Friendly Atheist Podcast

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. -- The Johnson Amendment is (temporarily) safe again! (0:41) -- The Navy has rejected the application of a Humanist chaplain after pushback from Republicans. (6:08) -- The new director of the Office for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services overcame discrimination in his youth. Now Roger Severino wants to discriminate against others. (14:06) -- Don't listen to Gwyneth Paltrow: Bee stings won't improve your health. Haven't you seen My Girl? (23:45) -- Young Europeans are abandoning religion in droves. (26:55) -- A Memphis pastor has finally resigned after sexually assaulting a teen girl decades ago. (30:10) -- One of the most influential megachurches in the country, Willow Creek, is dealing with misconduct allegations against its founding pastor Bill Hybels. (37:35) -- Hipster pastors are the worst because they're too afraid to have opinions. (47:35) -- Is it okay for a Democrat to be personally anti-abortion if he won't legislate that way? (54:38) -- Focus on the Family wants you to stop saying they support gay conversion therapy... even though they totally support gay conversion therapy. (1:00:55) -- Is Jim Carrey mocking Christians with his portrait of someone who looks a lot like Sarah Huckabee Sanders? (1:06:20) -- Why do Donald Trump's political endorsements matter more to evangelicals than Mike Pence's? (1:11:24) -- Richard Dawkins will offer free translated versions of his books in several languages. (1:17:10) -- This is the worst book about atheists I've read in a long time. (1:21:20) -- We answer a listener's question! (1:28:14)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. -- The people who think Stephen Hawking is burning in Hell. (0:18) -- PA Republican House candidate Rick Saccone claimed his critics "have a hatred for God." Nope. He's confusing God with Donald Trump. (13:55) -- Trump supporters who continue to support him. (17:05) -- Christian author claims transgender activists are urging lesbians to keep going and "become trans." (21:14) -- Tony Perkins says liberals are using Trump's affair with Stormy Daniels to "shame" politically active evangelicals. (25:29) -- Congressional Republicans are trying to stop the Navy from appointing a Humanist Chaplain. (30:48) -- The Kansas commissioner who told atheists to go to Hell. (41:43) -- An Alabama Republican legislator doesn't want to arm teachers (yay) because most of them are women (wut). (45:23) -- The pastor who once said women don't control their bodies because they belong to God. (48:36) -- Evangelical Christian Matt Barber says the Academy Awards didn't honor Rev. Billy Graham because "they hate him." (53:19) -- Pastor with "debilitating" disease sued by insurers after they discover her incriminating Facebook posts. (57:39) -- We answer a listener's question! (1:01:45)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. -- Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis wrote a memoir. I read it. I hate myself. (1:02) -- A gay escort was right to expose dozens of Catholic priests who were clients. (17:53) -- Mississippi now bans abortion after 15 weeks. (26:30) -- The dominoes are still falling for Lawrence Krauss. (32:05) -- This Oklahoma gubernatorial candidate thinks banning abortion will stop abortions. (50:53) -- The Shape of Water's "sexual depravity" will destroy America, says a pastor who thinks fish-men are real. (54:49) -- A GOP congressman thinks Jews could've survived the Holocaust if they had guns. (59:43) -- A lot of African-Americans are leaving their predominantly white megachurches. (1:02:20) -- Sinclair broadcasting is pushing right-wing propaganda through local news channels. (1:06:20) -- Steve Bannon is scared of Oprah. (1:11:20) -- We answer a listener's question! (1:12:54)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to the first episode of the Friendly Atheist Bonus Listeners Entertainment Show (or FABLES). We're releasing this one on the public feed; all future episodes will only go to Patreon subscribers. For this debut episode, Jess sits down with her bestie from college and they discuss Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay. Along the way they also discuss their friendship origin story, their Cool Girl (TM) roots, and what it means to be a feminist. New episodes will be released monthly. 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. -- Tennessee's Lt. Gov. is telling voters to reject an atheist candidate because she's "dangerous." (1:07) -- Even country music stars want nothing to do with Mike Huckabee. (10:40) -- Rep. Blake Farenthold hasn't paid an $84,000 harassment settlement, leaving the bill for taxpayers. (18:25) -- Billy Graham's body didn't deserve to lay in the Capitol rotunda, nor should his statue go up in National Statuary Hall. (23:25) -- The Department of Health and Human Services is a disaster for LGBTQ people. (28:45) -- A bill in Michigan to extend the statute of limitations for victims of sexual abuse is getting resistance from -- wait for it -- the Catholic Church. (37:59) -- There are times when we don't need to condemn people sending their thoughts and prayers, like when actor Chris Pratt said it after director Kevin Smith's heart attack. (43:26) -- Want to coach football at Louisiana College? Make sure your mother isn't Jewish. (49:13) -- Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis