American Freethought Podcast

I interview John R. Hibbing, author of The Securitarian Personality: What Really Motivates Trump's Base and Why It Matters for the Post-Trump Era. Buy a copy of the book for yourself here. Plus: Trump's running out of options in his fraudulent attempt to overturn his election loss. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic gets worse and worse, and Trump and the Republicans are doing nothing to bring it under control. On the bright side, vaccines will soon be available and Joe Biden will try to restore sanity to the country's pandemic response. Theme music courtesy of Body Found. Follow American Freethought on the intertubes: Website: AmericanFreethought.com  Twitter: @AMERFREETHOUGHT Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/21523473365/ Libsyn Classic Feed: https://americanfreethought.libsyn.com/rss Contact: john@americanfreethought.com Support the Podcast: PayPal funds to sniderishere@gmail.com

I interview Tim Ward, co-author (along with Gleb Tsipursky) of Pro Truth: A Practical Plan for Putting Truth Back Into Politics. We talk about the Pro-Truth Pledge, a tool to enable politicians, government officials, public personalities, and even regular citizens in sharing, honoring, and encouraging the truth as a central foundation for political discourse.  For more about the Pro-Truth Movement, visit ProTruthPledge.org. For more about Tim and his work visit ChangemakersBooks.com. To buy a copy of Pro Truth for yourself, click here. Plus: The newly conservative-controlled Supreme Court has issued "injunctive relief" against an executive order (issued by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo) that sought to restrict the number of attendees at religious services in certain zones identified as pandemic hotspots. In Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo, the Court agreed with the church's argument that restrictions applying uniquely to religious meetings violate the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.

I interview historian David J. Silverman about his book This Land Is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving.  Buy a copy of the book for yourself here. Plus: Looks like we're getting rid of Trump but not Trumpism. Joe Biden has won the presidency, but the Democrats lost ground in the House of Representatives, and the Republicans will almost surely retain control of the Senate. Meanwhile, Trump and the Republicans are denying he lost, making outrageous and unsupported claims of widespread vote-counting fraud, and continue to seal themselves off from reality. It's gonna be a rough two months until Biden's inauguration on January 20, 2021. Theme music courtesy of Body Found. Follow American Freethought on the intertubes: Website: AmericanFreethought.com  Twitter: @AMERFREETHOUGHT Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/21523473365/ Libsyn Classic Feed: https://americanfreethought.libsyn.com/rss Contact: john@americanfreethought.com Support the Podcast: PayP

I interview Noah Lugeons, author of Outbreak: A Crisis of Faith - How Religion Ruined Our Global Pandemic. Noah is also a co-host of The Scathing Atheist and God Awful Movies podcasts. To buy a copy of Outbreak, click here. Plus: The skeptical community mourns the loss of James "The Amazing" Randi. Humanist Mubarak Bala, held incommunicado for nearly six months on a charge of blasphemy by Nigerian authorities, is alive! He has finally been allowed to meet with legal representation. A hearing has been scheduled for December 10th. For more on Mr. Bala's case, listen to my interview with Leo Igwe in episode #310. Ultra-conservative Judge Amy Coney Barrett, rammed through the confirmation process by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), has been sworn in as the newest Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Conservatives now hold a 6-3 majority on the court, which could endanger everything from the Affordable Care Act to gun control to Roe v Wade. Pope Francis has endorsed "civil unions" (but not explici

I interview Dr. Richard Carrier about his latest book, Jesus from Outer Space: What the Earliest Christians Really Believed about Christ, which asserts that the teachings of Jesus Christ began as cosmic revelations to a chosen few, and only later did Christian writers create a terrestrial biography for Jesus that borrowed heavily from similar death-and-resurrection mythologies of the ancient world. For more about Richard and his work visit RichardCarrier.info. To buy a copy of Jesus from Outer Space, click here. Theme music courtesy of Body Found. Follow American Freethought on the intertubes: Website: AmericanFreethought.com  Twitter: @AMERFREETHOUGHT Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/21523473365/ Libsyn Classic Feed: https://americanfreethought.libsyn.com/rss Contact: john@americanfreethought.com Support the Podcast: PayPal funds to sniderishere@gmail.com

