Friendly Atheist Podcast

Evan Clark is the founder and creative director of Spectrum Experience, the nation's first private Humanist consulting firm that has also been behind the campaigns of several atheists running for local, state, and federal office. His candidates just had a wildly successful primary day in Arizona this past week. Evan is also chair of the Secular Student Alliance and co-host of the Humanist Experience podcast. We spoke about how he began Spectrum Experience, the most strategic ways for atheists to run for office, and why coming out as non-religious matters in politics. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Brad Levin is the director of FreeBYU, a group whose mission is to "promote freedom of thought and freedom of religion at Brigham Young University." We spoke about how BYU punishes students who become ex-Mormons, why BYU's law school nearly lost its accreditation, and the progress his group has made in changing the Honor Code at the school. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Rob McWilliams is the founder of South East Texas Atheists Helping the Homeless. (The name is fairly self-explanatory.) We spoke with him about how his group is different from churches, how listeners can help his cause, and the most amazing love story ever. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ray Comfort is the founder and CEO of Living Waters. He's written dozens of books, co-hosted "The Way of the Master" with Kirk Cameron, and produced several movies including Audacity and Evolution vs. God. He recently released Fat Chance (subtitle: Why Pigs Will Fly Before America has an Atheist President) and the movie The Atheist Delusion. Rather than have a debate about God's existence, Ray and I spoke about whether Christians must accept a literal interpretation of Genesis, what he thinks will happen if atheists are elected to political office, and what might change his mind about Christianity. Also: Crocoducks. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Emma Green is a senior associate editor at The Atlantic, where she covers politics, policy, and religion. We spoke with her about how Democrats appeared to be the Party of God during their recent convention, what stood out while reporting and editing The Atlantic's recent series on young people choosing their religions, and what she would report on with unlimited time and an unlimited budget. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tracey Moody, a frequent contributor to FriendlyAtheist.com and co-moderator of the Friendly Atheist Facebook page, went to Ark Encounter (the Noah's Ark theme park) in Kentucky on opening day to find out what a $100 million attraction looks like. We spoke about the atheist protest outside the Ark, the exhibits inside of it (including one about how they removed all the excrement), and whether it's worth visiting just for the sake of curiosity. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Leighann Lord is a comedian and co-host of the StarTalk podcast with Neil deGrasse Tyson. She has performed stand-up on Comedy Central and HBO, has won several awards for her work, and written books including Dict Jokes and Real Women Do It Standing Up. At the recent American Humanist Association conference in Chicago, I spoke with her about how she went from a corporate job to a comedy stage, why performing at colleges has become tougher for comedians, and why unique outreach to African American atheists is worthwhile. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

David Diskin is the President of Camp Quest West. Camp Quest is a summer camp for children that embraces science, natural wonder, and humanist values. David has worked with the group since 2010. He has been a long-time activist in California, co-founding the Stockton Area Atheists and Freethinkers and Sunday Assembly Sacramento. He also serves on the boards of California Freethought Day, the Secular Coalition for California, and the national Reason Rally Coalition. At the recent American Humanist Association conference in Chicago, we spoke with David about whether children of religious parents ever attend the camp, how the camp's curriculum has changed over the years, and what he hopes Camp Quest achieves in the next few years. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

John de Lancie is an actor best known for his portrayal of Q on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager. He's also appeared on Breaking Bad and The West Wing. In September, he filmed a video for the Openly Secular campaign. So what happens when two people who have never watched Star Trek get a chance to interview him on extremely short notice? We talk about the current golden age of television, what defines a great actor, and whether we need to use labels like "Humanist" at all. We spoke at the recent American Humanist Association conference in Chicago, where he was receiving the Humanist Arts Award. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Elizabeth Loftus is a cognitive psychologist who specializes in the malleability of human memory. She has done groundbreaking research into why our memories are not always reliable and how we might create false memories that we fully accept as real. Since earning her Ph.D. in Psychology from Stanford University, Dr. Loftus has published 23 books, more than 500 scientific articles, and is currently a Distinguished Professor at the University of California, Irvine. At the recent American Humanist Association conference in Chicago, where she was receiving the Isaac Asimov Award, we spoke with her about how faulty memories can form in our minds, whether research into this subject is ethical, and if "believing the victim" is always the way to go. