Sunday August 9th, 2026. [Online] Recognizing, Resisting & Reversing Authoritarianism

This will be an online Zoom meeting.  See our online meeting instructions at: https://torontooasis.org/online-meeting-instructions.  Our program will run from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. You can join the meeting starting at 10:45 am for our open social.

Friedrich Hayek (1899-1992), co-Laurette of the 1974 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, was one of the most influential economists of the twentieth century. His key insight was how prices provide the information needed to coordinate the economic activities of millions of people without a central planner. Another key insight was that if people have economic freedom, markets will emerge as a spontaneous order. Based on these insights, Hayek developed his theory of the business cycle which was cited by the Nobel committee in awarding him the Nobel Prize. From these insights, he also developed his critiques of Keynesianism and socialism.

For Hayek, these were not merely academic arguments, but in light of what happened in Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, and the Soviet Union, were of the utmost practical importance. In The Road to Serfdom (1944), he warned that autocracy could also emerge in democracies if central governments take too large a role in the economic lives of their citizens.

This presentation by Toronto Oasis participant Paul Kaplan will discuss Hayek’s ideas and their relevancy today.

Please RSVP on our Meetup page for this event to get access to the Zoom link: https://www.meetup.com/toronto-oasis/events/316142873

By participating in this event, you agree to abide by the Toronto Oasis Code of Conduct (http://torontooasis.org/code-of-conduct).

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

Sunday August 16th, 2026. Toronto Oasis Hiatus

There will be no Toronto Oasis meeting on this Sunday August 16th.

As a reminder, there will still be a Meet & Greet on Friday August 28th from 6 pm to 9 pm, taking place at the Cherie Bistro in downtown Toronto. This Meet & Greet will be jointly hosted by Toronto Oasis and the Humanist Association of Toronto (HAT). Please check out the Meetup event page for this Meet & Greet for more information and to RSVP.

Participants can also join West Hill United, a secular community similar to Toronto Oasis, for their Sunday Gathering at 10:30 am ET. This Gathering will be held both online and in-person.

The link to join the Gathering online is here.

For those who would like to attend in-person, West Hill United is located at 62 Orchard Park Drive in Scarborough, Ontario. It is accessible by both public transit (TTC) and by car.

Toronto Oasis will be back on Sunday August 23rd.

 

Sunday August 9th, 2026. [Online] Recognizing, Resisting & Reversing Authoritarianism

This will be an online Zoom meeting.  See our online meeting instructions at: https://torontooasis.org/online-meeting-instructions.  Our program will run from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. You can join the meeting starting at 10:45 am for our open social.

We will be viewing and then discussing video(s) featuring Stacey Abrams.  She is an American politician, lawyer, voting rights activist, and author who served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017, serving as minority leader from 2011 to 2017.  This topic & video were selected and will be introduced by Tania Akon, a Toronto Oasis organizer.

Please RSVP on our Meetup page for this event to get access to the Zoom link: https://www.meetup.com/toronto-oasis/events/315920202

By participating in this event, you agree to abide by the Toronto Oasis Code of Conduct (http://torontooasis.org/code-of-conduct).

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

Sunday August 2nd, 2026. [Online] Why Books Matter

This will be an online Zoom meeting.  See our online meeting instructions at: https://torontooasis.org/online-meeting-instructions.  Our program will run from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. You can join the meeting starting at 10:45 am for our open social.

We will be viewing and then discussing a TED talk by Ann Patchett, novelist and owner of an independent bookstore in Nashville. This topic & video were selected and will be introduced by Tanya Long, a Toronto Oasis participant.

Please RSVP on our Meetup page for this event to get access to the Zoom link: https://www.meetup.com/toronto-oasis/events/315735774

By participating in this event, you agree to abide by the Toronto Oasis Code of Conduct (http://torontooasis.org/code-of-conduct).

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

Sunday July 26th, 2026. Toronto Oasis Hiatus

There will be no Toronto Oasis meeting on this Sunday July 26th.

As a reminder, there will still be a Meet & Greet on Friday July 24th from 6 pm to 9 pm, taking place at the Cherie Bistro in downtown Toronto. This Meet & Greet will be jointly hosted by Toronto Oasis and the Humanist Association of Toronto (HAT). Please check out the Meetup event page for this Meet & Greet for more information and to RSVP.

