Dale McGowan, Susan Hagstrom presented Interesting Episodes in the History of Atheism. Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, program 12:30 to 1:30 pm. Listen here (54½ min.). |
Prairie Meeting House |
Thur. Feb. 16, 2017
7 - 9:30 pm | HUM movie night - Monty Python's Life of Brian. Gather for snacks and socializing at 7 pm, movie at 7:30 pm. Tidbits about the movie.
|
Prairie Annex |
Sun. March 12
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | Our March speaker was Jim Roseberry of Open Doors for Refugees. Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, program 12:30 to 1:30 pm.
|
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. April 2, 2017
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | Our April speaker was William Harris, Director of Operations - North America for Working Capital for Community Needs. Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, program 12:30 to 1:45 pm. Listen here (75 min.).
|
Prairie Annex |
Sun. May 7, 2017
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | The Women's Marches on Washington and Madison - reports by Ingrid Laas and Barbara Park, with photos. Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, program 12:30 to 1:30 pm.
|
Prairie Annex |
Sun. June 4, 2017
noon - 3 pm | A house picnic at Barb and Bob Park's house raised funds for the radio station that broadcasts our Humanist Union programs - suggested donation $5. Barb and Bob provided the food. |
5610 Hammersley Rd |
Sun. Aug. 13, 2017
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | Home is a Human Right: A Series on Immigration We viewed and discussed three short films that examine issues related to immigration in the U.S. that impact undocumented and refugee communities: Pursuing the Dream, Nowhere to Go: Shutting Out Syrians, and The Call to Sanctuary. Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, program 12:30 to 1:30 pm. Listen here (41 min.). |
Prairie Annex |
Sun. Sept. 10, 2017
11:45 am - 1 pm | Humanism Is Alive and Well, presented by Mary Beth O'Halloran. Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, program 12 to 1 pm. Listen here (46½ min.). |
Meeting House |
Wed. Oct. 4, 2017
7 pm | Just returned from continuing excavation at the Rising Star cave system in South Africa, anthropology professor John Hawks gave the first report on this new work. The cave system "contains the largest known assemblage of fossil human relatives ever found in Africa, all belonging to a previously unknown species, Homo naledi. Earlier this year, the Rising Star research team revealed that these fossils may be as recent as 236,000 years old, meaning that this primitive extinct species existed around the same time as the origin of modern humans. The team also announced the discovery of a second bone chamber with more remains of H. naledi - including a nearly complete skeleton they named Neo." Video of the event is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mBIFFstNSo. |
UW campus, 425 Henry Mall, Genetics/Biotech Center, Rm 1111 |
Sun. Nov. 5, 2017
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | Malia Jones from the UW brought us a program on ethical dilemmas surrounding vaccination and public health titled "Tragedy of the commons: declining vaccination rates and herd immunity." She got her Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health. Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, program 12:30 to 1:30 pm. Listen here (71 min.). |
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Dec. 3, 2017
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | "Tree Stories" was our topic for December. Kathy Converse showed and talked about many of the slides of trees that she put together for her presention on "The Hidden Life of Trees" at Prairie UU Society on Aug. 20. Bob Park added and talked about some tree photos of his own from as far away as New Zealand. Do you have tree photos and stories of your own to share? Join us for this month's Humanist Union meeting. We start with our usual potluck lunch at 11:45 am followed by the program from 12:30 to 1:30 pm. Listen here (73 min.). |
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. Jan. 7, 2018
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | Atheist Lounges of 2017 - reviewed by Richard Russell. [details] These are monthly meeting sponsored by the Madison Skeptics. Listen here (50 min.). |
Prairie Annex |
Sun. Feb. 4, 2018
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | Open discussion on Program Topics for 2018. Here are 3 links among many good sources of ideas:
https://thehumanist.com/magazine/
https://www.splcenter.org
https://www.aclu.org/publications
Potluck lunch at 11:45, discussion 12:30 to 1:30. |
Prairie Annex |
Sun. March 11, 2018