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Jerry Coyne is a now-retired Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago. He has written over 115 refereed scientific papers; 130 additional articles, book reviews, and columns; and a scholarly book about his field (Speciation, co-authored with H. Allen Orr). He may be most familiar to listeners for his books Why Evolution is True (which spawned his blog of the same name) and Faith Versus Fact: Why Science and Religion Are Incompatible. At the recent American Humanist Association conference in Chicago, we spoke with Dr. Coyne about why science and religion are incompatible, the problems with the "Regressive Left" on college campuses, and what he discusses with his atheist/scientist friends. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Katherine Ozment is the author of "Grace Without God: The Search for Meaning, Purpose, and Belonging in a Secular Age." She has worked for National Geographic and Boston magazine and been published in the New York Times. She lives in Chicago with her husband and three children. For years now, she has been exploring how the ever-growing segment of non-religious parents raise their children. They're not all atheists, but they have to grapple with the Big Questions about life and death and belonging, all without supernatural faith. She wrote a magazine article about it a few years ago, and she has now written a full-length examination into the topic. I spoke with her about what secular "grace" looks like, why atheists may want rituals traditionally reserved for the religious, and how the landscape for atheist parents is rapidly changing. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Julia Sweeney may be best known for her years on Saturday Night Live, where she famously played the androgynous character Pat. But she has since written multiple one-woman shows and books which speak to her experiences as a cancer survivor (God Said, Ha!), atheist (Letting Go of God), and mother (If It's Not One Thing, It's Your Mother). Speaking of which, if you haven't heard Letting Go of God yet, stop what you're doing and go listen to it. It's an incredible, funny story of how Julia shed her Catholicism. (A condensed version of the show was featured on a 2005 episode of This American Life.) At the recent American Humanist Association conference in Chicago, we spoke with Julia and her daughter Mulan about how the character Pat would go over today, the movie Mulan finally watched for the very first time, and what Julia thinks about the new all-female Ghostbusters reboot. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Elizabeth Drescher is a professor of Religious Studies at Santa Clara University and the author, most recently, of Choosing Our Religion: The Spiritual Lives of America's Nones. We spoke with her about what atheist "spirituality" really means, the problem with the language we use to talk about faith, and how religion is no longer being passed down generation after generation. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

At the American Humanist Association conference in Chicago recently, we had a chance to speak with a number of incredible people and we'll be posting those interviews over the next few weeks. Today, we're posting our conversation with Margaret Downey, a life-long atheist activist and a member of the Reason Rally Coalition Board of Directors. She is also founder and President of the Freethought Society and a former President of Atheist Alliance International. We spoke with her about what to expect at this weekend's Rally, how she plans to gauge its success, and what she wants people to take away from the event. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chrystine Trooien is an eco-conscious, secular, vegan mother based out of Hawaii. About a year ago, she launched a Kickstarter campaign for a book called Christian Mythology for Kids. It's essentially a book that explains the stories of the Bible as just that: Stories. They don't disparage religion, and they don't pretend any of it is real, either. They read just like Greek mythology -- with beautiful illustrations by artist Christopher Zakrzewski to boot. It's a wonderful way to introduce your children to these characters without indoctrinating them in the faith. We spoke with Chrystine about why it's important to teach kids these stories objectively, how she handled stories with no redeeming message, and whether she'll continue the series with other religions. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Wynne LeGrow spent two years as a physician in the Army, where he was promoted to major, and then nearly three decades in private practice. For most of his career, he practiced internal medicine. In 2010, after he retired, he decided to run for Congress from Virginia's 4th District, which was represented then (and now) by Republican Randy Forbes. Forbes is so conservative, he founded the Congressional Prayer Caucus. LeGrow, on the other hand, ran as an open atheist. He lost the race, but wrote about the experience in his new book Last Leper in the Colony: An Atheist Runs for Congress in the Bible Belt. We spoke to him about what it was like being an atheist in the 1960s/1970s, the surprising politician who inspired him to run for office, and the advice he would give atheists running for office in the future. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

