Friendly Atheist Podcast

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. -- Now that abortion will be legal in Ireland, Focus on the Family is lying about what will happen next. (2:54) -- Donald Trump pardoned Dinesh D'Souza because nothing matters anymore. (19:44) -- The Mormon Church is way richer than we thought. (24:15) -- A Republican politician knows why school shootings happen: Kids are buying smut at grocery stores. (33:24) -- Atheists have filed a lawsuit for the right to solemnize marriages in Michigan. (49:48) -- An atheist's lawsuit to get "In God We Trust" off the money has failed again. (55:10) -- An Archdiocese in Minnesota agreed to a $210 million settlement with sex abuse victims. (1:09:45) -- Homeopathic sound files don't cure Ebola. Or anything else. (1:16:29) -- A rant on Roseanne and Samantha Bee. (1:23:17)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Adam Laats is Professor of Education and History (by courtesy) at Binghamton University (State University of New York). He has contributed essays to Education Week, Chronicle of Higher Education, Washington Post, Time, and Newsweek. He blogs about education, history, and culture-war angst at I Love You but You ºre Going to Hell. He is the author, most recently, of Fundamentalist U: Keeping the Faith in American Higher Education. I spoke with him about how fundamentalist Christian colleges handle dissenting views, whether or not they exist in a bubble, and what faculty members debate behind the scenes. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Note from Hemant: I'm out of the country right now, but Jessica and her friend Anne got together to record this episode! They talked about a weird school policy regarding smiling, the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem (and why Robert Jeffress and John Hagee were there), and how I (Hemant) got called out by Ken Ham during his news show. (Timestamps will return when I get back home!) 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. -- Franklin Graham says Donald Trump's affair with Stormy Daniels is "nobody's business." That's not what he said when Bill Clinton was in office. (3:14) -- The Natural History Museum in Jerusalem is covering up an evolution exhibit so they don't offend ultra-Orthodox Jews. (12:47) -- The 13-year-old "miracle boy" from Alabama, who survived brain trauma, isn't a miracle at all. (14:52) -- Southern Baptist leader Paige Patterson has apologized... kind of. Not really. (20:40) -- The Mormon Church says it'll cut all ties with the Boy Scouts. (34:12) -- Not everyone was happy with the Met Gala theme: "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination." (41:54) -- The rally for gay conversion drew tens of people. (51:45) -- Christian schools often censor student journalists, according to a new survey. (56:40) -- We answer listener mail! (1:03:11)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. -- Paige Patterson, a leader of the Southern Baptists, has horrible advice for abused wives. (0:42) -- The problem with Incels. (17:52) -- A Michigan Catholic school told girls they'd have to wear "Modesty Ponchos" at Prom if they were dressed too sluttily, but they caved after backlash. (31:09) -- We learned about a new fossil that marks a transition between dinosaurs and modern birds. Creationist Ken Ham isn't buying it. (36:45) -- A Pulse nightclub massacre survivor says he's no longer gay because of Jesus. (44:44) -- Mike Pence takes great "joy" in Michelle Wolf's jokes about him. He should've read further on in the Bible. (50:10) -- Iowa has banned abortions after 6 weeks... because they want to get sued over this. (55:24) -- The House Chaplain is back on the job after getting booted. (1:02:11) -- Liberty University is the second largest Christian school in the country. But not by their math. (1:03:41) -- Survey featuring "Islamophobia Index" finds Nones are largely supportive of Muslims' rights. (1:09:10) -- Matt Walsh said something dumb on Twitter about man caves. (1:14:03) -- We answer listener mail! (1:22:00)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. -- The Ten Commandments monument outside the Arkansas Capitol... again. (3:12) -- The Congressional Freethought Caucus has finally formed! (13:13) -- Why did the House chaplain resign? Maybe he deserved to. (24:15) -- There's an open atheist in the NFL once again: The Arizona Cardinals' Josh Rosen. (37:42) -- There's no good reason to prevent your kids from learning about sex education. (41:50) -- A Tennessee school district wants to celebrate Billy Graham Day. No... just no. (59:13) -- GQ says the Bible isn't an essential read. They're right. (1:04:48) -- Oklahoma is on the verge of