Freethought Radio

This week Freethought Radio will talk with Nebraska's most famous state senator, Ernie Chambers, a nonreligious legislator and peoples' advocate, about what's happening with his lawsuit suing "God" over "acts of God." Also interviewed will be The Nation's columnist, Katha Pollitt, about her recent religion in politics piece, "Flocking to Faith." The Saddleback church "debate" will be briefly parsed.

This week Freethought Radio will talk with Julia Cicci, a University ROTC cadet and unbeliever, who recently delivered a nonreligious invocation at her ROTC commissioning ceremony. Also interviewed will be FFRF's articulate legal intern, Sarah Braasch, who will talk about growing up in the Jehovah Witnesses church and why she left it.

This week Freethought Radio will talk with state/church litigant Steve Trunk about a recent development in the Mt. Soledad cross challenge, including the bogus attempt to disguise the 43-foot-tall cross in San Diego as a war memorial. The cohosts discuss the grave implications of a hostile ruling by an appeals court in the Freedom From Religion Foundation's important challenge of pervasive religiosity in healthcare by the Veterans Administration. The contributions of august freethinkers born in early August will also be featured.

This week Freethought Radio talks with Jon O'Brien, president of Catholics For Choice (not all Catholics are alike), about his broad investigative indictment of William Donohue's obnoxious Catholic League, and with Ryan Valentine of the Texas Freedom Network about the troublesome plan to teach bible classes in Texas schools.

Since it's summertime and the living is easy, Freethought Radio will play an excerpt from Julia Sweeney's hilarious CD, "Letting Go of God." After a quick Theocracy Alert, Mike Christensen of Seattle will be interviewed. Mike, 28, is an FFRF Lifetime Member who will talk about why he is a freethinker and is sponsoring the current "Imagine No Religion" billboard in Seattle.

Tune in to hear the inside story about the young Orlando student whom Catholics have accused of committing a "hate crime" for not eating a communion wafer! And listen to Sarah Braasch talk about how some public-funded senior centers are imposing prayer on senior citizens and why that is illegal.

Guest: David MillsAuthor: Atheist Universe: The Thinking Person's Answer to Christian FundamentalismFreethought Radio will discuss "atheist in a foxhole" Jeremy Hall's federal lawsuit against the military, charging that it is promoting Christianity and has discriminated against his rights as a nonbeliever, as covered by CNN this week with Anderson Cooper. Journalist and science writer David Mills, the author of the popular book, "Atheist Universe," will be interviewed about what's wrong with fundamentalism. The show will also highlight contributions by the many famous freethinkers born in July.Hosts: Dan Barker & Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-presidents of the Freedom From Religion FoundationProduced by the Freedom From Religon Foundation

Freethought Radio will analyze Barack Obama's controversial decision to rename and expand Bush's "faith-based initiative," using clips from his announcement this week. It will also interview southern activist Pat Cleveland, who is in the midst of the annual 4th of July bash in the heart of the bible belt sponsored every year by the activist Alabama Freethought Association. Author Nica Lalli will be interviewed about her memoir about growing up as and embracing being a "nothing" when it comes to religion.

Jim McCollum, who at age 10 became the center of a huge legal battle against religious instruction in the public schools, will talk about the 60th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision, McCollum v. Board of Education, keeping schools free of indoctrination. The show will also pay homage to several other anniversaries of significant Supreme court decisions affirming separation between church and state. Listen for cameos of famed litigants Roy Torcaso, Ed Schempp and Vashti McCollum.

Elissa Wall, author of "Stolen Innocence," will talk about being married against her will at age 14 to an adult in her polygamous Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints community in Utah. Wall was the key witness in the criminal trial which convicted FLDS patriarch Warren Jeffs of being an accomplice to rape. The show will also feature Sarah Braasch, FFRF's legal intern, who will talk about her research into unlawful Christian prayers opening the Wisconsin State Assembly. Her interview will include sound bites of a legislator casting the "Evil One" out of the chambers!