In this episode, I sat down with Steve Shives to talk about how we both went from New Atheism’s golden age to something a little more… let’s say, nuanced. We talk about why the New Atheist movement felt like home at first and why it didn’t go deep enough when it came to actual social change. Steve doesn’t hold back on what he thinks about some of the big names in the atheist world and how his focus has shifted over time—from taking down religious beliefs to taking on bigger social issues.

We also discuss what it was like navigating all the divides within the skeptic and atheist communities, why breaking away from that world opened up new perspectives for us, and how we both ended up in the realm of leftist politics and social justice. Whether you’ve followed the atheist movement for years or just want to hear about evolving perspectives, there’s a lot for you here.

Here are some links where you can find Steve

https://www.youtube.com/c/steveshives

https://bsky.app/profile/steveshives.bsky.social

https://www.threads.net/@steve.shives

https://www.instagram.com/steve.shives/

https://www.facebook.com/thatguysteveshives

https://x.com/steve_shives

And check out my linktree

https://linktr.ee/Skepticalleftist

If you enjoyed the show, consider supporting us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/skepticalleftist to help keep the content coming. You can also subscribe to my Substack https://theskepticalleftist.substack.com/ for updates and extra content or get bonus episodes through Spotify https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/skepticalleftist/subscribe . Every bit makes a difference! If that’s not your thing, sharing the episode with friends or on social media goes a long way too. Thanks for listening and for your support!

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10. Conscious Interiority and the Language Trap