Podcasts
Recordings of Sunday Platform addresses
You’ve heard the idiom about trying to manage a challenging group, “It’s like herding cats?” This is funny (and true) because, well, cats are impossible to herd. They do what they want, when they want.
You’ve also heard “Don’t be a sheep.” Being called a sheep is an insult. It means someone views you as just going along with things. At the Ethical Society, we don’t want to fall into complacency and group think; we value being individuals who have our own opinions.
But, when we are in community together, what is the sweet spot between these extremes? How do we balance doing what is best for the “greater good” with honoring ourselves and our own autonomy and ideas? Let’s explore this together with our Interim Director, Amy Miller, as we continue to “Explore the Human Condition.”
Amy is a clinical social worker, relationship coach, mediator, and the author of Easyish: Keys To A (Relatively) Easy Relationship, published in 2021.
Podcast
Unedited Video
Across the country, we continue to see attacks on critical race theory, DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion), access to books and libraries, sex education, affirmative action, women’s reproductive rights, civil rights, and much more in our legislatures and institutions. To many, these issues seem to be overwhelming to fight individually, but for those who have been immersed in the issue, the prevailing understanding is that we are really fighting one common enemy that presents itself in a myriad of ways. Heather Fleming, founder and director of the MO Equity Education Partnership, explains the connection to each of these issues and how we all can work collectively to defeat this movement.
Heather Fleming is the founder and director of In Purpose Educational Services (IPES), author of the book My Black Friend Says…: Lessons in Equity, Inclusion, and Cultural Competency, and founder and director of the MO Equity Education Partnership (MoEEP). Prior to her work in organizing and equity training, she started her career working eight years in the public service sector. She then moved into education and served as an English Language Arts teacher for 14 years before becoming a full-time equity and inclusion training and program design professional. Her goal for her work in this field is to promote healing, understanding, and equity for all.
Podcast
Unedited Video
Emiel’s presentation delves into the intricate dynamics of code-switching and implicit bias, and explores how people with marginalized identities navigate diverse environments, including adapting their communication styles to fit cultural expectations. It sheds light on the subtle yet powerful impact of implicit bias on our perceptions and interactions. Emiel’s presentation will encourage critical self-reflection and equip community members with strategies to foster more inclusive and equitable interactions.
As a leadership and professional development practitioner, Emiel specializes in developing and coaching executives, teams, and emerging leaders. For more than 26 years, he has successfully facilitated the untangling of interpersonal and organizational complexities that plague team dynamics. His work is grounded in research and experience in the fields of leadership development, executive presence, “the habit of coaching,” and diversity, equity and inclusion. Dr. Barrett served in the US Navy for 21 years; during this time, he crafted a focused, direct, and warm approach that wastes no time in engaging with leaders to discover the most equitable solutions for their organizations.
He earned a doctorate of education from the University of New England and an M.B.A. from Texas A&M University. He is a professional certified coach with the International Coaching Federation and a certified practitioner of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the Hogan Assessment.
Podcast
Unedited Video
Summiting ten years of membership, Kyle Nienhaus shares his experiences with the Ethical Society of St. Louis including reflections on personal growth, challenges still to be met, memories of friends along the way, and hopes for our children’s future. Humanist values are human values worth wanting, and Kyle intends to show the “how-come?” and the “what-for?” of that age-old question: “Why?”
Member Kyle Nienhaus is an independent philosopher and musician, author of the forthcoming Humanist, All Too Humanist: A Nietzsche Interpretation and trained at Berklee College of Music. He was born and raised in St. Louis where he lives with his wife Nikki and their daughter Lorelai.
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Unedited Video
Kilimanjaro – the world’s tallest freestanding mountain – rises nearly 20,000 feet above sea level in safari lands on the border between Tanzania and Kenya. The mountain has five distinct ecological zones at different altitudes, with jungle at the foothills and glaciers at the summit. Some 35,000 tourists attempt to reach the peak each year, encountering physical and psychological challenges along the way. Some 10-25 percent of them have to turn back, succumbing to altitude sickness, injury, exposure to the cold or other adverse conditions. On June 14, Mary Ann Perkins and her daughter, Danielle, reached the summit. In her address to the Ethical Society, Mary Ann will draw parallels between their experiences on the mountain and humanist perspectives on life.
