Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.— The rest of Willow Creek church’s leadership resigned over the Bill Hybels scandal. (0:28)— Brock Turner lost his appeal to overturn a sexual assault conviction. (16:14)— A one-minute video promoting animal rights was too controversial for ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.— Willow Creek megachurch’s founder Bill Hybels has now been accused of sexually harassing his assistant decades ago, and the lead pastor quit as a result. (2:15)— Jeff Sessions‘ “Religious Freedom Task Force” is just a government program to ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- 50 years ago, the pope said birth control was immoral. (1:15)-- Did you know Gwyneth Paltrow hired a fact checker for Goop? (9:40)-- This 11-year-old college grad wants to pursue astrophysics so he can prove God's existence. (19:44)-- Comp ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.---- Republicans just passed another bill to repeal the Johnson Amendment. (0:22)-- If you're running for governor, don't belittle someone who asks a good question about climate change. (6:35)-- Russian spy Mariia Butina infiltrated the gover ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- The new Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, the one right-wing group that opposed him (temporarily), and his claim that church/state separation is "based on bad history." (0:30)-- This is why it's a problem believing communion wafers ar ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- Is Ark Encounter lying about attendance again? (0:39)-- A Republican congressional candidate thinks women are best described as "helpers." (15:52)-- What does Scott Pruitt's resignation letter say about God? (26:22)-- The man who destroyed ...…

In January, Jessica found out her brother Kevin was reading a book about the Satanic Panic and she thought it would be fun to sit down and have him walk her through the ins and outs of that era.They recorded in February. They had technical issues and had to scrap it. They tried again in April. It went very poorly. They scrapped it.But, third ti ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- What does Anthony Kennedy's retirement mean for church/state separation? (1:05)-- The Supreme Court banning abortion will backfire on evangelicals. (18:25)-- A Walgreens pharmacist refused to fill a prescription for a woman who miscarried. ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- Should Catholic Church confessionals about child abuse be reported to the cops? (2:01)-- Apparently, Australia doesn't exist. (9:45)-- Two Christian women released a marriage checklist. It's disturbing. (13:14)-- In Alberta, religious scho ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- The Trump administration is using Bible verses to justify tearing children away from their parents. (1:29)-- Canada's Supreme Court says legal societies can reject the accreditation of an anti-gay Christian law school. (14:52)-- Abortion: ...…

In this bonus episode, Hemant spoke with David Ellis Dickerson. He's a writer mostly known for his many appearances on "This American Life," telling stories about growing up a conservative Christian in Tucson, Arizona. In 2013, he became an Emmy-nominated game show writer for his work on the Christian game show "The American Bible Challenge," w ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- The Catholic League's Bill Donohue is already using Anthony Bourdain's suicide to celebrate himself. (0:50)-- The Masterpiece Cakeshop decision was the worst of all possible worlds for conservative Christians, even though they won. (12:08) ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- Now that abortion will be legal in Ireland, Focus on the Family is lying about what will happen next. (2:54)-- Donald Trump pardoned Dinesh D'Souza because nothing matters anymore. (19:44)-- The Mormon Church is way richer than we thought. ...…

Adam Laats is Professor of Education and History (by courtesy) at Binghamton University (State University of New York). He has contributed essays to Education Week, Chronicle of Higher Education, Washington Post, Time, and Newsweek. He blogs about education, history, and culture-war angst at I Love You but Youʼre Going to Hell.He is the author, ...…

