American Freethought Podcast

I interview Kimberly A. Hamlin, author of Free Thinker: Sex, Suffrage, and the Life of Helen Hamilton Gardener. For more about Kimberly and her work visit KimberlyHamlin.com.

Plus:

The COVID-19 pandemic has killed hundreds so far in the US and has begun devastating our economy. But the disaster has been made twice as bad by the greed, corruption, willful ignorance and shortsightedness of Donald Trump and (yes) the decades-long policies of Republican Party. Frighteningly, it'll probably get worse before it gets better. Hang on to your hats.

At the top of the show:

- "I Got it from Agnes," by the late satirical genius Tom Lehrer.

- A short clip from "Where Is Everybody?" (1959), the very first episode of The Twilight Zone.

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I interview Katherine Stewart, author of The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism, yet another (and one of the best) look at "the political movement that seeks to gain power and impose its vision on all of society." We interviewed Katherine about her previous book The Good News Club way back in episode 155. I know you hear this all the time, but seriously, you need to read this book and books like it in order to understand what's going on in America today, particularly with the Republican Party.

Plus: I interview Zach Law, host of the Zachrilege Cast, a five-year-old podcast with an impressive 215 (and counting) episodes, in which he interviews other atheist podcasters and bloggers. In fact, I was his guest for episode 214 which is available on YouTube and on his podcast feed. Check it out!

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As mentioned in episode 296, here's the actual event audio from February 12, 2020, during which First Baptist Church Decatur's Paul Wallace interviews Chuck Porterfield and John C. Snider about their atheism as part of the church's adult education program Religion 101.

Thanks to Paul and Chuck for permission to post this. For more about FBC Decatur visit http://www.fbcdecatur.com.

Enjoy!

I recount my experience as one of two guest atheists at an adult education class at First Baptist Church of Decatur, moderated by Paul Wallace (who I interviewed in Episode 290 of this podcast). The congregation could not have been nicer, and made both me and Allison feel right at home. When audio of the conversation is available on the church website, I'll post a link.

Plus:

While Pete Buttigieg *probably* won't win the Democratic nomination, that hasn't stopped religious conservatives from attacking him for his "ungodly" gay lifestyle, or Trump surrogates like Rush Limbaugh from matter-of-factly pointing out how much fun the president would have with an opponent who kisses his husband on stage. It's just a taste of the vitriol we could expect if the first openly gay candidate for president were to win the nomination.

Boy Scouts of America has declared bankruptcy as a result of over 300 lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct on the part of scout leaders and other adult volunteers. Over the last six years, BSA has started allowing gay scouts, gay leaders, trans boys and even regular ol' girls to participate. The fact that the lawsuits cover acts committed well before the recent, inclusive policies hasn't stopped bigots from purposefully conflating homosexuality with pedophilia and blaming the liberalization of Scouting for its own downfall.

Facebook continues to be a mysterious and confounding place, where outright lies are never reigned in but good-faith users find themselves in "Facebook jail" for no disclosed reasons. I've landed in Facebook jail before (and never knew why), and now it's happened to Republican Atheists. (I don't agree with RA on much, but I respect their right to exist and freely express their views without being harassed by the world's most powerful social media platform. Their page was restored after about 10 days, with no explanation.)

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Support the Podcast: PayPal funds to sniderishere@gmail.com

I interview Anne Nelson about her new book Shadow Network, a frightening but illuminating exposé on the Council for National Policy and the connections linking conservative media, fundamentalist Christianity and billionaire families that have led to the manipulation of public opinion and ultimately to Donald Trump.

For more about Anne and her work visit anne-nelson.com.

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Contact: john@americanfreethought.com

Support the Podcast: PayPal funds to sniderishere@gmail.com

I interview Victoria Smolkin, author of A Sacred Space Is Never Empty: A History of Soviet Atheism. State-enforced atheism is just as bad an idea as state-enforced religion, and the defunct Soviet Union is a perfect case study in just how badly it can go.

