With the great powers facing off and a global authoritarian slide, we are entering a new era of brazen propaganda. But for all those who keep their heads down, there are many more who refuse to go along with it.
In the Spring 2026 edition of New Humanist, we celebrate the heroes of free thought on the frontlines of the battle against dogma and ideology – from the Belarusian women standing up for democracy despite imprisonment and exile, to the poet translating Orwell into Chinese and the therapists helping people rebuild their belief systems after leaving religious groups.
We also hear from Harvard's Steven Pinker about defending America's besieged universities and historian David Olusoga about why we must revisit the story of the Empire.
Keep reading for a peek inside!
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Defend the truth!
We hear from six champions of free thought around the world about how to fight back against propaganda and protect the truth – including journalist Andrei Kolesnikov on Russia's last remaining dissidents, campaigner Zoe Gardner on how to fight anti-immigration misinformation, and climate and vaccine scientists Michael E. Mann and Peter Hotez on how everyone can do their bit to defend science.
"Today, harm is being done by the spread of despair and defeatism, some of it weaponised by bad actors like Russia to create division and disengagement. We are, in fact, far from defeat"
Breaking free from belief
A growing number of UK therapists are helping people "deconstruct" their beliefs after leaving high-control religious groups. Journalist Ellie Broughton meets the therapists leading the charge, and the clients working to rebuild their belief systems.
“Over time, losing your religion may start to feel less like a loss, and more like an opportunity to rebuild yourself from the ground up”
Inside the women’s prisons of Belarus
Women played a key role in the Belarusian pro-democracy movement that came to a head in the summer of 2020. More than five years later, hundreds of women are still being held as political prisoners or have been forced to live in exile. And yet, they refuse to give up. Journalist Alexandra Domenech hears their stories.
"Despite the government’s attempts to crush their spirits, the women who have emerged from penal colonies tell stories of defiance and solidarity"
Steven Pinker on America's besieged universities
Harvard's high-profile psychologist Steven Pinker has long argued that a lack of political diversity at US universities is skewing research – but now there's a new and more dangerous threat from the Trump administration. He spoke to us about why it's important to fight attacks on academic freedom, no matter where they come from.
"Professors and students have been harassed, fired, sanctioned and censored for constitutionally protected speech"
David Olusoga on Empire, religion in Britain – and The Traitors
Following the success of his BBC Two series Empire, historian David Olusoga explores the challenges of talking about the British Empire today, the influence of the Church in Britain – and why carefully-crafted logic got him nowhere on Celebrity Traitors.
"Much of the hostility towards anything to do with the Empire is just a desire to not have to hear difficult things about Britain"
Also in the Spring 2026 edition:
- Journalist Katherine Denkinson explores how the manosphere is using God to target young men
- Laurie Taylor digs into how life-changing rethinks can hinge on a single word
- Zion Lights looks at the biomedical breakthroughs giving us a reason to feel cheerful
- We can now study diseases to track people and fight crime, writes Oxford bioethicist Tess Johnson – but should we?
- Richard Pallardy explores the havoc that can follow when farm animals breed with wild species
- Award-winning comedian Shaparak Khorsandi on how Stranger Things united the generations
- BBC Radio 4 presenter Samira Ahmed on the new nouvelle vague
- National treasure Michael Rosen explores the history of the word "climate" in the latest edition of his language column
- Marcus Chown on how our tiny brains are able to make sense of the Universe
- Lily Allen's album West End Girl got everyone talking about non-monogamy – but it tells an old story, argue academics Carrie Jenkins and Carla Nappi
- Jessica Furseth on the undiluted joy of the Wes Anderson archives
- Jody Ray takes a tense but awe-inspiring tour of Libya
- We talk to Russian-British comedian Olga Koch about comedy, class and computers
Plus more fascinating features on the biggest topics shaping our world today, book reviews, original poetry, and our regular cryptic crossword and brainteaser.
