Friendly Atheist Podcast

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. — Hemant is speaking near Chapel Hill, North Carolina next Sunday! Come watch! (0:24) — The Mormon Church has changed its rules to be a little less anti-gay. (0:56) — Atheists are calling on Mississippi to offer a free alternative to the default "In God We Trust" license plate. (7:54) — This is the worst Christian take on the election of Lori Lightfoot to mayor of Chicago. (14:09) — Texas will ban all chaplains from execution chambers instead of allowing a Buddhist priest to enter the room with an inmate. (17:01) — House Republicans voted against the Violence Against Women Act. (21:03) — A North Dakota legislator was very upset by a Hindu invocation because the man didn't pray to the "One True God." (23:21) — We finally have an openly Humanist member of Congress. It's official! (26:30) — An Arizona information hotline may lose funding because 0.0003% of calls last year asked about abortion services. (29:39) — An unvaccinated kid may have exposed hundreds of people to measles in California. (35:30) — Liberty University's Title IX violation form shows you how little they care. (40:45) — A guest of FOX News' Laura Ingraham said transgender people are trying to "create a new species." (43:20) — The HPV vaccine has been linked to a serious drop in cervical disease. (46:29) — Donald Trump doesn't understand windmills. (47:35)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. — Hemant is speaking at the Freethought Festival in Madison, Wisconsin this weekend! Come watch! (1:24) — A Catholic mother really doesn't want students wearing leggings at Notre Dame but students pushed back. (1:45) — Tennessee is considering legalizing and regulating sports betting but not on Sundays, because Jesus. (9:40) — Fundamentalist Pastor Steven Anderson uploaded another old sermon trashing independent women. (14:50) — Cory Booker says he'd "rather hang out with a nice atheist than a mean Christian." Great line or subtle jab against atheists? (17:45) — A Christian lawmaker from Pennsylvania gave the worst invocation at the worst time, probably on purpose. (37:33) — Is it kind or creepy that Christians in Tennessee sent 40,000 handwritten letters to strangers about Jesus? (44:46) — Houston's Drag Queen Story Time will come to an end due to threats from Christians. (48:00) — Rockland County, NY is banning unvaccinated children from public spaces. (56:00) — Self-proclaimed paranormalist Uri Geller says he can "telepathically" stop Brexit. (1:01:22) — A Texas bill would allow licensed professionals to discriminate against LGBTQ clients. (1:05:35) — State-funded adoption agencies in Michigan, including religious ones, can no longer discriminate against LGBTQ clients. (1:07:14)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. — Hemant is speaking at the Freethought Festival in Madison, Wisconsin next week! Come watch! (0:30) — Hemant's working on two new projects! Here's what they are and how you can support him! (0:59) — The Nones are #1 - what does that mean? (5:21) — A university in Calgary canceled a talk by an ex-Muslim atheist out of sensitivity to victims of the New Zealand terror attack. But when's the right time to criticize religion? (10:55) — LifeWay, the largest Christian retailer, is shutting down all stores. You'll have to buy your Christians elsewhere. (18:31) — FOX News' Todd Starnes thinks we need "heterosexual history classes." (24:28) — Chick-fil-A is back in the news for its anti-LGBTQ ways. (31:26) — If you want to help your kids deal with chickenpox, don't do what Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin did. (40:58) — An Italian politician who fought against mandatory vaccination contracted chickenpox. (47:33) — A kid is suing his local Department of Health in Kentucky after getting banned from his high school's events for being unvaccinated. (49:12) — Christian moms are furious over a new supposedly sexualized Kit Kat commercial. (51:15) — Georgia is on the verge of banning abortions after six weeks. (57:00) — A physicist got $1.4 million for saying science and religion might be compatible. (1:00:18) — The Neil deGrasse Tyson investigation is over. What did we learn? (1:03:50) — The Irish prime minister and his same-sex partner had some words for Mike Pence. (1:13:28)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. — Hemant's speaking in Florida this weekend! (0:56) — Jessica got into a Twitter fight with a celebrity (?) over the meaning of "atheist." (1:38) — Hemant's invocation in DuPage County will lead to a vote on the practice. (5:59) — A high schooler who broke school rules claims she was punished for her religion. (11:40) — The Diocese of Brooklyn is angrier about Pete Davidson's SNL joke than child abuse. (16:51) — Cardinal George Pell will spend only six years in jail for child rape. (23:30) — A Georgia legislator says she'll introduce a bill to regulate men's balls. (28:50) — Humanist weddings are less likely to end in divorce, according to figures out of Scotland. (34:40) — Analyzing rape kits actually works. Who knew? (41:20) — Education Secretary Betsy DeVos wants taxpayers to fund "secular" services by religious groups for schools. (46:26) — Captain Marvel did not sit well with an anti-feminist Christian writer. (49:42) — Westboro Baptist Church protested against a trans legislator but there were counter-protesters with kazoos. (55:39)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. — Donald Trump is signing bibles for victims of the tornado in Alabama. (0:25) — I'm giving talks next week in Tampa and Orlando! Come on by, people of Florida! (4:14) — The Supreme Court won't hear a case involving taxpayers funding church renovations. (5:38) — A boy has tetanus. A kid has measles. A major study of 650,000 patients found no link between vaccines and autism. Will vaccine deniers ever accept reality? (13:15) — A college dean resigned from her position (but not the school) after the campus said no to bringing a Chick-fil-A on campus. (26:55) — Utah is about to make premarital sex legal. Which means it wasn't legal. (31:08) — A Christian firefighter is suing his department because they wouldn't let him grow a beard. (36:20) — The GOP is confirming anti-church/state separation judges at a rapid rate. (39:36) — For the second time, a patient was cured of HIV! (43:03) — Planned Parenthood and the American Medical Association are suing