Note from Hemant: I'm out of the country right now, but Jessica and her friend Anne got together to record this episode! They talked about a weird school policy regarding smiling, the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem (and why Robert Jeffress and John Hagee were there), and how I (Hemant) got called out by Ken Ham during his news show.(Timestamps w ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- Franklin Graham says Donald Trump’s affair with Stormy Daniels is “nobody’s business.” That's not what he said when Bill Clinton was in office. (3:14)-- The Natural History Museum in Jerusalem is covering up an evolution exhibit so they do ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- Paige Patterson, a leader of the Southern Baptists, has horrible advice for abused wives. (0:42)-- The problem with Incels. (17:52)-- A Michigan Catholic school told girls they'd have to wear "Modesty Ponchos" at Prom if they were dressed ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- The Ten Commandments monument outside the Arkansas Capitol... again. (3:12)-- The Congressional Freethought Caucus has finally formed! (13:13)-- Why did the House chaplain resign? Maybe he deserved to. (24:15)-- There's an open atheist in ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- Kent Hovind is advertising his new Creationist theme park using a meme mocking Creationists. (1:41)-- White evangelical Christian support for Donald Trump is at an all-time high. (7:37)-- The frighteningly conservative White House Bible st ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- Why was David Silverman fired from American Atheists? Because of this. (1:05)-- Attendance at Catholic churches is going down. (33:16)-- Evangelical Christians can't save their "brand" from Donald Trump since it was a problem to begin with ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- Whether atheists are indeed "veering dangerously" toward the alt-right. (0:15)-- Why Creationist Ken Ham has a lot of job openings, but no takers. (30:20)-- Some incredibly manipulative faith-based backstabbing in Victoria, Australia. (34: ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- Gwyneth Paltrow's pseudoscience repository Goop is now worth a quarter-billion dollars because America is an embarrassment. (0:50)-- One of the most liberal federal judges in the nation has died. He was so liberal, he agreed "Under God" in ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- The Johnson Amendment is (temporarily) safe again! (0:41)-- The Navy has rejected the application of a Humanist chaplain after pushback from Republicans. (6:08)-- The new director of the Office for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of He ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- The people who think Stephen Hawking is burning in Hell. (0:18)-- PA Republican House candidate Rick Saccone claimed his critics "have a hatred for God." Nope. He's confusing God with Donald Trump. (13:55)-- Trump supporters who continue t ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis wrote a memoir. I read it. I hate myself. (1:02)-- A gay escort was right to expose dozens of Catholic priests who were clients. (17:53)-- Mississippi now bans abortion after 15 weeks. (26:30)-- The dominoes ...…

Welcome to the first episode of the Friendly Atheist Bonus Listeners Entertainment Show (or FABLES).We're releasing this one on the public feed; all future episodes will only go to Patreon subscribers.For this debut episode, Jess sits down with her bestie from college and they discuss Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay. Along the way they also discuss ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. -- -- Tennessee's Lt. Gov. is telling voters to reject an atheist candidate because she's "dangerous." (1:07)-- Even country music stars want nothing to do with Mike Huckabee. (10:40)-- Rep. Blake Farenthold hasn't paid an $84,000 harassment ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. -- Lawrence Krauss faces sexual misconduct allegations from multiple women. (1:00)-- The death of Billy Graham and his sad legacy. (20:54)-- GMOs are good for you, says a new study. (28:47)-- The phrase "In God We Trust" will not stop bullet ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- Republicans should just admit their prayers to stop school shootings aren't helping. (1:09)-- A pastor was found with a naked, tied-up man in his car. He swears “on a stack of bibles” that nothing happened. (11:45)-- This racist cartoonist ...…

Sarah Levin is the Director of Grassroots and Community Programs at the Secular Coalition for America. She has served in various roles at the Secular Coalition since 2013, including as the organization's chief lobbyist on Capitol Hill and as the State Chapter Coordinator, managing and growing the organization’s state chapter program and impleme ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- Eric Trump is mad Democrats didn't stand up for God during the State of the Union. An atheist lawyer schooled him on why that happened. (0:32)-- Wait for it. Donald Trump says he's not a feminist. (8:15)-- Canada's Prime Minister Justin Tr ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- A GOP House member got called out on CNN for not knowing what the “Immaculate Conception” was. (4:14)-- The Christian Right is giving Donald Trump a "mulligan" on everything immoral he did before his presidency. (9:44)-- Generation Z, born ...…

Jessica and I celebrated our 200th episode... and discussed the past week in politics and atheism.-- Your letters, questions, and emails! (2:38)-- Hawaii's false alarm and the lack of atheist conversions. (45:05)-- Rick Saccone, a GOP House candidate in PA for an upcoming special election, doesn't care about church/state separation. (48:40)-- T ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- All the action in local governments: A secular affirmation, the end of one city's invocations, how one politician compared atheist invocations to baby murder, a delightful atheist invocation in Florida, and two officials in California who ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- A Mississippi legislator wants to make the Bible the official state book. For the third time. (1:38)-- The head of the Mormon Church, Thomas S. Monson, is dead. What should he be remembered for? (7:21)-- South Carolina Republicans wanted t ...…

On this podcast, Jessica and I discussed the past year in news! We covered a whole variety of topics, going month by month, so feel free to jump around and listen in at any point!

