We hear a sneak preview of the Godless Gospel song "You Don't Need to Be Ashamed," written by Andre Forbes, soloists DeAngela Morant and Rogiérs Fibby, with Godless Gospel singers in the chorus. Then we speak with New Hampshire state Representative Sherry Dutzy, who formed the Secular Values Legislative Caucus in her state and who is on the board of the new national Association of Secular Elected Officials.
Guest: Minnesota state Rep. Mike Freiberg. After hearing the late Loretta Lynn sing the feminist song "The Pill," we hear freethinkers Joni Mitchell and James Taylor perform "Circle of Time." Then we speak with Minnesota state Representative Mike Freiberg about the new Secular Government Caucus he co-founded in the state legislature with the purpose of "resisting Christian nationalism and defending state/church separation."
We announce the victory in our lawsuit challenging the "The Lord's Prayer" at a West Virginia city council meeting. Attorney Liz Cavell describes FFRF's "Know Your Rights" campaign for students. Then we hear Christopher Hitchens explain why God is not great.
We celebrate International Blasphemy Day by highlighting challenges to Christian Nationalism and the violation of state/church separation by senators and governors. Former Mormon Ray Matthews tells us why he now appears on FFRF's "I'm an Atheist and I Vote" billboard in Salt Lake City. Then we speak with Adrienne Martin, who testified before her Texas school board in protest of religiously motivated book banning in the public schools.
Guest: Marty Essen. FFRF's Senior Litigation Counsel Patrick Elliott describes the new lawsuit we filed this week challenging 1.5 million dollars in the South Carolina budget to start a Christian school. Then the award-winning author, photographer and lecturer Marty Essen discusses the column against censorship he wrote for Banned Books Week: "Christian Nationalism and Book Banning."
We unveil a national "Secular Vote" campaign. Mandisa Thomas, president of Black Nonbelievers, tells us about the upcoming Women of Color Beyond Belief conference in Chicago. Then UK psychotherapist Jimmy Bangash, an ex-Muslim gay atheist, describes Islamic discrimination and persecution for blasphemy, apostasy and homosexuality.
We speak with the brave freethinking Bangladeshi author and publisher of Shuddhashar (Free Voice) Ahmedur Rashid Chowdury, who was attacked with machetes and guns by religious extremists and is now living in exile.
Guest: Adam B. Cohen. Former U.S. Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann falsely claims that America was based on the bible. A California prison chaplain was convicted of sexual assault against female inmates while claiming the bible justified his actions. After hearing the irreverent Yip Harburg song "Ain't It The Truth?" sung by Lena Horne, we speak with Professor Adam B. Cohen about the study he co-authored for Perspectives on Psychological Science called "Is Religion Special?"
Guest: Sami Abdallah. Christian nationalism is now proudly rearing its head in the United States. FFRF Senior Litigation Counsel Patrick Elliott describes the friend-of-the-court brief we filed at the Supreme Court in the "303 Creative" case where a business owner wants to discriminate against LGBTQ customers on religious grounds. Then, we speak with Sami Abdallah, co-founder and president of Freethought Lebanon and co-organizer of the "Celebrating Dissent" conference that took place in Cologne,...
Guest: Michael Graziano. We first talk with FFRF Associate Counsel Sam Grover about his incisive recent blog on how constitutional absolutism is literally killing us. Then, FFRF Communications Director Amit Pal interviews Professor Michael Graziano regarding his fascinating new book Errand Into the Wilderness of Mirrors: Religion and the History of the CIA .
Guest: Philip S. Gorski. This week we listen to the moving testimony before the National Capital Memorial Advisory Committee in favor of a new monument to honor America's "forgotten founder" Thomas Paine — testimony by Rep. Jamie Raskin, Margaret Downey (president of the Thomas Paine Memorial Association), military veteran Greg Jones and Black Nonbelievers President Mandisa Thomas. Then we talk with Philip S. Gorski, co-author of The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat...
Guest: Adam Laats. FFRF attorney Chris Line tells us how FFRF is combatting religious indoctrination in Alabama schools. We parse Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's disturbing remarks denigrating nonbelievers during a Notre Dame "Religious Liberty" speech he gave in Rome last week. Then we speak with Professor Adam Laats about his new book Creationism USA: Bridging the Impasse on Teaching Evolution .
"Christian nationalism" is being mentioned more and more in the news: Religious right-wing Christian members of Congress and candidates for public office are openly embracing the divisive concept. After hearing the very moving ad by "Mothers Against Greg Abbott" (opposing the Texas abortion ban) and the song "Heaven" set to a Rupert Brooke poem, we hear Bangladeshi-American author, activist and producer Bonya Ahmed describe how she is promoting science and freethought in Bangladesh and the rest ...
Guest: Don Ardell. The news is filled with state/church battles, politicking preachers, and religious threats to women's lives. After hearing a sneak preview of the Godless Gospel song "Life Is Good," we talk with U.S. and world triathlon and duathlon champion Don Ardell about his newest book, Freedom From Religion in 30 Days: A REAL Wellness Approach to Critical Thinking, Exuberance and Personal Freedoms .
Speeches by Randa Black and Randall Cragun. Christian nationalists have influenced the Supreme Court and the Jan. 6 insurrectionists. To avoid public scrutiny, right-wing religious think tanks and legal groups are reclassifying themselves as "churches." Actress Randa Black explains why she gave a secular invocation rather than a prayer at a city council meeting, and Professor Randall Cragun tells us how he challenged Alabama's discriminatory voter registration law -- and won.
Guest: Kate Cohen. This week we describe some of the ways FFRF is lashing back against Christian nationalism. After hearing the sobering but optimistic song "In a Dark Time" (words by Philip Appleman, music by Dan Barker), we speak with Washington Post columnist Kate Cohen about her June 30 article: "As the court forces Christianity on America, it's time for atheists to speak out."