David Smalley, host of the show Dogma Debate, was in my area a few days ago and took some time to chat with me about his new series of children's books, the most effective ways to talk with people who disagree with us, and all things politics (Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, and atheist candidates for office). Smalley is a former Christian musician who became an atheist after studying psychology, sociology, world religions, and his own faith. He soon turned into a secular activist. He was the editor-in-chief of Secular World and American Atheist magazines, the author of Baptized Atheist, and now runs the Secular Media Group. His company will soon release a children's book titled Tiny Thinkers: Charlie and the Tortoise. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Kelly Carlin is the author of A Carlin Home Companion: Growing Up with George, an autobiography and one-woman show that talks about growing up with her famous father, comedian George Carlin. She's also host of the podcast Waking from the American Dream and a speaker at the upcoming Reason Rally. We spoke with Kelly about what her father was like off the stage, how being the daughter of a world famous comedian can be a mixed blessing, and how she created her own identity. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jeremy Runnells was raised in the Church of Latter Day Saints as a 6th generation Mormon. He went on his two year mission. He graduated from BYU. He was an Eagle Scout. But in 2012, he began doubting some of his beliefs. He was asked by a Church Educational System (or CES) director to share his concerns. Jeremy did that in what became known as the Letter to a CES Director, or the CES letter. It is a damning document that exposes so many holes in the Mormon faith and it quickly went viral online, giving a lot of people reason to leave the Church themselves. And then, earlier this year, wouldn't you know it, Church officials began a process to kick him out. Before they could excommunicate him for good in April, Jeremy announced he was resigning from the Mormon Church himself. He wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of kicking him out. We spoke with Jeremy about what led him to start doubting his faith, how the "Mormon moment" from a few years ago has come to an end, and why he left the Church before it could get rid of him. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Dawn Eden was born into a Jewish family, became an Agnostic during her teenage years, and then found God and became a Catholic in her 30s. Along the way, she was a rock journalist and worked as an editor for the New York Post and Daily News. Since her conversion, she's written several books including The Thrill of the Chaste and Remembering God's Mercy: Redeem the Past and Free Yourself from Painful Memories. She's also a long-time blogger at the Dawn Patrol. Before giving a talk at a church just outside of Chicago recently, we had 20 minutes to chat. We used the limited time to talk about her unique religious journey, whether allowing priests to have sex is a good idea, and how she arguably kickstarted my own career with one blog post. (As I make clear in the podcast, there were several points I would love to have pushed back on and debated further, but time didn't allow for it.) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Monica Miller is Senior Counsel at the American Humanist Association's Appignani Humanist Legal Center. If the AHA is involved in a lawsuit, she's the person doing the legwork, and that involves everything from letters to city councils to amicus briefs for the U.S. Supreme Court. We spoke with her about when anonymity can be used in a case, the surprising number of religious people who complain about church/state violations, and when a Christian cross isn't a Christian cross. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Reddit Atheism may be the largest online community in the world for atheists. Whenever you have an anonymous group of that size, bad things may happen. And the site certainly has a reputation for low-brow memes, smugness, anger, and a disdain for the religious. But they've also used their power for good, raising money for groups like Doctors Without Borders. We spoke with two of the moderators of the atheism "subreddit," Feinberg and LurkBeast, about the positives and negatives of the site, the power of the ex-religious subreddits, and why r/atheism isn't as bigoted as one research paper claimed. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Teresa MacBain is a former Methodist pastor and the first female member of the Clergy Project to publicly "come out" as a nonbeliever. She did that at the 2012 American Atheists convention. She's now the director of the Hotline Project, which offers callers who are grappling with their faith a chance to talk (anonymously) with an atheist about any questions or concerns. Their number is 1-84-I-Doubt-It (1-844-368-2848). We spoke with her about how she began having doubts about religion while in the pulpit, the type of people who call the Hotline Project, and how to volunteer to be on the receiving end of that call. