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. 174 - We Worship God, Says The Confused President Jul 28, 2017

Show notes

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

-- Donald Trump said "We Worship God." All of us. (02:21)

-- Trump's ban on transgender troops. (06:21)

-- The Colorado atheist who gave his invocation slot to a Satanist. (12:04)

-- Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback will become a "Religious Freedom" ambassador... for some reason. (17:45)

-- The Boy Scouts' pathetic apology for Trump's speech. (26:51)

-- Ark Encounter will finally pay the Williamstown safety fee. (36:34)

-- The anti-abortion crowd's interest in reverse abortions. (40:04)

-- Don't get suckered in by a Catholic church's seemingly pro-LGBT comments. (47:00)

-- England's NHS will ban prescriptions for homeopathic remedies. (54:34)

-- A Pakistani village's "reverse" rape. (103:30)

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

Ep. 173 - Creationists Can't Do Math, Either Jul 22, 2017

Show notes

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

-- Ark Encounter lost a tax rebate worth up to $18 million to avoid a 50-cent-per-ticket safety fee.

-- Creationists are mocking Flat Earthers for taking the Bible too literally. Really.

-- The "inspirational" Mormon story that is anything but uplifting.

-- The MN town that shut down a "free speech zone" to prevent Satanists from using it.

-- How Wisconsin is considering a bill that would make it harder to train OB/GYNs.

-- The BYU-Idaho professor who lost her job for supporting LGBT equality.

-- The Boy Scouts may allow girls before they allow atheist boys.

-- The African-American pastor who renounced his ordination with the Southern Baptist Convention.

-- The Muslim Democrat running for Senate who received a surprising message from her Republican opponent.

-- Richard Dawkins getting de-platformed by a radio station in Berkeley, CA.

-- Doctor Who isn't a man. And other things Hemant doesn't understand. (1:26:48)

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

Ep. 172 - Buying And Burning All The Teen Vogues Jul 15, 2017

Show notes

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religious and politics. They included:

-- The "Activist Mommy" who can't handle an article in Teen Vogue.

-- An Appeals Court decision saying Christian prayers led by elected officials is unconstitutional.

-- Eugene Peterson, the Bible scholar who inched toward support of marriage equality, then ran back to the other side.

-- Pat Robertson's useless interview with Donald Trump.

-- The "gay Muslim" marriage that's more heartbreaking than inspiring.

-- Why Republicans dislike higher education.

-- The worst possible explanation for why God allows suffering.

-- The growth of the Flat Earth movement.

-- How Jesus apparently needs gluten to transubstantiate.

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

Ep. 171 - Thou Shalt Not Steal, Hobby Lobby Jul 08, 2017

Show notes

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religious and politics. They included:

-- Hobby Lobby's owners smuggling black market Iraqi artifacts that may have helped ISIS.

-- The Pakistani pizza shop owner who made sure his robot waitress wasn't offending customers.

-- The Muslim woman who thinks ex-Muslims are just trying to cash in on apostasy.

-- The sad rise of female genital mutilation cases in England.

-- How some Hindus believe the Ganges River can't be polluted because it's divine.

-- Ken Ham is still blaming others for the economic failures of Ark Encounter.

-- The demise of Utah's irrational "Zion Curtains" law.

-- An excellent episode of the Sawbones podcast dealing with vaccines.

-- Amelia Earhart's apparent resurrection.

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

Ep. 170 - Cardinal Pell Is Coming Home Jul 02, 2017

Show notes

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religious and politics. They included:

-- Cardinal George Pell just became the highest-ranking Vatican official charged with sex abuse.

-- Sarah Huckabee Sanders' irrational godly defense of Donald Trump's misogyny.

-- The Christian who vandalized the new Ten Commandments monument outside the Arkansas Capitol building.

-- Judge Sonia Sotomayor's eloquent dissent in the Trinity Lutheran case.

-- How the Christian harassing an atheist lawyer defended himself by saying he's "man enough" to stand behind his hateful words.

-- Whether hooking up really happens less often on Catholic campuses and what that really means.

-- How the people buying products from Infowars and Goop are all irrational.

-- The House Republicans' plan to use a budget bill to repeal the Johnson Amendment.

-- How Canadians would rather see an atheist Prime Minister than an Evangelical one.

-- There are no longer any openly atheist elected officials in the Republican Party.

-- Upcoming talks, including one outside Ark Encounter.

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

Ep. 169 - This Is What Atheist Persecution Looks Like Jun 24, 2017

Show notes

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religious and politics. They included:

-- The Christian terrorist threatening atheists over a statue in Tennessee.

-- The Christians harassing the atheist attorney who won a lawsuit in Florida.

-- GuideStar's decision to highlight "hate" groups using the Southern Poverty Law Center's database.

-- The woman who won a lawsuit against an Israeli airline because she didn't want to switch seats for ultra-Orthodox Jewish men.

-- How the Catholic Church is forcing more people to suffer in Canadian hospitals.

-- Why "Breatharians" aren't real.

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

Ep. 168 - The Rise Of The Religious Left Jun 18, 2017

Show notes

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religious and politics. They included:

-- The rise of the Religious Left.

-- Ken Ham is now blaming atheists for the failures of Ark Encounter and the local economy.

-- Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat leader in the UK who resigned saying he couldn't reconcile his Party's platform with his evangelical faith.

-- The Virginia church that wants you to pray for the resurrection of a man who died earlier this week.

-- The pantyliner invented by a man who clearly doesn't understand female anatomy.

-- Walgreen's absurd policy regarding pharmacists who don't want to do their jobs.

-- Joshua Feuerstein's crusade against McDonald's rainbow-colored fry boxes.

-- Can God love you if you're a woman with short hair?

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

Ep. 167 - Bernie Sanders Asked The Wrong Questions Jun 11, 2017

Show notes

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religious and politics. But because the audio crashed after we recorded (oh, computers...), I recorded this brief episode to bring up two important events from the week. They included:

-- Sen. Bernie Sanders' misguided questioning of an evangelical nominee to a major government position.

-- A New York high school that accommodated Muslim students who wanted to pray during Ramadan. Did administrators go too far or were they making the right decision?

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

Ep. 166 - Evangelicals Don't Care Unless It Affects Them Personally Jun 02, 2017

Show notes

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religious and politics. They included:

-- Donald Trump's irresponsible decision to back out of the Paris climate agreement, and the conservatives who don't care because of Jesus.

-- Trump's decision to allow religious employers, then all employers, to block birth control coverage for their employees.

-- The evangelical women who use Planned Parenthood.

-- The Keepers on Netflix. Watch it.

-- Australian tennis star Margaret Court's anti-gay Christian bigotry, and whether the Margaret Court Arena should change its name.

-- How Brio, a magazine for Christian girls, wants them to cover up so they don't tempt boys.

-- The all-women screening of Wonder Woman and the people who get all worked up about it.

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

Ep. 165 - Ron Miscavige, Author of Ruthless: Scientology, My Son David Miscavige, and Me Jun 01, 2017

Show notes

If you've followed the articles, movies, and TV shows about the Church of Scientology recently, you're probably familiar with the name David Miscavige, the man who runs the Church. His father is Ron Miscavige, and he joined the church in 1970. David was 10 at the time. It wasn't until 2012 that Ron escaped. Since then, he's worked hard to undo some of the damage caused by the Church, including their policy of basically shunning those outside of it. His book, now out in paperback, is called Ruthless: Scientology, My Son David Miscavige, and Me. I spoke with Ron about whether his son knows that the Church's beliefs aren't real, why Scientology is so appealing to some people, and how he managed to break out of the bubble.

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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