Author Talk

We look forward to supporting this event organised by the Bristol Humanists with Robin Dunbar, author of How Religion Evolved.

When did humans develop spiritual thought? What is religion's evolutionary purpose? And in our increasingly secular world, why has it endured?

Every society in the history of humanity has lived with religion. In How Religion Evolved, its origins are tracked back to what Robin Dunbar terms the 'mystical stance,' the aspect of human psychology that predisposes us to believe in a transcendent world, and which makes an encounter with the spiritual possible. He will explore world religions and their many derivatives, as well as religions of experience practised by hunter-gatherer societies.

Drawing on path-breaking research, clinical case studies and fieldwork from around the globe, as well as stories of charismatic cult leaders, mysterious sects and lost faiths, How Religion Evolved will offer a fascinating and far-reaching analysis of this quintessentially human impulse to believe.

Robin Dunbar is Emeritus Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Oxford. He is perhaps most famous for the 'Dunbar Number', which is the 150 individuals that each human can sustain meaningful relationships with. His work in anthropology and psychology focuses on the mechanisms that underpin social bonding in primates in general, and humans in particular. He considers that understanding these mechanisms, which includes religion, and the functions that those relationships serve, will give us insights into how humans have managed to create large scale societies using a form of psychology that is evolutionarily adapted to very small scale societies, and why these mechanisms are less than perfect in the modern world.

https://www.meetup.com/bristol-humanists/events/315842885/?eventOrigin=group_events_list

We look forward to supporting this event organised by the Bristol Humanists: Sian Norris on Bodies Under Siege: How the Far–Right Attack on Reproductive Rights Went Global Sian is a writer, journalist and copywriter specialising in reporting and investigations into women's rights – with a particular focus on reproductive rights and ending men's violence against women. Think today's anti-abortion ideas are rooted in religious prohibitions or arguments about where life begins? Wrong: today's anti-abortion movements is largely financed and planned by far-right extremists. Many of them are avowedly fascist and white supremacist, afraid of a "great replacement" of the world's white population by other races, who are working hard to reshape governments and policies across Europe, North America and around the world. Much of this far-right organizing and funding network, however, has been overlooked by today's feminist and left movements. More details to follow.

We are very much looking forward to hosting a book stall and signing at St George's for an evening with Brian Bilston. Full details and tickets on their website.

With over 500,000 followers on social media and a host of sell-out shows across the country, Brian Bilston is one of the UK’s most popular poets.

He has published several bestselling collections of poetry, including You Took the Last Bus Home, Alexa, what is there to know about love? and Days Like These. His novel Diary of a Somebody was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award, and he has also written collections of poetry for younger readers. In 2025 he released an album of his poetry set to music, Sounds Made by Humans, in collaboration with The Catenary Wires.

This autumn sees Brian return to the stage with his latest book, How to Lay an Egg with a Horse Inside. Get ready for an evening of comedy and laughter, as he takes us through the hows, whys and whats of reading, writing and enjoying poetry every day.

We look forward to supporting this event organised by Bristol Humanists. 

Full details to follow. 

Dr Mark Williamson is co-founder and Director of Action for Happiness.

His book offers 23 practical ways to make life happier. It's based on evidence from the latest scientific research combined with unique insights from the author plus proven ideas that he has helped thousands of people to adopt successfully in their everyday lives. It goes much deeper than typical self-help advice, covering a wide range of themes which contribute to lifelong wellbeing.