Truth Wanted

Latest Episodes:

Truth Wanted 05.31 08-05-2022 with ObjectivelyDan and Richard Gilliver Aug 06, 2022

Show notes

Show notes will be posted upon receipt.
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Truth Wanted 05.30 07-30-2022 with ExXtian Erin and Chris Keaton Jul 30, 2022

Show notes

Welcome back to Truth Wanted, the ACA show least likely to be trampled by elephants. This week we have ExXtian Erin in the host chair, joined by Chris Keaton.
This week’s Patron of the Week is Jonathan Hull! Thanks to patrons like you, the ACA can finally hire someone to come to the Freethought Library and investigate those strange sounds coming from the crawlspace.
Kennita’s calling back from Cali, she identifies as an atheopagan, and also as an atheist. She shares her journey from Catholicism into skepticism, and while she doesn’t believe in the supernatural, she finds the practice therapeutic. We don’t see any harm in reflection Kennita, but beware the dangers of believing things without good reasons!
Phil wants to talk about Godzilla! Just kidding, he offers the myth that there was an alternate ending to a monster film as an example of how it’s possible to do the leg work as a skeptic, yet still get it wrong. We take a quick tour of some common misconceptions, and both hosts agree that we must continue to be vigilant and open-minded about our beliefs.
Next up is Jasmine, she asks if our hosts miss anything about being Christian. We get an emphatic no from Erin, and several examples of why. Chris is conflicted, but realizes it’s the community he missed, and he’s found other ways to find that, through volunteer work and social groups. We’ll stomp on the dangers of faith healing for a few minutes before we move on.
That’s it for this week folks! We’ll see you back here next week, but in the meantime, be wary, Godzilla is still out on the prowl, searching for the lost hidden ending of his film, where he beats King Kong.
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Truth Wanted 05.29 07-22-2022 with ObjectivelyDan and Johnny P Angel Jul 23, 2022

Show notes

Welcome back to Truth Wanted, the weekly call-in show with the highest nutritional value on Youtube. Today, Dan is joined by an ACA regular, it’s Talk Heathen host and lover of video game recommendations Johnny P. Angel!
This week’s Patron of the Week is Garret AJ! May the Flying Spaghetti Monster extend his noodly appendage in your direction.
Our first caller is Wayde, and he wants to psychologically profile his favourite deity as part of a doctoral thesis. He gives us a few nebulous descriptions, but Dan and Johnny are less interested in what God is, and more curious about whether God is. We have an interesting exchange about competing religions, and Johnny asks questions about Wayde’s education in theology. I don’t know about you folks, but if I was to get a degree in magic, I’d prefer it be from Hogwarts.
Mark is calling back to share more of his deconversion journey. He’s come to realize that vampire tales have a lot in common with resurrection narratives in the Bible, and Dan offers are few more contemporary examples of visitors from beyond the grave that are equally silly. Johnny steers Mark towards finding activist involvement that doesn’t have a religious bent as a method of finding purpose without the agenda, and Dan gives Mark a few specific resources for finding secular community.
Next up is Alyssa, her father tragically disappeared when she was a child. Her family consulted mediums, and even as a skeptic, she finds the similarities in their stories to be compelling. After hearing the similarities, Dan points out that “being in water” is a very common image sold by psychic charlatans. Johnny talks about James Randi, and his lifetime of testing psychic claims with zero results in the clairvoyance column. We all agree that taking advantage of grieving families is disgusting.
Finally we have Tyler, who claims that there are empirical reasons to believe in God. Johnny drills down on Tyler’s notion of justice using the example of Hell. Tyler’s stumped, as he should be, because infinite punishment for finite crimes is wrong, and even Tyler admits this. He attempts to rationalize his position, but Johnny’s not having it. We get a scathing yet cogent contrast of free will vs. omniscience from our hosts, but Tyler’s having trouble seeing the point. Johnny tries to get through with analogies to Anne Frank/Hitler and his role as custodian of his adorable dog. Tyler seems like a nice guy, but needs to shake off the indoctrination.
Thanks for tuning in tonight everyone, we’ll catch you next Friday!
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Truth Wanted 05.28 07-15-2022 with ObjectivelyDan and Drew Bekius Jul 16, 2022

