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
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The End of the Road for the Assisted Dying Campaign?
This article was published in Open Society in October 2020 | On October 17 2020 New Zealanders vote to decide whether the End of Life Choice Act 2019 should come into force. If more than 50% vote yes, this Act, which has already made its way through the parliamentary process and received Royal Assent, will … Continue reading The End of the Road for the Assisted Dying Campaign?
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