This is part of a series of interviews with prominent humanists by Canadian journalist Scott Douglas Jacobsen. He spoke with Nicole Carr, the editor of the Humanist magazine and theHumanist.com, about both publications of the American Humanist Association.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: We met briefly in Copenhagen [in August 2023 at the World Humanist Congress], I believe, where you informed me that you had taken on not just one interim position, but two. I admire both your gumption to take on both roles and your foreknowledge of the hard work involved in assuming both the executive directorship and chief editorship of a major humanist organization. Congratulations on undertaking this challenge. …How was that transition for you?
Nicole Carr: I have been handling the editorship for some time now. The interim executive director role came a bit later, giving me a chance to gradually acclimate to it. I have been managing both roles since March 2023. I first spoke with you in Copenhagen in August. It has been a while now. I feel somewhat settled into it. It is a significant responsibility, but, fortunately, there is an active board of directors providing a lot of support, and a wonderful staff that has really stepped up, as well, during this period. Prior to this, I was the AHA’s deputy director, so transitioning to the executive director role has involved a reassignment of responsibilities. For example, I used to primarily plan our annual conferences, a task which Meredith Thompson from our staff has now taken over, allowing me to focus on other areas. It has really been a redistribution of everyone’s responsibilities. Luckily, we have many committed individuals.
Jacobsen: When managing these two positions, do you find your workday becoming a blend of various tasks, or do you allocate specific times for each role, such as afternoons for executive director duties and evenings for editor responsibilities? Are there certain times during the week designated for editorial tasks?
Carr: There are specific times and periods in the calendar designated for editorial work. We have two publications: a print magazine published quarterly [the Humanist magazine] and a weekly newsletter sent out every Friday [theHumanist.com], for which we publish three articles a week. We hold a writers’ meeting each week to coordinate these efforts. Every Tuesday afternoon, the entire staff gathers to discuss story ideas and identify the important issues and programs that we need to cover. We also talk about who we can reach out to from outside the staff to contribute articles. This meeting is a dedicated time set aside for these discussions. Then, on Friday mornings, we pull everything together, and I write the staff notes. These are two dedicated times specifically for the digital publication. As for the print publication, the weeks leading up to a publication deadline are very intensive. A lot of time is spent on hardcore editing and collaborating with the graphic designer. Fortunately, these periods are spread out across the year, allowing me to fit the rest of the work around my executive director responsibilities. The work tends to expand to fill the available time.
Jacobsen: Regarding the editorial work during those intensive periods, how do you streamline that process? Do you have systems in place to manage it effectively?
Carr: The most challenging part for me is finding the two major features for each issue of the print magazine. The remaining content typically includes columns from outside writers, shorter pieces reprinted from our online publication, book reviews, and similar articles. Outside of the three-week intensive period, I’m constantly on the lookout for feature ideas for upcoming issues. Occasionally, writers pitch us with potential articles. During the three weeks leading up to publication, my focus is on the shorter articles. I choose which pieces to reprint from the digital magazine and ensure that all promised contributions from outside writers are received on schedule. I also work closely with the graphic designer on layout and copy editing. The feature articles, on the other hand, require a longer lead time.
Jacobsen: Do you find graphic design coordination or editorial coordination more difficult?
Carr: The editorial coordination is more difficult. Finding the right mix of articles to reprint so that the issue makes sense as a whole while also appealing to different segments of our audience is challenging. With the exception of the annual issue that reprints talks from our conference, we try to cover a wide range of subjects and issues. Different parts of the humanist community emphasize different values in their humanism. It’s a cultural lens on universal themes, which influences the types of articles that interest our readership.
Jacobsen: For an American audience, what themes tend to be of interest?
Carr: Our audience tends to be very interested in progressive social justice issues, such as racial equity, reproductive rights/healthcare, and LGBTQ concerns. There’s also significant interest in combating Christian nationalism in culture, government, and the judiciary. Additionally, many are interested in what it means to live humanism in day-to-day life, as well as issues related to science and critical thinking. We try to cover a bit of each of these topics in every issue, though typically one theme becomes more prominent in any given magazine. For example, the most recent issue featured Anthony Pinn’s new book on the history of black non-believers as the cover story. We try to maintain variety from issue to issue.
Jacobsen: What is your favorite part of your job, Nicole?
Carr: My favorite part is being exposed to ideas that I might not encounter otherwise. As the editor, people like you bring their ideas to me, pitching stories about what they want to explore and what they think is important for our audience. This allows me to engage with a wide array of ideas and concerns that I might not come into contact with if people weren’t reaching out to me as the editor.
Jacobsen: What issues do you find the readership can be divided on? Humanists are not a monolith.
Carr: Yes, there are lots of issues that we can get pushback on. In terms of issues specifically about humanism, we frequently get pushback if we discuss either religious humanism or any kind of interfaith outreach. There is a portion of our audience, often referred to as hardcore non-theists, who are primarily interested in issues of separation of church and state. They feel that this should be our sole focus. However, we view our mission more broadly. As encompassing social justice issues and collaboration with people who share our values, even if they hold religious beliefs that we, as humanists, do not share. We believe it is important to work with individuals and organizations across the aisle if they share our vision for the world. This collaboration can be beneficial to our readership and helps us achieve common goals.
Jacobsen: And in a way, it’s a pragmatic approach to humanism. It makes sense for an institution with a broad audience to appeal to a wide range of individuals. Especially in the United States, many civil rights victories have been achieved through coalitions with people who may disagree on some core issues but align on specific causes. This approach can be more effective than focusing on differences.
Carr: Exactly.
Jacobsen: What can people look forward to in the upcoming issue?
Carr: The upcoming issue, which is due at the end of the month, will focus on the 10th anniversary of our digital newsletter. We’re planning a retrospective of some of the important articles from the past ten years. This should provide insight into the interests of humanists and the work of the AHA over the last decade. The issue after that, our fall issue, will be the conference issue. It will include content from our virtual conference on September 14th and 15th, such as acceptance speeches from awards’ recipients and transcripts of panel discussions. I haven’t yet started working on the winter issue.
Jacobsen: What changes have you noticed in the themes of interest to American humanists over the last decade?
Carr: We used to have a different approach to our publications. They used to be more journalistic. Now, they’re more focused on our programming and the issues we’re working on. Over the last few years, particularly the last three, we have narrowed our focus to concentrate more directly on humanism and the core issues we work on. When Jennifer Bardi was the editor and with previous editors, the approach was more expansive. Narrowing our focus might sound negative, but it allows us to align more closely with the interests of our audience and the goals and mission of the organization.
Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and for your service, Nicole.
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