Show notes

Hey there Youtube wanderer. Sit a spell, warm up by the fire, and enjoy another episode of Truth Wanted! This week Dan is joined by former pastor turned humanist author Drew Bekius!
This week’s Patron of the Week is Richard… just Richard. May you join the ranks of folks like Cher, and be showered with fame, fortune, and enough plastic surgery to keep you looking young well into middle age!
Our first caller is Richard (no, not that Richard) from Arizona. He’s struggling with a lingering fear of hell, and asks how our hosts got over this hurdle. Drew asks some probing questions, and Dan reminds our caller that this stuff takes time to conquer. Drew recommends finding community, and shares a great analogy to car accidents that seems to help. Be patient with yourself Richard!
Isaiah’s calling back from Korea, asking if a multiverse could affect the likelihood of a god being real. Short answer, no. Dan and Drew can’t see how multiple universes could affect the null hypothesis or make deities more likely. Drew pushes back on the idea that more universes equals greater probability for creator gods, and Dan refutes Isaiah’s argument from incredulity. Nature is beautiful, but lots of pretty things we have explanations for don’t require sky wizards.
Next we have William in Canada, who thinks humanism is just a reimagining of concepts from holy texts. Drew draws a great picture of how those authors then, and people now, construct our moral views through the lens of our experience. Dan simplifies the discussion by pointing out that most people want the same things, regardless of the century they’re living in. Is humanism a new iteration of humanity’s efforts to build a moral code? Sure, but that’s a far cry from a religion.
That’ll wrap it up for this week folks, join us next week, although it won’t be hosted by Ashton Kutcher and Russell Crowe’s atheist avatars, it’ll still be pretty good. See you then!
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Truth Wanted 05.27 07-08-2022 with ObjectivelyDan and TheSkepTick Jul 09, 2022

Show notes

Something something Truth Wanted? Sorry Youtube reader, coming up with witty intros every week is tough, so this week…. I’m phonin’ it in! Fortunately our guest tonight will be far less uninspired, Dan is joined by The SkepTick!
This week’s Patron of the Week is SkeptiKarl, may you not be zapped by magical laser beams, thank you for the support!
Sven’s a skeptic making a living from ghost hunting apps, but he’s conflicted about enabling folks that believe in nonsense. Our hosts both agree that framing his content as “for entertainment purposes only” is an ethical way to make money from people who hold different beliefs. No judgment here, Sven.
Next up we have Richard, who’s under a think attack by “prayer warriors” in his family asking their imaginary friend to make him come back to Christ. Unfortunately, the recent converts are his wife and stepson, and this is causing strife in their relationship. Dan thinks honesty is important, and the Skeptick has quite a humorous, yet frank method for communication that might work. This can’t be easy Richard, keep us posted!
Ricardo’s calling in from Italy, and asks how Christians reconcile the character of their God in Old vs. New Testaments. Dan gives a brief history of the Bible, and explains New Covenant theology. Of course it’s silly, but hey, this is what they believe. Ricardo asks how religious folk are able to cheerfully ignore the parts of the Bible they don’t like. Cognitive dissonance is a powerful thing my friend!
Jean’s replying to our chat poll, which was asking the live chat if they believe Shakespeare actually wrote all the works attributed to him. He’s got a degree in theatre and gives our hosts a brief backstory on this myth. After Jean mentions the forensic analysis of the Bard’s writing styles, Dan brings up that experts believe only half the letters attributed to the apostle Paul were actually written by him. This is quite the entertaining chat, don’t miss this call!
We wrap up with a quick exchange about Georgia guidestones and our guests experience in the USA. Enjoy your weekend fellow Truth Seekers!
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Truth Wanted 05.26 07-01-2022 with ObjectivelyDan and Calvin Smith Jul 02, 2022

