Friendly Atheist Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 164 - A "Pro-Life" School Punished A Pregnant Student May 28, 2017

Show notes

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

-- The high school student punished by her Christian school for not having an abortion.

-- How Ark Encounter has been bad for the local economy in Kentucky.

-- The Manchester mayor calling the suicide bomber a terrorist who isn't a Muslim.

-- Greg Gianforte, the violent Creationist who will represent Montana in the U.S. House.

-- How Joel Osteen unintentionally summoned the Devil in the minds of his fans.

-- Betsy DeVos' inability to say no to discrimination when it comes to taxpayer dollars funding schools.

-- How Jesus isn't going to fix the offshore tax haven loopholes in the law.

-- The Arizona Democratic Party's brand new Secular Caucus.

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Ep. 163 - Maggie Rowe, Actress and Author of Sin Bravely May 23, 2017

Show notes

Maggie Rowe grew up as an evangelical Christian in the suburbs of Chicago. And for reasons we'll get into, when she was 19, she landed in a Christian mental health center where she spent three months. While parts of that experience were disturbing, some of it actually helped her eventually walk away from Christianity. She's now a comedy writer who has worked on the show Arrested Development and currently works on Netflix's Flaked. Her book is called Sin Bravely: A Memoir of Spiritual Disobedience. I spoke with her about the "spiritual terrorism" of teaching kids about Hell, what someone with a Christian upbringing notices in a comedy writers' room, and how long it took to finally overcome her faith-based guilt.

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Ep. 162 - God Told Her The Suspect Wasn't Guilty May 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 resignation of the atheist State Rep. from New Hampshire who created Reddit's "Red Pill" forum.

- The Virginia atheist who painted an "offensive" Bible verse on his truck.

- Why you should be skeptical anytime you hear about an African pastor who drowns while trying to walk on water.

- The Christian mother who treated her gay son as if he were dead.

- How a video of a baby crying out for Jesus isn't "adorable."

- The juror who was dismissed from a corruption trial after saying God told her the suspect wasn't guilty.

- Why a photo doesn't show that God was taking accident victims to Heaven.

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Ep. 161 - Stephen Fry Didn't Blaspheme May 14, 2017

Show notes

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

- Comedian Stephen Fry's blasphemy ordeal and what it says about blasphemy laws.

- The Missouri Republican who thinks there's a difference between being gay and just being human.

- Whether circumcision should be banned?

- If banning a method for animal slaughter is religious discrimination.

- The absurd lawsuit claiming discrimination against a Creationist "researcher."

- What religious people would like to learn from atheists.

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Ep. 160 - The Johnson Amendment Repeal That Wasn't May 07, 2017

Show notes

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

- What was the point of the Johnson Amendment executive order? (And why did Trump lie about the military ban on Bibles?)

- What was Trump's reaction after the Access Hollywood tape?

- Why did Franklin Graham blame Kate Middleton for an invasion of her privacy?

- Is it okay to say an emotional congresswoman is in "hysterics"?

- Why aren't Millennials religious?

- Do the Girl Scouts support abortions?

- Should a Christian school force faculty members to oppose gay marriage?

- Why did Alabama's governor sign legislation allowing religious adoption agencies to discriminate against gay couples?

And an update on the Athena Salman invocation!

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Ep. 159 - The Atheist Lawmaker Who Started r/TheRedPill Apr 30, 2017

Show notes

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

- The atheist politician who created a "men's rights" subreddit -

Is the star of The Handmaid's Tale avoiding the word "feminist" because she's a Scientologist?

- Did a Christian homeless shelter actually make a wise strategic decision when it rejected money from a gay chorus to appease other donors?

- If a Christian university imposes severe restrictions on the type of material students are exposed to, what are they actually learning?

- Why would a woman want to be harassed by someone like Bill O'Reilly?

- Why would the mayor of San Antonio say godlessness was the root cause of generational poverty?

- Why was the IRS visiting Benny Hinn's ministries?

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Ep. 158 - Arizona and the Atheist Invocations Apr 23, 2017

Show notes

- Why did Arizona Republicans oppose an atheist invocation delivered by State Rep. Athena Salman?

- Is it ethical to tell a dying man that Donald Trump was impeached?

- Would you vote for a Democrat who once ran a psychic network?

- When your child narrowly averts tragedy, is it reasonable for religious parents to thank God?

- Is Christianity a religion or something else?

We discuss all these stories and more in this episode.

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Ep. 157 - The Church Police Force (and Other Stories) Apr 16, 2017

Show notes

- Should you protest a Chick-fil-A on campus?

- What effect will Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch have on a major church/state separation case?

- Should a church be allowed to have a police force?

- Why isn't the media talking about how the San Bernardino shooter was an outspoken Christian?

- What do you have to believe in to be a True Christian?

- Why do we still have blue laws?

- Do atheists need to have more babies?

- Is the Bible Bee like the Spelling Bee?

- How will Republicans sneak the Johnson Amendment repeal through?

- Can reality TV shows like Survivor and The Bachelor offer a benefit to society?

We discuss all these stories and more in this episode.

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Ep. 156 - Susan Gerbic, Wikipediatrician and Activist Booster Apr 09, 2017

Show notes

Susan Gerbic is a photographer and skeptical activist from California. She contributes to the Skepticality podcast and Skeptical Inquirer magazine. In addition to co-founding the Monterey County Skeptics, she leads a group called Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia. We've spoken before about her group, but we spoke this time about how to spread our ideas beyond our bubble, how to support other atheist activists, and why updating Wikipedia is so vital.

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Ep. 155 - Mike Pence Eats Alone (and Other Stories) Apr 02, 2017

Show notes

Why does Vice President Mike Pence have to eat alone? Why can't ultra-Orthodox Jews handle looking at a picture of Smurfette? Who fears death more: Atheists or the devoutly religious? We discuss all these stories and more in this episode.

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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