Covid, Afghanistan and court reform are among this week's topics. We hear from the winners of FFRF's "First in the Family" Freethought Tuition Relief for students of color (selected by Black Skeptics Los Angeles). Then FFRF's Director of Communication Amit Pal joins as we talk with Professor Benjamin Cowan about his new book Moral Majorities across the Americas: Brazil, the United States. and the Creation of the Religious Right .
We begin by criticizing anti-science resistance to vaccinations and masking. After reporting an FFRF state/church victory in Florida, stopping a high-school baseball coach from praying with students, we hear the 1986 rock song "Dear God" by atheist Andy Partridge. Then we speak with Professor and author Juan Cole of the University of Michigan, an expert on the Middle East and South Asia, about what is happening with the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan.
We are still fighting religious resistance to vaccinations. FFRF attorney Liz Cavell tells us about FFRF's new "Prayer Walk Report" describing how some public schools are unconstitutionally inviting or allowing "prayer warriors" to invade the campus. Then former African imam Mohamed Cisse tells us why he left Islam and is now a board member of the secular Clergy Project.
Masks, vaccinations and religion. After reporting FFRF legal complaints and victories, we celebrate the birthdate of 19th-century freethinker Robert G. Ingersoll by listening to his voice on an early 1890s Edison cylinder and hearing the song "The Time To Be Happy Is Now," which is based on Ingersoll's creed. Then we speak with former minister Candace Gorham, a licensed mental health counselor, about her new book Death, Dying, and Disbelief.
We discuss the Christian nationalism behind the Jan. 6 insurrection and call for increased vaccination. After reporting state/church news and hearing the song "Just Say NO To Religion," we speak with Lon Ostrander, a former Wesleyan minister who is now president of The Clergy Project, which helps ministers and priests who no longer believe to leave the pulpit.
After listening to state/church news and decrying the religious anti-vaxxers, we hear Shelley Segal's song "I Don't Believe in Fairies" from her "Atheist Album." Then we talk with cognitive psychologist, linguist and author Steven Pinker (FFRF's Honorary Chair) about his book Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Humanism, Science, and Progress.
Proselytizing deputies, anti-abortion lawmakers, sexual predators, praying judges — FFRF is fighting them. After hearing irreverent humor from the comedians Robin Williams and Phyllis Diller, we talk with Robert P. Jones, CEO of Public Religion Research Institute, about the organization's new unprecedented county-by-county "2020 Census on Religion in America" showing that while religion is shrinking, the nonreligious percentage is holding steady.
This week, we report state/church victories in Colorado and Pennsylvania. After hearing poems by feminist, activist and atheist Sherry Matulis— "Religion's Child" and "Benediction," set to music by Dan Barker— we talk with Pakistani-American Muhammad Syed, co-founder and president of Ex Muslims of North America (EXMNA), about the new and unique "Apostate Report" that surveyed hundreds of former Muslims who have left Islam.
We honor Independence Day by celebrating our independence from religion. After hearing the optimistic song "There's a Good Time Coming" by Stephen Foster (born July 4, 1826), we talk with reporter and author Sarah Posner about her book, Unholy: Why White Evangelicals Worship at the Altar of Donald Trump.
We cover state/church news at the federal and state levels and talk about a new global study showing (unsurprisingly) that Christians are not happier than atheists. After hearing the song "Adrift On A Star," words by freethinking lyricist Yip Harburg and music by Dan Barker, we talk with FFRF's Reproductive Rights intern Barbara Alvarez about the growing threats to abortion rights from religiously motivated legislators.
Happy Juneteenth and Happy Summer Solstice! FFRF attorney Patrick Elliott joins us to talk about today's Supreme Court Fulton decision over whether a publicly funded religious organization can refuse to place foster-care children with same-sex parents. Then we speak with journalist Helen Christophi about her article in the April/May Progressive magazine called "For Christ's Sake: Leonard Leo's Network Is Trying To Reshape the World Into the Kingdom of God."
This week there is plenty of evidence that "nothing fails like prayer." We report on state/church complaints in Utah, North Carolina, Milwaukee, Texas and Oregon. After hearing freethinking Broadway composer Charles Strouse's song "Poor Little Me" (lyrics by Dan Barker), we talk with historian Kristin Du Mez about her new book " Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation."
We celebrate Pride Month and President Biden's decision not to fund the religiously repressive Hyde Amendment. After hearing the Cole Porter song "Experiment," we honor the legacy of U.S. Founder Thomas Paine by hearing his words in the song "The World Is My Country." Then we talk with leading constitutional scholar Geoffrey Stone about the Supreme Court's decision to accept a Mississippi case restricting abortion.
Breaking news! FFRF won its lawsuit against a Texas judge who opens his courtroom sessions with a prayer. We hear Christopher Hitchens talking about facing death, and then a "funny" song about death by Dan Barker called "No Hurry To Die." Then we speak with philosopher and author Andy Norman about his new groundbreaking book Mental Immunity: Infectious Ideas, Mind-Parasites, and the Search for a Better Way to Think .
It is the merry month of May and the scary month of May. Secular groups make history by meeting with the White House Office of Faith-Based & Neighborhood Partnerships, but the Supreme Court decision to hear an abortion ban case is very bad news. After listening to Kristin Lems' song Days of the Theocracy , we talk with sociologist Phil Zuckerman, a professor at Pitzer College, about his Secular Studies program and his LA Times article claiming: "There is no reason to fear a secular nation."...
A state/church victory in Georgia, praise for Secretary of State Blinken's inclusion of nonbelievers and for an HHS proposal to expand family planning services. After hearing the Sherry Matulis poem "Benediction," expressing pride in being an atheist, we talk with author Anu Garg, a former Hindu who is now an atheist, the founder of Wordsmith (wordsmith.org) and the writer of the popular "A Word A Day" email that has hundreds of thousands of subscribers in almost 200 countries.
