Truth Wanted

Latest Episodes:

Truth Wanted 05.41 10-14-2022 with ObjectivelyDan and Blatant Blatheist Oct 15, 2022

Show notes

Hey Truth Seekers! Welcome to another episode of Truth Wanted! This week ObjectivelyDan and @BLATANT BLATHEIST.
First up is Doug from Canada who claims to know the greatest truth of humanity...that Planned Parenthood is a liberal conspiracy to kill all black children. Presumably to maintain the atheist food source.
Don from WA is curious to know why the hosts of ACA shows don’t take a more rigid stance on their Atheist position, and why the individual hosts even on the same programs have different positions on the same subjects.
Daniel from Canada is the inspiration for today's show background with a call discussing the existence of bugs on Mars.
Rebel from VA is calling to accuse NASA astronauts of being paid actors who lie to the public in order to hide God and his work. His work is the flat Earth. Also apparently, NASA is an occult secret society that traffics children, but I guess we’re gonna just ignore that for today.
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Truth Wanted 05.40 10-07-2022 with ExXtian Erin and Rion Oct 08, 2022

Show notes

Hello again Truth Wanters! This week, Erin is joined by Rion of TikTok fame, host of Skeptic Haven and owner of many plants! Erin and Rion talk about their deconversion process before we move on to your calls.
This week’s Patron of the Week is Maxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxwell Carlisle! You wanted the X emphasized Max, careful what you wish for! May a thousand bad Vin Diesel movies haunt your dreams!
First up is Mr. Enigma, who’s emerged from under his bridge to ask a series of silly questions. Dogs, genies, spirits… perhaps too much of another kind of spirits are involved here? Erin tries to parse this caller and his claims of a visit to heaven, but we’re not getting anywhere. Cool story bro.
Next is Thomas, who thinks dried up rivers caused by climate change are evidence of the truth of Biblical prophecy. Our hosts point out that lots of rivers go dry, and counting the hits while ignoring the misses is a terrible road to truth. Thomas throws out a few weak examples of prophecy correlating to reality, but let’s face it, make enough predictions and a few are bound to pan out. We’re not convinced.
Jamie’s in Texas, and he’s fed up with the constant failed prophecies of the end times. Human hardships are pretty damned common, and connecting the yarn to the latest pushpin doesn’t prove a thing. Both our hosts agree that correlation isn’t causation, and calamity is a recurrent part of our experience here on Earth.
Finally it’s Lake, he’s wondering about the plum pudding model of atomic composition, and how our modern understanding is more analogous to the structure of our solar system. Our hosts agree that lots of things in nature look alike, but similitude doesn’t equate to divinity
That’s a wrap for this week folks, we’ll see you next time!
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Truth Wanted 05.39 09-30-2022 with Objectively Dan and Richard Firth-Godbehere Oct 01, 2022

Show notes

Oooh, it’s Friday, it’s 5pm in Texas, and today, Dan is joined by perhaps the only educator that could possibly drag me back into a classroom, it’s Richard Firth-Godbehere, on loan from the Non-Prophets! Dan and the good doctor discuss his work and his book before we start taking your calls.
Our Patron of the Week this week is Katie Stewart! Thanks for the support Katie, even if you do eat bugs for breakfast!
From the Great White North comes Jasmine! In the vein of our discussion of emotion thus far, she wants to talk about how religions use fear and hell. Dan and Rich talk about why the concept of hell doesn’t make logical sense, but let’s be real, emotions don’t always have to. Our hosts discuss the pitfalls of letting go of indoctrination, and remind Jasmine that it’s ok to be scared of something you know isn’t real!
Another Canadian? You betcha! Daniel’s back! Diving back in, Daniel alleges that the NASA interactive camera tool that allowed users to pan around the Martian landscape seems to now omit the section that showed the evidence for Martian insectoids. Our hosts are skeptical that NASA would allow and subsequently delete evidence of alien life, past government gaffes notwithstanding, paredolia still seems a more likely explanation.
Next up is Coyote Boy, love the name! He asks Rich to quantify what “counts” as a discrete emotion, and Rich talks about how our understanding is still evolving. This is right down the good Doctor’s alley, and we get a crash course on his life’s work.
Jamie’s in Texas, who offers circumcision as a great example of how church/state separation can come into conflict with personal freedoms. Dan offers his opinion on navigating these tricky waters, and Richard points out that consent is what’s important here. A JW can refuse a blood transfusion, an infant can’t refuse genital mutilation.
That’s the show this week folks! Join us next time, and keep wanting the truth!
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Truth Wanted 05.38 09-23-2022 with Objectively Dan and The Skeptick Sep 24, 2022

