Best Atheists United Studios Podcasts (2024)

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Ep. 68: Why Do We Have a Bible? – Jacob L. Wright 1:32:43

3M ago1:32:43

1:32:43

In this episode, we’re joined by Jacob L. Wright, Professor of Hebrew Bible at the Candler School of Theology, Emory University, and the author of Why the Bible Began: An Alternative History of Scripture and its Origins. Jacob explains how the Old Testament used a mix of history, myth, and poetry to form a “peoplehood” in the absence of state insti…

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Ep. 67: Lessons from the Atheists of Interwar Canada – Elliot Hanowski 1:11:36

5M ago1:11:36

1:11:36

In this episode, we’re joined by Elliot Hanowski, a Canadian historian and author of Towards a Godless Dominion: Unbelief in Interwar Canada (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2023). We discuss the small but vocal atheist and secular movement in 1920s and 1930s Canada. Elliot explains how this period represents an important link between the nineteen…

1
Matthew Taylor: Why We Podcast 1:08:15

7M ago1:08:15

1:08:15

Mathew Taylor, co-host of Still Unbelievable!, returns to the podcast to discuss why we podcast.Links Matthew on Twitter: https://twitter.com/vteclimey Confessions of a YEC blog: https://confessionsofayec.wordpress.com/ "God takes the good people early” post: https://confessionsofayec.wordpress.com/2012/03/08/god-takes-the-good-people-early/ Reason…

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Sara: Christian Humanism 1:01:45

7M ago1:01:45

1:01:45

This week’s guest is Sara. Sara grew up in a Canadian Mennonite community and embraced it wholeheartedly. She was surrounded by evangelical Christianity and she thrived. As a young adult, she married and followed her husband into ministry. While he led, she helped as was expected of her. It didn’t occur to her until years later how little her own l…

1
Beth: Deconstruction from the Moral Majority 50:13

8M ago50:13

50:13

This week’s guest is Beth. Beth grew up in a fundamentalist Christian home that revered James Dobson, Jerry Falwell and all those who created the “Moral Majority.” Her father was a pastor whose sermons centered on the End Times and protecting their families from the “shifting culture,” (read: all the movements happening in the 60’s and 70’s). As a …

1
Andrew: Dino Dad Reviews 54:40

8M ago54:40

54:40

Arline interviews this week’s guest, Andrew. Andrew is a self-named atheist “paleo-nerd.” He grew up home-schooled in a fundamentalist church in southern California. His whole schooling was religious and that included Young Earth Creationism. In high school, Andrew struggled with his shy nature and some depressive episodes. The church didn’t seem t…

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Racquelle: Deconstruction from SDA and Conspiracy Theories 1:08:38

8M ago1:08:38

1:08:38

Arline interviews this week’s guest, Racquelle. Racquelle grew up in Canada in the Seventh Day Adventist church. Conspiracy theories were common in her household. Some of them she bought into. Throughout her life she went through periods of doubt but something kept bringing her back to Church. A sense of obligation and expectation never left her. E…

1
Andy Neal: Andy Films and Hikes 1:05:36

8M ago1:05:36

1:05:36

Arline interviews this week's guest, Andy Neal of Andy Films And Hikes fame. He is self described as a "plus size hiking influencer." Andy tells his story of deconstruction, acceptance of his body and his joy in nature. He is an inspiration to all to get outdoors and experience nature. Links Instagram https://www.instagram.com/andyfilmsandhikes/ Li…

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Natalie: Pentecostal to Mormon to Atheist 1:03:18

8M ago1:03:18

1:03:18

Natalie from New Zealand tells Arlene here story. She grew up Pentecostal participating in church. In her young adulthood she converted to Mormonism. She saw that as woman her role was limited and was finding it difficult to accept the church's perspective on LGBQT issues. Eventually Natalie deconverted. She is thankful for her kids' sake who later…

1
Jeff: Deconstruction of a Southern Baptist Minister 1:13:23

9M ago1:13:23

1:13:23

Jeff grew up in his words “a very religious household.” He attended a large Southern Baptist church. In college he fell in love with the seriousness of Calvinism after reading John Piper’s Desiring God. He left seminary early to become a minster because he felt time pressure to be “on mission” for God. After three pastors he knew committed suicide …

