The guest on the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s Sunday “Freethought Matters” TV show is a bestselling author of self-help books for kids who advises parents not to religiously indoctrinate their children.
Joy Berry has written more than 200 books, selling over 85 million copies worldwide, that help children be responsible and ethical. Berry has also crafted a number of TV media programs, including “Goodhearts” and “CC Kids.” On behalf of Amnesty International and the United Nations, Berry created Kids for Global Peace to teach children about their human rights as put forth in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. She believes that it’s more important to teach children how to think rather than what to think.
“Parents think that they’ve discovered this religion that works for them and they want to insist that their children follow that religion,” Berry tells “Freethought Matters” co-hosts Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor. “And I’ve always said, ‘Listen, if you want a child to follow your religion, brainwashing isn't going to do it.’ That’s going to eventually run off their back like water on a duck. If you want a child to embrace whatever it is you believe, live it and prove to the child that it’s viable — and the child will embrace it on those terms.”
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), Sunday at noon this week (regularly 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 an interview with atheist and actor Madison Arnold, PRRI CEO Robert Jones and activists against priest abuse. 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!