Friendly Atheist Podcast

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Ep. 134 - Brendon Marotta, Director of American Circumcision Nov 06, 2016

Show notes

Brendon Marotta is an award-winning filmmaker based out of Austin, Texas. He graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts Film School, to work as a professional film editor. His first feature-length documentary as director is called American Circumcision. (You'll never guess what it's about.) We spoke about why male circumcision is problematic, the dubious health benefits of getting circumcized, and whether there's any chance of passing laws to prevent the procedure (at least without consent of the patient).

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Ep. 133 - Phil Vischer, Co-Creator of VeggieTales Oct 30, 2016

Show notes

If you've ever seen VeggieTales, you're familiar with Phil Vischer. He's the animator, puppeteer, writer, voice actor, and songwriter who co-created that series. His production company soon grew to over 200 workers by the year 2000 before a lawsuit sent the company into bankruptcy and forced Phil to basically start over again. He now runs Jellyfish Labs, where he produces faith-based content. He also hosts the Phil Vischer Podcast which is a very entertaining show all about Christianity in a post-Christian America. We spoke with Phil about why Christian media is so cringeworthy, how he tells Bible stories that may offend parts of his audience, and what the hell is happening with evangelicals in the upcoming election.

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Ep. 132 - Luke Fevin, Canadian Atheist Activist Oct 23, 2016

Show notes

Luke Fevin has fought against mandatory prayers in Alberta (Canada) secular schools. He sits on the Board of the Society of Edmonton Atheists and founded the advocacy group Albertan's for Equality Education. I spoke with Luke about some of the major church/state issues taking place in Canada, including within the public schools, local governments, and Catholic hospitals.

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Ep. 131 - Vyckie Garrison, Former Quiverfull Mother Oct 17, 2016

Show notes

Vyckie Garrison was once a prominent member of the "Quiverfull" community, a rapidly growing Christian fundamentalist movement that bans birth control and encourages huge, "Biblical families" (much like the Duggars of TLCs 19 Kids and Counting fame). Garrison edited and published a Christian "pro-life, pro-family" newspaper for 16+ years in northeast Nebraska while home-churching, home birthing, and home schooling seven children. She made waves when she left the Quiverfull movement, divorced her husband, and began speaking out against the lifestyle. She recently received American Atheists' Atheist of the Year award and runs the blog "No Longer Quivering" to provide support to women and children who are escaping abusive religious movements and to provide the public with accurate and compassionate information on the unique challenges faced by the spiritually abused. We spoke about what her Quiverfull lifestyle entailed, how she escaped it, and what advice she would give to other women in her position.

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Ep. 130 - Janet Heimlich, Founder of the Child-Friendly Faith Project Oct 09, 2016

Show notes

Janet Heimlich is the founder of the Child-Friendly Faith Project, and author of Breaking Their Will: Shedding Light on Religious Child Maltreatment, both of which examine child abuse and neglect that is enabled by religious belief in the United States. Janet is also a reporter who has worked for NPR and written for a variety of publications. (Full disclosure, I'm on the advisory board for the Child-Friendly Faith Project.) I spoke with her about the way children suffer at the hands of religion, whether teaching kids about Hell constitutes abuse, and what atheists can do to help.

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Ep. 129 - Dr. Leigh Eric Schmidt, Author of Village Atheists Oct 02, 2016

Show notes

Dr. Leigh Eric Schmidt is the Edward C. Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor in the Humanities at Washington University in St. Louis. He joined the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics in 2011. He previously taught at Harvard and Princeton. He has appeared in and on all kinds of media to talk about his work and he's the author of several books. His latest is Village Atheists: How America's Unbelievers Made Their Way in a Godly Nation. We spoke with Leigh about whether we were ever a "Christian nation," why the "New Atheists" really aren't new at all, what we can learn from a cartoonist who lived a century ago.

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Ep. 128 - Frank Schaeffer, Former Evangelical Christian Leader Sep 25, 2016

Show notes

In another life, Frank Schaeffer would probably be an evangelical leader and someone with a powerful position in conservative politics. His father was the influential Christian theologian Francis Schaeffer and Frank himself, along with his father, helped create the modern Religious Right. Frank is the author of "Crazy for God: How I Grew Up As One Of The Elect, Helped Found The Religious Right, And Lived To Take All (Or Almost All) Of It Back" and, more recently, "Why I am an Atheist Who Believes in God." We spoke about his role in creating the Religious Right, why evangelicals are flocking to Donald Trump when he shares almost none of their values, and what he would say to anyone who might vote for Gary Johnson or Jill Stein.

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Ep. 127 - Dr. Karen Garst, Editor of Women Beyond Belief Sep 17, 2016

Show notes

Dr. Karen Garst is the former executive director of the Oregon Community College Association and Oregon State Bar. She writes at the website Faithless Feminist, and she's the editor of a new book called Women Beyond Belief: Discovering Life Without Religion. We spoke about how women are uniquely affected in a negative way by religion, what's stopping more women from leaving their faith, and why we don't see more women celebrated as atheists.

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Ep. 126 - Britt Marie Hermes, Naturopathy Apostate Sep 11, 2016

Show notes

Britt Marie Hermes is a former naturopathic doctor who now speaks out about the pseudoscientific ideology. Hermes is currently obtaining her Master of Science degree at the University of Kiel. Since her departure from her previous career, she has been working to understand her former biases within naturopathic medicine. She hopes her stories will protect patients from the false beliefs and bogus treatments sold by alternative medicine practitioners. We spoke about how she went from studying naturopathic medicine to fighting against it, what caused her to change her mind, and what she would say to patients who reject western medicine.

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Ep. 125 - Evan Clark, Consultant for Openly Atheist Politicians Sep 04, 2016

Show notes

Evan Clark is the founder and creative director of Spectrum Experience, the nation's first private Humanist consulting firm that has also been behind the campaigns of several atheists running for local, state, and federal office. His candidates just had a wildly successful primary day in Arizona this past week. Evan is also chair of the Secular Student Alliance and co-host of the Humanist Experience podcast. We spoke about how he began Spectrum Experience, the most strategic ways for atheists to run for office, and why coming out as non-religious matters in politics.

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