passing a bill allowing taxpayer-funded adoption agencies to discriminate against gay couples and non-Christians. (1:09:47) -- When FOX News is too tough on you, Donald Trump just goes to Christian television. (1:15:44) -- Jessica has some thoughts on recent mass shootings. (1:19:14) -- We answer listener mail! (1:23:40)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. -- Kent Hovind is advertising his new Creationist theme park using a meme mocking Creationists. (1:41) -- White evangelical Christian support for Donald Trump is at an all-time high. (7:37) -- The frighteningly conservative White House Bible studies being run by Capitol Ministries' Ralph Drollinger. (13:40) -- A Stanford study doesn't really show that the most religious kids do best in school. (17:56) -- Pope Francis lied to a kid about whether or not his dead atheist father was in Heaven. (26:18) -- This is a fairly accurate assessment of why people think Christians are "A**holes." (32:36) -- Liberty University makes bank through its online education program. Too bad it's not good for students. (34:50) -- Focus on the Family is legally a "church" now, and you should see how they pulled it off... (41:23) -- Students at "Christian Hogwarts" are doing something called "grave sucking" and trying to walk through walls. (52:06) -- Was Democratic National Committee vice chairman Keith Ellison right to say, "Women are dying" because his party loses elections? (57:34) -- We answer listener mail! (1:09:21)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. -- Why was David Silverman fired from American Atheists? Because of this. (1:05) -- Attendance at Catholic churches is going down. (33:16) -- Evangelical Christians can't save their "brand" from Donald Trump since it was a problem to begin with. (35:22) -- Liberty University doesn't want student reporters to report on a progressive Christian event. (43:37) -- Oklahoma just named its "Official Inspirational Song" and it's a Christian rock ballad. (51:55) -- Senator Cory Booker grilled Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo over his anti-gay views. (54:55) -- Focus on the Family has quietly ended its anti-LGBTQ "Day of Dialogue." (58:34) -- Creationist Ken Ham is mad that people said he's loosening restrictions in his hiring... even though he is. (1:02:05) -- Missouri interfaith leaders are speaking out against a bill allowing concealed carry weapons in churches. (1:07:43) -- We answer listener mail! (1:09:54)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. -- Whether atheists are indeed "veering dangerously" toward the alt-right. (0:15) -- Why Creationist Ken Ham has a lot of job openings, but no takers. (30:20) -- Some incredibly manipulative faith-based backstabbing in Victoria, Australia. (34:57) -- Why Christians must disavow Donald Trump, according to a Christian. (40:15) -- Little Free Libraries are becoming havens for religious proselytizing. (45:50) -- The backlash to a vaccination bill in New Jersey. (50:50) -- A Christian author says we have to avoid vaccines since the Bible never mentions them. (54:58) -- After 73 years of marriage, this Canadian couple chose to end their lives together... and some people are furious. (59:13) -- God's Not Dead 3 tanked at the box office. (1:05:05) -- This "perfect" way to stop gay couples from renting a wedding venue may backfire. (1:09:15) -- This is depressing: A third of Americans ages 18-24 aren't sure the Earth is round. (1:13:09) -- Many people want to kill women who have abortions. (1:16:55) -- We answer listener mail! (1:26:15)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. -- Gwyneth Paltrow's pseudoscience repository Goop is now worth a quarter-billion dollars because America is an embarrassment. (0:50) -- One of the most liberal federal judges in the nation has died. He was so liberal, he agreed "Under God" in the Pledge was unconstitutional. (7:17) -- Evangelical Christians still, by and large, support Donald Trump. (15:10) -- A Houston pastor who delivered benediction at President George W. Bush's inauguration has been charged with wire fraud (and more!). (23:34) -- Liberty University now has a gun range. Just like Jesus wanted. (31:22) -- The Pope doesn't believe in Hell, according to an atheist journalist who didn't take notes and has way too much access to the Catholic leader. (37:14) -- A survey says even religious people don't take the Ten Commandments seriously. (41:16) -- The Mormon Church finally says women shouldn't stay in abusive relationships. (46:54) -- Who needs more representation on TV? Not atheists, according to this survey. (54:34) -- We answer listener mail! (59:45)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.