Friendly Atheist Podcast

Chrystine Trooien is an eco-conscious, secular, vegan mother based out of Hawaii. About a year ago, she launched a Kickstarter campaign for a book called Christian Mythology for Kids. It's essentially a book that explains the stories of the Bible as just that: Stories. They don't disparage religion, and they don't pretend any of it is real, either. They read just like Greek mythology -- with beautiful illustrations by artist Christopher Zakrzewski to boot. It's a wonderful way to introduce your children to these characters without indoctrinating them in the faith. We spoke with Chrystine about why it's important to teach kids these stories objectively, how she handled stories with no redeeming message, and whether she'll continue the series with other religions. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Wynne LeGrow spent two years as a physician in the Army, where he was promoted to major, and then nearly three decades in private practice. For most of his career, he practiced internal medicine. In 2010, after he retired, he decided to run for Congress from Virginia's 4th District, which was represented then (and now) by Republican Randy Forbes. Forbes is so conservative, he founded the Congressional Prayer Caucus. LeGrow, on the other hand, ran as an open atheist. He lost the race, but wrote about the experience in his new book Last Leper in the Colony: An Atheist Runs for Congress in the Bible Belt. We spoke to him about what it was like being an atheist in the 1960s/1970s, the surprising politician who inspired him to run for office, and the advice he would give atheists running for office in the future. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

David Smalley, host of the show Dogma Debate, was in my area a few days ago and took some time to chat with me about his new series of children's books, the most effective ways to talk with people who disagree with us, and all things politics (Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, and atheist candidates for office). Smalley is a former Christian musician who became an atheist after studying psychology, sociology, world religions, and his own faith. He soon turned into a secular activist. He was the editor-in-chief of Secular World and American Atheist magazines, the author of Baptized Atheist, and now runs the Secular Media Group. His company will soon release a children's book titled Tiny Thinkers: Charlie and the Tortoise. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Kelly Carlin is the author of A Carlin Home Companion: Growing Up with George, an autobiography and one-woman show that talks about growing up with her famous father, comedian George Carlin. She's also host of the podcast Waking from the American Dream and a speaker at the upcoming Reason Rally. We spoke with Kelly about what her father was like off the stage, how being the daughter of a world famous comedian can be a mixed blessing, and how she created her own identity. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jeremy Runnells was raised in the Church of Latter Day Saints as a 6th generation Mormon. He went on his two year mission. He graduated from BYU. He was an Eagle Scout. But in 2012, he began doubting some of his beliefs. He was asked by a Church Educational System (or CES) director to share his concerns. Jeremy did that in what became known as the Letter to a CES Director, or the CES letter. It is a damning document that exposes so many holes in the Mormon faith and it quickly went viral online, giving a lot of people reason to leave the Church themselves. And then, earlier this year, wouldn't you know it, Church officials began a process to kick him out. Before they could excommunicate him for good in April, Jeremy announced he was resigning from the Mormon Church himself. He wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of kicking him out. We spoke with Jeremy about what led him to start doubting his faith, how the "Mormon moment" from a few years ago has come to an end, and why he left the Church before it could get rid of him. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Dawn Eden was born into a Jewish family, became an Agnostic during her teenage years, and then found God and became a Catholic in her 30s. Along the way, she was a rock journalist and worked as an editor for the New York Post and Daily News. Since her conversion, she's written several books including The Thrill of the Chaste and Remembering God's Mercy: Redeem the Past and Free Yourself from Painful Memories. She's also a long-time blogger at the Dawn Patrol. Before giving a talk at a church just outside of Chicago recently, we had 20 minutes to chat. We used the limited time to talk about her unique religious journey, whether allowing priests to have sex is a good idea, and how she arguably kickstarted my own career with one blog post. (As I make clear in the podcast, there were several points I would love to have pushed back on and debated further, but time didn't allow for it.) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Monica Miller is Senior Counsel at the American Humanist Association's Appignani Humanist Legal Center. If the AHA is involved in a lawsuit, she's the person doing the legwork, and that involves everything from letters to city councils to amicus briefs for the U.S. Supreme Court. We spoke with her about when anonymity can be used in a case, the surprising number of religious people who complain about church/state violations, and when a Christian cross isn't a Christian cross. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Reddit Atheism may be the largest online community in the world for atheists. Whenever you have an anonymous group of that size, bad things may happen. And the site certainly has a reputation for low-brow memes, smugness, anger, and a disdain for the religious. But they've also used their power for good, raising money for groups like Doctors Without Borders. We spoke with two of the moderators of the atheism "subreddit," Feinberg and LurkBeast, about the positives and negatives of the site, the power of the ex-religious subreddits, and why r/atheism isn't as bigoted as one research paper claimed. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Teresa MacBain is a former Methodist pastor and the first female member of the Clergy Project to publicly "come out" as a nonbeliever. She did that at the 2012 American Atheists convention. She's now the director of the Hotline Project, which offers callers who are grappling with their faith a chance to talk (anonymously) with an atheist about any questions or concerns. Their number is 1-84-I-Doubt-It (1-844-368-2848). We spoke with her about how she began having doubts about religion while in the pulpit, the type of people who call the Hotline Project, and how to volunteer to be on the receiving end of that call. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We're talking about the presidential race and how religion plays a role in it. We discuss our primary votes, which Republican candidate would be the worst case scenario for atheists, and the openly atheist candidates running for state and federal office. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.