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Megan: Catholic to Evangelical to Athiest 1:03:21

9M ago1:03:21

1:03:21

This week’s guest is Megan. Megan grew up in a fundamentalist Catholic home with an irrationally religious mother and an absent father. As a teen, she was invited to an evangelical bible study after school and after some serious “love bombing” by the youth group, she was a part of a community. “You get ‘loved bombed’ when you walk into a new church…

1
Kris: Former Christian Leader to the Least of These 1:04:05

9M ago1:04:05

1:04:05

This week’s guest is Kris. Kris grew up in a home with much wounding and suffering, an irreligious home that would shape her desire for God as a young adult. She became a christian when she was 22—a “poor, broken young mom.” For years, Christianity worked well for her. She found community, built a family, made friends. Church gave her a place to us…

1
Jeremy Schumacher: Wellness with Jer 57:02

9M ago57:02

57:02

This week’s guest is Jeremy Schumacher. Jeremy’s story begins in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod and it was as culty as it sounds. He started questioning the beliefs when he was ten, but it took twenty more years before he was able to leave. “Two things really kept me in [Christianity] longer than I needed to stay or wanted to stay: fear o…

1
Graceful Atheist Solo October 2023 14:55

10M ago14:55

14:55

This week is a solo episode with David talking about the state of the podcast. Interact For quotes, recommendations, transcripts and more see the full episode show notes https://gracefulatheist.com/2023/10/08/graceful-atheist-solo-october-2023/ Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversion Graceful Athe…

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Mandi: Deconversion from Messianic Judaism 1:11:22

10M ago1:11:22

1:11:22

This week’s guest is Mandi. Mandi grew up in a mixed Jewish and Christian home, attending a Messianic temple. She loved every minute of it as a kid and cherishes her memories. In high school and as a young adult, though, she began to ask questions, and as we’ve seen in religion time and time again, her questions were dismissed. After incredible and…

1
Jordon: Mennonite to Philosopher 58:04

10M ago58:04

58:04

This week’s guest is Jordon. Jordon comes from a long family line of Mennonites but Jordon was bookish and musical and never quite fit in. He grew up in the church, but with two older brothers already having left the church, by 21 he was also out. He’d never had a television, gone to public school, or really knew anything beyond the small bubble he…

1
Nora: MK to the USA 1:07:32

10M ago1:07:32

1:07:32

This week’s guest is Nora. Nora grew up in Argentina, the granddaughter of Italian immigrants, and Argentina still has her heart. When Nora was in middle school, her father believed God wanted him to become a missionary to the US. The family’s move to California was all loss, culture shock, and homesickness for Nora. Between church doctrine on divo…

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Tracey: Focus on the Family to None 1:24:13

11M ago1:24:13

1:24:13

This week’s guest is Tracey. Tracey spent her childhood in a white American Christian home where Focus on the Family reigned and “Obey right away” was the expectation. She was a believer as an adolescent but began asking hard questions in high school. As a young adult, she saw how prideful the leaders were and how easily Christians were pulled in. …

1
Mary Justice: Deconstruction From SDA 59:05

11M ago59:05

59:05

This week’s guest is Mary Justice, the heart behind the delightful Instagram account, @maryfairyboberry. Mary is an international adoptee who grew up in an emotionally and verbally abusive Seventh-Day Adventist home. Between home and church, there were rules that dictated her entire life. “It’s just so much fanaticism.” As an adult, she has a famil…

1
Amanda: Deconversion From An Unnamed Cult 1:15:45

11M ago1:15:45

1:15:45

This week’s guest is Amanda. Amanda comes from a rather surprising brand of Christianity she refers to as the “Serpent Seed Pentecostal Cult.” She goes into detail, and it’s quite a ride. Various things happened throughout her adolescence that made her wonder if Christianity was true, but her mother would violently put a quick stop to those doubts.…