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | Our speaker was one of Prof. David Baum's Botany Dept. grad students, Lena Vincent. She followed up on her morning presentation at Prairie with Q&A About Theories on the Origin of Life. Lena's primary research interest is in the origin and early evolution of life, a subject she is currently exploring experimentally as a PhD student at the UW. Potluck lunch at 11:45, program 12:30 to 1:30. Listen here (76 min.). |
Prairie Meeting House |
March 16, 2018
5 - 10 pm | Freethought Festival 7 at the UW-Madison
First day speakers were Prof. Joe Elder, Natalie Newell, Sikivu Hutchinson and Daniel Whiteson. |
Symphony Room, Gordon Dining and Event Center,
770 W Dayton St |
March 17, 2018
noon - 9:30 pm | Freethought Festival 7 at the UW-Madison
Second day speakers were Debbie Goddard, Candace Gorham, Anthony B. Pinn, Vivienne Anderson, Steven Landsburg, Abby Hafer, Lucien Greaves and Stewart Huff. |
Symphony Room, Gordon Dining and Event Center,
770 W Dayton St |
Sun. April 1, 2018
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | Anti-Intellectualism in America: The War on Science was Susan Hagstrom's topic at the
April meeting of the Humanist Union. Potluck lunch at 11:45, program 12:30 to 1:30. Listen here (57 min.). |
Prairie Annex |
Sun. May 6, 2018
11:45 am - 1:30 pm |  Doug Renk brought us a photo-illustrated presentation titled Forward! Marching Band History: Activism and Solidarity through Music. As they say on their website, they "believe in using music to help fuel social change, have fun and build community." To hear a sample of their music from the 3/24/18 March for Our Lives rally, click here. Potluck lunch at 11:45, program 12:30 to 1:30. Listen here (46½ min.). |
Prairie Annex |
Sun. July 29, 2018
10 - 11:15 am | Prairie UU Society's Sunday service featured UW Prof. Jordan Ellenberg speaking on "A Mathematician's Take on Gerrymandering." Listen here. (43 min.) |
Prairie Meeting House |
Sun. July 29, 2018
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | Prof. Jordan Ellenberg joined us for an informal Q&A session as followup to his morning presentation on "A Mathematician's Take on Gerrymandering" at Prairie and on his best selling book, How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking. Potluck lunch at 11:45, program 12:30 to 1:30. Listen here. (58 min.) |
Prairie Annex |
| Sun. Sept. 2, 2018 | Our topic for September was "Connecting Prison Reform to Elections in Wisconsin," presented by Pam and Gary Gates and Eric Howland. Eric is the president of MOSES, Madison's section in Wisconsin's interdenominational prison reform and social justice organization WISDOM. The panel invited Frank Davis to join them.
Potluck lunch at 11:45, program 12:30 to 2. Listen here. (1 hr, 33 min.) |
Prairie Annex |
| Sun., Oct. 7, 2018 | Layla Coleman met with us for "Q&A About Restorative Justice Circles in Education," an informal discussion of the subject of her Prairie UU Society presentation that morning. Potluck lunch at 11:45, program 12:30 to 1:30. Listen here. (47½ min.) |
Prairie Annex |
| Sunday, Dec. 2, 2018 | Susan Hagstrom reviewed Chris Mooney's findings in The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny Science- and Reality. You can watch Mooney himself talk about the topic in a presentation to Freethought Arizona. Potluck lunch at 11:45, program 12:30 to 1:30 pm. |
Prairie Annex |
Sept. 13 - Dec. 6
12:30 pm Thursdays | Evolution Seminar Series at the UW for the fall semester. These scholarly lectures, presented by the JF Crow Institute for the Study of Evolution, are free and open to the public. |
1360 Genetics/Biotech
UW-Madison |
| Sunday, Jan. 6, 2019 | How do we apply humanism to the current social and political problems and attitudes? - presented by Kathryn Converse.
Our responsibility as humanists is to be intelligent. We need to know what is going on in the world and take responsibility for making it a better place in which to live. There is no being or power to which we can shift this task. Our humanist principles can help us in this task, but when everything around us is being impacted in a negative manner, how do we stand strong and not join in this selfsame negativism?
Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, program 12:30 to 1:30 pm. Listen here. (49 min.)
Resources:
Humanism as the Next Step by Lloyd and Mary Morain
The Humanist magazine:
Sep/Oct 2018 issue:
Natural Disasters & the Humanist Response by Wendy Weber
The Humanist Dilemma: Is It Humanistic to Support Public Shaming of Trump Administration Officials? by Joan Reisman-Brill
May/June 2018 issue:
It's Our Turn by Michael Werner
Jan/Feb 2017 issue: What a trump presidency means for humanism & justice for all.
