Free Inquiry Audio Edition

Brian D. Earp responds to Steve Grumette's criticism of his scholarship on child genital cutting. Read this article and find accompanying references at: https://secularhumanism.org/2026/09/from-vibe-coding-to-vibe-critiquing-on-ai-bullshit-and-what-i-actually-argue-about-genital-cutting-a-response-to-steve-grumette/ About the Author: Brian D. Earp is a philosopher, cognitive scientist, and bioethicist. He is currently Associate Professor of Biomedical Ethics and, by courtesy, Associate Professor of Philosophy and of Psychology at the National University of Singapore (NUS). With Lucy Frith and Arianne Shahvisi, he is co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Medical Ethics, published by the BMJ, and Editor-in-Chief of its new companion journal, JME Practical Bioethics. His website is https://www.brianearp.com/. Subscribe to Free Inquiry: https://secularhumanism.org/subscribe/

Daniel N. MacClymont argues that male circumcision and female genital mutilation (FGM) share important ethical concerns, including the nonconsensual removal of healthy genital tissue from children and the potential for lasting physical and sexual harm. Responding to critics who distinguish the practices by their severity, he contends that both encompass a range of outcomes that can overlap, and that children's bodily autonomy should be protected by consistent ethical standards regardless of sex. Read this article and find accompanying references at: https://secularhumanism.org/2026/09/male-circumcision-and-female-genital-mutilation-a-response-to-steve-grumette-and-others/ About the Author: Daniel N. MacClymont is a cofounder of the Genital Autonomy Legal Defense and Education Fund (GALDEF.org), a nonprofit organization that pursues precedent-setting impact litigation to protect all children from the harms of medically unnecessary and non-consensual genital cutting customs.  Subscribe to Free Inquiry: https://secularhumanism.org/subscribe/

Steve Grumette argues that female genital mutilation (FGM) and routine male circumcision should not be treated as morally or medically equivalent simply because both involve nonconsensual genital alteration. Read this article and find accompanying references at: https://secularhumanism.org/2026/09/a-dangerous-false-equivalence/ About the Author: Steve Grumette is an Academy Award–winning filmmaker (The Magic Machines, Best Live Action Short) and pioneer of live computer imagery in Hollywood, with credits including WarGames. A UCLA-trained engineer and physicist, he writes on philosophy and criminal justice ethics. He is the founder and artistic director of the Ojai Film Festival and lives in Oak View, California. Subscribe to Free Inquiry: https://secularhumanism.org/subscribe/

Ben Bayer examines Bart Ehrman's history of Christian altruism, arguing that Christianity's emphasis on selfless service to strangers represented a major shift in Western moral thinking but was rooted in religious faith rather than rational evidence. Read this article and find accompanying references at: https://secularhumanism.org/2026/09/stranger-danger-how-bart-ehrmans-latest-unmasks-the-history-of-altruism/ About the Author: Ben Bayer, PhD in philosophy and formerly a professor, is a senior fellow at the Ayn Rand Institute (ARI). He is the author of the forthcoming book Breaking Free from Faith-Based Morality (Ayn Rand University Press, 2026). He writes and edits for ARI's online publication, New Ideal. Twitter: @BenBayer. Subscribe to Free Inquiry: https://secularhumanism.org/subscribe/

Ronald A. Lindsay argues in his final Free Inquiry editorial that humanism should remain a philosophy grounded in freedom of inquiry, reason, evidence, and individual autonomy rather than becoming a system of dogma or ideological litmus tests. He warns that attempts to enforce orthodoxy on contentious issues—including race, transgender identity, and sex—undermine humanism's commitment to open debate and scientific inquiry, concluding that some humanists risk turning secular humanism into the very kind of creed they have historically opposed. Read this article and find accompanying references at: https://secularhumanism.org/2026/09/final-thoughts-is-humanism-a-creed/ About the Author: Ronald A. Lindsay is the former president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry, recent interim general counsel for CFI, and editor of Free Inquiry magazine. Subscribe to Free Inquiry: https://secularhumanism.org/subscribe/

The Center for Inquiry welcomes Ariel Peckel to his new position as Exectutive Director of the Council for Secular Humanism and editor of Free Inquiry. Read this article and find accompanying references at: https://secularhumanism.org/2026/09/ariel-peckel-named-new-executive-director-of-csh-and-editor-of-free-inquiry/ Subscribe to Free Inquiry: https://secularhumanism.org/subscribe/

Ronald A. Lindsay previews his last issue as editor of Free Inquiry, Volume 46, Number 6, titled Altruism & Its Christian Taint. Read this article and find accompanying references at: https://secularhumanism.org/2026/09/in-this-issue-october-november-2026/ About the Author: Ronald A. Lindsay is the former president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry, recent interim general counsel for CFI, and editor of Free Inquiry magazine. Subscribe to Free Inquiry: https://secularhumanism.org/subscribe/

Daniel James Sharp argues that freethinkers and secular humanists in both the United States and Britain face a growing threat from Christian nationalism and other forms of religious authoritarianism, making international solidarity more important than ever. Read this article and find accompanying references at: https://secularhumanism.org/exclusive/we-need-a-good-dose-of-freethinking-internationalist-solidarity-and-a-belated-happy-fourth-of-july/ About the Author: Daniel James Sharp is a senior editor at Free Inquiry and editor of the Freethinker. In addition to these, his writing has appeared in various other publications, including Areo Magazine, Quillette, the Washington Examiner, Merion West, The Critic, OnlySky, Queer Majority, and the Spectator Australia. Subscribe to Free Inquiry: https://secularhumanism.org/subscribe/

Bart Laws examines the realities behind crime, punishment, and incarceration in the United States, challenging common assumptions that harsher penalties alone can solve crime. Read this article and find accompanying references at: https://secularhumanism.org/2026/07/crime-and-punishment/ About the Author: Bart Laws is a medical sociologist and an adjunct associate professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice at Brown University. Subscribe to Free Inquiry: https://secularhumanism.org/subscribe/

Ronald A. Lindsay praises S. T. Joshi's The Downfall of God: A History of Atheism in the West, Vol. 2 as a comprehensive and authoritative account of how scientific, philosophical, literary, and cultural developments fueled the rise of atheism from the seventeenth century to today. He argues that the book's depth, breadth, and nuanced treatment of influential thinkers make it the definitive modern history of atheism and a landmark contribution to secular scholarship. Read this article and find accompanying references at: https://secularhumanism.org/2026/07/god-takes-a-tumble/ About the Author: Ronald A. Lindsay is the former president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry, recent interim general counsel for CFI, and editor of Free Inquiry magazine. Subscribe to Free Inquiry: https://secularhumanism.org/subscribe/