Te ao Māori and indigenous ways of learning about our world

This article was written in 2021 for Open Society, the Journal of the New Zealand Association of Rationalists and Humanists | Like te reo Māori, mātauranga Māori is having a renaissance in New Zealand after years of suppression through colonisation. But a lot of middle New Zealand is having none of it. And it’s no … Continue reading Te ao Māori and indigenous ways of learning about our world →

How humanists decide what’s right or wrong

This talk was delivered in London in 2011 | Put you hands up if you have ever done the right thing for the wrong reasons. Keep you had up if you did this because of a religion or religious teaching. OK, so, perhaps the wrong audience for this sort of thing, but I think my … Continue reading How humanists decide what’s right or wrong →

Alternative histories: not rocket science

This article appeared in Filament Magazine in 2010 | ‘We’re so counter-culture even our history is alternative’, I overheard a black-clad, tattooed writer say to her friend at the Arthur C Clark Awards earlier this year. She pretty much summed up how I feel. But everyone loves science fiction these days, right? Of course, but … Continue reading Alternative histories: not rocket science →

Women’s pro-wrestling: beyond the beauty pageant

In 2009 I wrote about women's pro-wrestling for Filament Magazine | In this article I discussed how women's professional wrestling is moving beyond ‘bra and panties’ bouts and getting back to its roots, when women wrestlers were valued for their ability. If Darren Aronofsky’s 2008 film The Wrestler taught us anything, it was that being a wrestler … Continue reading Women’s pro-wrestling: beyond the beauty pageant →

They Will Make Money From Everything…

This talk was presented in December 2015 | You might want to think she’d look sad. Or tired. When you imagine her, you might imagine a face that looks wrinkled and worn from half a century of poverty. As she sits listening to the rhythmic sounds of the metal wheels on the metals tracks, travelling … Continue reading They Will Make Money From Everything… →