Participants can also join West Hill United, a secular community similar to Toronto Oasis, for their Sunday Gathering at 10:30 am ET. This Gathering will be held both online and in-person.

The link to join the Gathering online is here.

For those who would like to attend in-person, West Hill United is located at 62 Orchard Park Drive in Scarborough, Ontario. It is accessible by both public transit (TTC) and by car.

Toronto Oasis will be back on Sunday August 2nd.

 

Sunday July 19th, 2026. [Online] The Nature of Work

This will be an online Zoom meeting.  See our online meeting instructions at: https://torontooasis.org/online-meeting-instructions.  Our program will run from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. You can join the meeting starting at 10:45 am for our open social.

We will be watching and then discussing a video which talks about anthropologist David Graeber’s ideas regarding the nature of work. The video will be introduced by Toronto Oasis organizer Ryan Zhang.

Please RSVP on our Meetup page for this event to get access to the Zoom link: https://www.meetup.com/toronto-oasis/events/315655915

By participating in this event, you agree to abide by the Toronto Oasis Code of Conduct (http://torontooasis.org/code-of-conduct).

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

Sunday July 5th, 2026. [Online] Rethinking What We Believe About Stress

This will be an online Zoom meeting.  See our online meeting instructions at: https://torontooasis.org/online-meeting-instructions.  Our program will run from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. You can join the meeting starting at 10:45 am for our open social.

We will be listening to and then discussing a TED talk by psychologist Kelly McGonigal, a lecturer at Stanford University and the author of The Willpower Instinct, The Upside of Stress, and The Joy of Movement. This topic & video were selected and will be introduced by Tania Akon, a Toronto Oasis organizer.

Please RSVP on our Meetup page for this event to get access to the Zoom link: https://www.meetup.com/toronto-oasis/events/315457226/

By participating in this event, you agree to abide by the Toronto Oasis Code of Conduct (http://torontooasis.org/code-of-conduct).

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

Sunday June 28th, 2026. [Online] Cooking & Mental Health

This will be an online Zoom meeting.  See our online meeting instructions at: https://torontooasis.org/online-meeting-instructions.  Our program will run from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. You can join the meeting starting at 10:45 am for our open social.

We will be listening to and then discussing a podcast episode featuring Christina Chaey, a writer and recipe developer. It’s about cooking, mental health and depression; and how cooking can be a tool for self compassion. This topic & video was selected and will be introduced by Tania Akon, a Toronto Oasis organizer.

Please RSVP on our Meetup page for this event to get access to the Zoom link: https://www.meetup.com/toronto-oasis/events/315356789/

By participating in this event, you agree to abide by the Toronto Oasis Code of Conduct (http://torontooasis.org/code-of-conduct).

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

Sunday June 21st, 2026. [Online] What Science Reveals About Our Place in the Universe Part II

This will be an online Zoom meeting.  See our online meeting instructions at: https://torontooasis.org/online-meeting-instructions.  Our program will run from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. You can join the meeting starting at 10:45 am for our open social.

This will be the second in our series: What Science Reveals About Our Place in the Universe.  In the first featured presentation in this series, last month, we watched a video featuring Michelle Thaller, an astronomer and former Assistant Director for Science Communication at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.  This Sunday, we’ll be watching and then discussing a TEDx talk by Bob McDonald, a science journalist and host of Quirks & Quarks since 1992 on CBC radio.  This topic & video was selected and will be introduced by Tania Akon, a Toronto Oasis organizer.

Please RSVP on our Meetup page for this event to get access to the Zoom link: https://www.meetup.com/toronto-oasis/events/315258353/

By participating in this event, you agree to abide by the Toronto Oasis Code of Conduct (http://torontooasis.org/code-of-conduct).

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!

Sunday June 14th, 2026. [Online] Fifty Years After Stonewall

This will be an online Zoom meeting.  See our online meeting instructions at: https://torontooasis.org/online-meeting-instructions.  Our program will run from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. You can join the meeting starting at 10:45 am for our open social.

We will be watching and then discussing a video by PBS NewsHour. The topic & video were selected and will be introduced by Tanya Long, a Toronto Oasis participant.

Please RSVP on our Meetup page for this event to get access to the Zoom link: https://www.meetup.com/toronto-oasis/events/315149138/

By participating in this event, you agree to abide by the Toronto Oasis Code of Conduct (http://torontooasis.org/code-of-conduct).

Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and perhaps some new ones!