Show notes

Get ready for a very wacky episode of Truth Wanted, because this week Dan is joined by Calvin Smith, podcaster and aficionado of all things weird and wonderful!
This week’s Patron of the Week is Fortuna Ex Machina! May extraterrestrials shine down their hidden knowledge upon you.
John’s up first with a divine thought experiment. After an explanation of what a god is to him, our hosts offer their take on how likely that entity is to exist. John responds with an argument from popularity, since most people believe the Earth is round, and most people believe in a deity, aren’t both likely to be true? It takes Dan & Calvin a few minutes to explain why not, but we get there eventually.
Next up is returning caller Ransom, who’s wondering if the UAP footage recently confirmed by the Pentagon is evidence of alien visitors. Everyone agrees that unidentified doesn’t mean extraterrestrial, but Ransom wants to focus on how unlikely the phenomenon are to be advanced foreign (ie. Earthly) technology. While it is fascinating that even the governments of the world can’t identify these, we’re going to withhold belief until we have good reasons.
Finally, VJ wants to chat about the shift towards religious extremism in India, and how the media frames these events to favor the Muslim worldview. Dan briefly describes the historical context for sectarian violence in the subcontinent, and we all agree that religion has a habit of encouraging folks to hate each other for no good reason.
That’s the show folks, we’ll see you all next week!
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Truth Wanted 05.25 06-24-2022 with ObjectivelyDan and Jason Sherwood Jun 25, 2022

Show notes

Psst. Hey there. Yeah you. Thanks for joining us for another episode of Truth Wanted! This week, Jason Sherwood emerges from behind the ACA camera like a curmudgeonly grizzly bear in spring to join Objectively Dan!
This week’s Patron of the Week is Allegedly Dave, but we’ll need a citation before we can accept this assertion.
John’s up first with a silly reductionist argument for why abortion is the termination of human life, which is quickly dismantled by our hosts. Jason discriminates between terminating a life and terminating a pregnancy, and Dan points out that a clump of cells isn’t suffering. This is kinda irrelevant John, even if a zygote is a person, bodily autonomy is still paramount, and no, I won’t give you my kidney.
We have Kaylen calling from the Land of the Rising Sun next, and he doesn't think there’s a Biblical justification for theocracy. Both our hosts agree, and offer a few abhorrent examples from the Bible that reinforce Kaylen’s perspective.
Red’s concerned about moving to a state where it’s likely she’ll be denied healthcare, and our hosts couldn’t be more sympathetic. We’ll chat about potential solutions for this current crisis, and how this recent decision will disproportionately affect those without the means to travel for healthcare.
Loving the international callers tonight, Ricardo’s from Italy, and he’s struggling with picking your battles when having constructive conversations with theists. Dan thinks we have to examine our own motivations before we even approach using Street Epistemology to build better interactions.
Our next caller is concerned about moving to a red state in the current political climate, and we’re sympathetic. Fascist policies lead to a brain drain, learn from Nazi Germany folks. We’re all better when we’re all healthy and free.
Nick’s wondering how to talk to people who are so staunchly committed to their beliefs that they won’t consider changing their mind. How do we get through to these people? Dan throws exposure therapy out there; normalize it, plant the seed, and hope it grows. Jason thinks you oughta ask yourself, “Is it worth it?” No one’s required to be the arbiter of progressive policy Nick, but keep fighting the good fight.
Finally we have Dylan who suggests replacing our legal system with a poll system where the internet decides what’s correct. We’ve seen this episode of Black Mirror, but if you haven’t, loyal TW viewer, check it out. It was a disaster. At this point however, anything might be better than having lifetime appointments to the highest court in the land in a time of a quickly shifting moral landscape.
That’s the show tonight. It’s a dark day in the history of the United States, but activism and hope will see us through. Stay strong, vote, protest, do anything but remain silent. Catch you next week!
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Truth Wanted 05.24 06-17-2022 with MD Aware and Vino Jun 18, 2022

Show notes

Bienvenue dans un autre… wait sorry, my Canadian is showing. Tonight our fabulous Canuck host MD Aware is joined once again by Vino for an all-star episode of Truth Wanted! Let’s dig in!
Tonight’s Patron of the Week is SG! Thanks for the support!
David’s up first, he supports abortion rights, but has a few what-ifs for our hosts to ponder. Is it ethical for parents to keep aborting zygotes until they get the perfect mix of chromosomes they’re seeking? Short answer, yes. Clumps of cells aren’t people, and the person with the uterus has the call. Does this decision approach eugenics? Not really. Keep asking questions David, this was an interesting chat.
Average Andrew has beef with our host’s determination of the intrinsic value of human life. His god assigns value, and our subjective morality can lead to genocide! Like the thing your god did multiple times in his manifesto Andrew? Yes, we want to avoid that. Our hosts illustrate the superiority of secular humanism using the example of euthanasia. Sucks to be dead, but sucks more to be suffering.
Our third caller is Jay, he wants to talk about the is/ought gap from the previous caller, and how that affects our use of the word “arbitrary.” Our hosts draw a metaphor with the rules of gaming, be it chess, volleyball, or anything else. The people playing have to agree on the rules before we can start playing.
Sal wants to talk more about how the rights of a fetus balance out with the rights of the person carrying it. Specifically, how adoption as an option might be a better choice than abortion. In a perfect world, sure, unwanted pregnancies might result in a loving adopted family, but this doesn’t get us past the right of the person with the uterus to decide. We discuss the flaws of the current adoption system before we move on.
That Truth Wanted this week! See you all in seven Earth rotations!
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Truth Wanted 05.23 06-10-2022 with ExXtian Erin and Scott Baker Jun 11, 2022

