Niki Seth-Smith

Inside the world of health anxiety It's Covid season again. Two books have lessons on how to navigate health anxiety

It’s flu and Covid season again, and many of us are guiltily avoiding each other. Read this about how normal it is to have health anxiety, it will make you feel (paradoxically?) better 🤧 newhumanist.org.uk/articles/647...

@siobhan.bsky.social Hi Siobhan, I’d like to contact you re a potential opportunity with New Humanist, could you email editor@newhumanist.org.uk if interested, thanks

I interviewed an expert on space warfare. We need more public awareness he says, “it’s a democratic issue”

A fascinating piece of reportage from Japan on the nuclear choices all countries must make

A last late summer trek along the river Ouse… farewell cerulean skies

Also enjoying Saskia Vogel’s luminescent prose

A lot of people telling me they’re bored of contemporary fiction. Check out the small indie Fly On The Wall Press. These novels are brave and tender, and definitely bucked the tendency towards flat, anhedonic prose

Any science feature writers? We pay £350-450, send your pitches today or tomorrow!

We pay £350-450, depending on the piece

Also just a bunch of other amazing pieces, including @jamesrball.com on Luigi Mangione and the “rationalist” murders, and @tedilta.bsky.social on health anxiety, and why we should all be less obsessed with monitoring our bodies

Look up! New Humanist's Autumn 2025 issue on the battle for space is out now How the battle over space affects all of us

This is out! A much-needed shot in the arm and antidote to space pessimism. With contributions on the African Space Agency, indigenous “Sky grief” and my interview with Mark Hilborne on the need for regulation in our age of space warfare

Minds in search of meaning Therapists need to do more to help the many people today who feel their lives lack purpose

"Existential psychotherapy rises to the challenge of finding something to live for." Author and clinical psychologist Frank Tallis writes clearly and powerfully on why therapists should take the quest for meaning more seriously:

Unmasking the mind “Psychology should be based on empirical evidence and scientific methods,” claimed the founder of its modern form, cognitive psychology.  Yet critics argue it's unknown whether psychology really has m...

How concerned should we be about our inability to consistently replicate studies? It’s an issue that cuts to the heart of our ideas about truth and science, as I discovered hosting this eye-opening debate:

Andrew Copson awarded OBE in first-ever UK award for ‘Services to the Non-Religious’ Humanists UK’s Chief Executive Andrew Copson has been awarded an OBE for ‘services to the non-religious’ in the UK national honours announced today. This is the first time an award has been made for s...

And congratulations to @andrewcopson.bsky.social for the much deserved recognition of his services to the non-religious

humanists.uk/2025/06/13/a...

Fantastic energy at #Humanists2025 in Sheffield, on a weekend otherwise marked by dark news. A reminder of the many inspiring freethinkers who might just help get us out of this mess

I spoke to @nickfish.me, president of @atheists.org, about the ordinary Americans coming together to fight white Christian nationalism

Ian Dunt to chair ‘New Humanist’ Editorial Board Acclaimed political journalist and author Ian Dunt has been appointed as the Chair of the newly established Editorial Board for New Humanist magazine, following its merger with Humanists UK earlier th...

Very pleased to welcome @iandunt.bsky.social to our new editorial board. As Editor of New Humanist, I’m looking forward to some stimulating input from Ian and the board

Time to come together! New Humanist's Summer 2025 issue is out now As people across the globe respond to uncertainty by embracing division and dogma, our latest issue explores how to hold on to our shared humanity

The young, we are told, are returning to religion. But are they? This issue of New Humanist takes on the idea of a “crisis of meaning”. What’s really happening, and how do we navigate existential questions without embracing dogma? Buy it here:

Very excited about this coming out next week, and proud to be editor as the magazine hits an epic 140 years and enters a new era.

Subscribe now at newhumanist.org.uk or buy it in shops

Are you guilty of armchair diagnosing?

@newhumanist.bsky.social untangles the pop psychology from the science in a must-read on Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

Buy the issue on our website or in WHSmith ✨✨

We pay £350-500 for 2,500 word features, depending on the level of reporting involved.

A dangerous calculation Effective altruism has suffered a blow, but the extreme ideas surrounding it have infiltrated some of our most powerful organisations

In the wake of the federal government infiltration, we need to understand that much of the tech elite is operating on a completely different timeframe and set of assumptions and beliefs. So what are these beliefs, and where did they come from?

The fight back begins! New Humanist's Spring 2025 issue is out now Democracy is under attack worldwide. From the prophets and televangelists guiding Trump to the divides that threaten the anti-racist movement, our new issue explores what's at stake and how we can fig...

It’s out! Some brilliant features looking behind the headlines.

We meet the wild-eyed evangelicals behind the myth of Trump the messiah …

Talk to the experts on narcissism, untangling science from pop psychology…

And channel Max Weber to ask: What is politics actually for?

Buy it now! 💥

Our cyborg future? New Humanist's Winter 2024 issue explores the weird beliefs of the tech elites From brain implants to dark philosophies and an obsession with blood transfusion, our new issue takes a look at the beliefs and ambitions of the tech billionaires – and how they're taking root in the ...

It’s your last chance to buy @newhumanist.bsky.social’s current issue from the shops, on the weird beliefs of the tech elites. We could not have predicted how important this would be when we went to press, particularly @peterwardjourno.bsky.social’s deep dive into TESCREAL

It should be on the IAI site soon: shorturl.at/uC90c

In the meantime, the debate I hosted on Dostoevsky, Nietzsche and nihilism is trending. I think you can get a free trial and watch that @iai.tv

Enjoyed hosting a timely debate on the “crisis in psychology” last night with Nick Brown @steamtraen.eu, John Ioannidis and David Yeager (Carol couldn’t make it unfortunately.) A lot of great ideas on how to overcome the challenges of replicability, skewed incentives, and accounting for diversity

Hi Iram, please email if you’re interested, where I can pick up questions, thanks!

Seeking pitches of foreign reportage (especially interested in Bangladesh and Lebanon) for magazine features @newhumanist.bsky.social. #journorequest Editor@newhumanist.org.uk

“Love is for the ones who love the work.” Thought this poem by Joseph Fasano was a suitable first Bluesky post, in honour of refusing enshittification and making a beautiful effort 🌱✨✨✨