The Freedom From Religion Foundation’s “Freethought Matters” TV show this Sunday offers some answers on how nonreligious people should deal with death.
Candace R.M. Gorham is a former Christian minister who is now an atheist activist and author. Gorham has worked as a licensed mental health counselor for more than 10 years, focusing on at-risk youth and family therapy. She is a member of the Black Humanist Alliance of the American Humanist Association, the Secular Therapist Project, the Clergy Project and the Secular Student Alliance’s speakers bureau. Gorham is the author of Ebony Exodus Project: Why Some Black Women Are Walking Out on Religion — and Others Should Too and now has a new book out called On Death, Dying, and Disbelief.
“In 2019, my high school sweetheart died tragically in a car accident,” she tells “Freethought Matters” co-hosts Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor about the genesis of the book, which contains 10 tips for nonreligious folks on how to grieve. “We had reconnected later in life, and we were much more than just high school sweethearts. And so mourning his death, I felt like I needed some way to sort of process that and deal with that.”
The episode will be airing in over a dozen cities on Sunday, Sept. 26. If you don’t live in the quarter-plus of the nation where the show broadcasts on Sunday, you can already catch the interview on the “Freethought Matters” playlist on FFRF’s YouTube channel. New shows go up every Thursday. You can also receive notifications when we post new episodes of “Freethought Matters” by subscribing to FFRF’s YouTube channel.
Coming shows this season include interviews with The Nation’s Katha Pollitt and Professor Ryan Burge (a leading expert in the rise of the “Nones”).
“Freethought Matters” airs in:
- Chicago, WPWR-CW (Ch. 50), Sundays at 9 a.m.
- Denver, KWGN-CW (Ch. 2), Sundays at 7 a.m.
- Houston, KIAH-CW (Ch. 39), Sundays at 11 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.
- San Francisco, KICU-IND (Ch. 36), Sundays at 10 a.m.
- Seattle, KONG-IND (Ch. 16 or Ch. 106 on Comcast). Sundays at 8 a.m.
- Washington, D.C., WDCW-CW (Ch. 50 or Ch. 23 or Ch. 3), Sundays at 8 a.m.
“Freethought Matters” had an array of impressive guests last season. These included: pundit Eleanor Clift, actor and FFRF After-Life Member John de Lancie of “Star Trek” “Q” fame, Professor Steven Pinker, one of the most eminent global public intellectuals, and A.C. Grayling, a prominent British philosopher and the author of about 30 books, who grappled on the show with philosophy and the pandemic. The show launched its new season early this month with clips from the best past interviews on the program. Two weeks ago, it featured an interview with famed evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, while last week’s show focused on a secular public education lawsuit that’s become a historic milestone.
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!