1
MJ: Dissident Daughters 1:11:48

11M ago1:11:48

1:11:48

This week’s guest is MJ, the heart and mind behind the Instagram account, @dissident_daughters MJ grew up in a conservative evangelical home where Focus on the Family reigned and her whole world consisted of family, church friends, and a few Christian homeschooling families. She believed wholeheartedly, feeling all the existential pressure as a chi…

1
Darrel Ray: Recovering From Religion 1:19:25

12M ago1:19:25

1:19:25

Dr. Darrel Ray is the founder and President of the Board of Directors of Recovering from Religion and the founder and project leader of the Secular Therapy Project. See his full bio here. Dr. Ray grew up in a Christian home but was already skeptical of certain claims at the age of twelve. He stayed in church—singing and teaching—but was relieved to…

1
Mary Burkhart: Religion In Remission 1:01:58

12M ago1:01:58

1:01:58

CW: sexual abuse; suicidal ideation This week’s guest is Religious Trauma Life Coach, Mary Burkhart. See her full bio here. Mary grew up in the Apostolic Pentecostal Church, and her family’s devotion goes back generations. When she was little, unspeakable things happened to Mary, but their church self-righteously dismissed the situation, forcing he…

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Ep. 66: Heresy, Philosophy, and Hope – David Newheiser 1:16:39

1y ago1:16:39

1:16:39

In this episode, we’re joined by David Newheiser, a Senior Research Fellow in the Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry at Australian Catholic University, and the editor of the book, The Varieties of Atheism (2022). We learn about how David went through a heresy trial when he was a teenager and how this shaped his views of religion. We talk a…

1
Daniel: Psychology of Apologetics 1:24:18

1y ago1:24:18

1:24:18

You’re going to want to grab a cozy drink and pull up your favorite note-taking app because this episode is jam-packed! Former guest, Daniel shared his deconversion story here, and now he returns with a lesson on the psychology of modern—and often, predatory—apologetics. He knows his stuff, so prepare to learn a few things. “The target audience of …

1
Stephanie Stalvey Artist 1:05:11

1y ago1:05:11

1:05:11

This week’s guest is artist Stephanie Stalvey. You can see her full bio here. She is the artist behind Instagram’s @stephanie.stalvey.artist. Stephanie was a “90’s church kid” attending various evangelical churches when she was young. She took her beliefs seriously, and it wasn’t until her twenties that a sudden loss forced her to question whether …

1
Benoit Kim: Discover More 1:20:08

1y ago1:20:08

1:20:08

This week’s guest is Benoit Kim. He is a “Veteran, Penn-educated Policymaker turned Psychotherapist, & Podcaster at Discover More.” Benoit is a Christian, creating space for deep and meaningful conversations and stories. The Discover More podcast is a show for independent thinkers with an emphasis on mental health. Benoit is currently a forensic cl…

1
Kyler: CPTSD 1:05:27

1y ago1:05:27

1:05:27

Content Warning: Sexual abuse, spiritual abuse, severe mental health disorders Kyler’s story is one of “beauty from ashes”. He lives with dissociative identity disorder, a category of CPTSD. Kyler is one distinct personality in the “system”. The adults in his life abused him as a child—would not keep him safe—and so his brain stepped in and made a …

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Christian Lomsdalen: Norwegian Humanist Association 52:53

1y ago52:53

52:53

This week’s guest is Christian Lomsdalen. Christian is the current president of the Norwegian Humanist Association and a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Bergen studying the didactics (science) of religion. Christian grew up in an ordinary Christian Norwegian family as “Christmas Christians”. He went to church for Christmas and other holidays, …

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Ep. 65: When Clergy No Longer Believe – Alexandr Zamușinski 1:09:59

1y ago1:09:59

1:09:59

In this episode, we talk with Alex Zamușinski, a PhD Candidate at the University of California, Riverside. Alex stops by to tell us about his research on the Clergy Project, an organization which provides peer support for clergy members who have begun questioning their faith. In addition to the scope and scale of the project, Alex teaches us about …

