Freethought Radio

In the week of the birthday anniversary of John Lennon, our program examines the concept of "Imagine no religion" from several angles. Freethought Radio features Congress' lone "out" nonbeliever — U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, in a fascinating interview in which he talks about being an ex-Mormon, the inside story on congressional issues regarding separation of state and church, and why he founded the Congressional Freethought Caucus. The show examines new developments in the rise of Hindu nationalism in India, during this birth week of Gandhi. FFRF Director of Communications Amit Pal, an expert in the phenomenon, is interviewed briefly by solo host Annie Laurie Gaylor. In the news segment, Freethought Radio excerpts TV news coverage of several major FFRF victories, and recounts FFRF's newest national complaint over the judge in the Amber Guyger trial forcing a bible on her and instructing which passages to read. We play a poignant version of "Imagine," arranged by native American composer Brent Michael Davids on flute, with Lenape Tribe member and absentee host Dan Barker accompanying on piano. The show passages of music not only by Lennon, but by nonreligious classical composer Guiseppe Verdi, also born this week in history.

We report recent FFRF legal victories, announce winners of the Graduate Student Essay contest and analyze President Trump's theocratic remarks before the United Nations. After hearing Sammy Davis Jr. sing "It Ain't Necessarily So" by George Gershwin (whose birthday is today), we talk with cartoonist Graham Sale, whose new book is called Crazy Little Thing Called Love: 100% Politically Incorrect God Cartoons.

¡Adios a Dios! After reporting some state/church victories around the country, we talk with Mandisa Thomas, founder and president of Black Nonbelievers, about the historic "Women of Color Beyond Belief" conference she is organizing in Chicago on October 4-6. Then we interview David Tamayo, founder and president of Hispanic American Freethinkers, about his public debate on biblical morality (the first-ever in Spanish) in Puerto Rico against an evangelical minister.

FFRF's TV ads are censored in some places, accepted in others. FFRF's South Dakota billboards challenge "In God We Trust." We hear the debut of Dan Barker's song in Spanish, "Es Solo Natural." After talking with FFRF attorney Chris Line about a number of state-church victories in southern schools, we interview the winner of the Michael Hakeem Memorial College Student Essay Contest, Jack Buchanan, about why he now agrees with John Lennon that there is "no hell below us."

Congressman Huffman comes under fire for defending freedom of conscience on FFRF's Freethought Matters TV show. Victory in Fresno, California, public schools. Scholarships and awards to freethinkers of color. After hearing the song "Salt Lake City Blues," written by ex-Mormon cartoonist Steve Benson and Dan Barker, we talk with Egyptian freethinker Omar Makram who, after rejecting Islam and religion, had to flee his country and fight to gain amnesty in Sweden.

Andrew Seidel and Liz Cavell, two FFRF attorneys, fill in this week to host Freethought Radio and discuss Andrew's Messin' with Texas tour. The Democratic National Committee recognized the contribution and value of nonreligious Americans, while a federal court declared that discrimination against atheists is permissible. We interview Chrissy Stroop, a writer, activist, and EXvangelical about her work and forthcoming book, Empty the Pews: Stories of Leaving the Church.

Christian nationalists are stepping up their attack on American values. We talk about Planned Parenthood, El Salvador, a San Jose (CA) grant to a Christian school, and the new federal rule to allow taxpayer-funded religious discrimination. Then law professor, author and humorist Jay Wexler describes his new "road-trip" book, Our Non-Christian Nation: How Atheists, Satanists, Pagans, and Others are Demanding Their Rightful Place in Public Life.

FFRF legal fellow Chris Line tells us about religious intrusion in Mississippi public schools. FFRF co-president Dan Barker makes the connection between his American Indian tribe (Delaware, Lenape) and the Christian cross on the county seal in LeHigh County, Pennsylvania. After hearing the Rupert Brooke poem set to music, "Heaven" (envisioning the afterlife from the point of view of a fish), we talk with Amber Scorah, author of the fascinating new book Leaving The Witness: Exiting a Religion and Finding a Life.

"Thoughts and prayers" do not stop bullets. However, Fox News and the Catholic League are blaming the recent mass shootings on godlessness. We report on our loss in federal court that allows a Christian cross to remain on a county seal. Then we speak with author/journalist Jeff Sharlet, about the new Netflix mini-series "The Family," debuting August 9, based on Jeff's book The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power.

"In God We Trust" has been mandated to be displayed prominently in South Dakota public schools, and FFRF is complaining about it. We talk with Jacob McGee, a winner in FFRF's High-School student essay contest. Then we interview former evangelical pastor of 37 years, Dave Warnock — who is now an atheist who has worked with The Clergy Project, and who has just been diagnosed with ALS — about his "Dying Out Loud" campaign about how a nonbeliever deals with a terminal illness.