Make America Kind Again by Clay Farris Naff
Who Will We Speak For? Humanism's Role in Defending Human Rights and Civil Liberties by Merrill Miller
|
Prairie Annex |
| Sunday, Feb. 3, 2019 | Randy Converse told us "How Humanism, not Christianity, Gave Me the Foundation for My Commitment to Pacficism." Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, program 12:15 to 1:15 pm. Listen here. (58 min.) |
Prairie Annex |
| Sunday, March 10, 2019 10 am | Ken Haydock was the presenter at Prairie UU Society's 10 am morning service. His topic was "Democracy and the Electoral College." | Prairie Meeting House |
| Sunday, March 10, 2019 | Ken Haydock led our discussion. His topic was "Democracy and the Electoral College Q&A." We met in the Meeting House for potluck lunch at 11:45 followed by presentation and discussion from 12:15 to 1:15 pm. We dug deeper into the topic of Ken's Sunday service presentation at Prairie that morning. Listen here. (54½ min.) |
Prairie Meeting House |
| Sunday, April 7, 2019 | We heard a presentation by Nick Schweitzer and Pat Bober on the book Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods: Early Humans and the Origins of Religion by E. Fuller Torrey. See the book review here. We met for potluck lunch at 11:45 followed by the program from 12:15 to 1:15 pm. Listen here. (54½ min.) |
Prairie Annex |
| Sunday, May 5, 2019 | At Prairie UU Society's 10 am morning service Rob Brink spoke on his "Journey from Pastor to Atheist." |
Prairie Meeting House |
| Sunday, May 5, 2019 | Our speaker was Rob Brink. Our program titled "A Journey from Pastor to Atheist Q&A" was a followup to his morning presentation at Prairie. We met in the Annex for potluck lunch at 11:45 followed by the program from 12:15 to 1:15 pm. Listen here. (58½ min.) |
Prairie Annex |
| Sunday, June 2, 2019 | We met on the Annex rear deck for potluck lunch at 11:45 followed by our program from 12:15 to 1:15 pm. For our program participants were asked to bring a paragraphs or two from print or online media to read that addressed an issue of interest to humanists.
Some available sources:
Church & State magazine from Americans United for Separation of Church and State
The Humanist from the American Humanist Association
Freethought Today from FFRF
Southern Poverty Law Center publications
Center for Inquiry
Humanist Perspectives
The Progressive magazine
Life After God blog by Ryan Bell
Humanists International
The Intercept
Listen here. (51 min.)
|
Prairie Annex
rear deck |
Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019
noon - 1:30 pm | Mary Somers' program was "Humanitarian Aid is Never a Crime - The Trial of Scott Warren." Mary has worked with No More Deaths along the Arizona/Mexico border and Scott Warren is a fellow volunteer. Scott Warren will go on trial for a 2nd time in November for providing humanitarian aid to migrants risking death to cross the borderlands desert. For background see the article at http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/070219_scott_warren_retrial/ or see the Democracy Now! 7/3/19 report here. On Monday 8/19/19 Scott Warren was again interviewed on Democracy Now!, this time in the Sonoran Desert as water was taken into the desert to save migrant lives. You can see that recent video here. Since 2008 No More Deaths has been an official ministry of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson. This program was co-sponsored by the Prairie Social Action Committee.
