An Iranian-born feminist and secularist offers key insights about the recent protests in her country of origin on the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s “Freethought Matters” TV show this Sunday.
Maryam Namazie has herself been leading protests against Iran in the United Kingdom and other European countries. Namazie fled Iran with her family when the Islamic Republic took over her country and has dedicated her life to working with immigrants, to free women and for a secular government. She is closely associated with the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain, which campaigns to end apostasy and blasphemy laws and defend secularism and universal rights and equality. Namazie is host of the long-running weekly “Bread and Roses” TV show produced in both English and Persian. She has received many awards and recognitions for her activism, including FFRF’s first Henry Zumach Freedom from Religious Fundamentalism Award in 2017.
“This women’s revolution is going to bring the Islamic regime of Iran to its knees,” she tells “Freethought Matters” co-host Annie Laurie Gaylor. “And it will liberate not just Iran, not just Afghanistan but the Middle East.”
If you don’t live in the quarter-plus viewership of the nation where the show broadcasts on Sunday, you can already catch the interview on FFRF’s YouTube channel. New shows go up every Thursday.
“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, WFTC-29, Sundays at 7:30 a.m.
- New York City, WPIX-IND (Ch. 11), Sundays at 10 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.
Upcoming guests include abortion advocate Katha Pollitt, 92-year-old skeptical feminist and bestselling author Barbara G. Walker and a brave city council member who protested her board’s prayers and got death threats. You can catch interviews from past seasons here, including the fall 2022 season with author John Irving, actor John “Q” de Lancie and Washington Post columnist Kate Cohen. Previous interviews include Julia Sweeney and Reps. Jared Huffman, Jamie Raskin, Hank Johnson and Eleanor Holmes Norton, among many other notable authors, activists and freethinkers.
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 — your antidote to religion on Sunday morning!
