Freethought Radio

Religious governors, judges, members of Congress and high-school coaches are running roughshod over the Constitution. We complain about the nefarious National Prayer Breakfast by hearing Dan Barker's song "Nothing Fails Like Prayer." Then we talk with Princeton anthropologist and primatologist Agustín Fuentes, author of Why We Believe: Evolution and the Human Way of Being.

FFRF's Director of Strategic Response Andrew Seidel describes the letter written by the Congressional Freethought Caucus to the Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection complaining about the deceptive and dangerous Health Care Sharing Ministries. Then we speak with Bart Worden, executive director of the American Ethical Union, about the nontheistic religion of Ethical Culture Societies.

A lot of "scary" news for Halloween. FFRF fights state/church violations and educates Christian nationalists around the country. FFRF attorney Liz Cavell describes FFRF's new report about Florida, "Casting Light: The Sunshine State's Problem of Religion in Public Schools." Then we speak with Pulitzer-Prize-winning court reporter Linda Greenhouse about her new book, Justice on the Brink: The Death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Rise of Amy Coney Barrett, and Twelve Months That Transformed the Supreme Court.

The ultra-conservative Roberts Supreme Court is a serious threat to equality, fairness, and the rights of women, LGBTQ and non-Christians. To discuss how we can preserve state/church separation and advance progressive views, we speak with law Professor Stephen M. Feldman about his book Pack the Court! A Defense of Supreme Court Expansion.

We need a vaccine to keep religion from infecting government. After reporting FFRF victories and complaints, we call for putting our trust in science and for vaccine mandates. We hear Roy Zimmerman's irreverent song, "I Want a Marriage Like They Had in the Bible." Then we speak with Debbie Allen, executive director of the Secular Coalition for America, which lobbies to keep state and church separate.

Football baptisms, the North Carolina lieutenant governor's intolerance and billboards for Rev. Joel Osteen are among the state/church news this week. FFRF Legal Director Rebecca Markert tells us about the Supreme Court taking a case over a Christian flag in Boston. Then Reproductive Rights Intern Barbara Alvarez gives us the good news and the bad news about abortion rights in America.

Happy Blasphemy Day! Religion & abortion, religion & capital punishment, and religion & Covid-19 are among our topics today. FFRF attorney Ryan Jayne joins us to talk about the friend-of-the-court brief we recently filed with the Supreme Court dealing with the death penalty. Then we speak with Cheryl Abram, author of the book Firing God, about how she took a "leap of doubt" to escape the oppressiveness of religion.

This week, we talk about the religious attack on abortion rights. FFRF attorney Liz Cavell explains FFRF's friend-of-the court brief we filed at the U.S. Supreme Court challenging Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban. Then we talk with Mandisa Thomas, founder and president of Black Nonbelievers about the "Women of Color Beyond Belief" conference in Chicago.

We celebrate Constitution Day by listening to a song, "We, The People," written and performed in the U.S. Constitution's honor by FFRF Co-President Dan Barker. We spotlight FFRF's recent multimedia efforts, including a new Ron Reagan TV spot, a full-page New York Times ad and a billboard campaign in Nashville aimed at megapreachers. Then, FFRF Communications Director Amit Pal speaks with Professor and India scholar Christophe Jaffrelot about his new book, Modi's India: Hindu Nationalism and the Rise of Ethnic Democracy.

A special sister/brother treat! Charlotte Dennett discusses her book The Crash of Flight 3804: A Lost Spy, a Daughter's Quest, and the Deadly Politics of the Great Game for Oil (Foreword by brother Daniel C. Dennett) about the mysterious 1947 death of their father Daniel C. Dennett II when he was an American spy in the Middle East. Then we talk with her brother, the atheist philosopher Daniel C. Dennett III, about his new book Just Deserts: Debating Free Will.