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We're talking about the presidential race and how religion plays a role in it. We discuss our primary votes, which Republican candidate would be the worst case scenario for atheists, and the openly atheist candidates running for state and federal office. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We're celebrating our 100th episode with the conversation we never get to have because we're always talking to other people. Our goals for the near future are having more in-person interviews, talking to big-name guests, and making sure we're always asking the questions you want answered. Thank you for sticking with us and we hope you continue listening! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Anthony Magnabosco is best known as a Street Epistemologist. He's like a preacher you might run across on your college campus, except he's not trying to convert you. He just wants to ask you questions about religion and get you to think. He posts videos of these interactions on YouTube and they're fascinating to watch, in part because he deconstructs what went right and wrong each time. We spoke with Anthony about his surprising goals when it comes to chatting with people about religion, why people would ever talk to him at all, and whether debates about God are ever useful. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Phil Torres is a philosopher and author who writes extensively about the intersection of religion and technology. He's a regular contributor at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. His latest book is called The End: What Science and Religion Tell Us About the Apocalypse. We spoke with him about why super-intelligence could come back to haunt us, how religious thinking mixed with weapons could bring us closer to doom, and whether we can reason with those who want to get closer to the afterlife. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Kate Shellnutt is an associate editor at Christianity Today magazine. She helps run their social media accounts and she also edits their popular site for women, cleverly called Her.meneutics. Before this, she worked as a web producer for the Houston Chronicle's religion site. She's a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, where she earned her masters in reporting and online journalism. We spoke with Kate about how Christianity Today deals with hot-button issues, what a faith-based publication can bring to the table that secular outlets can't, and how comedy and religion go hand-in-hand. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Stephen Prothero is a professor in the department of religion at Boston University and the author of several books, including Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know -- and Doesn't. You may have seen him on his appearances on The Daily Show or The Colbert Report. His latest book is called Why Liberals Win the Culture Wars (Even When They Lose Elections). We spoke with him about why conservatives pick losing issues, what issues will get liberals out to vote this November, and what surprised him during his research for the book. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jeffrey Tayler is an author of several books all about different parts of the world, but you may know him best for his wonderful articles defending atheism and atheists, and criticizing the Religious Right on Salon.com. He's also the Russia correspondent for the Atlantic. His latest book is called "Topless Jihadis: Inside Femen, the World's Most Provocative Activist Group." I spoke with Jeffrey about Salon's reputation for publishing just about anything criticizing atheists, what the public doesn't understand about the New Atheists, and the impact religion will have on the 2016 elections. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lyz Liddell is the Executive Director of the Reason Rally Coalition. Before that, she worked with the Secular Student Alliance and played a large role in the Openly Secular campaign, which got celebrities like Bill Maher, Arian Foster, and Barney Frank to talk about how they're not religious and encouraged others to join them. I spoke with Lyz about the newest slate of speakers at the Rally, how she balances the competing agendas of the various atheist groups participating in the event, what she's learned from a decade in the movement. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Robyn Blumner spent 16 years as a nationally syndicated columnist and editorial writer at the Tampa Bay Times newspaper, where she wrote a lot about civil liberties, church/state separation, and free speech issues. In 2012, she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize along with the rest of her editorial team. Before she was writing professionally, she headed up ACLU affiliates in Florida and Utah. She entered the world of organized atheism, if you will, in 2014, when she was tapped to run the Richard Dawkins Foundation. Recently, RDF announced a merger with the Center For Inquiry, and Robyn will soon become CEO of the new merged organization. I spoke with Robyn about her experience coming out as an atheist publicly long before it became commonplace, how the CFI/RDF merger took shape, and -- yes -- Richard Dawkins' tweets. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