Show notes

Welcome back to Truth Wanted folks! This week, back by popular demand, is Jon the Skeptick! He’ll also be joined by some Dan guy who wandered in off the street. Dan and Jon chat about horoscopes and other kinds of charlatanry before we move on to your calls.
This week’s Patron of the Week is I Heart Dogs! Clearly a Saggitarius, who are known for their generosity. Or something.
We’ll open the show with Nevyn, whose friends describe him as a conspiracy theorist. He’s just asking questions! In this case, those questions are about the moon landing, and some missing answers. Jon points out that missing answers doesn’t mean the Apollo missions were faked, and Dan doesn’t think a Youtube video is very convincing. This is an interesting example of a credulous caller with an argument from incredulity.
Jamie’s calling in from Texas with an observation about how the United States’ veneration of concepts like freedom and liberty may be a roadblock to having universal healthcare. We’ll listen to two Brits dunk on the myth of American exceptionalism for a few minutes before a REAL American chimes in… and agrees. The ghost of Senator McCarthy is coming for you, Dan!
Our third caller is Greg, he downloaded a phone app that talks to ghosts. Testing whether the app actually communicates with the spirits of the dead, he got some responses that were eerily relevant, and saw a ghost “tour guide” use dowsing rods. Jon gives us a demonstration of his magical ability, but Dan rains on this parade by suggesting that ideomotor movement is a more likely explanation. We all agree that stories are cool, but they’re just that.
Finally we have Daniel in Canada, and he’s convinced that some alien abductions are real and that the government is hiding the evidence. Our hosts quiz Daniel on what he believes and offer some good reasons to be skeptical of claims, as well as a few examples of what might convince them. We finally get to the good part when Daniel claims NASA has footage of insectoids on Mars using tools. Sadly, we lose Daniel when his connection is sabotaged by a Martian insect with an adorable tiny pickaxe.
What a way to end the show! We’ll see you all next week, truth seekers!
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Truth Wanted 05.37 09-16-2022 with MD Aware and Student Doctor Ben Sep 17, 2022

Show notes

Ehhhh what’s up Doc? This week on Truth Wanted we’ve assembled our crack medical team to dissect… ugh… Matt Walsh’s “What is a Woman?” Oh boy, this is going to be a wild ride. MD and Ben chat about quack medicine before destroying this piece of transphobic garbage.
This week’s Patron of the Week is I Heart Dogs. May you never have to explain the difference between sex and gender to Matt Walsh in a busy nightclub. Also, we at the ACA also heart dogs. And cats. And cockatiels.
Our first caller once visited a psychic eye surgeon? I didn’t see that coming! After experiencing visual anomalies due to a tricky retinal dysfunction, in desperation, Jamie reached out to a wish doctor. Our hosts discuss the preposterous charlatanry that is psychic healing, MD squeezes in a James Randi reference, and Ben reflects on the ethics of using the placebo effect in medical practice.
One-Eyed Heathen is next, they’re a reformed Reiki practitioner who’s come around to a rational approach to health care. MD tries to drill down on the actual practice of this… cough cough… technique… but the actual processes of Reiki are just as nebulous as the perceived benefits. Ben points out that human touch therapy has demonstrated benefits, and doesn’t require magic to work.
Next, we have Gerard calling in about the value of fetuses. Yes, it’s an abortion call, bear with us. MD quizzes our caller on the “ends justify the means” aspect of this ethical question, and Ben points out that even surgery is a calculated risk that can cause short-term harm for long-term benefit. We chat about subjective morality and what the word “value” really means to Gerard before moving on.
Our final caller in Canada believes that COVID misinformation comes mainly from the conservative side of the spectrum. Well, yeah, tell us something we don’t know! Poor reasoning in political views bleed into poor reasoning in other aspects of the human condition. We get into the self-declared Queen of Canada, who, to no surprise, is an anti-vaxxer before wrapping up.
That's all folks! Join us next week, and make sure to answer the survey questions for the upcoming holiday special!
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Truth Wanted 05.36 09-09-2022 with ObjectivelyDan and ExXtian Erin Sep 10, 2022

Show notes

Show notes will be posted upon receipt.
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Truth Wanted 05.35 09-02-2022 with ObjectivelyDan and Kara Griffin Sep 03, 2022

Show notes

Welcome back to Truth Wanted, the weekly callin show that’s seen the most episodes of The X-Files. Joining Dan today is host of Secular Sexuality, Kara Griffin!
Today’s Patron of the Week is Dawn Nelsen! May the sun never set on your glorious empire.
Our first caller is Masedog, who mayyybe watches too many pseudoscientific youtube videos? She asks our hosts what they think about content creators that claim to speak to the dead. Dan explains why balderdash and hoakum are too generous a term for this nonsense. Masedog is still working out what he believes, and our hosts offer some techniques for sorting out trash from truth before we move on.
Oh boy… Suzie wants to talk about the adoption of the swastika by Nazi Germany. Did Hitler visit the far east and co-opt their symbol? Dan isn’t sure, but Kara has a whole lot to say about pseudo-archeology and how National Socialism perverted the traditional meaning of the symbol that’s come to represent evil across the world.
Heath in Canada witnessed a rain of frogs. A toadstorm, if you will. A tizzy of tadpoles. Upon further conversation, we determine that the toadstorm occurred in a rainforest during a storm, so a natural explanation seems more likely than a resurrection of an Egyptian curse. Heath tells us about another strange occurrence he experienced after a seven day bender, but our hosts aren’t convinced that this is anything other than a product of a drug-addled brain.
We wrap up the show with Dan’s Deep Dive into Severus Snape, the only character from Harry Potter ever to be dropped from Nakatomi Plaza. Sorry, wrong movie… is love of this complicated character a religion? God I hope not.
That’s the show tonight folks, we’ll catch you next week!
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Truth Wanted 05.34 08-26-2022 with MD Aware and Adam Elmasri Aug 27, 2022

