Friendly Atheist Podcast

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Ep. 444 - Interview with Andrew Seidel, author of "American Crusade" Sep 15, 2022

Show notes

Andrew Seidel is the Vice President of Strategic Communications for Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the author of "The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American." He's written and spoken extensively about these issues in a variety of online and print publications, and on several news shows.
His latest book, out this month, is called "American Crusade: How the Supreme Court is Weaponizing Religious Freedom."
0:00 Intro
1:08 How did you write a book about the Supreme Court when the Court kept issuing new, harmful rulings? (An update to the book can be found here: https://andrewlseidel.com/moreac/)
3:24 What church/state barriers are next to fall?
8:09 Is the Federalist Society a Christian organization?
13:37 Why isn't there a liberal equivalent to the Federalist Society?
15:14 SPONSOR: https://www.expressvpn.com/friendlyatheist
16:34 Is the Supreme Court helping or hurting the country?
18:40 Is there one justice whose presence is ultra-crusade-y?
21:04 Should we care about the details of Amy Coney Barrett's faith?
24:16 What impact will Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson have on this Court?
25:45 What would be the best way to fight back against this activist Court?
33:45 What does success mean for you when it comes to readers of "American Crusade"?
42:10 What do you say to future lawyers who care about church/state issues?

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BONUS - Audio Interview with Mike Flanagan, creator of 'Midnight Mass' Sep 09, 2022

Show notes

In this bonus interview, Jessica spoke with Mike Flanagan, the writer/director behind "Haunting of Hill House," "Haunting of Bly Manor," "Doctor Sleep," and (most recently) the critically acclaimed "Midnight Mass."
They discussed his sobriety journey as an atheist, why Bev Keane from "Midnight Mass" could probably get elected to Congress, how to engage with criticism, and why we probably shouldn't.

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Ep. 443 - Britney Spears is an Atheist, Y'all Sep 09, 2022

Show notes

Please support the show at https://www.patreon.com/friendlyatheistpodcast. Donors now get access to a new BONUS episode.
Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.
— Please join our Discord server!
— Britney Spears said in a now-deleted Instagram reel, "I'm an atheist, y'all!" (3:45)
— Even married advocates of Purity Culture can't handle Bridgerton. (12:57)
— A federal judge ruled that an HIV drug mandate violated Christians' religious freedoms. (20:35)
— These preachers have no idea how masturbation works. (35:00)
— Pope Francis is lying about having a "zero tolerance" policy for handling abuse. (41:21)
— The GOP lawmaker who condemned an extreme anti-abortion bill previously sponsored‚Ä¶ an extreme anti-abortion bill. (48:30)
— A Christian school baptized 100 kids without telling their parents. (55:11)
— The Archdiocese of St. Louis is putting dogma over decency, urging schools to let kids go hungry rather than feed them for free. (1:00:30)

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Ep. 442 - "Unwise" DMs from a Christian Leader Sep 01, 2022

Show notes

Please support the show at https://www.patreon.com/friendlyatheistpodcast. Donors now get access to a new BONUS episode.
Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.
— Please join our Discord server!
— Christian pastor and church planter Matt Chandler is on a leave of absence because of "unwise" DMs he sent to a woman on Instagram. (4:20)
— Valley Christian Academy in California will forfeit an upcoming football game rather than play an opposing team that has two girls on the roster. (22:00)
— Wisconsin Republican Peter Schmidt wants to pass anti-LGBTQ policies but doesn't want anyone knowing about his own homosexuality. (32:20)
— Catholic Charities in Omaha held a fake active shooter drill that traumatized countless employees. (43:03)
— Christian hate-preacher Joe Jones listed out the evil people you should avoid and there's a pleasant surprise on the list. (49:15)
— Despite a Supreme Court win, nearly all of Maine's Christian schools are rejecting state funding. (51:19)
— Texas State Sen. Bryan Hughes is trying to fix up his horribly written "In God We Trust" law. (57:00)
— Former Republican congresswoman Michele Bachmann insists the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were based on the Bible. She's lying. (1:06:50)

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Ep. 441 - A Texas-sized Loophole in a Christian Law Aug 24, 2022

Show notes

Please support the show at https://www.patreon.com/friendlyatheistpodcast. Donors now get access to a new BONUS episode.
Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.
— Please join our Discord server!
— A conservative Christian influencer wants women to stop touching themselves. (1:00)
— A Texas law requiring donated "In God We Trust" signs in schools has a loophole, and one atheist is taking advantage of it. (13:27)
— The Door McAllen, which staged a Christianized "Hamilton," has apologized. (23:45)
— South Carolina stuck a $1.5 million gift for a Christian school in its budget. (34:29)
— The Big Bang Theory is not a hoax, no matter how much Creationists try to lie about it. (38:23)
— An article in Science recently connected a non-binary gender identity with a thirst for curiosity. And yet one professional science communicator is FURIOUS about it. (45:38)
— A leaked investigation into New Zealand's ARISE Church reveals widespread abuse. (53:21)
— Scott Esk once said sexually active gay people should be executed by the government. He was nearly the GOP's candidate for a State House seat in Oklahoma. (1:03:35)

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Ep. 440 - The Attack on Salman Rushdie Aug 19, 2022

Show notes

Please support the show at https://www.patreon.com/friendlyatheistpodcast. Donors now get access to a new BONUS episode.
Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.
— Please join our Discord server!
— The attack on Salman Rushdie is an attack on free expression. (1:38) (Note: Read this for more background on Rushdie and why The Satanic Verses is controversial.)
— An evangelical pastor demonized "wokeism" after making up his own definition of the word. (14:52)
— The Fargo School Board in North Dakota nixed the Pledge of Allegiance at meetings‚Ä¶ then reversed course after threats. (22:28)
— A Missouri pastor apologized after a sermon clip of him demanding a luxury watch from his congregation went viral. (32:09)
— A Texas school district banned the Bible. Oops. (39:25)
— The Department of Justice is investigating the Southern Baptist Convention. (48:52)
— Evangelist Beth Moore's crush on Jesus infuriated Southern Baptist men. (54:30)
— Atheists won a settlement against Arkansas State Sen. Jason Rapert. (1:02:20)

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Ep. 439 - The Illegal, Christian "Hamilton" Saga Aug 11, 2022

Show notes

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Ep. 438 - The Plight of Conservative Christian Furries Aug 05, 2022

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Ep. 437 - The Hypocrisy of an Anti-Gay Republican Jul 29, 2022

Show notes

Please support the show at https://www.patreon.com/friendlyatheistpodcast. Donors now get access to a new BONUS episode.
Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.
— Please join our Discord server!
— SPONSOR: Check out God Pod!
— Republican Rep. Glenn Thompson voted *against* a bill to protect same-sex weddings... then attended his gay son's wedding. (1:52)
— Why is Ted Haggard back in the news? (13:07)
— The Church of Scientology wants to enforce religious arbitration clauses in its contracts... against people who left the faith. (26:45)
— Among Gen Z, women are less likely to be religious than men! (40:05)
— With the Supreme Court getting rid of the Lemon Test, a previous church/state separation victory was wiped off the books. (46:15)
— A Kentucky judge temporarily protected abortion access, saying that the state's anti-abortion laws were "theocratic" and therefore illegal. (1:00:48)

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Ep. 436 - Who's the Real Hate-Preacher? Jul 20, 2022

Show notes

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