Friendly Atheist Podcast

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Ep. 64 - Dr. Paul Offit, Vaccine Expert Jul 19, 2015

Show notes

Dr. Paul Offit is the director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a professor of Vaccinology and Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. He's written tons of published peer-reviewed papers and received countless awards for his work. His latest book, Bad Faith, is all about how religious belief can undermine modern medicine. On the day of taping, California had just passed a law making vaccinations all but mandatory, Jim Carrey had gone on a Twitter rant about vaccines, and a woman had died of measles. We spoke with Dr. Offit about why people still don't get vaccinated, how he responds to the most common arguments offered by anti-vaxxers, and why Bill Maher is wrong when he says we don't need to get flu shots.

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Ep. 63 - Ray Comfort's Audacity: A Review and Discussion with Actor Travis Owens Jul 12, 2015

Show notes

Evangelist Ray Comfort has released a film called "Audacity" with the goal of convincing gay and lesbian viewers to renounce homosexuality. Jessica and I watched the film (so you don't have to) and we give you the play-by-play along with commentary. So there's your spoiler alert! After that, beginning at the 34:44 mark, we have an *exclusive* interview with the film's star Travis Owens. He plays Peter, a very devout Christian who wants to spread the Good Word, but sometimes hesitates because it might be awkward. Because he hesitates, bad things happen -- especially to gays and lesbians who didn't accept Jesus into their lives. In real life, Travis is actually very supportive of LGBT rights, which makes his appearance in this film both questionable and fascinating. We spoke with him about what it's like to work with Ray Comfort, whether he's received more feedback from LGBT viewers or Christians, and why he took on a role that contradicted his personal beliefs.

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Ep. 62 - Linda Stephens, Co-Plaintiff in Town of Greece v. Galloway Jul 05, 2015

Show notes

Linda Stephens was one of the two plaintiffs in Town of Greece v. Galloway, the 2014 Supreme Court case that legalized religious invocations at government meetings (with a few caveats). She worked as a librarian for two decades, served as president of the Greater Rochester Chapter of the National Organization for Women, and was vice president of a local chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. We spoke about the worst moment of the oral arguments, how she followed SCOTUSblog.com to get updates on her own lawsuit, and why losing the case has ironically worked out in atheists' favor,

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Ep. 61 - Matt Dillahunty, Master Debater and Co-Host of The Atheist Experience Jun 28, 2015

Show notes

Matt Dillahunty is a former fundamentalist Christian who now debates religious apologists. He was the President of the Atheist Community of Austin for several years and co-hosts The Atheist Experience call-in show. He recently began a video series teaching viewers how to respond to frequently-used apologist arguments. Jessica spoke with Matt about his religious upbringing, why he loves debates, and what he sees as the future of faith.

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Ep. 60 - Dianna E. Anderson, Purity Culture Critic Jun 21, 2015

Show notes

Dianna E. Anderson grew up in South Dakota, and after stints as an English teacher in Japan and a radio producer in Chicago, she's turned her focus to writing. Her first book, out now, is called Damaged Goods: New Perspectives on Christian Purity and it's all about the intersection of the church and sexuality. We spoke with Dianna about why sex is often seen as shameful in parts of Christianity, what conversations the broader evangelical church is having about sex, and whether the church can ever become sex-positive. Lots of sex. #Sex

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Ep. 59 - Ex-Muslims Muhammad Syed & Heina Dadabhoy Jun 14, 2015

Show notes

Muhammad Syed is the co-founder and director of operations for Ex-Muslims of North America. Heina Dadabhoy is an ex-Muslim atheist and feminist who writes at Heinous Dealings. At the American Atheists 2015 convention in Memphis, Tennessee, Jessica spoke with them about the various challenges of leaving Islam and why, if you're having religious doubts, it's better to act on them instead of staying in the faith.

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Ep. 58 - Jessica Hagy, Cartoonist and Author of The Art of War Visualized Jun 07, 2015

Show notes

Jessica Hagy is a cartoonist and writer best known for her insightful and hilarious webcomic Indexed, in which she draws charts and Venn diagrams connecting completely different ideas and getting us to think about them in different ways. Her latest book is The Art of War Visualized. It's the Sun Tzu classic reworked and with illustrations. During a recent stop in Chicago, we spoke about her career change from copywriter to professional author/illustrator, where she finds inspiration for her work, and how her cartoons made their way into my math classes.

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Ep. 57 - Vyckie Garrison, Founder of No Longer Qivering May 31, 2015

Show notes

Vyckie Garrison was named American Atheists' 2015 Atheist of the Year. She's also the founding editor of No Longer Qivering, a website based upon the "quiverfull" lifestyle that she left years ago. (Why that spelling? Because, she says, there's no "you" in quivering.) Jessica spoke with Vyckie about how she left the movement made famous by the Duggar family, whether her children are still religious, and why patriarchal thinking hurts men as well as women. (Image via Josiah Mannion on Facebook)

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Ep. 56 - Lloyd Evans, Jehovah's Witnesses Watchdog May 24, 2015

Show notes

Lloyd Evans is the founder of JWSurvey.org, a website that focuses on the problems with Jehovah's Witnesses. For most of his life, Lloyd was a Witness. But that changed not too long ago. Now he's trying to help others leave the faith. On a personal note, I've learned so much about the seedy underbelly of the religion by reading his work. We spoke with Lloyd about why JWs are suddenly getting more attention, the most painful aspect of leaving the faith, and the awful afterlife in store for those who didn't make the cut for the "chosen" 144,000.

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Ep. 55 - Ryan Cragun, Author of How to Defeat Religion in 10 Easy Steps May 17, 2015

Show notes

Dr. Ryan T. Cragun is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Tampa and the author of books including What You Don't Know About Religion (but Should). His latest is called How to Defeat Religion in 10 Easy Steps. We spoke with Dr. Cragun about whether religious fervor is cyclical or fading, why religious holidays should become secular, and the surprising thing churches can do to stop the shifting trend away from religion.

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