Friendly Atheist Podcast

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Religion & Spirituality
**Friendly Atheist Podcast**

Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke Greiff cover the latest news, politics, and pop culture with a focus on atheism and religion. This is the official podcast for FriendlyAtheist.com.

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 223 - The Evangelical Woman Marriage Checklist Jun 23, 2018

Show notes

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.

-- Should Catholic Church confessionals about child abuse be reported to the cops? (2:01)

-- Apparently, Australia doesn't exist. (9:45)

-- Two Christian women released a marriage checklist. It's disturbing. (13:14)

-- In Alberta, religious schools want the ability to "out" members of Gay-Straight Alliances to their parents. (26:00)

-- PA State Rep. Brian Sims had a one-finger salute for Mike Pence. (36:27)

-- "Hot Dog Water" isn't a thing. But people are buying it. (39:13)

-- Focus on the Family doesn't care about families being ripped apart by Donald Trump. (43:05)

-- Country musician Rory Feek accepted his gay daughter's marriage. Now Christian bookstores won't sell his memoir. (45:54)

-- Gwyneth Paltrow's GOOP tried to get more scientific... and failed. (53:36)

-- The governor of Texas promised a dying boy that he would ban abortion completely. (59:26)

-- Attorney General Jeff Sessions was accused of immigrant child abuse by 600 members of his own religion. (1:07:13)

-- Muslim reformer Maajid Nawaz won a huge settlement from the Southern Poverty Law Center (yay!) and the Religious Right is using it to their advantage (boo). (1:14:45)

-- Can you separate art from the artist? (1:27:03)

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Ep. 222 - The Men Who Regret Their Abortions Jun 16, 2018

Show notes

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.

-- The Trump administration is using Bible verses to justify tearing children away from their parents. (1:29)

-- Canada's Supreme Court says legal societies can reject the accreditation of an anti-gay Christian law school. (14:52)

-- Abortion: Why won't anyone think of the men? (28:14)

-- A Christian Right group plans to spend $20 million for the upcoming midterms. How will you respond? (40:42)

-- A study says religious people live several years longer than atheists. Don't believe it. (50:09)

-- These cities are in danger of outbreaks due to parents not vaccinating their kids. (58:30)

-- Ireland has set a date for a referendum to overturn the law banning blasphemy. (1:02:12)

-- Another Bangladeshi atheist was murdered. (1:08:38)

-- Why would a UK legislator block this bill? (1:13:25)

-- We got mail! (1:16:34)

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ep. 221 - David Ellis Dickerson, Writer for "The American Bible Challenge" Jun 14, 2018

Show notes

In this bonus episode, Hemant spoke with David Ellis Dickerson. He's a writer mostly known for his many appearances on "This American Life," telling stories about growing up a conservative Christian in Tucson, Arizona. In 2013, he became an Emmy-nominated game show writer for his work on the Christian game show "The American Bible Challenge," which aired on the Game Show Network and can now be seen on Netflix. We spoke about how our paths inadvertently crossed about a decade ago, how an atheist gets a job writing for a Christian game show, and what "SEX DUO" has to do with the Bible.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ep. 220 - The Takeaway From Masterpiece Cakeshop Jun 09, 2018

Show notes

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.

-- The Catholic League's Bill Donohue is already using Anthony Bourdain's suicide to celebrate himself. (0:50)

-- The Masterpiece Cakeshop decision was the worst of all possible worlds for conservative Christians, even though they won. (12:08)

-- Does a Muslim beautician have the legal right to tell a trans woman she won't wax her private parts? (23:44)

-- A Texas church's list of dangerous "isms" includes Judaism and atheism, but not racism and sexism. (31:23)

-- What is up with college professors who commit acts of sexual misconduct against students? (35:45)

-- CrossFit fired a high-ranking employee for his anti-LGBTQ rhetoric on Twitter. (44:52)

-- Dr. Oz is promoting astrology again. (49:37)

-- Did an Ethiopian pastor get fatally attacked by a crocodile during a baptism? (59:24)

-- TV tattoo artist Kat Von D will not be vaccinating her baby. (1:05:45)

-- Denmark's burqa ban is a big mistake. (1:11:59)

-- This ex-lesbian wants Christian women to avoid the #MeToo movement. (1:17:43) -- We got mail! (1:21:50)

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ep. 219 - Dinesh D'Souza Was ParD'oned Jun 02, 2018

Show notes

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.