Potluck lunch at noon, program 12:30 to 1:30. |
Prairie Annex |
Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019
5:30 - 6:30 pm | Free public lecture by Dr. Eugenia Cheng on "Using Logic to Find Clarity for Life's Problems" [poster] |
UW Discovery Building
330 Orchard St. |
Sunday, Sept. 29, 2019
Noon - 1:30 pm | Robin Proud told us about the life of Ernestine Rose, suffragist, abolitionist, and freethinking atheist. She was one of the major intellectual forces in the nineteenth-century women's rights movement in America. Potluck lunch at noon, program 12:30 to 1:30. Listen here. (42 min.) | Prairie Annex |
Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019
Noon - 1:35 pm | Masood Akhtar joined us for a Q&A conversation about the oranization he founded, We are Many - United Against Hate. Read about Masood in the June Isthmus article here. Potluck lunch at noon, program 12:30 to past 1:30. Listen here. (67½ min.) |
Prairie Annex |
Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019
11 am | Rob Brink, who we heard in May on "A Journey from Pastor to Atheist Q&A," joined us to talk about "Winnow, sift, simmer: the hidden value of a seminary education." This workshop sponsored by the Humanist Union at Prairie UU Society's annual retreat at Bethel Horizons near Dodgeville was for all interested persons who attend the retreat. Rob graduated from the Minnesota Bible College in 2000 and the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary in 2005. He says "After years in Christian ministry, I realized I don't believe it any more. I've spent the time since then picking up the pieces, figuring out what still fits, what still helps. Some of it really does." Listen here. (49 min.) |
Bethel Horizons |
Sunday, Dec. 1, 2019
Noon - 1:30 pm | Potluck lunch at noon, program 12:30 to 1:30. Highlights from the FFRF 2019 National Convention by Susan Hagstrom. Listen here. (47½ min.) |
Prairie Annex |
| May 6 - 9, 2021 | Food Drive for Allied Food Pantry. Participating in the Secular Week of Action as an effective alternative to the May 6
National Day of Prayer for addressing the needs of the underprivileged in our community, the Humanist Union of Madison is conducting a drive for
non-perishable food items and personal products to be donated to the Allied Food Pantry in Madison's Allied Drive neighborhood. For 4 days, from 9 am to 5 pm, collection bins will be in the driveways of the 3 locations shown at right. (On Thursday and Friday the bin at the Hammersley Rd site will remain out until 7 pm.) Photo of items collected. |
2006 Whenona Dr (Prairie Annex)
5610 Hammersley Rd
4713 Regent St |
Sunday, April 24, 2022
11:45 am - 12:45 pm | "Parallels between the anti-racist movement and religious fundamentalism" presented by John Wunderlin. For an overview of the topic see John McWhorter's article in The Atlantic: The Virtue Signalers Won't Change the World Third-wave anti-racism makes sense, and fits into the longer struggle, but it's a dead end. (No recording was made of this meeting.) | On Zoom and
in the Meeting House |
Sunday, June 5, 2022
11:45 am - 12:45 pm | We heard a presentation by UW student Declan Dally talking about "The How and Why of Effective Altruism." He is vice president of the campus group Effective Altruism UW-Madison. The group "seeks to promote the global movement of effective altruism, using evidence and reason to assess how to benefit others." For more see the Centre For Effective Altruism. Listen here. (41½ min.) | In the Meeting House |
Sunday, September 18, 2022
11:45 am - 1:30 pm | Abortion in Wisconsin: Legal, Ethical and Political Perspectives, a presentation by Molly Plunkett and Pageen Small followed by an open discussion. For background see Wisconsin faces a 'tangled series' of abortion laws dating back to 1849... (6/4/22). Posted 9/8/22 by Wisconsin Watch: Here's what to know about abortion access in post-Roe Wisconsin.
We started with a potluck lunch from 11:45 to 12:15. | In the Meeting House and on Zoom |
| Sunday July 16, 2023 12:00 to 1:30 pm | Q&A with Nick Schweitzer following his morning presentation to Prairie UU Society on The Last Freie Gemeinde: The Free Congregation of Sauk County. For background see Our History on the Free Congregation webside. We started with a potluck lunch at noon. |
In the Annex and via Zoom |
| Events with this background were co-sponsored by the Humanist Union of Madison.
|
| Events with a gray background were not sponsored by the Humanist Union of Madison but some of us attended.
|
![[photo]](images/Picnic.jpg){kind=link}
![[photo]](images/0881.jpg){kind=link}
![[poster]](images/DarwinDay2007poster8X11.5.jpg){kind=link}
We had a potluck lunch at noon and a 12:30 pm presentation by Skip Evans on Americans United for Separation of Church and State, followed by discussion. Skip is the former president of the Atlanta Chapter of Americans United and interim president of the reactivated Wisconsin chapter. Humanist Union participants were joined by members of the AU-Wis. Chapter, bringing attendance to about 30.