I interview theologian Dr. Craig A. Evans, co-author of Can We Trust the Bible on the Historical Jesus?, which is based on a debate Dr. Evans had some years ago with Dr. Bart Ehrman. (My apologies on the sound quality of the interview itself. We experienced technical difficulties.) For more about Craig Evans and his work visit craigaevans.com. Buy a copy of Can We Trust the Bible on the Historical Jesus? here. Listen to my previous conversations with Dr. Bart Erhman in episodes 51 (Jesus, Interrupted), 200 (How Jesus Became God), 244 (Jesus Before the Gospels) and 299 (Heaven and Hell). Plus: President Donald Trump is in the hospital with covid-19, a fitting conclusion to months of neglect, lies and denial. It's looking inevitable that Judge Amy Coney Barrett will be confirmed on the Supreme Court (if not before the election, certainly before the inauguration) to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsberg. The Democrats don't have the votes to stop her confirmation, and very little in the way of parliamentary maneu

I interview Jared Yates Sexton, author of American Rule: How a Nation Conquered the World but Failed Its People, a dark history of the United States from colonial times to the present. Sexton came to national prominence during the 2016 presidential election, when his reporting from Trump rallies earned him death threats. He is also the co-host of The Muckrake Podcast, a twice-weekly political discussion from a decidedly progressive angle. For more about Sexton and his work visit jysexton.com. To purchase a copy of his new book click here. To listen to The Muckrake Podcast click here. Plus: Devastating news that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg has died at 87. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already signaled he intends to fast-track Trump's pick for her replacement; this despite denying President Obama his pick for nearly a year under similar circumstances after the death of Antonin Scalia in 2016. The hypocrisy is thick around the senior Senator from Kentucky. Theme music courtesy of Body

Mubarak Bala, president of the Nigerian Humanist Association, was arrested in April 2020, allegedly for a Facebook post that blasphemed against Islam. Since his arrest, no one--not even his lawyer--has seen or heard from Bala. His whereabouts are uncertain, and no one knows if he is alive or dead. I talk with Leo Igwe, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Nigerian Humanist Association, about Bala's plight, and what secularists around the world can do to help. For more about Mubarak Bala's situation click here. To listen to our previous conversation with Leo from 2013, click here. Plus: Trump continues to drive the crazy train over a cliff. Now he's spinning elaborate stories--without a shred of evidence--about black-uniformed thugs packing a plane bound for DC, intending to disrupt the Republican National Convention. He also indulged in a whiny rant about how cans of soup are the weapon of choice for anarchists and Antifa disruptors. That he has ANY followers remaining is dismaying, but it's a sure bet that

The Democrats have a ticket! As expected, former Vice President Joe Biden has selected Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate. If elected, Biden will be our second Catholic president, but Harris will make history as the first VP of African descent or of Asian descent. Some conservatives are already circulating a birther conspiracy about her (saying she is ineligible for office, having been born in California of parents who were--irrelevantly--not at the time citizens), but will they also make an issue of her mother's Hindu upbringing? Five Faith Facts about Kamala Harris Plus: I look at the Democratic and Republican party platforms from a freethought perspective, analyzing the frequency of certain key words or phrases. (And since the GOP didn't bother to create a new platform for 2020, I play a clip from American Freethought episode 254, in which David Driscoll and I look at their 2016 platform.) Theme music courtesy of Body Found. Follow American Freethought on the intertubes: Website: AmericanFreethought