For more about Victoria and her work visit VictoriaSmolkin.com.

Theme music courtesy of Body Found.

Follow American Freethought on the intertubes:

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Contact: john@americanfreethought.com

Support the Podcast: PayPal funds to sniderishere@gmail.com

I interview Dave Warnock, former minister now atheist, on dealing with a diagnosis of ALS, facing death, and embracing life.

For more about Dave visit DaveOutLoud.com.

Theme music courtesy of Body Found.

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Contact: john@americanfreethought.com

Support the Podcast: PayPal funds to sniderishere@gmail.com

I interview Nick Fish, president of American Atheists, about efforts to combat Project Blitz, the nefarious campaign orchestrated by the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation to flood state legislatures with bills that promote fundamentalist Christian views on issues involving separation of church and state. We also talk about the fake War on Christmas (and now the fake War on Thanksgiving!), as well as the ongoing lawsuit filed in New Jersey by former AA president David Silverman.

For more about American Atheists visit atheists.org.

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I interview David Silverman, the new Executive Director for Atheist Alliance International, a coalition of atheist-centric organizations around the world.

The first third of our conversation is about AAI and its mission, but the bulk of the conversation is Silverman's vehement defense against the accusations of sexual misconduct which led his termination, in April 2018, as president of American Atheists. 

(In the days since this interview was recorded, a new and recent allegation against Silverman has surfaced; this time from fellow activist Rebecca Vitsmun, who claims he "creepy touched" her on the back during a party. AAI has suspended him with pay pending further investigation.)

For more about Atheist Alliance International visit atheistalliance.org.

Silverman's personal website is firebrandforgood.com.

Theme music courtesy of Body Found.

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I interview Paul Wallace about his new book Love and Quasars: An Astrophysicist Reconciles Faith and Science. Paul holds advanced degrees in science and theology, and is involved in teaching both. It's an interesting, sometimes frustrating conversation covering Paul's professional work in both realms, how he interprets truth claims in the Bible, and how he sees faith not as an alternative to science, but rather as an all-encompassing worldview that includes science.

For more about Paul and his work visit pwallace.net.

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I interview the daughter of Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan about her new book For Small Creatures Such as We, which looks at rituals and traditions, and how they can be adapted (or transformed) for a secular, 21st century world.

For more about Sasha and her work visit SashaSagan.com.

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From October 2017, I interview Emory University's Professor Carol Anderson, author of White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide, which looks at how institutional racism has tried to reverse or contain progress in racial equality. Ms. Anderson is most recently the author of One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy. Timely work, indeed.

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I suggest ten films (some good, some great; some new, some classic) that include explorations of topics of interest to freethinkers (criticism of religion, advocacy of science and free speech, etc.).

Plus:

Neil DeGrasse Tyson is on tour in support of his new book Letters from an Astrophysicist.

I experience sensory deprivation.

Theme music courtesy of Body Found.

Follow American Freethought on the intertubes:

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Find out how to support the show here and here.

Contact: john@americanfreethought.com

I interview Emory University anthropologist Dr. Melvin Konner about his new book Believers: Faith in Human Nature, which looks at the evolutionary basis for religious tendencies, examines the good religion does in people's lives, and asks if people like Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins really know what they're talking about! Find out more about Konner and his work at melvinkonner.com and jewsandothers.com.

Theme music courtesy of Body Found.

Follow American Freethought on the intertubes:

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Find out how to support the show here and here.

Contact: john@americanfreethought.com

I interview experimental psychologist Bruce M. Hood about his new book Possessed, which explores the evolutionary, psychological and cultural influences on how we look at material ownership.

We interviewed Bruce before, way back in episode #57 about his book Supersense. Check it out!

Theme music courtesy of Body Found.

Follow American Freethought on the intertubes:

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Contact: john@americanfreethought.com

I interview Phil Zuckerman, whose latest book is What It Means to Be Moral: Why Religion Is Not Necessary for Living an Ethical Life. Follow Phil on twitter @phil_zuckerman.