Show notes

Hey Truth Seekers! Welcome to another episode of Truth Wanted! This week MD Aware is joined by Adam Elmasri.
First up is Red from OH who talks about a conspiracy that her friend believes revolves around the government having a cure to cancer, but won’t release it because they make money off of cancer treatment.
Next is Jasmine from Canada who brings up the subject of religiosity being engrained in hospitals and medical culture.
Next is Frank from IL who has questions surrounding the philistines and how and why they exist biblically or scientifically if we all came from the same two people.
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Truth Wanted 05.33 08-19-2022 with ObjectivelyDan and Trevor Poelman Aug 20, 2022

Show notes

In today’s episode of Truth Wanted, Dan is joined by creator of the show Belief It Or Not, Trevor Poelman. Trevor is a former youth group leader and would go through actual theology audits. Together this team will ask viewers what they believe and why. Special thanks to Lauren Zhuge, the Patron of the Week!
First up is RedDeadBread from CA who is wondering about how the environment in which a person is raised causes anger towards religion. How does religiosity affect the nature of atheistic beliefs? Dan explains the difficulty involved with separating religion from politics and how conservatives would get mad at Obama for just breathing. Trevor confirms that since he has lived that life, he tends to get more angry about these things than his co-host who was not raised in religion. There is still the perception that atheists are a bunch of whiny, angry white dudes that go off about all sorts of things, and we need that to change.
Muhammad in CA wants to talk about western morality and eroding belief. Is this being caused by “tolerance” and being okay with everything? Tolerance can be a tightrope to balance. Trevor mentions that he can tolerate beliefs until those beliefs start to harm others. Tolerance can lead to great things but it can also lead to bad things such as giving bigots platforms. The intention of the U.S. was to create a secular democracy where individual denominations would not influence aspects of government. There are people who are intolerant to those who don’t have beliefs. Is it a common occurrence that people become more tolerant and progressive prior to leaving Christianity? Conservative, evangelical types rail against being tolerant because they know what it threatens. Maybe it is time to move on from some of the moral codes we had.
A question from the chat asks if either host has had paranormal experiences. When Trevor was a kid, an orb of light went over his head and thought it was an angel at the time. Years after leaving the faith, it was discovered through research the carbon monoxide can cause this type of hallucination.
Next is Red in OH who as a kid came to the conclusion that the Loch Ness Monster might be leviathan in the Bible. She would draw pictures of it and show it to creationist professors who actually liked her theories. Dan remembers a fundie pastor on TV talking about a leviathan verse in The Book of Job that proves dinosaurs lived at the same time as humans. Trevor explains how the famous picture is made with a toy submarine and plaster for the head that can be pulled with a string.
Tonight we have learned that the truth is everybody knows BigFoot is king! Thank you for joining us this week! Special thanks to Trevor! Be kind and always keep wanting the truth.
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Truth Wanted 05.32 08-12-2022 with ObjectivelyDan and Kelley Laughlin Aug 13, 2022

Show notes

Welcome back to Truth Wanted, the ACA call in show with the highest frequency. This week Dan is joined by rock scientist and former groupie for the Grateful Dead, R Kelley Laughlin! (Ok I made that last part up, kinda)
This week’s Patron of The Week is Gabriel Guerra. We may not believe in angels on this show, but you’re a close second in our books Gabriel. Thank you for the support!
We’ll kick calls off with Scottland, and he makes his case for why a multiverse might indicate that his particular god is real. Not particularly well, but hey, at least he’s a friendly theist! Dan isn’t so interested in deities that exist outside our universe, Kelley throws in a Tolkien reference for all you nerds out there, and somehow we land on John Lennon being a jerk?
Luc’s in Canada, he asks our hosts what sort of evidence would convince them that gods are real. Kelley wants a sandwich in the hand of every starving child on Earth, and Dan wants to see a manipulation of nature that couldn’t be done naturally. We fence with Luc about what qualifies as a miracle, how we might test for one, but he’s not getting it.
Next is Jamie who’s become increasingly intolerant of bullshit. Horoscopes, crystals, you name it, holding beliefs without good reason is dangerous, and Jamie is frustrated. Dan advocates for having healthy conversations in a constructive manner, and plugs Street Epistemology for the 148th time. Kelley is just as curmudgeonly as Jamie, perhaps more, but he offers a few tips on avoiding alienating people we disagree with.
Finally we’ll talk to Gabriel, who asks if classism plays a role in people buying into conspiracy theories. Is Marxism a gateway drug to believing in the New World Order? Dan points out that political ideology tends to be more based on observation than Uncle Frank subscribing to QAnon, but we can definitely see the overlap there.
That’s it for this week folks, if the FBI asks, we definitely have no top secret nuclear documents squirreled away at the Freethought Library. See you all next Friday!
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