the Trump administration for punishing family planning clinics that refer women for abortions. (44:42) — Changing your religion before marriage is the lowest form of religious conversion. (47:20) — Was it sensible or cowardly for a high school Christian wrestler to forfeit matches to avoid matches with girls? (50:30) — Did you know drive-thru ashes were a thing on Ash Wednesday? (58:00)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. — Here's what happened in the Supreme Court as they discussed the Bladensburg Cross. (1:27) — The "My Pillow" guy, Mike Lindell, told CPAC Donald Trump was the best president ever because he was "chosen by God." (12:45) — Cardinal George Pell's lawyer tried to get him a more lenient sentence by referring to his actions as "plain vanilla" child rape. (15:36) — A Missouri bill would ban anonymity for anyone who files a church/state separation lawsuit. (20:00) — The United Methodist Church just voted for its own extinction by adopting an anti-LGBTQ stance. (26:56) — Skeptics came up with a clever way to expose psychic mediums. (33:22) — Richard Dawkins is giving away professionally translated versions of his books for free for readers in Muslim-majority nations. (41:22) — Pope Francis had no concrete suggestions for handling child sex abuse at a summit about handling child sex abuse. (44:18) — Portland (Oregon) now explicitly includes atheists in its non-discrimination ordinance. (46:33) — With a conservative government, Brazilian lawmakers are resurrecting old bills that promote Christian supremacy. (48:20) — In Argentina, an 11-year-old girl was forced to give birth to her rapist's baby. Because that's what the "pro-lifers" wanted. (51:37) — A Florida Democrat is skipping the first day of the legislative session so she can hang out with Pat Robertson. (54:06) — A Kansas lawmaker won't endorse anti-gay "parody marriage" bill after daughter's open letter, but he doesn't go far enough. (56:50)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. — A California law would force Catholic priests to report child sex abuse. (0:41) — Washington legislators want to remove faith-healing homicide exemptions from the law. (6:47) — A Colorado billboard welcomes women seeking abortions. (11:30) — A Tennessee legislator wants to change the Constitution to include a useless line about God. (21:10) — A Wyoming lawmaker supports the death penalty since that's how Jesus was killed. (25:52) — Who's to blame for the Flat Earth movement? YouTube. (27:50) — Should a former teen ISIS member be allowed to re-enter society when she becomes an adult, if she doesn't have any remorse? (32:50) — Move over, Christian bakers. You've got company in the tax department. (41:55) — The Church of Norway is apologizing for its stance on abortion. (45:42) — Pope Francis said critics of the Catholic Church were "friends of the Devil." (48:52) — Catholic cardinals blamed the "homosexual agenda" for the sex abuse scandal. (50:30) — Michigan's attorney general is going after the Catholic Church and its sex abuse cover-up. (52:16) — A Christian Right leader went on a rant about witches in Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's district. (56:05) — What the Southern Baptist sex scandals teach us about the Catholic Church sex scandals. (1:00:40) — An 11-year-old was arrested after he didn't say the Pledge. Kind of. (1:04:15) — What is going on with Jussie Smollett? (1:07:10)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Kenny Campbell is and actor and comedian known for roles in Home Alone, Groundhog Day, and Armageddon. Jessica and Kenny discussed how he almost got fired from his dream job, what it's like being the voice of a talking baby, and his likely criminal past of the men of the Bluemke family. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. — Once again, an atheist invocation by an Arizona legislator was rebuked by a Christian who couldn't handle it. (0:45) — An investigation found rampant abuse among Southern Baptist churches. (7:00) — A Nebraska lawmaker wants atheists to promote religion in order to keep everyone "in line." (18:06) — Don't shake the hand of this FOX News host. (27:18) — A theologian claimed that female pastors are as bad as sex offender pastors. (31:14) — The MAGA hat-wearing boys from Covington Catholic did nothing wrong, says an investigation commissioned by Covington Catholic. (32:39) — A Christian school told female dancers to bind their breasts before a show. (37:11) — A Planned Parenthood (that doesn't even perform abortions) was set on fire in a possible hate crime. (42:55) — A West Virginia lawmaker suggested he would drown his kids if they were gay. (52:12) — Women in the military say they're being denied birth control. (56:35) — An 18-year-old who had never been vaccinated defied his parents and got his shots. (58:11)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.— Donald Trump accidentally praised religious leaders for achieving the “abolition of civil rights” during the National Prayer Breakfast. (1:18)— A TN lawmaker says taxpayer-funded abortions violate the law because they’re an endorsement of the “religion” of Secular Humanism. (4:00)— A cross washed up on a Florida beach… so of course it’s supernatural. (9:00)— Democrats are debating “In God We Trust” when administering oaths in House subcommittees, and one decided to do away with the phrase altogether. (12:20)— Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson says he doesn’t need health care because God made us all immortal. (16:19)— In Arizona, the specialty “In God We Trust” license plate is funding a Christian hate group. (20:40)— Hemant is giving an atheist invocation at a county council meeting! (27:10)— New Jersey will begin teaching LGBT history in public schools. (30:32)— A gay atheist in Poland just launched his own political party to push back against Catholic influence. (33:06)— Michigan’s attorney general just pulled the state out of three church/state separation lawsuits on which they were fighting for the wrong side. (36:13)— Pope Francis, for the first time, acknowledged the ongoing sexual abuse of nuns by priests. (38:35)— A judge said a 13-year-old girl was the “aggressor” in a sexual abuse crime involving a 67-year-old man. (41:45)— A 24/7 Dutch church service meant to protect refugees finally ended after the policy in question changed. (42:24)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.