Show notes

What’s everyone’s favorite day of the week? If you said Friday, you’re correct, and not just because it’s time for Truth Wanted! This week, Erin is joined by atheist content creator Scott Baker.
This week’s Patron of the week is Kori K Reine! Thank you for the support Keri, you get the corner piece of lasagna!
Melissa’s got a few good reasons that she thinks the USA is a Christian nation. Erin agrees that having Christian events as stat holidays is favoritism, and that political candidates who don’t espouse religious belief stand a far smaller chance of being elected. Scott talks about how the Christian nationalist agenda has twisted formerly secular American traditions.
Terry’s up next, and we quickly move from “Christmas is stolen from pagans” to a truly strange and long-winded no true scotsman fallacy. All Christians nations are fake because of the plurality of biblical interpretation? I think? Erin isn’t having it, she interrupts this odd sermon, and Scott quickly pokes a few holes in this caller’s argument before we move on.
Next up is Isaiah, he’s got a theist friend, Scott’s got a theist friend, how do we navigate holding opposing beliefs with our pals? Scott thinks maturity is key, and Erin recommends setting boundaries, and sticking to the stuff that made you friends in the first place. Pick your battles Isaiah!
Nate in Canada is looking for ideas on handling theists in the workplace, specifically a Muslim subordinate. Balancing the urge to free minds with remaining productive in the workplace is tough, Erin recommends Street Epistemology combined with boundaries and restraint. Scott works from home and hasn’t had this experience, but recommends exposing Nate’s colleague to the ACA’s own former Muslim host, Apostate Prophet! This caller is likely very handsome, and also does show notes for Truth Wanted.
That’s the show folks, we’ll see you all next week!
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Truth Wanted 05.22 06-03-2022 with ObjectivelyDan and Alice Greczyn Jun 04, 2022

Show notes

Whaddya buying, stranger? Not theism? Well you’re in the right place, it’s time for Truth Wanted, and this week Dan is joined by Alice Greczyn! She has an IMDB page!
This week’s Patron of the Week is Jay Gu! Thank you for the support Jay!
Jessica is a mental health professional in Texas, and she’s called in to speak about the struggle of being true to your beliefs while providing care to folks who don’t always share your worldview. Alice recommends the Secular Therapy Project as a resource for maintaining Jessica’s integrity, and Dan shares how his own nonconformity contributed to his own deconversion. We also find out a bit more about Dan’s family’s contempt of male jewelry.
Second is Jay, who quizzes our hosts on their knowledge of how the Bible treats women. Dan and Alice are down for a quote battle. Despite Jay’s claims that we haven’t read the Bible, ours host's response call is clear evidence to the contrary. We get the weak argument for context. Context. CONTEXT! Jay isn’t listening, We close out with some misogynistic garbage from Jay, and this show notes writer is fed up. Gay people work in construction, women are mechanics. We see it every day. Get stuffed.
Adam’s up, and he is super miffed by the misrepresentation of the null hypothesis. For someone who isn’t familiar with the concept, Alice gives a great response. Dan speaks to the nomenclature of miracles, and how that might apply to our caller's topic of conversation.
Our penultimate caller is Jan, with a story of how purity culture affects our sex lives. Dan illustrates the absence of consent in biblical conceptions of sex, and both hosts agree that we’ve moved on from these ancient concepts of what constitutes a healthy sex life. Sex good, dogma bad.
Finally, Drew wants to talk about incest and genetic viability from a Biblical perspective. Our hosts agree that the stories in the Bible are scientifically impossible. Alice talks about how inter-marriage in European monarchy is an example of why this can be dangerous. Hapsburg jaw anyone?
That’s a wrap folks! Thank you for joining us, and never don’t not keep unwanting the truth!
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