William Shunn is the author of The Accidental Terrorist, a book about his time as a Mormon missionary. He was supposed to preach in Alberta, but it wasn't long before he was convicted of felony mischief after making a false bomb threat. He's still not allowed to return to Canada. We spoke with Bill about what it's like to be a Mormon missionary when your heart's just not into it, how the Mormon Church catches escaped missionaries, and the extreme length he went to to prevent his mission partner from leaving the base. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Linda K. Wertheimer is a former education editor of the Boston Globe and a reporter at the Dallas Morning News and Orlando Sentinel. She recently published a book called Faith Ed: Teaching About Religion in an Age of Intolerance. We spoke with Linda about groups that oppose the teaching of basic Islamic beliefs in public schools; whether teachers are properly equipped to objectively discuss religion in the classroom; and why atheists, Mormons, and Jews tend to know more about religion than larger faith groups. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chris Shelton spent 27 years in the Church of Scientology, where he attained those high levels you only hear about in HBO documentaries. But he got out about three years ago and is now a vocal critic of the Church. He just published a book called Scientology: A to Xenu: An Insider's Guide to What Scientology is All About. We spoke with Chris about what tipped him off to the Church's deceptions, what he was taught about Xenu, and what he believes would be the single biggest blow to the Church's existence. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Cristin Padgett is a Democrat hoping to win a seat in the Texas State House. She's doing that in a heavily gerrymandered district in a very red part of the state. What makes her candidacy so unique, though, is that she has made public the fact that she's an atheist, making her one of the only openly non-theistic candidates this election cycle in any part of the country. Not exactly part of anyone's playbook in Texas politics. We spoke with Padgett about how she can convince Texans in her district to support her, what she could accomplish with a Republican majority in the House, and what she learned from the failed gubernatorial campaign of Wendy Davis. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Susan Gerbic is a photographer and skeptical activist from California. She contributes to the Skepticality podcast and Skeptical Inquirer magazine. In addition to co-founding the Monterey County Skeptics, she leads a group called Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia. Her goal in that last group is to improve the content of skeptic-related content on Wikipedia. We spoke about why editing Wikipedia is so important, how she avoids charges of bias in the articles, and how you can join her cause. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Eric is a writer currently living in Chicago. He was raised in California in the Worldwide Church of God, a Christian organization that is now known as Grace Communion International and has been considered by many to be a cult. Jessica spoke with him about his upbringing in the church, how it affected his childhood, and how he ultimately left it all behind. *We apologize for the sound quality in this episode! The audio equipment wasn't working properly so we had to resort to alternate means. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Ken Miller is a Professor of Biology at Brown University and the co-author of a Biology textbook used in schools across the country. He's also the author of "Finding Darwin's God" and "Only a Theory." I'm talking to him now because it's the tenth anniversary of the Kitzmiller v. Dover case which gutted the Intelligent Design movement. Miller was an expert witness for the science side. I spoke with him about whether evolution advocates can finally relax, how a Roman Catholic like himself reconciles science and faith, and the effect of Creationist propaganda on science literacy. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Michael De Dora is director of the Center for Inquiry's Office of Public Policy and he's also CFI's representative to the United Nations. He's currently the president of the UN's NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief. I spoke with him about what we can do about the bloggers currently under attack in Bangladesh, whether our government is doing anything to protect atheists overseas, and what his conversations are like with the Saudi Arabian representatives at the United Nations. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chaz Stevens is an activist who's especially passionate about the First Amendment. In response to a Nativity scene in the Florida Capitol Building, he put up an 8-foot-tall Festivus pole made of Pabst Blue Ribbon cans. This year, he's attempting something similar with a 6-foot pole covered in rainbow colors. He has also been requesting to deliver invocations as a Satanist, forcing several city councils to abandon the prayer practice altogether. I spoke with Chaz about what a Satanist invocation would look like if he ever got to deliver one, why he prefers an over-the-top approach, and what he hopes to accomplish with his activism. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For this episode, I just answered a whole bunch of questions sent in by listeners! They include: - How can we help the "victims of religion"? - What are the differences between atheists who were once religious and those who have never been religious? - Are there any original atheism-related thoughts left to have? - How has the pressure to generate content changed the way that you interact with people and respond to issues? - Am I less "friendly" than I used to be? - How did I go from math teacher to full-time atheism blogger? And how much does that pay? - What tips do I have for young atheists trying to start a secular school group? - Have I ever been discriminated against due to my beliefs? - What are the positives of religion and the negatives of atheism? - How can "Nones" organize better to leverage our increasing numbers into political and social action? - What do I do to produce so much content? - Will I be speaking at the upcoming Reason Rally and how should it be different from the first? - Why bother with YouTube and podcasting? - Since the religious demographics are shifting so rapidly right now, will we continue heading down the "right path" as a country? - Why do you talk over your guests during podcasts? - Why do I post so many articles and videos on marginal preachers and religious people? - Do I always read the comments? - How do I select guest bloggers? - Will religion ever disappear completely? - How will my wife and I deal with religion with regards to our child? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sarah Haider was born in Pakistan as a practicing Shia Muslim. She moved to Texas and, in her late teens, began reading the Qur'an critically. It wasn't long before she became an atheist. In 2013, she co-founded Ex-Muslims of North America, where she advocates for the acceptance of religious dissent and works to create local support communities for those who have left Islam. We spoke with Sarah about why it's dangerous for Muslims to leave the faith even in the United States, what the New Atheists get right and wrong about Islam, and why we need to stop using the word "Islamophobic." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

David Smalley is a former Christian musician who became an atheist after studying psychology, sociology, world religions, and his own faith. He soon turned into a secular activist. He was the editor-in-chief of Secular World and American Atheist magazines, the author of Baptized Atheist, and co-founder of AtheistAudiobooks.com. His Secular Media Group will soon release a children's book titled Tiny Thinkers: Charlie and the Tortoise. You may know him best, however, from his incredibly popular podcast Dogma Debate which has tens of thousands of weekly subscribers. We spoke with David about why it's so important not to be an angry atheist (if you can help it), what it takes to be a successful podcaster, and why he's so passionate about atheist activism. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Shawna Leneé is an openly atheist adult film star who has appeared on the cover of Penthouse and won an AVN award for “Unsung Starlet of the Year.” She left the adult industry temporarily, at which point she attended college began a couple of small businesses, but she’s back making movies now. (You should assume everything in this interview is NSFW.)We spoke with Shawna about why she believes her atheism is the most controversial thing about her, whether she meets a lot of religious people on set, and what she plans to tell her kids about her career.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

John W. Loftus should be a Christian. He attended and graduated from Great Lakes Christian College, Lincoln Christian University, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School where he learned under apologist William Lane Craig. But he's spent the last several years debunking the faith. His books include Why I Rejected Christianity, Why I Became an Atheist, and The Outsider Test for Faith. His latest book is strangely called How to Defend the Christian Faith. I spoke with John about the worst argument Christian apologists use, how learning the Bible caused him to leave the faith, and whether rejecting Christianity is the same thing as becoming an atheist. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

David Williamson is the founder and President of the Central Florida Freethought Community. His group has been leading the way when it comes to getting atheists to give invocations at local government meetings. I spoke with David about why secular invocations are so valuable, step by step instructions on what local activists can do to get on these invocation lists, and what atheists should say if they get the opportunity to speak in front of government officials. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Cathy Lynn Grossman is a senior national correspondent for Religion News Service, a wire service for faith-based news. She often writes stories involving research and statistics. She also worked for more than two decades with USA Today. I spoke with Grossman about the toughest story she's ever written, what the Internet is doing to religion, and whether the amount of religion currently in politics is a new phenomenon. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ep. 76 - Jocelyn Floyd, Attorney with the Thomas More Society by Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.