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FFRF attorney Sam Grover updates us on the oral arguments in our “Do mess with Texas” lawsuit before the federal 5th Circuit Court of Appeals challenging Gov. Greg Abbot’s censorship of our Bill of Rights nativity display at the state capitol. Then the actress and author Alice Greczyn offers a scientific explanation for ecstatic religious experiences, which she describes in her talk: “Drunk, High and Hypnotized: How Neurotheology Healed My Religious Trauma.”
This week, we comment on President Biden’s State of the Union address as it relates to state/church separation, abortion, and LGBTQ+ rights. We hear Dan Barker’s performance of the feminist anthem “Bread and Roses.” Then we speak with journalist and author Katherine Stewart about her powerful cautionary column in the Sunday New York Times: “Why was a Catholic hospital willing to gamble with my life?”
Guest: Andrew Copson. FFRF Senior Counsel Patrick Elliott explains FFRF’s newest federal lawsuit involving students who walked out of a Huntington W.Va., high school protesting religious services on campus during school time. Then we speak with the Chief Executive of Humanists UK, Andrew Copson, about the new book he co-authored with Alice Roberts called The Little Book of Humanism: Universal Lessons on Fnding Purpose, Meaning and Joy.
Guest: Mark Dann. After reporting on state/church complaints and victories in Michigan, Tennessee, Florida and Indiana, we hear two versions of Dan Barker’s song “Beware of Dogma”: one by Dan and the other by Brazilian singer Sandra Belé. Then we speak with FFRF’s Director of Governmental Affairs Mark Dann about his work in Washington, D.C., to lobby for a secular government, science and reason.
Guests: Cynthia McDonald and Andrew Seidel. FFRF’s Director of Strategic Response Andrew Seidel announces the new major report by FFRF and the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty called “Christian Nationalism and the January 6, 2021, Insurrection.” Then activist and podcaster Cynthia McDonald tells us about her comprehensive article about the secular case for reparations: “Black economic justice from an atheist’s view.”
Guest: Larry Shapiro. President Biden should not have attended today’s divisive National Prayer Breakfast. U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin tells us why it is important to memorialize America’s “forgotten Founder” Thomas Paine. Then we speak with philosopher Lawrence Shapiro about his new book (co-written with Steven Nadler): When Bad Thinking Happens to Good People: How Philosophy Can Save Us From Ourselves.
Guests: Margaret Downey and Gary Berton. We talk about the need to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Breyer with a proponent of state/church separation. After hearing Dan Barker’s tribute to Thomas Paine, “The World Is My Country,” we talk with two Paine experts: Margaret Downey, president of the new Thomas Paine Memorial Association, and Gary Berton, president of the Thomas Paine National Historical Association, about the drive to erect a statue to the “forgotten Founder” in Washington, D.C.
The Supreme Court has recently taken a number of troubling cases dealing with religion. FFRF’s Legal Director Rebecca Markert joins us to talk about the Supreme Court oral arguments in a case about the city of Boston being forced to fly the Christian flag. Then we speak with atheist bible Professor Francesca Stavrakopoulou about her new book God: An Anatomy.
After reporting on national and local state/church news, we hear singer/songwriter Shelley Segal‘s feminist song “Eve” from her Atheist Album. Then we listen to Pulitzer-Prize winning New York Times columnist and Supreme-Court observer Linda Greenhouse‘s “Cheesecake, anyone?” remarks as she accepts FFRF’s “Clarence Darrow” award recognizing excellence in journalism about state/church separation.