I talk with Marie D'Elephant, host of Everyone's Autonomous, a new podcast in which she talks "with guests and subject matter experts about how we can begin to move forward after having processed our toxic religious upbringings." We also discuss something else that's in the news more often these days: polyamory, or "ethical non-monogamy."  For more visit www.everybodysautonomous.com. Plus: Trump's campaign pitch is getting shriller by the day. Now he claims a vote for former Vice President Joe Biden will hurt religion, the Bible, and God Himself. Jerry Falwell, Jr. takes a leave of absence as president of Liberty University after tweeting a risqué picture of himself with a scantily clad friend. Theme music courtesy of Body Found. Follow American Freethought on the intertubes: Website: AmericanFreethought.com  Twitter: @AMERFREETHOUGHT Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/21523473365/ Libsyn Classic Feed: https://americanfreethought.libsyn.com/rss Contact: john@americanfreethought.com Support the Podcast:

I discuss the new iconoclasm--the current movement to remove Confederate monuments and disavow historical figures (like, e.g., Margaret Sanger and John Muir) because some of their beliefs conflict with modern, politically correct sensibilities. A lot of what's been going on is good, to be sure, but how far is too far? Plus: A look at recent--and not-so-recent--films with relevance to current events like BLM and trans rights. Theme music courtesy of Body Found. Follow American Freethought on the intertubes: Website: AmericanFreethought.com  Twitter: @AMERFREETHOUGHT Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/21523473365/ Libsyn Classic Feed: https://americanfreethought.libsyn.com/rss Contact: john@americanfreethought.com Support the Podcast: PayPal funds to sniderishere@gmail.com

I interview Eric Cervini, author of The Deviant's War: The Homosexual vs The United States of America, a new history of the gay rights movement focusing on the life and career of activist Frank Kameny. For more about Eric and his work visit EricCervini.com. Listen to his podcast The Deviant's World. Buy a copy of The Deviant's War. Plus: The Supreme Court just ended its session with decisions on several cases with bearing on separation of church and state. Mississippi has decided to get replace the state flag bearing the Confederate stars-and-bars with a new flag bearing the theocratic motto "In God We Trust." Remember when people said gay marriage would lead to polygamy? Well...now Utah has essentially decriminalized it, and a town in Massachusetts has passed an ordinance to recognize polyamorous relationships. Is a polyamory revolution just around the corner? Theme music courtesy of Body Found. Follow American Freethought on the intertubes: Website: AmericanFreethought.com  Twitter: @AMERFREETHOUGHT Faceboo

I interview Dr. Khyati Joshi, author of White Christian Privilege: The Illusion of Religious Equality in America. For more about Khyati and her work visit KhyatiJoshi.com. You can buy her book here. Plus: A win for civil rights! The Supreme Court ruled in Bostock v Clayton County, GA that employers may not discriminate against gay or transgender employees. Full stop. Theme music courtesy of Body Found. Follow American Freethought on the intertubes: Website: AmericanFreethought.com  Twitter: @AMERFREETHOUGHT Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/21523473365/ Libsyn Classic Feed: https://americanfreethought.libsyn.com/rss Contact: john@americanfreethought.com Support the Podcast: PayPal funds to sniderishere@gmail.com

I interview Robb Ryerse, a self-described Republican and "never-Trump" evangelical pastor who decided to primary his own congressman in the 2018 election. Robb wrote about his experience in the new book Running for Our Lives: Faith, Politics, and the Common Good. He's also the pastor of Vintage Fellowship in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and executive director of Brand New Congress, a non-profit organization that hopes "to elect regular working people to Congress who put people before party to make government more accountable and responsive to the needs of all Americans." Buy a copy of Robb's book for yourself! For more visit VintageFellowship.org, BrandNewCongress.org, and RobbRyerse.com. Theme music courtesy of Body Found. Follow American Freethought on the intertubes: Website: AmericanFreethought.com  Twitter: @AMERFREETHOUGHT Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/21523473365/ Libsyn Classic Feed: https://americanfreethought.libsyn.com/rss Contact: john@americanfreethought.com Support the Podcast: PayPal fun