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- Did the CDC really ban words like "science-based" and "transgender"? (1:21)-- An Oregon atheist threatened to sue over a religious street banner, but he has no case. (5:42)-- An Australian politician plans to defend Christianity against mo ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- Doug Jones won the Senate race in Alabama! That means Roy Moore can ride Sassy horribly into the sunset. (1:47)-- Roy Moore's spokesman doesn't understand we're not a theocracy. (11:30)-- Kentucky pastor and State Rep. Dan Johnson killed h ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- The Supreme Court heard the case of an anti-gay Christian baker. (1:13)-- Roy Moore only has one issue on his platform: Abortion. Should Democrats have run an anti-abortion candidate? (10:40)-- Pat Robertson told a woman collecting unemplo ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- Donald Trump screwed up Christianity 101 at the White House Christmas Tree Lighting. (1:17)-- Will anything prevent evangelical Christians from voting for Roy Moore in next week's special election to the Senate? (7:36)-- In a tragic story, ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.(We had an echo during the recording. Sorry! We'll fix it next time.)-- A Scottish shop owner got pushback for keeping her store open on Sundays. (1:16)-- A New Zealand megachurch will lose its tax exempt status after failing to file tax retu ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics.-- How should we be reacting to the news that Sen. Al Franken once groped and kissed a model without her consent? (0:42)-- Roy Moore's defenders are not making him look good. (18:17)-- An Australian lawyer will help a Christian couple get div ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. -- The Texas shooter was allegedly an atheist. Is it true? What would that even mean in this situation? (0:49)-- Roy Moore, the family values Christian and Senate candidate, allegedly molested a 14-year-old girl several decades ago. (14:41)- ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. -- Some critics are angry that Canada's Governor General Julie Payette mocked pseudoscience. (1:05)-- Pat Robertson tried comforting a grieving mother by trashing atheists. (13:00)-- The GOP's tax plan would let pastors endorse candidates fr ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. -- Arkansas State Senator Jason Rapert and the Ten Commandments monument going up (again) in Arkansas. (0:30)-- Alberta Catholic schools want to teach an alternative sex ed curriculum. (13:25)-- The dad from Duck Dynasty is spreading the lie ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. -- The new Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, is an ex-Mormon who describes herself as Agnostic. (1:41)-- There's a push for Christian churches to clarify where they stand on issues involving LGBTQ rights. (8:18)-- An ad campaign ...…

81% of evangelical Christians voted for Donald Trump last year, despite his bragging about sexual assault, despite his multiple marriages, despite his wealth and complete lack of concern for the poor, despite his flip-flopping on matters of abortion and saying women who had them needed to be punished, despite the lies and racism and bigotry. It ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. -- Your thoughts and prayers after the shooting in Las Vegas aren't helping. (1:06)-- The folks at Fox and Friends think the shooter just “didn’t believe in God.” (14:31)-- The worst response to the shooting came from a Mormon who blamed the ...…

Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. -- Conservative Matt Walsh criticized a male actor subbing in for a sick actress as promoting a transgender agenda. (1:39)-- Kyrsten Sinema, an Arizona Democrat who is religiously unaffiliated, will run for Senate in 2018. (10:20)-- Christia ...…

In a bonus episode of the podcast, I spoke with Camille Beredjick about her new book Queer Disbelief (which I helped edit).We spoke about why atheists should be on the front lines of LGBTQ activism, what aspect of the book was most difficult to write, and how she celebrated the completion of her first book.Please support the project at Kickstarter!…