Plus:

Get read to read The Testaments, Margaret Atwood's much-anticipated sequel to her now-classic dystopian novel The Handmaid's Tale.

This Wednesday is the 18th anniversary of 9/11, which means that a generation of adults has arrived who are born after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. It also means that the children of those who have fought in Afghanistan are old enough to serve in what is now America's first generational war.

Theme music courtesy of Body Found.

Follow American Freethought on the intertubes:

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Twitter: @AMERFREETHOUGHT

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Find out how to support the show here and here.

Contact: john@americanfreethought.com

I discuss several ways in which America has become a cult when it comes to interpreting the Constitution (especially the 1st and 2nd amendments), and how, in practice, white men get most of the benefit of the law and little of its punishment.

I also talk about how disproportionate devotion to civic and religious tokens like the Pledge of Allegiance, the national anthem and the national motto, has led to division rather than unity, and in some cases has led to violence.

Mentioned in the podcast:

Mary Anne Frank's book The Cult of the Constitution.

Anthony McCann's book Shadowlands.

At a county fair in Montana, a man assaulted a teenager for failing to remove his cap during The Star-Spangled Banner.

Fayette County (Kentucky) schools post framed dollar bills in response to a new state law requiring public schools to display "In God We Trust."

A federal court has ruled that nonreligious people have no right to deliver invocations before legislative sessions.

Theme music courtesy of Body Found.

Follow American Freethought on the intertubes:

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Contact: john@americanfreethought.com

In the aftermath of three mass shootings in America in a week, I interview political scientist Robert Spitzer, author of Guns across America: Reconciling Gun Rules and Rights. (This interview is "recycled" from December 2017, where it first appeared on the short-lived, now defunct SnideShow podcast.)

Also, I highly recommend the new Netflix documentary miniseries The Family, about the secretive Christian organization that has wielded influence with congressmen, presidents and even foreign leaders for nearly 80 years. The miniseries is based on Jeff Sharlet's nonfiction books The Family and C-Street. We interviewed Jeff way back in episodes 67 and 105.

Theme music courtesy of Body Found.

Follow American Freethought on the intertubes:

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Twitter: @AMERFREETHOUGHT

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Libsyn Classic Feed: https://americanfreethought.libsyn.com/rss

Find out how to support the show here and here.

Contact: john@americanfreethought.com

I talk with Andrew Bush (one of the co-hosts of the pop-culture SuperHouse Podcast) about his time in Japan, his observations about Japanese religion, and how the Japanese view such American hot-button topics as separation of church and state, abortion and LGBT rights. (Minor correction: I misspoke during our conversation, saying we were recording episode 282 when in fact it's 281.)

Listen to Part 2 of our conversation over at the SuperHouse Podcast, where we talk about being brought up religious in the American South, conversion experiences, deconversion experiences and more.

Andrew has been on American Freethought once before, waaay back in 2010 in episode 87.

Watch video segments recorded in 2010 with me (John C. Snider) and David Driscoll for Andrew's unrealized documentary effort "Southern Reason."

Theme music courtesy of Body Found.

Follow American Freethought on the intertubes:

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Contact: john@americanfreethought.com

On the 50th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing, I discuss various religious controversies that arose as part of the Space Race, including the Apollo 8 reading from the Book of Genesis on Christmas Eve 1968; Buzz Aldrin's observance of Communion during Apollo 11; and the successful campaign by the Apollo Prayer League to send hundreds of microfilm Bibles to the moon.

Theme music courtesy of Body Found.

Follow American Freethought on the intertubes:

Website: AmericanFreethought.com 

Podcast Page: http://americanfreethought.libsyn.com 

Twitter: @AMERFREETHOUGHT

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/21523473365/

Libsyn Classic Feed: https://americanfreethought.libsyn.com/rss

Find out how to support the show here and here.

Contact: john@americanfreethought.com