The lively expert on this week’s Freedom From Religion Foundation’s television show attempts to answer some of the profoundest questions about our existence.
Is the universe fine-tuned for life, as so many theologians argue? And if it is, who or what did the tuning? Kelsey Johnson, an award-winning professor of astronomy at the University of Virginia, grapples on “Freethought Matters” with these and other similarly deep issues. She’s the former president of the American Astronomical Society and founder of the acclaimed Dark Skies Bright Kids program. Professor Johnson’s new book is called “Into the Unknown: The Quest to Understand the Mysteries of the Cosmos.” Nobel Laureate John Mather calls it a delightful conversation with a brilliant explorer of the magic of our universe.
“I’m acutely aware that as of right now, we are the only sentient life that we are aware of in the universe that’s capable of even trying to understand the universe,” Johnson tells “Freethought Matters” co-hosts Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor. “So in some ways, we’re actually fluctuations of the universe made sentient. And to me, that almost comes with an ethical imperative to try to understand as much about the universe as we can.”
“Freethought Matters” airs the weekend in:
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Chicago, WPWR-CW (Ch. 50), Sundays at 9 a.m.
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Los Angeles, KCOP-MY (Ch. 13), Sundays at 8:30 a.m.
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Madison, Wis., WISC-TV (Ch. 3), Sundays at 11 p.m.
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New York City, WPIX-IND (Ch. 11), Sundays at 10 a.m.
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San Francisco, KTVU/KICU-IND (on broadcast Ch. 36 and Cable 6), Sundays at 10 a.m.
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Washington, D.C., WDCW-CW (Ch. 50 or Ch. 23 or Ch. 3), Sundays at 8 a.m.
If you don’t live in any of the marquee towns where the show broadcasts on Sunday, you can already catch the interview on FFRF’s YouTube channel. New shows go up every Thursday.
Upcoming guests include librarian Amanda Jones, the author of “That Librarian,” which is a cautionary tale about the personal toll of book bannings. And atheist singer/songwriter Shelley Segal performs some of her songs and talks about atheism and religious misogyny. You can catch interviews from earlier this season and from previous seasons here, including with Gloria Steinem, Ron Reagan, author John Irving, actor John “Q” de Lancie and award-winning columnist Katha Pollitt.
Please tune in to “Freethought Matters” . . . because freethought matters. And spread the word to freethinking friends, family or colleagues about a TV show, finally, that is dedicated to providing programming for freethinkers — your antidote to religion on Sunday morning!
P.S. Please tune in or record according to the times given above regardless of what is listed in your TV guide (it may be listed simply as “paid programming” or even be misidentified). To set up an automatic weekly recording, try taping manually by time or channel.