I interview Christopher Cameron, author of Black Freethinkers: A History of African American Secularism. For more about Chris visit his UNCC faculty page. To buy his book click here. Plus: Trump issues a bogus declaration defining places of worship as "essential." This is an unenforceable attempt to paint governors as anti-religion and fool his base into thinking Trump has their backs. In AKA Jane Roe, a new documentary about the late Norma McCorvey (the "Roe" in "Roe vs Wade"), she reveals that her late-life conversion to fundamentalist Christianity and her embrace of the anti-abortion cause was all a lie, and that she was actually secretly paid by anti-abortion operatives to play a part. Theme music courtesy of Body Found. Follow American Freethought on the intertubes: Website: AmericanFreethought.com  Twitter: @AMERFREETHOUGHT Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/21523473365/ Libsyn Classic Feed: https://americanfreethought.libsyn.com/rss Contact: john@americanfreethought.com Support the Podcast: PayP

I interview Nathan G. Alexander, author of Race in a Godless World, which explores the various and changing views of American and British freethinkers toward race and other cultures during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For more about Nathan visit www.nathangalexander.com. To buy his book visit NYU Press. Theme music courtesy of Body Found. Follow American Freethought on the intertubes: Website: AmericanFreethought.com  Twitter: @AMERFREETHOUGHT Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/21523473365/ Libsyn Classic Feed: https://americanfreethought.libsyn.com/rss Contact: john@americanfreethought.com Support the Podcast: PayPal funds to sniderishere@gmail.com

I interview Sikivu Hutchinson, author of Humanists in the Hood: Unapologetically Black, Feminist, and Heretical. For more about Sikivu and her work visit SikivuHutchinson.com. Theme music courtesy of Body Found. Follow American Freethought on the intertubes: Website: AmericanFreethought.com  Twitter: @AMERFREETHOUGHT Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/21523473365/ Libsyn Classic Feed: https://americanfreethought.libsyn.com/rss Contact: john@americanfreethought.com Support the Podcast: PayPal funds to sniderishere@gmail.com

He's back! I have a special 300th episode celebratory conversation with podcast co-host emeritus David Driscoll. What's he been up to the last 3 1/2 years? How's he holding up in this time of pandemic? And what does the future hold for America? Plus: I have a number of books (some of them signed by the likes of Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood, Doris Kearns Goodwin and Jon Meacham) that I'd like to give away. I'm looking for suggestions for creative means to do so, while also increasing the podcast listenership. Suggestions are welcome! Theme music courtesy of Body Found. Follow American Freethought on the intertubes: Website: AmericanFreethought.com  Twitter: @AMERFREETHOUGHT Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/21523473365/ Libsyn Classic Feed: https://americanfreethought.libsyn.com/rss Contact: john@americanfreethought.com Support the Podcast: PayPal funds to sniderishere@gmail.com

I interview New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman about his new book Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife. For more about Bart and his work visit ehrmanblog.org or bartdehrman.com. Bart's previous appearances on this podcast include: Podcast 51 - Bart Ehrman (Jesus Interrupted) Podcast 200 - Bart Ehrman (How Jesus Became God) Podcast 244 - Bart Ehrman (Jesus Before the Gospels) Plus: American conservatives (including televangelists, infomercial stars and our inept president) continue to embarrass us and endanger lives in their response to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Theme music courtesy of Body Found. Follow American Freethought on the intertubes: Website: AmericanFreethought.com  Twitter: @AMERFREETHOUGHT Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/21523473365/ Libsyn Classic Feed: https://americanfreethought.libsyn.com/rss Contact: john@americanfreethought.com Support the Podcast: PayPal funds to sniderishere@gmail.com

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. Theme music courtesy of Body Found. Follow American Freethought on the intertubes: Website: AmericanFreethought.com  Twitter: @AMERFREETHOUGHT Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/21523473365/ Libsyn Classic Feed: https://americanfreethought.libsyn.com/rss Contact: john@americanfreethoug