VICTORY! Today we announce a major victory in our lawsuit against Texas Gov. Greg Abbot's censorship of FFRF's Bill of Rights display. Margaret Downey of the Freethought Society tells us how atheists and agnostics are helping the homeless and the hungry through the Mayday For Humanity event featuring well-known comedians, actors and musicians. Then, FFRF's Director of Communications Amit Pal describes how Hindu nationalism and religious beliefs are exacerbating the current COVID megatragedy in I...
We talk about rogue priests, predator priests, sanctimonious senators, creationist lawmakers and charitable atheists. After hearing Dan Barker's first freethought song, "You Can't Win With Original Sin," we talk with Jennifer Taylor, the new president of the Rationalists of East Tennessee, about how she escaped the Jehovah's Witnesses to become a happy freethinker.
We celebrate Earth Day and 15 years of broadcasting Freethought Radio by announcing some good news on the state/church front. After hearing Dan Barker's song "None of the Above," we talk with psychologist and educator Dr. Marlene Winell, author of Leaving the Fold: A Guide for Former Fundamentalists and Others Leaving Their Religion , who tells us how to deal with religious trauma.
Annie Laurie Gaylor reveals that the governors who resist pandemic science are white Christian nationalists. FFRF Director of Strategic Response Andrew Seidel tells us how the new congressional Supreme Court expansion bill, introduced today, will affect state/church separation. Then, Mexican-American actor, author, activist and atheist Indra Zuno describes her new book about white indentured servitude in early colonial America, Freedom Dues: A Novel .
Major court win! FFRF attorney Liz Cavell joins us to talk about FFRF's successful lawsuit blocking the state of Alabama from requiring the religious "So Help Me, God" oath on voter registration forms, a victory for state/church separation as well as voting rights. After listening to freethinker Yip Harburg sing "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?", we hear Ron Reagan, son of president Ronald and Nancy Reagan, tell us why he is a life-long "unabashed atheist" who is "not afraid of burning in hell."...
We celebrate the fact that U.S. church membership is now below 50 percent, complain about voter suppression by evangelicals, and announce a historic endowment for Secular Studies. After hearing the Dan Barker/Charles Strouse song "Poor Little Me," we talk with neuroscientist and freethinker (and creator of the Palm Pilot) Jeff Hawkins about his new groundbreaking book, A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence .
"Thoughts and prayers" are not enough. Violence — often prompted or exacerbated by religion — must be addressed with meaningful legislation. We encourage people this week to take action to protect state/church separation in Arizona, Delaware and Tennessee. After hearing Dan Barker's song "Get Off Your Knees (And Get To Work)," we talk with former Madison Avenue adman John Follis about his award-winning documentary film, " Leaving God: Why I left God and why so many others are too ."...
Happy spring! FFRF attorney Maddy Zeigler reports legal victories in Pennsylvania, Indiana and Michigan. A year into the pandemic, we see that "thoughts and prayers" are no match for science and action. We hear Roy Zimmerman sing "To The Victims of This Tragedy." Then we ask: Is atheism good for your health? We speak with Professor David Speed of the University of New Brunswick, author of a new study about religion and health with some surprising findings.
We report that atheists are more likely to be vaccinated than any other group. FFRF staff attorney Patrick Elliott explains a Supreme Court decision that is helpful to state/church lawsuits. FFRF Director of Strategic Response Andrew Seidel tells us why Congress' HR1 "For The People Act" voting-rights bill is good for seculars. Then we talk with the actor and author Alice Greczyn about her new fundamentalist-to-atheist book, Wayward: A Memoir of Spiritual Warfare and Sexual Purity...
We celebrate Women's History Month by cheering New Mexico's law overturning the ban on abortion. The Do No Harm Act passed the House of Representatives. FFRF reports a state/church victory in Alabama and a legal complaint over a North Carolina public school entangling with a local church. After hearing the feminist anthem "Bread and Roses," we talk with James Haught, 89, author and editor emeritus of the West Virginia Charleston Gazette, about "Nine Decades of Progress."
Colorado is getting tough on molesting clergy, Congress is passing the Equality Act to protect the LGBTQ community against Christian nationalists, and taxes are being appropriated to pay for a Kentucky church. FFRF intern and blogger Barbara Alvarez tells us about the bad South Carolina abortion law and about how members of Congress are being shunned by their evangelical families for voting to certify the President. Then we talk with Professor James Lull about his book Evolutionary Communication...
From Black History to Black Gold. We listen to the voice of the freethinking NAACP founder W.E.B. Du Bois and the music of nonreligious African-American composers. After we hear Lena Horne sing the irreverent Yip Harburg song "Ain't It The Truth?", FFRF's Director of Communications Amit Pal joins as a co-host to interview Professor Darren Dochuk, author of the illuminating book, Anointed With Oil: How Christianity and Crude Made Modern America.
Christian nationalism and Roman Catholic greed are the themes for the first half of the show. We talk about Jeep's religiously divisive Super Bowl ad and the impeachment trial of Donald Trump, accused of inciting Christian Nationalists to carry out the Jan. 6 insurrection. We hear talk show host Bill Maher's takedown of the religious extremists who stormed the Capitol. Then we speak with British author Rachel Holmes about her new biography of the early 20th-century feminist, atheist, activist an...
We call on the Wisconsin attorney general to launch an investigation into the widespread sexual abuse of children by the Catholic Church. FFRF attorney Ryan Jayne tells us the tragic story of an abuse victim who recently committed suicide when the church abandoned him. Then we hear the humorous and irreverent "Noah" by poet and Darwin scholar Philip Appleman, read by Philip and his wife Marjorie.
