The Freedom From Religion Foundation’s TV show “Freethought Matters” has not just one but two guests offering a minority perspective on freethought this Sunday.
Hypatia Alexandria and David Tamayo are the founders of Hispanic American Freethinkers, a national organization dedicated to advancing Latino culture through science and reason.
“It encourages the rational evaluation of faith-based myths, the support of the constitutional idea of state and church separation, secular values, promotion of critical thinking in general as well as absolute freedom of conscience,” states the group’s website.
“We looked around and there weren’t any atheists, agnostics or any group like that in the Latino community,” Tamayo says on the show. “So we decided, ‘Let’s do some stuff, do some meet-ups.’ And so people started showing up to talk about their stories.”
As an antidote to religion on the airwaves and Sunday morning sermonizing, the half-hour show airs Sunday mornings in 11 cities and Sunday evening in FFRF’s hometown of Madison, Wis. And this week’s show is available on FFRF’s YouTube channel. (Look for the Freethought Matters playlist to watch previous shows.)
The first guest in the new season was Rep. Jared Huffman, founder of the Congressional Freethought Caucus. Huffman’s appearance on the show made media waves due to his remarks about his colleague Rep. Liz Cheney’s dogmatic stance on the religious oath.
U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin and leading legal scholar Geoffrey Stone have appeared on the show in recent weeks. U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan and philosopher and scientist Daniel Dennett will be on the show next month.
The cities where “Freethought Matters” broadcasts, along with the channels and timings, are listed below:
- Chicago, WPWR-CW (Ch. 50), Sundays at 9 a.m.
- Denver, KWGN-CW (Ch. 2), Sundays at 7 a.m.
- Houston, KUBE-IND (Ch. 57), Sundays at 9 a.m.
- Los Angeles, KCOP-MY (Ch. 13), Sundays at 8:30 a.m.
- Madison, Wis., WISC-TV (Ch. 3), Sundays at 11 p.m.
- Minneapolis, KSTC-IND (Ch. 45), Sundays at 9:30 a.m.
- New York City, WPIX-IND (Ch. 11), Sundays at 8:30 a.m.
- Phoenix, KASW-CW (Ch. 61, or 6 or 1006 for HD), Sundays at 8:30 a.m.
- Portland, Ore., KRCW-CW (Ch. 32), Sundays at 9 a.m. Comcast channel 703 for High Def, or Channel 3.
- Sacramento, KQCA-MY (Ch. 58), Sundays at 8:30 a.m.
- Seattle, KONG-IND (Ch. 16 or Ch. 106 on Comcast). Sundays at 8:00 a.m.
- Washington, D.C., WDCW-CW (Ch. 50), Sundays at 8 a.m.
FFRF Co-Presidents Annie Laurie Gaylor and her husband, Dan Barker, a former evangelical minister and well-known atheist author, are creators and co-hosts of the show.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is the nation’s largest association of freethinkers (atheists and agnostics), with more than 30,000 members nationwide. FFRF also works as a watchdog guarding the constitutional separation between religion and government.
The show is produced in the Stephen Uhl Friendly Atheist Studio at Freethought Hall in Madison, Wis., by FFRF’s videographer Bruce Johnson, a public television veteran. Crew includes staff members Bailey Nachreiner-Mackesey, Kristina Daleiden, Lauryn Seering and Chris Line, plus various floor managers, with sound production provided by Audio for the Arts.
Please tune in to “Freethought Matters” . . . because freethought matters.
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. And spread the word to freethinking friends, family or colleagues about a TV show, finally, that is dedicated to providing programming for freethinkers!