1
Hey There Benji 1:21:48

1y ago1:21:48

1:21:48

This week’s guest is Benjamin Faye, also known as @heytherebenji.Benji was adopted when he was young and during middle school, his adoptive parents suddenly “wanted a spiritual life” and started going to church. His life as an adoptee was difficult. Benji questioned whether he belonged in the family and things only got worse as he got older. His ad…

1
Ben Reed: Deconversion from Church of Christ 1:10:10

1y ago1:10:10

1:10:10

This week’s guest is Ben Reed. Ben grew up in the Church of Christ with a cappella music, no clapping, no raised hands, no prophecies, no miracles, but also no demons. “Compared to the more charismatic denominations, the Church of Christ is pretty boring…I think that’s kind of why I stayed so long because it wasn’t that exhausting.” Ben’s years in …

1
Shifra: Out of Hasidic Orthodoxy 59:48

1y ago59:48

59:48

This week’s guest is Shifra Lowen. Shifra grew up in a small, well-controlled Hasidic community in Canada. As a girl, Shifra wanted to do everything according to the rules of their village. At the same, she desperately wanted forbidden things, like a kitten or a pet bird. At 17, her marriage was arranged to someone she knew and even liked, and Shif…

1
Holly Laurent: The Rise and Fall of Twin Hills on Mega the Podcast 1:21:00

1y ago1:21:00

1:21:00

This week’s guest is comedian and writer, Holly Laurent. See her full bio and work here. Holly tells a bit of her story, growing up in a fundamentalist evangelical household. From the fear of demons to eternal conscious torment, Holly is still dismantling the indoctrination. In comedy, she’s found a way to express her “voice that always got [her] i…

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Josh de Keijzer: After God's End 1:01:44

1y ago1:01:44

1:01:44

This week’s guest is Josh de Keijzer, PhD. Josh writes at After God’s End: Fragments of a Post-Christian narrative Josh grew up in an evangelical home in the Netherlands. He knew his family was “set apart,” different from the mainstream Dutch culture. “I realized…I had been brought up as an evangelical…We were always part of a minority.” As a teena…

1
Joanna Johnson: Silenced In Eden 58:44

1y ago58:44

58:44

This week’s guest is author Jo Lloyd Johnson. Jo grew up in a “non-denominational charismatic commune”. She spent her adolescence in various churches, but they weren’t as “Spirit-filled” as she was taught they could be. She married young and the first years of marriage were difficult. There was alcohol abuse, church shopping, and the difficulties t…

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Ep. 64: What is a Humanist Chaplain? – Srishti Hukku 1:10:15

1y ago1:10:15

1:10:15

In this episode, we talk with Srishti Hukku, a humanist chaplain at the University of Ottawa (Canada). We learn about Srishti’s journey out of religion and her winding path to becoming a humanist chaplain. She explains what a chaplain does, why the military needs non-religious chaplains, and why it is important that these positions be filled with s…

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Cat Delmar: Former Seventh Day Adventist 1:02:20

1y ago1:02:20

1:02:20

This week’s guest is Cat Delmar. Cat grew up in a nominally Seventh-day Adventist family. The SDA churches, however, were anything but nominal. They had all the rules, from no caffeine to no pierced ears. “There’s a lot of control of the body [in Seventh-Day Adventism].” At sixteen, Cat took ownership of her faith and started going to church on her…

1
Stephanie: Deconversion of an MK 1:01:08

1y ago1:01:08

1:01:08

This week’s guest is Stephanie, a Deconversion Anonymous group member. Stephanie grew up in the Assemblies of God church as a Missionary Kid for most of her childhood. Her younger years held all the trappings of white American evangelicalism, from conservative Christian school curricula to a paralyzing fear of going to hell forever. “The ‘hell beli…

1
Kelly: You Are Enough 1:00:50

1+ y ago1:00:50

1:00:50

This week’s guest is Kelly. Kelly was raised as a daughter in a traditional evangelical household, “indoctrinated from diaperhood.” They grew up perfectionistic, depressed, timid, and anxious, given Christian cliches about ‘God always being with them’ through their depression. Who they really needed were queer, whole, mentally healthy adult mentors…