just published a book. Should be a very interesting paragraph. (52:10) -- Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has been accused of sexual harassment. Because of course he has. (57:05) -- Here's an interesting art project by a student at Brigham Young University. (59:22) -- We answer a listener's question! (1:02:54)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. -- Lawrence Krauss faces sexual misconduct allegations from multiple women. (1:00) -- The death of Billy Graham and his sad legacy. (20:54) -- GMOs are good for you, says a new study. (28:47) -- The phrase "In God We Trust" will not stop bullets. (31:30) -- South Carolina's education chief said school shootings could end if we just taught kids more about Jesus. (35:20) -- Even Pat Robertson (!) called for a ban on assault weapons. (37:45) -- A GOP congressman gave Donald Trump a literal bag of prayers after the school shooting. (44:22) -- A PA church (near an elementary school) will bless your assault rifles next week. (46:03) -- An ex-Jehovah's Witness killed her family, then herself. Was it because of her shunning? (50:15) -- Why are these Christian non-profits telling the IRS they're churches? (53:57) -- Iceland may ban circumcision for non-medical reasons. (59:17) -- The Teenagers Roast Marco Rubio Show. (1:02:39)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. -- Republicans should just admit their prayers to stop school shootings aren't helping. (1:09) -- A pastor was found with a naked, tied-up man in his car. He swears "on a stack of bibles" that nothing happened. (11:45) -- This racist cartoonist published a cartoon attacking DREAMers. (14:55) -- A Colorado teacher has been charged with abusing and assaulting a student who wouldn't stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. (19:50) -- Even Omarosa Manigault, a minister, thinks Mike Pence is a crazy Christian. (23:57) -- The Trump administration's response to the Rob Porter scandal has been disappointing and exactly what you'd expect. (26:55) -- The Tennessee GOP Unleashed an attack on a "radical atheist" running for State Senate. (32:46) -- Dennis Prager says evangelicals aren't hypocrites for backing Donald Trump. Even though they totally are. (39:35) -- A New Mexico city owes the ACLU $700,000 after not taking their advice about a Ten Commandments monument, then losing the court case. (50:54)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sarah Levin is the Director of Grassroots and Community Programs at the Secular Coalition for America. She has served in various roles at the Secular Coalition since 2013, including as the organization's chief lobbyist on Capitol Hill and as the State Chapter Coordinator, managing and growing the organization's state chapter program and implementing various grassroots campaigns on the national and state level. I spoke with her about the biggest church/state separation concerns facing Americans, what counts as a success in the age of Trump, and how the Secular Coalition for America wants to empower atheists nationwide to get active in state politics. 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. -- Eric Trump is mad Democrats didn't stand up for God during the State of the Union. An atheist lawyer schooled him on why that happened. (0:32) -- Wait for it. Donald Trump says he's not a feminist. (8:15) -- Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered powerful remarks against religious bigotry. (10:28) -- A Texas legislator wants to ban abortions so women learn to be "more personally responsible." (15:15) -- A televangelist says we don't need to get flu shots because Jesus got one for all of us. (21:05) -- What does the chair for the academic study of atheism do? (26:55) -- Are men threatened by intelligent women? (30:35) -- This is how Christian groups trick public schools into handing them fresh meat. (33:05) -- Mel Gibson is making a sequel to Passion of the Christ. Because why the hell not. (40:48) -- A gay Mormon who married a woman is getting divorced because (wait for it) he's still gay. (47:15) -- Why won't this New Zealand church tell me if they approved an advertisement calling their pastor hot? (57:00) -- David Brooks is wrong. Democrats shouldn't adopt anti-abortion policies to win elections. (59:47)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 GOP House member got called out on CNN for not knowing what the "Immaculate Conception" was. (4:14) -- The Christian Right is giving Donald Trump a "mulligan" on everything immoral he did before his presidency. (9:44) -- Generation Z, born after 1999, is less religious than any other age group. (22:33) -- Self-hating atheist S.E. Cupp explained why evangelical Christians continue to stand behind Trump. (28:55) -- Courtland Sykes wins this week's award for most misogynistic Republican in the state of Missouri. (36:26) -- Want to alter South Dakota's state seal? You could have been jailed for it. (42:40) -- The nation was less supportive of LGBTQ people in 2017, compared to the previous year. I wonder what changed... (48:34) -- We have no confirmation yet on whether this church advertisement featuring a "hot" pastor is real. (52:15) -- The judge overseeing the Larry Nassar sentencing was on fire. (56:20) -- The Satanic Temple is using the Religious Right's legal arguments against them in Missouri. (1:01:33)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.