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Legal fellow Ryan Jayne updates us on FFRF’s New Jersey lawsuit challenging millions of “historic preservation” dollars handed to churches, many for the purpose of worship. We discuss a cross on a Kentucky city water tower, a cross on an Illinois war memorial, and government censorship of freethought speech. Then we interview feminist atheist author Sikivu Hutchinson about her new book, White Nights, Black Paradise, about Jim Jones’s People’s Temple and the 1978 massacre at Jonestown.
FFRF wins Liberty Institute’s “Scrooge Award.” Another FFRF banner is vandalized. Political candidate panders to piety. NYC mayor de Blasio hands $20 million to religious schools. Alabama chief justice Moore defies same-sex marriage law. After listening to Holly Near’s song “I Ain’t Afraid” and Dan Barker’s version of Ruth Green’s poem “FFRF,” we hear Ruth Hurmence Green interviewed in 1979 about her book The Born Again Skeptic’s Guide To The Bible.
Texas Governor Abbot censors FFRF’s “Bill of Rights Nativity” from the state capitol. Wisconsin lawmaker Scott Allen uses government resources to convert non-Christians. Idaho post office removes Christmas greeting from window. After hearing Paul Robeson sing “The Bill of Rights,” we talk with Thomas Sheedy who won the Richard and Beverly Hermsen Student Activist award for fighting to establish a secular club at his high school. [Photo by Ingrid Laas]
In the News: FFRF banners and signs have been stolen or defaced, so we announce a “Resurrection Pledge Campaign” to help replace them. New banners in Olympia, Washington and Illinois courthouse. After hearing Richard Dawkins reading the Foreword for the audiobook he wrote for Dan Barker’s book Godless, we end the year with some relaxing freethought and seasonal music from FFRF’s “Adrift on a Star” CD.
In the News: Saudi Arabia is scheduled to behead a nonbeliever; Indiana school thumbs its nose at the Constitution by staging a “mannequin” nativity scene after a judge enjoined them from doing a “live nativity scene.” We hear some Winter Solstice songs and a reading about how Christians coopted the season. Then we talk with Holly Baer, the first winner of the Yip Harburg Youth Activist award, who challenged a Christian display in the city of Collins, Mississippi.
This is our first show produced in the new Stephen Uhl Friendly Atheist Studio at Freethought Hall! In The News: full-page FFRF ad in the New York Times celebrating the birth of the Bill of Rights (December 15, 1791); FFRF asks hotels for bible-free rooms; Elkhart (Ind.) live nativity cancelled; FFRF Winter Solstice sign stolen from Indiana courthouse. After hearing Philip Appleman’s poem “Fleas” set to music, we talk with Laurie Lebo, author of The Devil in Dover, about the 10th anniversary of Kitzmiller v. Dover, which booted “intelligent design” from public high-school science classes.
In the News: Two seasonal state/church victories in Indiana; new FFRF lawsuit in New Jersey challenging public money to churches; Winter Solstice signs around the country; Nonbelief Relief report. After hearing Dan’s “Salt Lake City Blues,” we talk with Utah attorney Mark Naugle about how he has helped more than 3,000 people leave the Mormon Church, mainly as a result of the LDS position on same-sex couples.
After dissecting religion in politics (Fiorina: “people of faith make better leaders”) and reporting FFRF state/church victories in Minnesota and Indiana, we hear Etta James sing Randy Newman’s irreverent “God’s Song.” Then sociologist and author Ryan T. Cragun explains his new book: How To Defeat Religion in 10 Easy Steps.
We love Paris, and detest religious terrorism. In The News: Governor Kasich calls for an agency to spread “Judeo-Christian values,” but American values are from the Enlightenment, not religion. Mormons are leaving the church over their gay-marriage stance. After hearing John Lennon’s “Imagine,” we talk with Fernando Alcántar, a Mexican immigrant who was converted by American missionaries, became a Christian leader, and then became a gay atheist activist. His new book is To The Cross and Back: An Immigrant’s Journey from Faith to Reason.