1
Bart D. Ehrman: Armageddon 1:10:53

1+ y ago1:10:53

1:10:53

This week’s guest is Bart D. Ehrman, the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His new book is Armageddon: What the Bible Really Says about the End. Is the book of Revelation a prophecy of future catastrophe? Is it a book of hope? Or is it a book of violence and wrath? In Armageddon, Bart delves i…

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Ep. 63: The Persistence of Christian Privilege – Chrissy Stroop 1:32:03

1+ y ago1:32:03

1:32:03

In this episode, we talk with Chrissy Stroop, an ex-evangelical writer, speaker, and advocate. We talk about Chrissy’s journey out of evangelicalism, her creation of the hashtag #EmptyThePews, and her thoughts on Christian nationalism today. We also talk about Christian privilege and how it can be unwittingly maintained even by atheists. In the lig…

1
Grace: Hyssop + Laurel 1:02:10

1+ y ago1:02:10

1:02:10

TW: sexual violence; intimate partner violence; postpartum PTSD This week’s guest is Grace. Grace was fortunate not to grow up in the church, but when she became a Christian in high school, she—in her own words—“quickly became the quintessential insufferable Christian teenager.” Grace was a zealous believer for years, and it wasn’t until she had he…

1
Matt: Deconversion Anonymous 1:23:00

1+ y ago1:23:00

1:23:00

This week’s guest bares his whole heart. “My story—at the moment—doesn’t end really well, but there’s hope for the future.” This week’s guest is Matt. Matt grew up in a Methodist family and after partying through high school, Matt chose to attend a Christian college and became serious about his faith. As an adult, Matt did everything he could to be…

1
Ep. 62: Recovering from Religious Trauma – Jeremy Schumacher 1:05:23

1+ y ago1:05:23

1:05:23

In this episode, we’re joined by Jeremy Schumacher, a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist and former Evangelical Lutheran. We talk about Jeremy’s journey to atheism and how to recognize and treat religious trauma through therapy. Jeremy also explains how the male privilege and purity culture in religion often harms the mental well being of those i…

1
David Hayward: Naked Pastor 1:04:31

1+ y ago1:04:31

1:04:31

This week’s guest is David Hayward, also known as The Naked Pastor. David is “a pastor turned artist painting, drawing, and thinking about what it takes to be free to be you.” For over a decade, David has been creating online spaces for anyone “interested in deconstruction, spiritual journeying, freedom of thought, or looking for your authentic sel…

1
Four Years of the Graceful Atheist Podcast 1:30:22

1+ y ago1:30:22

1:30:22

This week we are celebrating the fourth anniversary of the Graceful Atheist Podcast! In this episode, you’ll meet everyone who works alongside David on the podcast, the website or the online community. Joining David are Arline, Mike T, Jimmy, Colin and Daniel. They discuss some of their favorite movies, shows and books highlighting deconversion or …

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Ep. 61: Why Aren’t There More Secular Politicians? – Juhem Navarro-Rivera 1:09:59

1+ y ago1:09:59

1:09:59

In this episode, we welcome back Dr. Juhem Navarro-Rivera, the Managing Partner and Research Director at Socioanalítica Research LLC, and the author of Secular Politics, a weekly newsletter exploring the role of secular people in American political life. We talk about Juhem’s recent work exploring secular legislators in the United States, at the na…

1
Jennifer Michael Hecht: The Wonder Paradox 1:16:58

1+ y ago1:16:58

1:16:58

This week’s guest is Jennifer Michael Hecht, bestselling author of Doubt: a History plus many other works. Her latest book, The Wonder Paradox: Embracing the Weirdness of Existence and the Poetry of Our Lives comes out this week! Jennifer is a poet and historian and in this interview, she makes a solid case for the important place that poetry—and o…

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Stacie: Apostacie 1:06:56

1+ y ago1:06:56

1:06:56

This week’s guest is Stacie, the creative mind behind the @apostacie on Instagram and the co-host of @skeptichaven on Youtube. Stacie grew up in charismatic churches, believing what she learned about and experienced at church was normal—from speaking in tongues to full-on demonic oppression. It wasn’t until Stacie was an adult that she began to ser…

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