Freethought Radio

Jane Donnelly and Michael Nugent of Atheist Ireland tell us about their involvement in the successful May 25 referendum repealing the Amendment 8 abortion ban and the decline of Roman Catholic power in their country. Then we talk with Peruvian ophthalmologist Dr. Hector Guillen, the main organizer of the first international Latin American Freethought Conference, involving 12 countries fighting for secular government, that took place in Arequipa, Peru in May.

After 67 years, James A. Haught, the hard-fighting editor of West Virginia's largest newspaper, the Charleston Gazette-News, is still advocating for reform. Haught, who has authored a dozen freethought books, tells us what it has been like fighting governmental corruption working for a progressive-minded paper in one of the most conservative states in the country. Then we listen to the stories of Samson's wedding and Pinehas's racism excerpted from the audiobook of Dan Barker's book GOD: The Most Unpleasant Character in All Fiction, read by Dan and Buzz Kemper (who played the "voice of God."

Sarah Haider, co-founder of Ex Muslims of North America (exmna.org) will receive FFRF's "Freethought Heroine" award at our convention in San Francisco in November. She talks to us about the irony that while the number of Ex-Muslims is growing rapidly in the United States, the challenges of leaving Islam are becoming more dangerous. Then we interview international lawyer, chess promoter, and private investment fund manager Richard A. Conn, Jr., about his new book: Earthbound Parent: How (and Why) to Raise Your Little Angels Without Religion.

Rev. Franklin Graham, an evangelical moralist, says the Stormy Daniel controversy is "no business" of anybody. Boy Scouts rebrand their image but still exclude nonbelievers. We listen to Representative Jared Huffman explain on C-Span why he created the first Congressional Freethought Congress. After hearing Irving Berlin's song "Pack Up Your Sins And Go To The Devil In Hades," we talk with New York City standup comedian (and atheist) Leighann Lord, who just made it to the finals (top 5 out of 200) in the American Black Film Festival-HBO Comedy Wings Competition and who will be performing at FFRF's annual convention in November.

This week we celebrate the formation of the new Congressional Freethought Caucus, promoting science and state/church separation in government. FFRF attorney Liz Cavell explains our victory declaring a cross on the Lehigh County, Pennsylvania seal unconstitutional. We again protest the National Day of Prayer by hearing the words of the federal judge who ruled it unconstitutional. After hearing Dan sing "Get Off Your Knees And Get To Work," we talk with victorious state/church plaintiff David Steketee about his lawsuit (taken by FFRF) declaring New Jersey county grants to repair churches to be unconstitutional.

There was a lot of media coverage about FFRF's unanimous New Jersey Supreme Court victory stopping counties from using public money to repair churches. FFRF attorney Rebecca Markert describes the amicus brief we filed in opposition to President Trump's recent travel ban, claiming it violates the Establishment Clause and the "no religious test" provisions of the Constitution. Then we talk with psychologist and author Valerie Tarico, a former fundamentalist, whose cogent article, "Why is the bible so badly written?", was censored by Salon.com.

Breaking news: The New Jersey Supreme Court just handed FFRF a unanimous victory declaring state grants to repair churches to be unconstitutional. FFRF attorney Ryan Jayne gives us the details. Author and researcher Linda LaScola, editor of the Patheos blog "Rational Doubt," congratulates "#MeToo" atheist women for speaking out against sexual harassment in the freethought movement. Then the Peruvian author Ricardo Zavala, president of the Freethinkers of Peru, describes the first-ever Latin-American Freethought conference he is organizing that will take place in Arequipa, Peru May 24-26, to promote a completely secular state.

FFRF attorney Patrick Elliott describes our lawsuit over the state of Kentucky denying a personalized license plate that says "I'm God." Classical pianist Jarred Dunn performs Debussy and Chopin on FFRF's Steinway piano. Then we talk with FFRF attorney Andrew Seidel, who has become the Director of FFRF's Strategic Response team, about overtly theocratic public officials who don't know where to draw the line between state and church.

Atheists in the Bible Museum! For the first half of the show, we talk with FFRF attorney and Director of Strategic Response Andrew Seidel about our visit to the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC. Andrew describes many of the inaccuracies and exaggerations in the less-than-objective institution. Then FFRF Director of Communications Amit Pal interviews Annie Laurie and Dan about the 40-year history of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, established as a national group on April 5, 1978.

We have a fun "April Fool's" show this week. After discussing the partial (but strong) victory in our Indiana school nativity lawsuit with FFRF attorney Sam Grover, we hear Irish comic Dave Allen rip into the Catholic Church. Then we talk with New Orleans "dark humor" novelist Patty Friedmann about her new book, Organized Panic, which comically explores the challenges of living in a "mashed up" family of believers and nonbelievers.