Friendly Atheist Podcast

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Ep. 44 - Daniel Genis, Former Atheist Prisoner Mar 01, 2015

Show notes

Daniel Genis (rhymes with "tennis") grew up in New York City, where he attended Stuyvesant High School and New York University, graduating with a degree in history and French. In 2003, however, he committed five armed robberies, which led to a decade behind bars. During that time, he wrote a novel called Narcotica. Now that he's out, he's been writing about the intersection of religion and incarceration for publications like Vice, Deadspin, the Washington Post. New York Daily News, and Newsweek. We spoke with Daniel about the soul exchange that got him in trouble, why we should feel any sympathy for him, and what he hopes to do now that he's a free man.

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Ep. 43 - Ross Blocher, Co-host of Oh No, Ross and Carrie! Feb 22, 2015

Show notes

Ross Blocher is the co-host of the Oh No, Ross and Carrie! podcast, in which the hosts don't simply talk about the paranormal, but "dive right in by joining religions, attending spiritual events, undergoing "alternative" treatments, partaking in paranormal investigations, and more." Jessica caught up with him during a recent trip to Los Angeles and they spoke about how the podcast began, along with some of his favorite investigations.

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Ep. 42 - Peter Boghossian, Author of "A Manual for Creating Atheists" Feb 16, 2015

Show notes

Peter Boghossian is a philosophy professor at Portland State University and the author of A Manual for Creating Atheists, a book in which he talks about "street epistemology" -- essentially how to talk people out of their faith. He's currently working on a phone app that'll guide people through that process. We spoke with Peter about why his approach isn't just "atheist evangelism," why smart people can believe silly things, and whether his techniques work on his own children in other areas of life.

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Ep. 41 - Linda LaScola, Co-Author of "Caught in the Pulpit: Leaving Belief Behind" Feb 08, 2015

Show notes

Linda LaScola is a research consultant perhaps best known for her work with philosopher Daniel Dennett in which they speak with pastors who may secretly be atheists. She co-founded the Clergy Project -- a site for religious leaders harboring serious doubts about their faith -- and she is about to re-release her book on the topic, "Caught in the Pulpit," with updates and additions. She also blogs on Patheos at Rational Doubt, a site that features several articles by doubting pastors. We spoke with LaScola about how the Clergy Project began, whether coming out as an atheist (when you're a pastor) is a good or bad idea, and the surprising book that finally turned one pastor into an atheist.

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Ep. 40 - Noelle George, Founder of Secular Avenue Feb 02, 2015

Show notes

Noelle George is a secular activist interested in making a tangible difference in the world, rather than simply arguing about religion behind a keyboard. She founded the SECULAR Center in Houston and is the Director of Special Projects for Foundation Beyond Belief (a group I work with). But her latest endeavor is aimed at helping those people who most need it. It's called Secular Avenue. The website is SecularAvenue.org. And the group will assist those who are unsafe at home because they are no longer religious, living under religious extremism, victims of domestic abuse, or coming out as LGBTQ. Secular Avenue will offer those people financial help, counseling, and legal assistance, among other things. We spoke with Noelle about how people in need can get help, what we can do to pitch in, and why it's so important for atheists to find a way to volunteer.

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Ep. 39 - Katherine Stewart, Author of "The Good News Club" Jan 26, 2015

Show notes

Katherine Stewart is an investigative journalist who has written for Rolling Stone, The Nation, The New York Times, and the Guardian. She may be best known as the author of The Good News Club, about an organization bringing religious fundamentalism to elementary schools across the country. We spoke with her about the evil genius behind the "4/14 Window," whether a "Better News Club" for children of atheist parents is a good idea, and how writing about religious fundamentalism is like going back to a bad boyfriend.

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Ep. 38 - David Niose, Author of "Fighting Back the Right" Jan 19, 2015

Show notes

David Niose has been the president of two major organizations, the American Humanist Association and the Secular Coalition for America. He currently serves as the AHA's legal director. He's also a lawyer who has argued in front of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court about why the Pledge of Allegiance shouldn't be recited in public school classrooms. And he's the author of the fantastic book Nonbeliever Nation. His latest book is called Fighting Back the Right: Reclaiming America from the Attack on Reason. We spoke with David about how we can convince unreasonable people to embrace reason, why the election of George W. Bush was a turning point for organized secularism in America, and which atheist ad campaigns are the most effective.

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Ep. 37 - Parisa Tabriz, Google Chrome's "Security Princess" Jan 12, 2015

Show notes

Parisa Tabriz is Google's self-described "Security Princess," a euphemism she created in part because "hired hacker" sounds kind of evil. Her job is to figure out the problems with Google Chrome and fix them before the bad guys do. That's a pretty amazing job for anyone, much less a 31-year-old woman, which isn't exactly the norm in the tech world. Last July, Elle magazine ran a long profile on her. (Full disclosure: I knew Parisa in high school and we had classes together, though we haven't talked much since graduating.) We spoke with Parisa about how she gets into the mind of a hacker, how we can get more women into this field, and how ignorance really isn't bliss in her world.

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Ep. 36 - Marshall Brain, Author of "How 'God' Works" Jan 05, 2015

Show notes

Marshall Brain is best known as the founder of the website HowStuffWorks.com. In 2007, Discovery Communications bought the site for a whopping $250 million. He has appeared on Oprah, National Geographic Channel, and CNN, and written several books. His latest one may be the most controversial one yet. It's called "How 'God' Works: A Logical Inquiry on Faith." We spoke with Marshall about how his book is different from those by the New Atheists, why he's risking his reputation by deconstructing God, and how he'll know if the book is successful.

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Ep. 35 - Max Temkin, Co-Creator of Cards Against Humanity Dec 29, 2014

Show notes

Max Temkin is one of the creators of Cards Against Humanity, the "party game for horrible people." What began as a game Max played with his friends soon became a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2011, and it has turned into one of the most popular, entertaining, and sometimes controversial card games today.

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