Member Mary Ann Perkins grew up in St. Louis County and then lived overseas–in Germany, Lebanon and Thailand–for most of the next two decades. During that time she had two children, left the Mormon church and completed two master’s degrees. After returning to the St. Louis area, she became a member of the Ethical Society and restarted the religious transition peer-support group that meets at the Ethical Society every Monday at 7 p.m.
Podcast
Unedited Video
Member Dan Overmann will give a personal account of how the core values provide a behavioral “roadmap” leading to an enriched quality of life for himself and others – a life quality that is characterized by joy and meaning. Eliciting the best in the human spirit is the navigational keystone of the roadmap.
Dan is a sole practitioner architect and owner of dro Design & Planning. The majority of his work involves the planning, design and implementation of healthcare facilities such as hospitals and clinics. He and his wife Mary joined the Ethical Society 26 years ago to provide a non-religious, value-centered learning environment for their two children. He currently serves the Ethical Society as a member of the Lay Leadership Development Committee, the Welcome Team, and the Platform Host Team.
Podcast
Unedited Video
Creativity and storytelling help us cultivate meaning and bring joy into our lives. How can we harness the power of creativity to grow our movement and reach new audiences? Where can we find Humanism (and our values) in popular culture? Leader Intern Louise Jett explores pop culture that honors Ethical Humanism.
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Unedited Video
Reeves’ research examines the interchange between institutions and behavior with a focus on political accountability and public policy in the United States. His most recent book, No Blank Check: The Origins and Consequences of Public Antipathy towards Presidential Power with Jon C. Rogowski was published in 2022 by Cambridge University Press.
From the publisher: Concerns about unaccountable executive power have featured recurrently in political debates from the American founding to today. For many, presidents’ use of unilateral power threatens American democracy. No Blank Check advances a new perspective: Instead of finding Americans apathetic toward how presidents exercise power, it shows the public is deeply concerned with core democratic values. Drawing on data from original surveys, innovative experiments, historical polls, and contexts outside the United States, the book highlights Americans’ skepticism towards presidential power. This skepticism results in a public that punishes unilaterally minded presidents and the policies they pursue. By departing from existing theories of presidential power which acknowledge only institutional constraints, this timely and revealing book demonstrates the public’s capacity to tame the unilateral impulses of even the most ambitious presidents. Ultimately, when it comes to exercising power, the public does not hand the president a blank check.
Podcast
Unedited Video
We will explore how healthy relationships look and feel, with emphasis on the fact that every relationship has its own culture. But when the foundation of the relationship is built on solid ground and with intention and integrity, relationships can grow into whatever you may want them to be. We will draw on the expertise of our Interim Ministry Team Director, Amy, as she introduces us to her working theories on how to ensure that our relationships are rooted in–and hallmarked by–relative ease.
Amy is a clinical social worker, relationship coach, mediator, and the author of Easyish: Keys To A (Relatively) Easy Relationship, published in 2021.
Podcast
Unedited Video
Shuron will elaborate on past and present efforts toward housing justice in St. Louis. Since and before the historic Kraemer ruling, St. Louis has provided spatial, economic, social, and cultural restraints and opportunities to advance equity and liberation through housing justice. Housing work has provided incentives for disparate communities to form alliances around changes and policies to better living conditions. This work, legacy, and alliance building continues because of the seemingly insurmountable current housing system that is broken for most: evictions, which affect Black women with children the most, are on the rise while wages remain stagnant; rents are continually rising with no checks on increases; assistance and moratoria have ended; and renter workers are retaliated against for reporting conditions issues. Renter-workers are demanding equity through housing justice and their voices have not and will not go unheeded.
After living under and being evicted by a slumlord, Shuron Danielle Jones (she/her) began organizing around housing with Homes for All – St. Louis in 2019. Jones’ work focuses on the research, passage, implementation, and evaluation of legislation and policies that forward renter-worker protections. Shuron assisted in crafting the Four and More for STL Renters campaign to introduce a Right to Counsel, Tenant Bill of Rights, an Office of Tenant Advocacy, and a City-Wide Tenant Union to the St. Louis Board of Aldermen. Shuron is also a public researcher, historian, and analyst, focusing on the work, lives, and organizing/advocacy/writings of Radical Queer Black Women in the Midwest from the 1970
Podcast
Unedited Video
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