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“Thoughts and prayers” are not enough. Violence — often prompted or exacerbated by religion — must be addressed with meaningful legislation. We encourage people this week to take action to protect state/church separation in Arizona, Delaware and Tennessee. After hearing Dan Barker’s song “Get Off Your Knees (And Get To Work),” we talk with former Madison Avenue adman John Follis about his award-winning documentary film, “Leaving God: Why I left God and why so many others are too.”
Happy spring! FFRF attorney Maddy Zeigler reports legal victories in Pennsylvania, Indiana and Michigan. A year into the pandemic, we see that “thoughts and prayers” are no match for science and action. We hear Roy Zimmerman sing “To The Victims of This Tragedy.” Then we ask: Is atheism good for your health? We speak with Professor David Speed of the University of New Brunswick, author of a new study about religion and health with some surprising findings.
We report that atheists are more likely to be vaccinated than any other group. FFRF staff attorney Patrick Elliott explains a Supreme Court decision that is helpful to state/church lawsuits. FFRF Director of Strategic Response Andrew Seidel tells us why Congress’ HR1 “For The People Act” voting-rights bill is good for seculars. Then we talk with the actor and author Alice Greczyn about her new fundamentalist-to-atheist book, Wayward: A Memoir of Spiritual Warfare and Sexual Purity.
We celebrate Women’s History Month by cheering New Mexico’s law overturning the ban on abortion. The Do No Harm Act passed the House of Representatives. FFRF reports a state/church victory in Alabama and a legal complaint over a North Carolina public school entangling with a local church. After hearing the feminist anthem “Bread and Roses,” we talk with James Haught, 89, author and editor emeritus of the West Virginia Charleston Gazette, about “Nine Decades of Progress.”
Colorado is getting tough on molesting clergy, Congress is passing the Equality Act to protect the LGBTQ community against Christian nationalists, and taxes are being appropriated to pay for a Kentucky church. FFRF intern and blogger Barbara Alvarez tells us about the bad South Carolina abortion law and about how members of Congress are being shunned by their evangelical families for voting to certify the President. Then we talk with Professor James Lull about his book Evolutionary Communication: An Introduction, linking the development of ideas and ideology.
From Black History to Black Gold. We listen to the voice of the freethinking NAACP founder W.E.B. Du Bois and the music of nonreligious African-American composers. After we hear Lena Horne sing the irreverent Yip Harburg song “Ain’t It The Truth?”, FFRF’s Director of Communications Amit Pal joins as a co-host to interview Professor Darren Dochuk, author of the illuminating book, Anointed with Oil: How Christianity and Crude Made Modern America.
Christian nationalism and Roman Catholic greed are the themes for the first half of the show. We talk about Jeep’s religiously divisive Super Bowl ad and the impeachment trial of Donald Trump, accused of inciting Christian Nationalists to carry out the Jan. 6 insurrection. We hear talk show host Bill Maher’s takedown of the religious extremists who stormed the Capitol. Then we speak with British author Rachel Holmes about her new biography of the early 20th-century feminist, atheist, activist and reformer, Sylvia Pankhurst: Natural Born Rebel.
We call on the Wisconsin attorney general to launch an investigation into the widespread sexual abuse of children by the Catholic Church. FFRF attorney Ryan Jayne tells us the tragic story of an abuse victim who recently committed suicide when the church abandoned him. Then we hear the humorous and irreverent “Noah” by poet and Darwin scholar Philip Appleman, read by Philip and his wife Marjorie.
Christian Nationalists were among the insurrectionists on Jan. 6, but they were also among dozens of members of Congress who voted against certification. Mandisa Thomas of Black Nonbelievers tells us why her group is opposing Rep. James Clyburn’s proposal for a National Hymn. Then we speak with Sasha Sagan, daughter of Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan, about her book For Small Creatures Such As We: Rituals For Finding Meaning in Our Unlikely World.
