Friendly Atheist Podcast

Linda K. Wertheimer is a former education editor of the Boston Globe and a reporter at the Dallas Morning News and Orlando Sentinel. She recently published a book called Faith Ed: Teaching About Religion in an Age of Intolerance. We spoke with Linda about groups that oppose the teaching of basic Islamic beliefs in public schools; whether teachers are properly equipped to objectively discuss religion in the classroom; and why atheists, Mormons, and Jews tend to know more about religion than larger faith groups. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chris Shelton spent 27 years in the Church of Scientology, where he attained those high levels you only hear about in HBO documentaries. But he got out about three years ago and is now a vocal critic of the Church. He just published a book called Scientology: A to Xenu: An Insider's Guide to What Scientology is All About. We spoke with Chris about what tipped him off to the Church's deceptions, what he was taught about Xenu, and what he believes would be the single biggest blow to the Church's existence. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Cristin Padgett is a Democrat hoping to win a seat in the Texas State House. She's doing that in a heavily gerrymandered district in a very red part of the state. What makes her candidacy so unique, though, is that she has made public the fact that she's an atheist, making her one of the only openly non-theistic candidates this election cycle in any part of the country. Not exactly part of anyone's playbook in Texas politics. We spoke with Padgett about how she can convince Texans in her district to support her, what she could accomplish with a Republican majority in the House, and what she learned from the failed gubernatorial campaign of Wendy Davis. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Susan Gerbic is a photographer and skeptical activist from California. She contributes to the Skepticality podcast and Skeptical Inquirer magazine. In addition to co-founding the Monterey County Skeptics, she leads a group called Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia. Her goal in that last group is to improve the content of skeptic-related content on Wikipedia. We spoke about why editing Wikipedia is so important, how she avoids charges of bias in the articles, and how you can join her cause. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Eric is a writer currently living in Chicago. He was raised in California in the Worldwide Church of God, a Christian organization that is now known as Grace Communion International and has been considered by many to be a cult. Jessica spoke with him about his upbringing in the church, how it affected his childhood, and how he ultimately left it all behind. *We apologize for the sound quality in this episode! The audio equipment wasn't working properly so we had to resort to alternate means. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Ken Miller is a Professor of Biology at Brown University and the co-author of a Biology textbook used in schools across the country. He's also the author of "Finding Darwin's God" and "Only a Theory." I'm talking to him now because it's the tenth anniversary of the Kitzmiller v. Dover case which gutted the Intelligent Design movement. Miller was an expert witness for the science side. I spoke with him about whether evolution advocates can finally relax, how a Roman Catholic like himself reconciles science and faith, and the effect of Creationist propaganda on science literacy. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Michael De Dora is director of the Center for Inquiry's Office of Public Policy and he's also CFI's representative to the United Nations. He's currently the president of the UN's NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief. I spoke with him about what we can do about the bloggers currently under attack in Bangladesh, whether our government is doing anything to protect atheists overseas, and what his conversations are like with the Saudi Arabian representatives at the United Nations. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chaz Stevens is an activist who's especially passionate about the First Amendment. In response to a Nativity scene in the Florida Capitol Building, he put up an 8-foot-tall Festivus pole made of Pabst Blue Ribbon cans. This year, he's attempting something similar with a 6-foot pole covered in rainbow colors. He has also been requesting to deliver invocations as a Satanist, forcing several city councils to abandon the prayer practice altogether. I spoke with Chaz about what a Satanist invocation would look like if he ever got to deliver one, why he prefers an over-the-top approach, and what he hopes to accomplish with his activism. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For this episode, I just answered a whole bunch of questions sent in by listeners! They include: - How can we help the "victims of religion"? - What are the differences between atheists who were once religious and those who have never been religious? - Are there any original atheism-related thoughts left to have? - How has the pressure to generate content changed the way that you interact with people and respond to issues? - Am I less "friendly" than I used to be? - How did I go from math teacher to full-time atheism blogger? And how much does that pay? - What tips do I have for young atheists trying to start a secular school group? - Have I ever been discriminated against due to my beliefs? - What are the positives of religion and the negatives of atheism? - How can "Nones" organize better to leverage our increasing numbers into political and social action? - What do I do to produce so much content? - Will I be speaking at the upcoming Reason Rally and how should it be different from the first? - Why bother with YouTube and podcasting? - Since the religious demographics are shifting so rapidly right now, will we continue heading down the "right path" as a country? - Why do you talk over your guests during podcasts? - Why do I post so many articles and videos on marginal preachers and religious people? - Do I always read the comments? - How do I select guest bloggers? - Will religion ever disappear completely? - How will my wife and I deal with religion with regards to our child? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sarah Haider was born in Pakistan as a practicing Shia Muslim. She moved to Texas and, in her late teens, began reading the Qur'an critically. It wasn't long before she became an atheist. In 2013, she co-founded Ex-Muslims of North America, where she advocates for the acceptance of religious dissent and works to create local support communities for those who have left Islam. We spoke with Sarah about why it's dangerous for Muslims to leave the faith even in the United States, what the New Atheists get right and wrong about Islam, and why we need to stop using the word "Islamophobic." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.