Friendly Atheist Podcast

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. — Tucker Carlson says the Brett Kavanaugh backlash is due to an atheist "theocracy." (4:40) — Does Purity Culture explain why evangelical women still support Brett Kavanaugh? (11:06) — Former Southern Baptist leader Paige Patterson is teaching a class on ethics for some reason. (14:58) — Even Catholics are getting sick of Pope Francis. (19:52) — In a letter, Albert Einstein called God a "product of human weakness." (24:41) — Ark Encounter does not make for an educational (or legal) field trip. (26:40) — The "Nones" believe a lot of New Age nonsense. (30:02) — The Jenga approach to religion. (34:17) — Irish schools have an awful track record when it comes to religion. (37:55) — The Trump administration will end visas for unmarried gay partners of diplomats. (41:48) — Is "freethought" a good word for atheists to use? (47:30)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. — Even if Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, half of evangelicals wouldn't care. (1:30) — A Jesuit publication rescinded its endorsement of Kavanaugh. (11:25) — The question to Kavanaugh from Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) about God was inappropriate. (15:49) — A Kentucky city council member is holding a school district hostage unless they take back their support of church/state separation. (18:20) — The Pennsylvania House passed a bill that would create a new two-year window for child sex abuse victims to sue their abusers. (23:56) — Preacher John Piper says Christians shouldn't attend the weddings of couples who don't feel bad for having pre-marital sex. (28:53) — The Texas attorney general says students cannot "unilaterally refuse" to say the Pledge. A 1943 Supreme Court ruling says otherwise. (32:40) — NPR's Terry Gross is not anti-Christian. (37:46) — The Congressional Freethought Caucus is growing! (40:30) — Listener mail: Why do we talk about LGBTQ issues so much on an atheist podcast? And why will Hemant be the first one destroyed in the Zombie Apocalypse? (42:46)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. — White evangelicals say we shouldn't listen to Brett Kavanaugh's accuser unless there were 2-3 witnesses because the Bible says so, and that he was respectful after she said no. (0:35) — A man who strangled a woman received no jail time. (26:35) — A Louisiana congressman claims atheists are spying on students in one high school. (29:42) — An art gallery owner found a clever way to get church members to stop parking in his spaces. (34:11) — Three pastors tried banning books from a library's Banned Books display. (35:52) — An Indian court found a great reason to reject a blasphemy complaint. (43:12) — This is a remarkably tone-deaf ad, even for the GOP. (46:00) — The Mormon Church excommunicated a man who was trying to protect children. (53:34) — A former GOP state senator and Trump supporter was sentenced to 15 years in jail for child sex trafficking. (57:12) — Should taxpayers be funding church renovations? The Supreme Court may get to weigh in on that. (59:45) — How can you criticize minority religions without being called "Islamophobic" or anti-Semitic? (1:07:58)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. — This is a great way to respond to an anti-abortion protest outside a high school. (0:45) — A 9-year-old girl protesting the National Anthem in Australia. And she has a good point. (6:20) — Republican candidates' old videos are catching up to them in their races. (11:36) — What is causing Hurricane Florence? These Christians have all the (wrong) ideas. (24:35) — Here's the biggest problem with the atheist character on God Friended Me. (30:23) — Should pro-Christian advertisements be allowed on high school football fields? (38:39) — North Carolina Republicans shelved scientists' recommendations about dealing with rising sea levels. (44:12) — A Christian college won't let a student finish his degree because he's openly gay. (47:45) — Pope Francis referred to The Great Accuser (Satan) when discussing the sex abuse scandal. (53:25) — Should you pay money to see a psychic even if you know it's not real? (1:02:28)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. — These Christians are threatening to follow the law if they don't get to pray over the loudspeakers before football games. (2:20) — A new book talks about the harm of the evangelical "purity" movement. (7:53) — Several states are launching their own investigations into the Catholic Church. (17:37) — Researchers calculated how much money victims of Catholic Church abuse lose over their lifetimes. (22:18) — A Mexican cardinal says victims of the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal have their own skeletons and should shut up. (28:55) — Sinéad O'Connor deserves all the apologies for calling out Catholic Church abuse long before it was a news story. (31:09) — A Christian school has banned all Nike products for athletes after the Colin Kaepernick ad. (37:20) — A bunch of evangelical Christians released a statement denouncing social justice activism. (45:55) — A Texas pastor sexually assaulted a teen in church. Is the church handling the situation properly? (58:53) — American Atheists has a new president. Here's what he should focus on. (1:03:34) — Is it fair to question Serena Williams about her Jehovah's Witness beliefs? (1:25:38)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 held a dinner party for conservative Christian leaders, screwed up a quotation, and urged pastors to tell their congregations how to vote. (6:22) — The Pope's visit to Ireland was not nearly as popular as organizers expected. (13:51) — A critic of the Pope says he knew about the abuse and did nothing but the messenger has problems of his own. (18:02) — Louis CK is performing again - what does that say about #MeToo? (27:35) — A critic of Mormon "masturbation interviews" is being threatened with excommunication. 