-- Now that abortion will be legal in Ireland, Focus on the Family is lying about what will happen next. (2:54)

-- Donald Trump pardoned Dinesh D'Souza because nothing matters anymore. (19:44)

-- The Mormon Church is way richer than we thought. (24:15)

-- A Republican politician knows why school shootings happen: Kids are buying smut at grocery stores. (33:24)

-- Atheists have filed a lawsuit for the right to solemnize marriages in Michigan. (49:48)

-- An atheist's lawsuit to get "In God We Trust" off the money has failed again. (55:10)

-- An Archdiocese in Minnesota agreed to a $210 million settlement with sex abuse victims. (1:09:45)

-- Homeopathic sound files don't cure Ebola. Or anything else. (1:16:29)

-- A rant on Roseanne and Samantha Bee. (1:23:17)

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ep. 218 - Adam Laats, Author of Fundamentalist U. May 25, 2018

Show notes

Adam Laats is Professor of Education and History (by courtesy) at Binghamton University (State University of New York). He has contributed essays to Education Week, Chronicle of Higher Education, Washington Post, Time, and Newsweek. He blogs about education, history, and culture-war angst at I Love You but You ºre Going to Hell. He is the author, most recently, of Fundamentalist U: Keeping the Faith in American Higher Education. I spoke with him about how fundamentalist Christian colleges handle dissenting views, whether or not they exist in a bubble, and what faculty members debate behind the scenes.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ep. 217 - Why Was Robert Jeffress In Jerusalem? May 19, 2018

Show notes

Note from Hemant: I'm out of the country right now, but Jessica and her friend Anne got together to record this episode! They talked about a weird school policy regarding smiling, the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem (and why Robert Jeffress and John Hagee were there), and how I (Hemant) got called out by Ken Ham during his news show. (Timestamps will return when I get back home!)

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ep. 216 - Franklin Graham's Stunning Hypocrisy May 11, 2018

Show notes

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.

-- Franklin Graham says Donald Trump's affair with Stormy Daniels is "nobody's business." That's not what he said when Bill Clinton was in office. (3:14)

-- The Natural History Museum in Jerusalem is covering up an evolution exhibit so they don't offend ultra-Orthodox Jews. (12:47)

-- The 13-year-old "miracle boy" from Alabama, who survived brain trauma, isn't a miracle at all. (14:52)

-- Southern Baptist leader Paige Patterson has apologized... kind of. Not really. (20:40)

-- The Mormon Church says it'll cut all ties with the Boy Scouts. (34:12)

-- Not everyone was happy with the Met Gala theme: "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination." (41:54)

-- The rally for gay conversion drew tens of people. (51:45)

-- Christian schools often censor student journalists, according to a new survey. (56:40)

-- We answer listener mail! (1:03:11)

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ep. 215 - Paige Patterson's Awful Advice May 05, 2018

Show notes

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.

-- Paige Patterson, a leader of the Southern Baptists, has horrible advice for abused wives. (0:42)

-- The problem with Incels. (17:52)

-- A Michigan Catholic school told girls they'd have to wear "Modesty Ponchos" at Prom if they were dressed too sluttily, but they caved after backlash. (31:09)

-- We learned about a new fossil that marks a transition between dinosaurs and modern birds. Creationist Ken Ham isn't buying it. (36:45)

-- A Pulse nightclub massacre survivor says he's no longer gay because of Jesus. (44:44)

-- Mike Pence takes great "joy" in Michelle Wolf's jokes about him. He should've read further on in the Bible. (50:10)

-- Iowa has banned abortions after 6 weeks... because they want to get sued over this. (55:24)

-- The House Chaplain is back on the job after getting booted. (1:02:11)

-- Liberty University is the second largest Christian school in the country. But not by their math. (1:03:41)

-- Survey featuring "Islamophobia Index" finds Nones are largely supportive of Muslims' rights. (1:09:10)

-- Matt Walsh said something dumb on Twitter about man caves. (1:14:03)

-- We answer listener mail! (1:22:00)

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ep. 214 - Sex Ed Ignorance Isn't Bliss Apr 28, 2018

Show notes

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.

-- The Ten Commandments monument outside the Arkansas Capitol... again. (3:12)

-- The Congressional Freethought Caucus has finally formed! (13:13)

-- Why did the House chaplain resign? Maybe he deserved to. (24:15)

-- There's an open atheist in the NFL once again: The Arizona Cardinals' Josh Rosen. (37:42)

-- There's no good reason to prevent your kids from learning about sex education. (41:50)

-- A Tennessee school district wants to celebrate Billy Graham Day. No... just no. (59:13)

-- GQ says the Bible isn't an essential read. They're right. (1:04:48)

-- Oklahoma is on the verge of passing a bill allowing taxpayer-funded adoption agencies to discriminate against gay couples and non-Christians. (1:09:47)

-- When FOX News is too tough on you, Donald Trump just goes to Christian television. (1:15:44)

-- Jessica has some thoughts on recent mass shootings. (1:19:14)

-- We answer listener mail! (1:23:40)

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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