GUEST: Linda Greenhouse. This week we focus on recent bad Supreme Court decisions attacking women's rights and the separation of church and state. FFRF attorney Patrick Elliott explains the confusing Bremerton case allowing a high-school coach to pray with students. Then we talk with Pulitzer Prize-winning author, journalist and Supreme Court observer Linda Greenhouse about the demise of Roe (overturning the right to abortion) and her recent New York Times article "Requiem for the Supreme Court....
FFRF attorney Sam Grover helps us dissect the disappointing Carson v. Makin decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that now allows public tax dollars to directly fund religious education. Then we hear from four winners of FFRF's David Hudak Memorial student essay contest for Black, Indigenous and People of Color: Galilea Baca (1st-place, pictured), Fadima Tall, Tylinn Wilson and Everett Viego. Then the new student scholar for FFRF and Secular Students of America Sami Al Asadi explains how he became ...
Guest: Maryam Namazie. Abortion, politicians blaming gun violence on godlessness, secular billboards and the growth of support for state/church separation are among the news topics we discuss this week. After listening to a sneak preview of the new "Godless Gospel" songs, we speak with Iranian-born ex-Muslim activist Maryam Namazie about the international "Celebrate Dissent" conference she is organizing, which will take place in August in Cologne, Germany.
Guest: Jay Wexler. FFRF tells San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone that it was a "grave evil" to deny Nancy Pelosi communion. There is a new freethinking miniseries on Hulu. FFRF complains about pious pandering politicians. After hearing George Hrab's song about "thoughts and prayers" titled "The Least That You Can Do," we listen to Boston Law Professor Jay Wexler talk about his book Our Non-Christian Nation: How Atheists, Satanists, Pagans, and Others are Demanding Their Rightful Place...
Guest: Christopher Cameron. After mourning the tragic school massacre in Texas, we point out the ineffectiveness of "thoughts and prayers" and denounce politicians who blame the violence on godlessness. We hear singer/songwriter Roy Zimmerman satirize "thoughts and prayers" in his song ""To the Victims of This Tragedy." Then professor and author Christopher Cameron describes the rich history of African American Freethought.
Guests: Amit Pal & Dan Barker. With FFRF Communications Director Amit Pal as the substitute host, we discuss the dismal news on the reproductive rights front, including the draconian Oklahoma abortion ban. We highlight our last TV show of the season — a special on-site visit with freethinking sculptor Zenos Frudakis — and spotlight our national convention to be held in San Antonio in late October. We listen to a blasphemous Irving Berlin song. And then we hear FFRF Co-President Dan Barker de...
Guest: Samuel L. Perry. We announce two victories in federal lawsuits this week stopping city council prayer and religious instruction in West Virginia schools. We talk about Alito's leaked abortion decision. The popular actor Jon Huertas tells us why he is a nontheist. In light of the tragic massacre in Buffalo, we speak with Professor Samuel L. Perry about his new book (with co-author Philip Gorski), The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy ....
Guest: Sasha Sagan. It's Mayday for women's rights. We talk about state/church and women's issues in Idaho, Arkansas, New Jersey and Arizona, and announce our full-page ad in the New York Times. After listening to philosopher Bertrand Russell (on the sesquicentennial of his birth) tell us why he was not a Christian, we hear Sasha Sagan, daughter of astronomer Carl Sagan and author Ann Druyan, tell us why the beauty of science is more awesome than religion.
Guest: Ed Sorel. Instead of honoring the unconstitutional National Day of Prayer, we celebrate Cinco de Mayo! Learn what you can do to resist the imminent religiously motivated overthrow of Roe v. Wade . Then, we speak with 93-year-old irreverent cartoonist, illustrator and caricaturist Ed Sorel — whose satiric artwork has graced magazine covers and newspapers for many decades — about his new lavish memoir Profusely Illustrated .
Guest: Phil Zuckerman. After reporting on victories and challenges regarding governmental prayer, we parse the Supreme Court oral arguments in the case involving a praying high-school football coach. Then we hear sociologist and author Phil Zuckerman, a pioneer in secular studies, making the case for why secular Americans, as a group, are more moral than religious Americans.
Guest: Clement Hiel. After reporting on national state/church news, we hear freethinker Barbra Streisand sing the song "Smile," written by the freethinking Charlie Chaplin. Then we speak with NASA scientist Clement Hiel about his alma mater, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Free University of Brussels), which was founded as a direct challenge to the Catholic Church. The school's motto is "Science Conquers Darkness."
Guests: Sam Grover; Ian Millhiser. After we report on national state/church news, FFRF attorney Sam Grover joins us to talk about the oral arguments he gave last week before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in our lawsuit challenging a Texas judge who opens sessions with a prayer. Then we speak with journalist and author Ian Millhiser about his new book The Agenda: How a Republican Supreme Court is Reshaping America .
Guests: Patrick Elliott; Ryan Jayne; Barbara Alvarez. After reporting on state/church news, we talk with a trio of FFRF staff members. FFRF Senior Counsel Patrick Elliott describes our friend-of-the-court brief to the Supreme Court about a praying high-school coach. Strategic Response Attorney Ryan Jayne tells us about the many bad state bills dealing with LGBTQ rights. And Contributing Writer Barbara Alvarez updates us on the good and (mostly) bad religiously motivated state bills dealing with ...
Guests: Chris Line; Ann Druyan. After we report on national and regional news, FFRF attorney Chris Line updates us on the many state/church complaints and victories he has been handling around the country. Then we hear author, educator and Emmy-winning producer of the "Cosmos" TV series Ann Druyan (along with her daughter Sasha Sagan) as she accepts FFRF's "Emperor Has No Clothes" award.
