Friendly Atheist Podcast

Matt Dillahunty is a former fundamentalist Christian who now debates religious apologists. He was the President of the Atheist Community of Austin for several years and co-hosts The Atheist Experience call-in show. He recently began a video series teaching viewers how to respond to frequently-used apologist arguments. Jessica spoke with Matt about his religious upbringing, why he loves debates, and what he sees as the future of faith. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dianna E. Anderson grew up in South Dakota, and after stints as an English teacher in Japan and a radio producer in Chicago, she's turned her focus to writing. Her first book, out now, is called Damaged Goods: New Perspectives on Christian Purity and it's all about the intersection of the church and sexuality. We spoke with Dianna about why sex is often seen as shameful in parts of Christianity, what conversations the broader evangelical church is having about sex, and whether the church can ever become sex-positive. Lots of sex. #Sex See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Muhammad Syed is the co-founder and director of operations for Ex-Muslims of North America. Heina Dadabhoy is an ex-Muslim atheist and feminist who writes at Heinous Dealings. At the American Atheists 2015 convention in Memphis, Tennessee, Jessica spoke with them about the various challenges of leaving Islam and why, if you're having religious doubts, it's better to act on them instead of staying in the faith. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jessica Hagy is a cartoonist and writer best known for her insightful and hilarious webcomic Indexed, in which she draws charts and Venn diagrams connecting completely different ideas and getting us to think about them in different ways. Her latest book is The Art of War Visualized. It's the Sun Tzu classic reworked and with illustrations. During a recent stop in Chicago, we spoke about her career change from copywriter to professional author/illustrator, where she finds inspiration for her work, and how her cartoons made their way into my math classes. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Vyckie Garrison was named American Atheists' 2015 Atheist of the Year. She's also the founding editor of No Longer Qivering, a website based upon the "quiverfull" lifestyle that she left years ago. (Why that spelling? Because, she says, there's no "you" in quivering.) Jessica spoke with Vyckie about how she left the movement made famous by the Duggar family, whether her children are still religious, and why patriarchal thinking hurts men as well as women. (Image via Josiah Mannion on Facebook) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lloyd Evans is the founder of JWSurvey.org, a website that focuses on the problems with Jehovah's Witnesses. For most of his life, Lloyd was a Witness. But that changed not too long ago. Now he's trying to help others leave the faith. On a personal note, I've learned so much about the seedy underbelly of the religion by reading his work. We spoke with Lloyd about why JWs are suddenly getting more attention, the most painful aspect of leaving the faith, and the awful afterlife in store for those who didn't make the cut for the "chosen" 144,000. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Ryan T. Cragun is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Tampa and the author of books including What You Don't Know About Religion (but Should). His latest is called How to Defeat Religion in 10 Easy Steps. We spoke with Dr. Cragun about whether religious fervor is cyclical or fading, why religious holidays should become secular, and the surprising thing churches can do to stop the shifting trend away from religion. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jennifer Michael Hecht is a historian, philosopher, and author of several bestselling books including Doubt: A History. Her latest book is called Stay: A History of Suicide and the Philosophies Against It. At the American Atheists 2015 convention in Memphis, Tennessee, Jessica spoke with Jennifer about how thoughts of suicide differ between atheists and religious people, how more people in history have been atheists than believers, and whether it's possible to discern what certain historical figures thought about God. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Gerald Posner is an investigative journalist and author of several books, including ones about the assassinations of JFK and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His latest book, God's Bankers, is all about the Vatican's finances, and how the Church got involved with the Mafia and money launderers. We spoke with Gerald about how he followed the trail of the Church's money, what the Vatican Bank is used for, and the advice he has for investigative journalists. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Trace Beaulieu and Frank Conniff are writers and actors best known for their work on Mystery Science Theater 3000. At the American Atheists 2015 convention in Memphis, Tennessee, Jessica spoke with Trace and Frank about the genesis of MST3K, what they think about podcasts, and whether it's tough to be known only for the show rather than their other projects. (Image via Tim Dorr on Flickr) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.