Two humanists are traveling the country, living out of their car and on savings and donations for a whole year, interviewing or even embedding themselves among all sorts of people who are often ignored or ground under by the American system, and seeking empirical understanding of common human challenges and hardships. They are visiting the real America. And reporting on it. And reporting on what humanist values should mean for us in light of what they uncover.

This is The Humanist Experience. It’s a great podcast. And the most unusual to date. They are doing two things I’ve never seen before: (1) They are actually going all in, walking the walk, by actually giving up daily work lives to drive around the country experiencing things and talking to people, to hear and communicate their stories with understanding; and (2) They are using storytelling and experiential learning to do this. Their view is, you need experience to understand a thing, and you need understanding of a thing to have a valid opinion of it, in particular, an opinion of what to do about it, or even whether to do something about it. Storytelling, recording their own and others’ experiences, in their philosophy, is a crucial way to aesthetically communicate the reality of the world and to get people aware and comprehending of what’s going on in it. Part of their inspiration is This American Life, so fans of that take note. It’s fascinating. And I highly recommend checking it out.

Here is their description:

The Humanist Experience is a podcast that uses experiential learning and storytelling to gain insight into the world around us. We’ll spend a year traveling all over the country directly experiencing contemporary social issues. And then we’ll share our stories. We’ll spend time in a California community that ran out of water. We’ll take the “food desert challenge” and eat only food that can be purchased at a gas station. We’ll share our story of spending a month without shelter in the Phoenix summer…and many more experiences!

…

The Humanist Experience is a unique podcast series where we seek out radical experiences that educate our emotions and expand our world. Our commitment to social change motivates us to look for ways to effectively connect people to contemporary issues—and persuade them to become changemakers! The Humanist Experience uses experiential learning and storytelling to do just that. We see story, context, and experience as crucial tools for real understanding. Our podcast uses these tools to provide insight and inspiration for engaging positively in the world around us.

This podcast is being produced in collaboration with Unbelievers Media LLC in Tempe, AZ. And is being run on donations. So at the very least please spread the word, help make their project known and visible. Visit and like their their Facebook Page. Follow them on Twitter @HumanistExp. Talk about and bookmark their website. And if possible, please give them much needed Financial Support. Your patronage of their project will be most welcome, and keep them going, and confirm that what they are doing is valued and valuable.

These two intrepid hosts are:

Evan Clark, “a facilitator, an activist, a traveler, and a seventh generation Californian” who “has over 8 years experience creating and leading community groups for social change.” He is also “the vice-chair of the Secular Student Alliance and is the Founder and Creative Director at Spectrum Experience, a Humanist brand and PR firm.” He also really loves Trader Joe’s Almond Granola cereal. And…

Seráh Blain, “a mom, an activist, a rollerskating enthusiast, and a vegan” who “also plays the baritone ukulele” and has “more than 15 years of political and nonprofit advocacy experience.” She “has dedicated her career to advancing social justice through public policy and grassroots community organizing” and is “currently Partner and Senior Strategist at Spectrum Experience.”

Their life goal presently is to kickstart their secularist PR firm and make a go at that professionally. They both have a lot of real world skill and experience at that. But while they get that going, they are doing this. Check it out. And if you are as impressed, like and share their social media pages, and send them some support.