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FFRF tells high court to stop city prayer. We celebrate the equinox and end the summer by celebrating the birthday of nonbelieving composer George Gershwin, who wrote “Summertime” and “It Ain’t Necessarily So.” Then we discuss the amicus filed by FFRF in the Greece, NY, city-prayer case before the Supreme Court, with our two staff attorneys who drafted the brief: Patrick Elliott and Andrew Seidel.
INFIDELS! We hear the only known recording of journalist H. L. Mencken, admitting he was an agnostic, commenting on his coverage of the 1925 Scopes “monkey trial.” Then we hear Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the ex-Muslim Somali author of Infidel and Nomad, give her acceptance speech of FFRF’s “Emperor Has No Clothes” Award.
We stop football prayer and expose Hobby Lobby’s “crafty” and misleading ads about the founding fathers. Then we talk with Dan Savage, author and founder of It Gets Better, about his new book, American Savage: Insights, Slights, and Fights on Faith, Sex, Love, and Politics.
“The bases are loaded,” as a federal judge this week gave FFRF the green light to proceed in our 3rd ongoing lawsuit against the IRS. On the second half of the show, we interview Joe Muto, a former employee of Fox News and an associate producer of The O’Reilley Factor, author of the new book An Atheist in the Foxhole: A Liberal’s Eight-Year Odyssey Inside the Heart of the Right-Wing Media. (Photo credit: Alexis Lamster)
We celebrate the 93rd anniversary of Women’s Equality Day and the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. We talk about FFRF’s state/church activism, including this week’s federal court victory upholding standing to proceed in our IRS electioneering lawsuit. Then we talk with Hawaii state/church activists Holly Huber and Mitch Kahle who, as whistleblowers on behalf of the state, are suing churches who are underpaying millions of dollars for the use of public schools.
Government prayer is run amok! Hear updates about FFRF complaints in Texas and Alabama, as well as the Cullman County “Prayer Caravan” saga, in which the governor takes sides against FFRF. Then we interview Susan Jacoby about her newly released book, The Great Agnostic: Robert Ingersoll and American Freethought.
This week we hear a sneak preview of our upcoming convention with music and commentary from Julia Sweeney and Jill Sobule’s “Jill & Julia Show.” We report our victory in the Ball State University “intelligent design” controversy, and hear of FFRF complaints over state church violations in Alabama. Then we talk with FFRF summer legal intern Chuck Roslof, who tells us about the problems that result when secular hospitals merge with Catholic institutions.
What is the afterlife to a fish? To answer that question, we play the debut of Dan Barker’s new song, “Heaven,” setting to music the poetry of Rupert Brooke. State/church entanglements in Alabama and Texas are in the news. Then we talk with University of Chicago Law Professor Brian Leiter, author of the new book, Why Tolerate Religion?
Nothing fails like governmental prayer! This week we point out that today’s Florida governor got it just as wrong as those who prayed at the 1774 Continental Congress. We also report on the fact that atheists make up only 0.02% of the federal prison population. Then we talk with philosopher Lawrence Shapiro, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, about miracles, science, and religion.