For our December meeting, the Humanist Union hosted a HumanLight celebration again this year, with candles, music and food (potluck). Also, this year, participants brought favorite quotations from the books or speeches of Barack Obama to share.
Potluck lunch at noon, 12:30-1:30 pm Darwin Day Discussion led by Dr. Jane Shoup, who briefly traced the more noteworthy court cases surrounding evolution and creationism (Scopes Trial through Kitzmiller v. Dover). The 23 of us present had a lively discussion on population growth and our planet's limited resources. Hear the program here (63 MB MP3 file, 69 min. long).
Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 pm discussion led by humanist UU minister Jane Esbensen, who is also a graduate of the Humanist Leadership Studies Program of The Humanist Institute in New York. Listen to the program here (54 MB MP3 file, 59 min. long).![[flyer]](images/091104seancarrollflyer.jpg){kind=link}
Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 pm group discussion on Humanist review of 2009 news stories/program ideas for 2010. Listen to the program here (60 MB MP3 file, 66 min. long).
Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 pm discussion of Good without God: Greg Epstein and the new humanism. Greg Epstein is the Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University. Our discussion was led by Barbara Park, Doleta Chapru, and Bob Park, based on Epstein's 6/24/10 talk at the UUA General Assembly in Minneapolis and on his book Good without God. Listen to the program here (94 MB MP3 file, 68½ min. long).
Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 pm discussion of the recent Christopher Hitchens v Tony Blair debate in Toronto on "Be it resolved, religion is a force for good in the world". Discussion leaders were Ken Haydock, Doleta Chapru and Frank Power. A transcript of all but the concluding remarks in the debate is available online and videos of the debate can be seen on YouTube. Also available is this BBC online news story. Listen to the HUM discussion here (78 MB MP3 file, 56½ min. long).
The movie Creation, about the life of Charles Darwin, was shown and followed by a discussion of the film with UW History of Science professors Ron Numbers and Lynn Nyhart, and the University of Minnesota's Alan Love.†
United Coalition of Reason National Director, Fred Edwords, conducted a three-hour PR and media training seminar for members of all area groups in the "community of reason", whether the groups had committed to participate in a Madison area CoR or not. The seminar was free. It was in Rm B130 Van Vleck Hall, UW-Madison. ("Community of reason" is a generic term that includes all self-identified nontheistic organizations, whether they call themselves atheist, agnostic, bright, Ethical Culture, freethought, humanist, Pastafarian, rationalist, realist, skeptic, secularist, Unitarian Universalist, or whatever else.) [more]
Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 pm report and discussion on the American Humanist Association 70th Anniversary Conference by Susan Hagstrom, Bob Park and Barb Park, who attended the conference April 7-10 in Cambridge MA. You can see the full schedule of events, with links to audio recordings, here. Read about the conference awardees here and read an article about the conference here. Finally, see the short list of speaker links. On 5/1 we talked about some of these speakers and their topics and answered questions about others. Listen to the program here (83 MB MP3 file, 60 min. long).
Potluck lunch at 11:45 am, 12:30 pm report on the April 10 keynote talk at the American Humanist Association Annual Conference by Jeff Sharlet and discussion of his book The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power and his more recent book, C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy. Presenters were Doleta Chapru and Susan Hagstrom. Twenty five of us attended. (See also the 1-1/2 min. video and synopsis and review of C Street:.) Listen to the program here (88 MB MP3 file, 64 min. long).
![[poster]](http://www.evolution.wisc.edu/sites/default/files/dd2012poster.jpg){kind=link}
Potluck lunch at noon, 12:30 pm report on the Secular Coalition's Lobby Day for Reason on March 23 by Ron Solomon and photos and commentary on the Reason Rally held in Washington DC on March 24th by Ingrid Laas and Ron. Listen to the program here (81 MB MP3 file, 70 ½ min. long). (One of the most popular speakers at the rally was Adam Savage of Mythbusters TV. Listen to the concluding 3½ min. of his talk here.)
Doug Renk brought us a photo-illustrated presentation titled Forward! Marching Band History: Activism and Solidarity through Music. As they say on their website, they "believe in using music to help fuel social change, have fun and build community." To hear a sample of their music from the 3/24/18 March for Our Lives rally, click here. Potluck lunch at 11:45, program 12:30 to 1:30. Listen here (46½ min.).