32:34) — Who installed a Scientology kiosk in a Hollywood police station? (40:45) — A girl was stabbed at a high school after rejecting a boy's advances. (44:25) — A 9-year-old boy killed himself after being bullied for being gay. (46:49) — 97-year-old televangelist Ernest Angley is being sued for all kinds of creepy abuse. (48:57) — Russian bots wanted to increase hostilities on both sides of the vaccine "debate." (56:09) — A preacher who went viral for speaking in tongues now says we weren't meant to see that. (57:44) — Forget the "Nones." Say hello to the "Solidly Seculars." (1:02:24) — How many victims of the Catholic Church do we not know about? (1:12:50)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.— Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) used Christianity to cover up his campaign finance fraud. (2:55)— The Catholic Church has spent millions of dollars in New York lobbying against bills that would let victims of child sex abuse seek justice. (7:50)— Good news! Claiming to have flown in an alien spaceship is no longer a dealbreaker to get an endorsement from the Miami Herald. (11:50)— Christine Hallquist, a trans woman, is the Democratic nominee for governor in Vermont! (16:55)— A conservative legal group is furious that Hawaii asked non-profits to play by the rules this election season. (18:58)— An Arkansas school district did not like the contextualized "In God We Trust" poster offered to them by American Atheists. (23:25)— Surprise: HPV vaccines aren't bad for you! (28:23)— A young Mormon woman dumped her fiancé after she realized he watched porn. (33:38)— The Christian family that handles snakes in church can't stop getting bitten by snakes for some reason. (43:30)— Rose McGowan goes from hero to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ in a recent #MeToo story. (47:14)— The former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was charged with forcible touching. (50:37)— Hemant will be in Portland, Oregon on Friday, August 31 for a free conversation about religion with a Christian apologist. Expect all the fireworks! (51:39)— Thanks to our Patreon supporters! (52:15)— Is Donald Trump the first atheist president in history? (52:43)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. — The grand jury's report on the child sex abuse in six Pennsylvania Catholic dioceses and it's the most disturbing stuff you'll ever hear. (0:35 with details at 5:15) — The Catholic League's Bill Donohue, as usual, is downplaying the seriousness of the allegations against priests. (24:10) — Mormons don't want to be called Mormons anymore. (37:55) — The Christian baker who famously refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple is back in the news for not wanting to make a birthday cake for a trans woman. (40:05) — Amidst a sex scandal involving its founder, Willow Creek paid out millions of dollars to settle cases involving a volunteer allegedly abusing two special needs kids. (43:55) — Pat Robertson told a grieving mother who worried about her daughter getting molested to "get over it." (45:25) — Liberty University won't let student journalists do any actual journalism. (47:45) — A Catholic school has, again, kicked out a beloved staff for being gay-married. (54:20) — A Michigan Democrat is on the verge of becoming the first Muslim woman in Congress. (59:25) — Hemant's speaking with a Christian apologist in Portland on August 31. (1:01:15)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. — The rest of Willow Creek church's leadership resigned over the Bill Hybels scandal. (0:28) — Brock Turner lost his appeal to overturn a sexual assault conviction. (16:14) — A one-minute video promoting animal rights was too controversial for a Southern Baptist group. (20:40) — An anti-abortion pamphlet was found inside a box of diapers. (28:30) — An Atlanta charter school tried to avoid a Pledge of Allegiance controversy only to get embroiled in a Pledge of Allegiance controversy. (32:25) — A Tokyo medical school changed test scores to purposely exclude women for years. (37:28) — Why are people abandoning religion? Not believing in God isn't the #1 reason. (42:10) — Arkansas State Sen. Jason Rapert is rewriting history and blame atheists for wrecking his Ten Commandments monument. (52:10)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. — Willow Creek megachurch's founder Bill Hybels has now been accused of sexually harassing his assistant decades ago, and the lead pastor quit as a result. (2:15) — Jeff Sessions' "Religious Freedom Task Force" is just a government program to help conservative Christians discriminate against groups they hate. (18:09) — Child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church would stop if only seminaries required applicants to abstain from lust or masturbation for a year, says priest. (23:55) — Cosmologist Lawrence Krauss no longer has his top science job at Arizona State after an investigation found that he groped a woman at a conference. But he's still on the school's payroll. (28:58) — Want to volunteer with Franklin Graham's Samaritan's Purse group to help with California wildfire relief efforts? You need to be anti-gay first. (36:44) — There can be no compromise between LGBTQ Americans and conservative Christians. (41:59) — Move over, bananas. Atheists have a new worst nightmare: Broccoli. (50:43) — Pope Francis says the death penalty is never okay. Hallelujah! (55:02) — A Mormon woman couldn't get a Temple Recommend because she breastfed her baby in church. (1:04:27)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.